How to Find a Lender
We would be happy to suggest lenders who have proven themselves to be competitive and capable of handling challenging situations, such as a low credit score. We recommend you shop around with several banks, credit unions, or mortgage brokers. All offer different rates and loan programs. Mortgage brokers work with multiple underwriters to find the best option for your situation. We are happy to connect you with quality people with proven track records.
Choosing the Right Lender
Interview several lenders to evaluate the following:
- Ability to explain things clearly and return your phone calls in a reasonable time period
- Competitiveness of interest rates, costs & fees
- Availability of loan programs that suit your credit profile and desired property
- Access to local loan approval committee that understands the kind of property you are buying
Choosing the Right Loan
Today there are so many types of loans on the market that it is beyond the scope of this page to list or explain them all. Your lender is the best person to help you select a loan program to suit your needs. Below is a summary of the some popular loan types we see in practice.
- Fixed loan: The fixed rate loan assures your monthly payments will stay the same over the life of the loan, which is typically between 15 and 30 years. Fixed rate loans may be best if you intend to hold the property for a long period of time, say over 7 years.
- ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages): ARM’s may be suitable if you plan to sell or refinance your home within the next few years. The starting interest rate is typically lower than a fixed rate loan, saving you money initially. However, it is important to understand the index, the readjustment interval, the capitalization rate and downside risks of an ARM before making a final decision to use this type of loan.
Special Loan Programs
Lenders have special programs for certain profiles of people. A few examples:
- VA loan for veterans of our armed forces.
- USDA has programs for certain homebuyers in median income range, in rural and suburban areas, which offer 0% down.
- An innovative new program for first time homebuyers which uses crowd-sourcing coupled with lender and realtor contributions up to $2000 to assist with that first down payment.
- A special program for cash-flow positive buyers that achieves a faster mortgage payoff by allowing your checking or savings account balance to work for you.
- A program that allows workers in the medical field, like doctors and nurses, to obtain a loan by considering their salary offer in a new job, as opposed to their salary history.
These are examples of programs that we work with and do not represent a complete list. Please contact us so that we can direct you to the right program or lender to suit your needs.
