Katherine Howell/ Charles Rutenberg Real Estate

What to expect from your lender when purchasing a home:

- Two most recent paycheck stubs.
- Last two years W-2's, if self employed, complete tax returns.
- Last three months bank statements.
- Statements for any 401K, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc.
- Name and phone number of Homeowner's Insurance Agent.
- If purchasing- purchase agreement.
- If refinancing- mortgage statement.

Before purchasing a home you may want to consider creating a budget, having an emergency fund started, funds aside for repairs, etc. This way you will have something to fall back on and have a sense of security when moving forward.
Once you establish your loan, considering all of your financials have been submitted and downpayment resources have been secured, your loan will go through underwriting.
Underwriting will look at checking accounts, your credit report, and other accounts. I always let buyers know that making big purchases, large deposits and money transfers will raise questions and may delay closing.
It is crucial that you wait to purchase furniture, appliances, vehicles, etc. until after your closing date. If you need to make large deposits or switch funds between your accounts I highly suggest reaching out to your loan officer and making them aware of what you are doing and why, this way they will be able to guide you in making the right decisions and prevent a delay in closing.

And the best time to start shopping for a home is...🥁🥁🥁

Most mortgage preapprovals are good for up to 90 days, sometimes longer. Keep in mind that if you get your credit scores run too soon and your preapproval expires, you will have to get them run again to get the preapproval updated. The issue with this is that your credit score will drop each time the lender pulls credit. On a good note, if you have excellent credit to begin with, you will be able to afford to take a small hit. I would definitely start the preapproval process 4 months prior to starting your home search, this way if you need to get your documents in you have ample time to do that.
Also, if you know your scores aren't that high and you need to get some things paid off to increase your score, you can always reach out to your lender before he runs your credit and they will guide you to where you need to be. 🏡😊
Happy home searching!
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What is a closing credit?

Well, before the real estate market boomed significantly, buyers were able to ask sellers for a credit at closing.
A credit at closing is when you ask the seller for 3%, 3.5%, etc. back towards your downpayment, whichever your loan officer approves of. An example of this is:
If you were to purchase a home for $200,000.00 and you decided to put 3% down, which is $6000.00, you could try to negotiate a closing credit of 3% to cover your closing costs leaving you with minimal to pay out at closing. Long were the days right? As sellers were most likely to take the highest and best offers without any contingencies.
Not so much anymore! As the market starts to shift and interest rates fluctuate, we are seeing sellers grant closing credits to buyers!
Having both a phenomenal Realtor and loan officer are the keys you need to get your keys to your dream home.

Let's Connect!

Katherine Howell
872.228.9290

Depending on your score, rates are down to approximately 5.5% for a 30-year fixed conventional loan. In some areas I see that more homes are available and are on the market on an average between 30 to 60 days before going under contract, as opposed to the 2 to 4 days market time these past 2 years. What does this mean for buyers and how much of an affect do current rates vs past rates have on a monthly mortgage payment? Let me break it down:

Purchase Price- $300,000.00
Loan Term- 30 years
Interest Rate- 5.5%
Down Payment- 3%
Taxes- $5400.00 per year
Homeowner's Insurance- $1100.00 per year
PMI- $137.50 (this can be eliminated with 20% down, or in the future with 20% equity invested in the home)
Estimated Monthly Payment- $2312.42

With the above terms but with an interest rate of 3% your monthly payment would have been $1906.03, a difference of $406.39.
With the market shift abroad, hopefully we will start seeing more buyers getting the opportunity to ask the seller for closing costs.

Let's connect! especially if you are looking to sell a property, get feedback on what homes are selling for, what's on the market, or under contract in your area.

Katherine Howell
872.228.9290