Avoid These Top 4 Mistakes When (And Before) Applying For A Home Loan

 

Avoid these Top 4 mistakes when (and before) applying for a mortgage

After almost 20 years and 100’s of clients helped I have seen a number of things that can derail a home loan approval.

I really want you to have a stress free experience when you buy your home.

It all starts with a little education.

I put a lot of thought into this article and came up with a “Top 4 List” of mistakes to avoid when (and before) applying for a mortgage.

You’re probably going to need a mortgage before you can buy a house.

Most people like to find a mortgage as quickly as possible — get it out of the way, then move on to the fun stuff  like looking at homes.

But it pays to start thinking about your mortgage ahead of time.

People who get the best mortgages and mortgage rates come to the table prepared.

On the flip side, people that don’t start thinking about a mortgage ahead of time are prone to make mistakes — and mortgage mistakes can be costly.

Knowing the most common mistakes people make when applying for a mortgage will help you avoid them.

It could also help you get a lower rate and qualify for a bigger, better home.

Mistake #4: Not checking your credit before you apply

If you’re waiting until you apply for a mortgage to check your credit, you’re waiting too long.

– Start checking your credit score at least a year before you plan to buy a house. Low credit could mean high rates or not qualifying
– Even if your credit is strong, working to improve it could get you a better mortgage rate and lower payments
That’s because mortgage rates — and mortgage qualification — depend on your credit. And the stakes are pretty high.

If you check your credit at the time you apply and find out it’s lower than you thought, you’ll likely end up with a higher rate and more expensive monthly payment than you were hoping for.

If you find out your credit score is really low — think, below 580 — you might not qualify for a mortgage at all. You’ll likely be out of the home buying game for awhile as you work to boost your score back up.

P.S. You have an open invitation to call me if you’d like experienced help to raise your credit scores

There’s a flip side to this story, too. A higher credit score usually means a lower mortgage rate. So if you check your score and learn that it’s strong, you might still want to work on improving it before you buy.

Mortgage rates are based on credit tiers. If raising your score a few points would put you in a better tier (fair to good, good to excellent), it’s worth waiting to improve your credit before applying.

Consider this: Mortgage rates are based on credit “tiers.” A higher credit tier means a cheaper mortgage. And if your credit score is currently 719, raising it just one point would put you in a higher tier and earn you a lower rate.

Ideally, you should start checking your credit early. It can easily take 12 months or more to reverse serious credit issues — so the sooner you get started, the better.

Find your free credit score at annualcreditreport.com, or check with your bank. Many financial institutions now show members their credit scores for free.

Mistake #3: Being late on rent

Being late on rent is a bigger deal than you might think — and not just because it’ll land you with a late fee from your landlord.

Late rent payments can actually bar you from getting a mortgage.

To be clear, when I say late, that really means 30 days late or more.

You never want to be 30 days late on rent, but if you are 15 days late the lender will not make a big deal out of that

Your rent history is the biggest indicator of whether you’ll make mortgage payments on time. Late or missed rent checks can prevent you from buying a home.

It makes sense when you think about it. Rent is a large sum of money you pay each month for housing. So is a mortgage. If you have a spotty history with rent checks, why should a lender believe you’ll make your mortgage payments on time?

When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will check your rent history over the past year or two. If you’ve been late on payments, or worse, missed them, there’s a chance you’ll be written off as a risky investment.

Rent is especially important for people without an extensive credit history.

If you haven’t been responsible for things like credit card, loan, or car payments, rent will be the number one indicator of your credit-worthiness.

Mistake #2: Buying an expensive item before applying

You may have heard that you shouldn’t finance an expensive item while applying for a mortgage.

But most people don’t know that it’s a mistake to buy something with big payments even years before you apply.

That’s because mortgage applications depend on your “debt-to-income ratio” (DTI ) — meaning the amount you pay in monthly debts compared to your total income.

The more you owe each month for items like car payments and loans, the less you have leftover each month for mortgage payments. This can seriously limit the size of the mortgage you’re able to qualify for.

For example, take a scenario with two different buyers — they earn equal income, but one has a large car payment and the other doesn’t.

Buyer 1 has an income of 75,000, $100 a month in debt AND a car  payment of 500 a month

Buyer 2  also has an income of 75,000, $100 a month in debt and no other debt

This is an important point to consider because buyer 1 qualifies for a $300,000 home loan while buyer 2 qualifies for a $390,000

In this scenario, both buyers qualify for a 36% debt-to-income ratio. But for Buyer 1, much of that monthly allowance is taken up by a $500 monthly car payment.

As a result, Buyer 1 has less wiggle room for a mortgage payment and ends up qualifying for a home loan worth almost $100,000 less.

That’s a big deal. $100,000 can be the difference between buying a house you really want (something nice, updated, in a great location) and having to settle for a just-okay house — maybe one that needs some work or isn’t in the location you wanted.

So if home buying is in your future, examine your priorities. Consider a car with inexpensive payments or one you can pay off quickly.

And try to avoid making other big-ticket purchases that could compromise your home buying power.

Mistake #1: Applying too late

This is it — the biggest mistake you can make when you’re trying to buy a house. Applying for a mortgage too late.

How late is too late to start the pre-approval process? If you’re already seriously looking at homes, you’ve waited too long.

The number one rule of home buying: Know how much you can buy and get it in writing before you get your heart set on a price range or a specific home.

That’s because you really don’t know what you can afford until you’ve been officially pre-approved by a mortgage lender. They’ll look at your full financial portfolio — income, credit, debts, assets — and determine your exact home buying budget.

Even if you think you know what you can afford, you might be surprised.

As we described above, debts can take down your home buying power by a startling amount. And you can’t be sure how things like credit will affect your budget until a lender tells you.

By not getting pre-approved for a mortgage before you start shopping, you run the risk of falling in love with a house only to find out you can’t afford it.

Or, you might find out you can afford the house you want, but lose it to a more prepared buyer who came with their pre-approval in hand and made an offer on the spot.

Start your pre-approval here in about 2 minutes

How to apply for a mortgage the right way

If you want to qualify for a big loan and a low rate, it’s crucial to prepare for your mortgage application ahead of time.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

There are five things you can do to give yourself the best shot at a mortgage:

– Check your credit at least a year in advance and take steps to improve it if necessary
– Pay your rent on time every month
– Avoid big purchases in the years before you plan to buy if they will leave you with a hefty monthly bill
– Get pre-approved before you start house hunting — not after

With a little preparation ahead of time, you could potentially add upwards of $100,000 to your home buying budget.

If you plan to buy a house any time soon, now is the time to start thinking about your mortgage application.

Take a look at your credit, get your debts in check, and start shopping around for rates.

Remember, the most important thing you can do before house hunting is to get pre-approved and determine your budget. You can get started below.

Whenever you’re ready here are 3 ways I can help you now…

#1)-Go here for an easy way to find out how much you can be bank approved for, your price range of home and what your real monthly payment will look like…

#2)-Check out other helpful home buying tips here and on YouTube

#3)- I am here for you…Reach out to me with ANY questions and /or for personalized help.

On Your Team,
Kurt

Kurt Nilsen-Your Local Mortgage Advisor
Serving Oregonians Since 2002
Sunrise Mortgage Group-Oregon City, OR.