If your mortgage company, loan officer or bank tries to pull your credit before asking you about your credit, about your assets or cash saved, about your income and about your expenses, RUN. You want to protect your credit as much as possible, and if your bank or lender do not protect it, you should not work with them. All lenders should ask you about your Credit, Assets, Income and Expenses. This will tell you what you should qualify for and whether or not you should move forward in pulling your credit.

Hey everyone, wishing the best of luck on your home buying journey for your family or client. I would love to learn more information on the process of getting approved for a government backed loan such as FHA and USDA loan. Pros/Cons, interest rate range, how does the seller look at this kind of offer, processing length, worth it? etc. Any information would be great!

One of the most important components to qualifying is to learn how to build a good budget which is basically breaking down your your total income and total expenses. When you do this, you learn how much money you have left at the end of the month and what your basic profit and loss looks like. The reason this important is you learn whether or not you are making enough money to achieve your goals... or if you need to cut back your expenses in the event your spending is a little out of control. By having a good eye on your finances, you can better manage your money which allows you to invest in things like buying a house or even multiple rental properties. Need help seeing if you have a solid budget?

Gift Money - Money that is given to a borrower that is used for down payment and or closing costs. Many first time home buyers use gift money to buy a house. Here is what you need to know about the process: WHO - Any immediate family member, sorry, no friends or cousins WHERE - FHA Loans need the money to come from a bank account / Conventional just needs a cleared or cancelled check SEASONED - FHA monies need to be seasoned 30 days / Conventional does not need seasoning HOW MUCH - Entire down payment and closing costs can be paid by Gift WHEN - ASK US before you do anything or move any money from any gift done. If you have any other questions, please make sure to contact us so we can better help you or walk you through this.

When someone buys a house, they typically have to pay the entire year of taxes in full up front. Then, as the buyer makes a monthly mortgage payment, a portion of that payment goes towards the next years tax payment so that it is paid in full again. When someone goes to sell that house, the day of settlement the buyer is responsible for the taxes... and any unused taxes that were prepaid go back to the seller. So, when you are buying a house, be prepared to prepay at least 12 months of taxes and potentially more.