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Things To Know Before You Buy

By
Real Estate Agent with The Grubb Company

Mortgage Regulations

Have Changed . . .

Mortgage regulations have

changed significantly over the last

few years, making your options

wider than ever. Subtle changes in

the way you approach mortgage

shopping, and even small differences

in the way you structure

your mortgage, can cost or save

you literally thousands of dollars

and years of expense.

Things You

Must Know Before

Obtaining a Mortgage

Before you commit your hard

earned dollars to monthly mortgage

payments, consider these 6 issues.

Effective consideration of these

important areas can make your payments

work much harder for you.

You can, and should, get

preapproved for a mortgage before

you go looking for a home.

Preapproval is easy, and can give you

complete peace-of-mind when shopping

for your home. Your local lending institution

can provide you with written preapproval

for you at no cost and no obligation,

and it can all be done quite easily

over-the-phone. More than just a verbal

approval from your lending institution, a

written preapproval is as good as money

in the bank. It entails a completed credit

application, and a certificate which guarantees

you a mortgage to the specified

level when you find the home you're looking

for.

Know what monthly dollar

amount you feel comfortable committing

to.

When you discuss mortgage preapproval

with your lending institution, find out what

level you qualify for, but also pre-assess for

yourself what monthly dollar amount you

feel comfortable committing to. Your situation

may give you a preapproval amount

that is higher (or lower) than the amount of

money you would want to pay out each

month. By working back and forth with

your lending institution to determine what

this monthly amount is, and what value of

home this translates into at today's rates,

you won't waste time looking at homes that

are not in your price range.

You should be thinking about

your long term goals, and expected

situation, to determine the type of

mortgage that will best suit your

needs.

There are a number of questions you should

be asking yourself before you commit to a

certain type of mortgage. How long do you

think you will own this home? What direction

are interest rates going in, and how

quickly? Is your income expected to change

(up or down) in the near term, impacting

how much money you can afford to pay to

your mortgage? The answers to these and

other questions will help you determine the

most appropriate mortgage you should be

seeking

"Subtle changes in the way you approach mortgage shopping, and even small

differences in the way you structure your mortgage, can cost or save you literally

thousands of dollars and years of expense."

cont'd

Get the Right Information

Whether you are about to buy

your first home, or are planning to

make a move to your next home, it

is critical that you inform yourself

about the factors involved.

Industry research has revealed

that there are 6 common mistakes

that most homebuyers make in

mortgage shopping that can have a

significant impact on the outcome

of this critical negotiation. If

handled correctly, these issues

could result in a mortgage that will

cost you less over a shorter period

of time.