“Being challenged in life is inevitable; being defeated is optional.” Roger Crawford
Values are high, and rates are lower than they have been in a few weeks. Pressure builds to buy your first home or sell the one you have in order to buy your next one. Finding and financing your next home seems to run smoothly until you run up on some challenges. How do you conquer challenges and move to your celebration day?
Here are the four common barriers homebuyers face when buying their home.
Lack of funds to close. When the bank account is short on funds, it is time to pull out the treasure map. Can you borrow against your 401k retirement fund? Do you have a cash value on a life insurance policy? Gifts from family members are helpful. Look into local down payment assistance programs. Ask about getting a loan secured on a different home or asset to provide funds to close on the new house.
Debts too high, income too low. Look for additional income like annual bonuses. A good loan officer knows how to add certain expenses on the self-employed borrower’s tax return back to income like depreciation, depreciable business miles, business use of home, and other items. The loan officer may find that the borrower's answer is to rearrange debt to lower debt-to-income ratios.
Low Credit Scores- If you need to add about ten to fifteen points on your credit score to get a better price for your mortgage rate, you might try paying down your revolving credit card balances to show that you use less than 30% of the credit limits on each card. Once the credit card companies report the lower owed balances, there is a good chance the credit scores will improve.
Appraisal problem- When the appraisal comes back showing repairs that pertain to the structure, security, or sanitation of the home, these repairs must be completed before closing. Loan program exceptions allow repairs to be completed after closing, but funds have to be put in an escrow account to cover them. In some instances, the seller gets the contractor to repair the home and agrees to pay the contractor after the home closing.
The homebuyer still takes home the gold when they call on real estate professionals to help conquer these obstacles. A good realtor, mortgage officer, title company, and others make great teammates for the homebuyer.
What do YOU want to accomplish with YOUR mortgage? Make your plan. Let’s work your plan. If the deal works for you today, let’s do it today. Let’s explore YOUR options. Connect at www.JoGarner.com.