How I Can Help
Before you start looking
Closing Costs

As Your Agent, I Will:

• Assure that you see all the properties in the area that meet your criteria.
• Guide you through the entire home buying process, from finding homes to look at, to getting the best financing.
• Make sure you don't pay too much for your new home and help you avoid costly mistakes.
• Answer all of your questions about the local market area, including schools, neighborhoods, the local economy, and more.

Before You Start Looking For Your New Home:

• Check your credit rating. Straighten out any errors before its too late.
• Determine a comfortable monthly budget for your new purchase, including down payment and monthly payment.
• Find a loan program that meets your needs and get pre-qualified (preferably pre-approved).
• Choose a REALTOR® that you trust and who understands your needs.
• Determine what neighborhood best matches your needs.
• Identify important features you need your new home to have.

Closing Costs to Expect:

• Lender fees include charges for loan processing, underwriting, preparation and establishing an escrow account.
• Third-party fees include charges for insurance, title search, and home inspection.
• Government fees include deed recording and state & local mortgage taxes.
• Escrow and interest fees include homeowner's insurance, loan interest, real estate taxes, and occasionally private mortgage insurance.

Find out how much your closing costs could be.

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Advice for First Time Home Buyers

1. Buy a home in a great school district. Many studies have shown that homes located in excellent school districts tend to appreciate faster than homes located in mediocre school districts.
2. Look for a good neighborhood with good housing stock, shopping, transportation options and a variety of recreational activities. Fortunately, good school districts tend to incorporate good neighborhoods. 
3. Buy the smallest home on the block. If you can't afford the home of your dreams in the neighborhood of your dreams, it's often better to buy a smaller home that you can fix up in your dream neighborhood. If you find a small home on a block with bigger homes, and the small house has the same size lot, you'll probably be able to expand the house later as your income and budget expands. (Before you buy, check to make sure you don't run into future zoning problems with your local planning department.)
4. Buy a fixer-upper. The best way to build in value is to fix up a home in a neighborhood where most of the other homes are already fixed up and selling at a premium. Every day, people buy homes for, say, $150,000 on a block of $400,000 homes, spend another $150,000 to fix it up and end up with a profit of $100,000. 
5. Buy a multi-unit property. If housing is scarce, it's a good bet that there's high demand in the rental market as well. If you find a property that has 2 to 4 units in it, you may be able to live in one of the units and use the income from the other unit to help pay the mortgage on the property. By leveraging your down payment dollars with rental income, you should be able to purchase a larger, more expensive property.

Good FICO Scores = Best Loan Rates

FICO scores (credit score) are what the vast majority of American mortgage lenders use to evaluate home loan applicants' creditworthiness. The scores are based on a number of factors that analyze the electronic credit files maintained on virtually all adults in the U.S. The scores range from the 300s to around 850, with higher scores indicating lower risk. Many lenders reserve their most favorable quotes of rates and fees for applicants in the upper FICO score ranges, 700 and above. Mortgage applicants in the low 600s and below get progressively higher rate quotes and are charged higher loan fees.

Your FICO score only looks at information in your credit report. However, lenders look at many things when making a credit decision including your income, how long you have worked at your present job and the kind of credit you are requesting. Your score considers both positive and negative information in your credit report. Late payments will lower your score, but establishing or re-establishing a good track record of making payments on time will raise your score.

Your Score Takes Into Account:

• Payment information on many types of accounts, including credit cards, retail accounts, car and mortgage loans.
• Public record and collection items such as bankruptcies, foreclosures, suits, wage attachments, liens and judgments.
• Details on late or missed payments ("delinquencies") specifically, how late they were, how much was owed, how recently they occurred and how many there are.
• How many accounts show no late payments.
• Length of Credit History

How Scores are Established

Approximately 15% of your score is based on your credit history. Generally a longer credit history will increase your score. The score considers both the age of your oldest account and an average age of all your accounts.

10% of your score is based on new credit or if you are taking on new debt. Opening a couple of new credit lines in a short period will hurt this score. If you are planning on buying real estate in the near future, put off buying a car until after it closes. A new car loan can have a big impact on what price of house you can qualify for.

10% of your score is based on types of credit in use. The score will consider your mix of credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts and mortgage loans.

30% of your score is based on amounts owned on all accounts. Even if you pay off your credit cards in full every month, your credit report may show a balance on those cards. The total balance on your last statement is generally the amount that will show in your credit report. The score considers the amount you owe on specific types of accounts, such as credit cards and installment loans. Small balances without missing a payment shows that you have managed credit responsibly, and may be slightly better than no balance at all. Closing unused credit accounts that show zero balances and that are in good standing will not generally raise your score. A large number of accounts can indicate higher risk of over-extension.

35% is based on payment history. The first thing any lender would want to know is whether you have paid past credit accounts on time. This is also one of the most important factors though late payments are not an automatic "score-killer." An overall good credit picture can outweigh one or two instances of, say, late credit card payments.

Information you will need at the time of loan application.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Current address for past 2 years (with dates at each address)
• Name, address and phone number of current and past landlords
• If VA loan, Certificate of Eligibility and DD214

EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME INFORMATION

• Current employer and address for borrower(s)
• Starting dates with current employer
• Current gross income for borrower(s)
• If hourly, number of hours worked per week
• Bring most recent pay stubs covering 30 days and W2s for the past 2 years
• If employed with current employer less than 24 months, list names, addresses and dates of previous employment covering a full two years and salary earned
• If self employed, please provide 2 years completed and signed tax returns along year-to-date financial statement consisting of a profit/loss statement and a balance sheet
• If a partnership or corporation is involved, tax returns for the same will be required

ASSETS

• List all accounts with account numbers and mailing addresses of depository
• Bank statements for each bank account covering 2 months
• Information on stocks owned including number of shares and value
• Information on life insurance including face amounts and cash value
• Year, make and approximate value of automobiles, boats, motorcycles, etc.
• Total replacement value of all household goods (furniture, clothing, jewelry, etc.)
• Mutual Funds, Annuity, Checking, Saving or 401K statements

LIABILITIES

• Name, address, account number, monthly payment, balance, and purpose of all loans with banks, credit unions, automobile finance companies or other finance companies - auto leases would be included in this category
• Name, payment and unpaid balance of all revolving accounts such as MasterCard, Visa, Sears, etc.

REAL ESTATE

• List all real estate owned including balance owed, property address, market value, mortgage company name, address, loan number and type

FEES TO BE COLLECTED

• The loan officer will collect for the credit report, appraisal, and automated underwriting fee typically at closing. (Approximately $500.00 - Note that each Bank/Mortgage Company varies)