Home is more than four walls and roof. Home is a door opening to you, your family, your pets, your lifestyle, your neighborhood, your community, your city. It’s all encompassing on so many levels.
National Lender Professionals Month: Proving Your Worth
Finding a good lender and understanding how that process works can be overwhelming and scary, but I’ve broken it down in 8 easy steps to guide you home!
I am not a numbers gal. I was really bad at Math—surprisingly good at Algebra though, go figure. Anyway, when people mention numbers to me, my eyes kinda glass over and I start thinking about donuts. I know you are so excited about buying a home. You’ve got your showing shoes on and your vision board in tow, but honestly the first thing you should do before even contacting an agent is finding out what your budget is going to be. Why? Well it saves both you and I time. I cannot tell you how many clients I’ve shown $400K homes to, but they could only afford at $300K house. A lender will also give you the foresight to see what those monthly payments are going to look like. So if you are making a $1,200 monthly rental payment and that’s your max, then you definitely don’t want to look at homes that will give you a $2,300 monthly payment.
Finding a good mortgage lender is more than just finding the one with the best mortgage rate. A good mortgage lender will:
Explain things clearly and will assess your financial abilities to purchase a home
They will provide you with options for different mortgages that will suit your needs
They will be responsive in their process
They will be good teammates with your Agent. If you are already working or know your Agent, they will usually have a good referral
They will be a good fit for you. You have to work closely and also be tr
Mortgages, Taxes. Insurance. All these things are tied into your loan and a lender can explain how all this works out financially. And let’s be honest here, this is a big life changing investment, you don’t want just anyone handling your loan approval. When I got into this business, I had several clients ask me questions about the listing and buying process—easy peasy, but then when buyers ask about the loan process, that was a little more challenging on my end. Here’s a little help:
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If you are thinking about buying a home, the best point of action is to start planning. Talk to a lender today and call me when you’re ready! Let’s do this!
The Schizzo Market
To be a recession or not to be…that is the question of the hour.
I was scratching my head thinking about what I was going to write about this month. So many of my clients, friends, and acquaintances ask me about the market. Currently the market is an unpredictable schizophrenic and truth be told, I’ve always known it as being highly competitive, multiple offer situations, and disheartened buyers walking way in tears because $100K over is too rich for their blood—and mine.
We’ve had this very strong, very long lasting market, but as with all things, change is inevitable. We are seeing drastic dives in home sales, the 24 hour sale is becoming a little sluggish, and the question of are or aren’t we in a recession is prevalent. It’s all connected, from the war in Ukraine to the record high eviction rates to the pandemic, we’re now playing tug of war.
Housing prices aren’t lowering that’s for sure and demand is still up there. Inventory is getting a little better, as we are seeing more listings pop up. Yes, folks, those Realtor letters filling your mailbox is no mistake. It’s an ideal situation for all those moving out of RVA or downsizing, but you first timers are feeling the sting of your outbidded tears still.
The best advice I can give to any first time home buyer is patience. If you can’t buy right, open up a savings account and stick it all in there and continue to build those funds because this won’t last forever and interest rates will lower again. What I find helpful in these times is to talk to lenders. The money people have great ways to guide and also give great information on what’s happening on their end.
Two of my most recommended lenders are Mark Horton and Octavio Wilson. Mark knows his stuff and is very good about informing clients and Octavio is equally as good, but with my Spanish speakers. Mark has a podcast that is proving to be quite informational and also a way to ask questions without the commitment of sitting in an office when you are unsure about what you are doing. Check out his videos and feel free to reach out to him or my other preferred lender, Olivia Smith and plan, plan, plan. Then come talk to me and I’ll do the rest!
Check out and subscribe to Mark’s podcast: