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FAQ

You’ll create a login on our secure server. Your information is sent to us securely. We will contact you and go over your application, run a credit report, and obtain a pre-approval. It’s fast and easy.

During the pre qualification process we are going to ask questions like:

  • How much are you looking to come up with out of your pocket?
  • How long do you want to be in the house or have your mortgage?
  • What is the max payment you are looking to make?

These are a few of the key questions to get started on putting together some financing options that are best for you.

Unlike many lenders, we don’t charge any up-front fees or deposits. We even pay for a credit report. We typically collect the appraisal fee prior to ordering the appraisal.

Contact us for a detailed walk through of the process.

For most homeowners, the monthly mortgage payments include three separate parts:

  • Principal: Repayment on the amount borrowed
  • Interest: Payment to the lender for the amount borrowed
  • Taxes, Insurances & Mortgage Insurance: Monthly payments are normally made into a special escrow / impound account for items like mortgage insurance (if applicable), hazard insurance, and property taxes. This feature is sometimes optional, in which case the fees will be paid by you directly to the County Tax Assessor and property insurance company

The amount of cash that is necessary depends on a number of items. Generally speaking, though, you will need to supply:

  • Earnest Money Deposit: The deposit that is supplied when you make an offer on the house. This amount will be deducted from your total cost when you close.
  • Down Payment: A percentage of the sales price of the home that is due at settlement.
  • Closing Costs: This will include your lender fees, title fees, appraisal and any points if you chose to buy the interest rate down.
  • Escrow: This will be paying your taxes and insurance into an impound account.

The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio the amount of a first mortgage as a percentage of the home’s appraised value or sales price. If a borrower borrows $160,000 to purchase a house worth $200,000, the LTV ratio is $160,000/$200,000 or 80% (LTV). Loan to value is one of the risk factors that lenders assess when qualifying borrowers for a mortgage. Lenders can require borrowers of higher LTV loans to obtain mortgage insurance in conjunction with obtaining a loan.

If you provide us with the documentation we need up front, we can often receive preliminary loan approval within hours, and in many instances can close as quickly as two weeks. We’ll work with you to get your loan done on time.

A real estate appraisal is a professional written analysis of a property’s market value. It helps establish the likely sales price of the property in a competitive real estate market. Mortgage lenders require an appraisal when a property will be used as collateral for a loan, to make sure that the property could potentially be sold for at least the amount of the loan.

We have an internal management team that oversees the ordering and status process with a panel of Appraisers. Once we have an executed contract we will order the appraisal. Some people like to wait until the home inspection has been completed before ordering the appraisal. Most properties only require one appraisal but in certain circumstances we may need a 2nd appraisal or a field review.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) is insurance designed to protect the lender from losses in the event that the borrower defaults on a mortgage. Purchased by the buyer from a private insurance company, PMI is usually required when the down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price or appraised value, whichever is less.

Mortgage underwriting is the process a lender uses to determine if the risk of lending to a particular borrower is acceptable. Most of the risks and terms that underwriters evaluate are related to a borrower’s credit, the borrower’s ability to pay, and the value of the home or property that will be held as collateral for the loan.