First Time Buyer's Guide Prince William County VA - Introduction

Outlines the 6 steps in the home buying process that will be explained in detail in subsequent posts. They are required of all home purchasers, not just first time home buyers.

Step 1 Select A Realtor

" STEP 2 OF 6 "

LOAN APPLICATION AND APPROVAL

Details the importance of loan approval if you are purchasing your first home in Woodbridge, Dumfries, Manassas or any other Prince William County VA location.

QUALIFICATIONS

While purchasing a home is an exciting prospect and part of the “American Dream”, it is important for you and your mortgage lender to know exactly how much you can afford to spend. There are two primary reasons for this:

• You want enough money to live comfortably and not be “house poor”
• The mortgage lender is interested in earning interest on the loan – not putting you in difficult circumstances.

When you speak with a loan officer he/she will discuss the various loan options with you and advise which options best suit your needs.

There are far too many loan packages available for me to include them in this booklet. Additionally, their features and requirements change frequently.

A loan officer will need to know how much cash you will have available to apply to a down payment and loan closing costs. Obviously, this is an integral part of the qualifying process and will affect both the purchase price and the loan amount for which you qualify.

You will be asked to provide documentation about the following financial items.

• Your annual income or self-employment income for the past two years.

•  Other income such as alimony, child support, rental or investment income.
  
• Amount of debt for autos, mortgages, student loans, credit cards, alimony, child support, etc. You will need to provide the amount of the monthly payment.
• You will be asked where you have lived for the past two years. The above information is for pre-qualification purposes.

YOU SHOULD NOT ALLOW THE LOAN OFFICER TO HAVE A CREDIT CHECK PERFORMED UNTIL YOU HAVE SELECTED A MORTGAGE LENDER. FREQUENT CREDIT CHECKS WILL LOWER YOUR CREDIT SCORE.

WHAT THE LOAN OFFICER YOU SELECT WILL NEED

• Address and telephone number of current employer.
• Pay stubs covering the most recent 30 day period for all applicants and all jobs.
• Copy of W2 forms for all applicants for the past two years.
• Copy of complete and signed Federal tax return for the last two years if you have any source of income other than salaried employment, i.e. rental income, commissions, alimony, child support or self-employment income.
• Complete bank statements for all accounts (checking, savings, CDs, money markets, credit unions, 401Ks) covering the most recent three month period.
• Title for any car which is owned free and clear.
• Addresses of your residences covering the last two year period and provide the name, address, and telephone number of the landlord if you were a renter.
• Name, address and account numbers for any of the following indebtedness - mortgages - installment debt - auto loans - credit cards with outstanding balances and the amount of the minimum payment plus an estimate of the remaining balance
• If you pay or receive alimony or child support, a copy of the separation or divorce agreement will be required
• Your existing home will need to be sold or rented
• You will need a check for credit report and appraisal
• You will need to provide a copy of your orders if you are in the military

PRELIMINARY LOAN APPROVAL

As soon as all of the above information has been verified, the loan package will be submitted for a computer generated pre-approval. Full loan approval, generally, is not granted until settlement is about to occur as the lender will need to verify

• The home has appraised for the purchase price and
  
• There has been no deterioration in your financial situation since you made loan application.

Under recent federal regulations the definition of first time home buyer has changed.  If you owned property previously you will need to meet specific time constraint criteria which your lender will discuss with you.

We are now ready to TOUR HOMES in Woodbridge, Dumfries, Manassas and other areas of Prince William County.  This process will be covered in Step #3.  In the meantime you may search for homes on our

NO REGISTRATION WOODBRIDGE, DUMFRIES, MANASSAS AND PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY HOME FINDER

and then contact Karen and Art by Email or call us at 703-690-6569.  Put our  record of customer service, real estate experience and state-of-the-art technology to work for you in Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Stafford County or the entire Northern Virginia Area.