Special offer

Find a great lender, then find your perfect home - not the other way around!

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with 970-216-0530 http://WeSellDeltaCounty.com Colorado Lic# 40029852

Find a great lender, then start shopping for your home or investment property you would like to buy. Let me preface this with a disclosure - I AM NOT A LENDER, I AM A REALTOR IN DELTA COUNTY, COLORADO, WHO DOES NOT LIKE DISAPPOINTED BUYERS! Too many times, buyers go about this in the opposite way.  Find a home and then go try to get a loan...no!  In the last year or so, much of the news media has focused on how difficult it has become to obtain a mortgage on your new home or investment property.  Can you walk in a bank and tell them how much money you made last year without producing some proof and get a loan?  Nope!  Can you get pre-approval for a loan by providing a lender with documentation about your income, a decent credit score, and some down payment money (with some loans as little as 3 1/2 % of the purchase price)? ABSOLUTELY!

We just received word this week that USDA Rural Development Guaranteed loans have or will soon be reinstated. Delta County, Colorado, qualifies for these loans.  A little known program is the USDA Rural Development DIRECT loans.  They are a great product for someone with lower income and a small amount of debt. The unique part of this loan program is that the interest rate may be partially subsidized.  Many of the homes for sale in Delta County, Colorado, meet the requirements for USDA Rural Development Guaranteed and Direct loans.  BOTH OF THESE LOAN PROGRAMS REQUIRE NO DOWN PAYMENT FUNDS.

In addition to the USDA loans, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) guarantees loans made by FHA-approved lenders through mortgage insurance.  FHA loans require a much smaller down payment than a conventional mortgage.  FHA loans require an up-front mortgage insurance premium and then there is a monthly mortgage insurance premium included in your monthly mortgage payment for a period of at least 5 years.

The thing to keep in mind is this -1) ALL LENDERS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.  

                                                              2) ALL LENDERS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE SAME LOAN PRODUCTS.

Most people will buy more than one home in their lifetime, some will purchase many homes and/or investment properties.  We work with many lenders and can give you a list of the best ones for your situation.  Call or email me today for a list of local lenders to meet your individual needs.

 

 

 

Posted by

Eileen Liles , CRS, GRI, SRES, CDPE

Macht-Liles Real Estate Group

Cedaredge, Colorado

Comments (9)

Lizette Fitzpatrick
Lizette Realty - Richmond KY - Lexington, KY
Lizette Realty, Lexington KY MLS - Kentucky Homes

This is always a good idea. I just emailed a couple yesterday that were asking questions a lender should be answering. They hadn't even checked to see if they could qualify.

Sep 13, 2010 04:18 PM
Ralph Gorgoglione
Metro Life Homes - Palm Springs, CA
California and Hawaii Real Estate (310) 497-9407

Absolutely.

You need to know how much house to put in front of your clients before showing them anything.

Sep 13, 2010 04:19 PM
Matt Grohe
RE/MAX Concepts - Des Moines, IA
Serving the metro since 2003

Eileen: Great advice and very sensible. Talking to a lender is a bit like going to the doctor for a checkup, but in the end its the best course of action.

Sep 13, 2010 04:19 PM
Don Sabinske
Don Sabinske, Sabinske & Associates Inc. - Zimmerman, MN
Sabinske & Associates Inc.

Smart move.  It is always better to find out what you can AFFORD in terms of payments, etc., before you go house-hunting.  I thought that was how people still did it.  But I stand corrected. 

Sep 13, 2010 04:21 PM
Denise Hamlin, Broker/Owner
Cardinal Realty ~ 319-400-0268 - Iowa City, IA
Helping Happy Clients Make Smart Choices

Nicely put Eileen. There have been so many changes in the last year that organizing a loan first is definitely the way to go. I've had several people try it the other way around this year to be disappointed.

Nice to see you mention the USDA loan too. It's available here in North Liberty too - A great program that not enough people know about. Specialty loans like the USDA and FHA loans are really good options, but not every lender offers them. That's one of the things we agents are good at - pointing buyers in the right direction.

 

Sep 13, 2010 04:28 PM
Karen Feltman
Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, IA KW Legacy Group - Cedar Rapids, IA
Relocation Specialist in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

This is great information.  It is always best to go to the lender to make sure that you can get the loan terms that are comfortable AND a payment that you can live with!  No point in looking at homes that you cannot afford or do not want to afford. 

Sep 13, 2010 04:41 PM
Melissa McKinney
Everything Pines Partners Fayetteville - Fayetteville, NC
Realtor, www.LivingFayetteville.com

I could not agree more! Sometimes when you try to explain this to buyers they get offended.  I just try to explain all of the benefits to them for speaking with a loan officer first!

Sep 13, 2010 04:58 PM
Eileen Liles
970-216-0530 http://WeSellDeltaCounty.com - Cedaredge, CO
Macht-Liles Real Estate Group - Cedaredge, CO

Lizette, seems like some people have just accepted all the media blah, blah, blah and think NO ONE can get a loan these days.  My philosophy is the lenders are selling money and the buyers need to buy it the cheapest way that makes sense for them.

Ralph - the problem is the ones that are looking online and find something they just love and then have no idea what they can afford...

Matt - then maybe that makes us the triage person.  After hearing all the symptoms, we send them to the emergency room or the non-emergent clinic....

Don - it is how they SHOULD do it, but often times don't.

Denise, I actually just learned about the USDA Direct loans a few months ago.  They are a fabulous product for some people.  So many renters could use these loans and just don't know about them.

Exactly, Karen - and wasting our time and gas to show them homes...

Melissa, I struggle with being tactful, yet not offending buyers.  But matching up the buyer with the RIGHT lender is the key.

Thank you all for commenting.

Sep 13, 2010 05:10 PM
Katerina Gasset
The Gasset Group & Get It Done For Me Virtual Services - Provo, UT
Amplify Your Real Estate & Life Dreams!

I agree on you Eileen, we really need to find a great lender that will help us finding a perfect home. Cheers to you!

May 20, 2014 11:34 PM