Articles Tagged "Loan"

Before you start shopping for the right house, you have to shop for something else: the right mortgage. Pre-approval is practically mandatory if you want sellers to consider your offers, and comparing different rates and terms is just as important as comparing different properties. Because your rate will determine the size of your monthly payments for decades to come, you want to choose a loan with as little interest as possible. But do you know how lenders come up with this important number in the first place?

Many different factors and figures affect your interest rate, and you can't predict or control all of them. Our real estate agents want you to understand your fluctuating options when you know more about the math behind them. Here are some of the things banks and other lenders consider as they calculate interest rates for home loans:

Economic Trends (Supply and Demand)

Interest rates get higher when lenders take on additional risks, and some risks have nothing to do you with you. For example, are you buying a home in an unstable financial climate? Housing markets suffer, and layoffs are more likely during economic slumps, so lenders must take local and national trends into account as they consider their risks. That's why lenders usually follow the Federal Reserve's lead, lowering or raising interest rates as the federal rate changes.

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Obtaining approval for a home loan is one of the most important things that you'll do in the process of buying a house – and for many people it's one of the most intimidating. Even if your financial picture is in great shape for obtaining a mortgage, it's not always easy to know where to start, what steps to take, and who you can turn to for advice. Here is a review of what it takes to qualify for a mortgage.

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If you've been house hunting for any amount of time, there's a good chance you're all too familiar with the process. You find a few homes, meet the agents, and shake some hands. The conversation moves on to the type of homes you like, the type of neighborhood you're looking for, and maybe even making preliminary plans to visit an open house.

But before things get too far, you get the question that every experienced real estate agent asks of new clients: Are you pre-approved for a mortgage?

For some home buyers, the question comes as a shock. Aren't you supposed to be the one evaluating which real estate agent you want to work with? As it turns out, there are some very good reasons that your real estate agent asks about pre-approval.

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