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Showing posts from August, 2018

A Quick Guide to Closing Costs

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Closing costs are a common part of pretty much every real estate transaction. It's important to factor in all costs into your budget when buying a home to ensure there are no financial surprises at the closing table. However, many new home buyers often find out too late that they're expected to show up to closing with money in hand for such fees. Unfortunately, this happens more often than it should. So, in order to ensure you're prepared upfront for all possible costs related to buying a home, we're sharing with you what  standard closing costs  there typically are so you're prepared to cover them at your closing. What are Closing Costs? "Closing Costs" are the fees which pay for the various services involved when you sell or buy a home. This could be the cost to pay for the inspection or appraisal if it wasn't agreed in the contract that the seller would cover those expenses, or it could be any title service fees that weren't included i...

10 Things You SHOULDN'T Do During the Home Buying Process

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For today's home buyers, getting approved for a mortgage can be a slippery slope. When purchasing a home at the Lake of the Ozarks, many questions can arise about what you should and shouldn't do during the loan approval process. MHQ - Mortgage Headquarters has more than 20 years' experience in the mortgage industry, so we know what mistakes buyers should avoid making. To help you better prepare to make it successfully through the loan approval process, we're sharing with you 10 Things You SHOULDN'T Do During the Home Buying Process! 1. Don't Change Jobs, Become Self-Employed, or Quit Your Job. It's your responsibility to make sure you have a steady paycheck to go with your steady mortgage payment, and lenders WILL check your employment and income! If they can't verify that you have a steady income that is sufficient enough to cover a monthly mortgage payment, your chances of getting a loan approval are slim. 2. Don't Buy a Vehicle (or you ...

5 Mortgage Saving Tips to Start Using NOW!

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More than likely, your home is your biggest monthly expense, more specifically your mortgage loan. While you can't ignore this expense, there are ways you can decrease your monthly payment and pay off your loan faster. The  best mortgage company at the Lake of the Ozarks  is here to offer you some simple  tips for saving money on your mortgage  that can help to lower your monthly payments and shorten your loan term. Check it out: 1. Make Additional Payments Here's a simple trick to reduce the repayment period of your mortgage and save thousands over the course of your loan: Make additional payments which go toward the principal. People pay extra in a few different ways. Paying one additional full payment one time a year may be the easiest to track. If you can't afford to pay an extra whole payment all at once, you can split that large amount into 12 smaller payments and write a check for that additional amount monthly. Finally, you can pay half of your mortgage...

Home Buying Starts with Pre-Qualification

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Thinking about buying a home? As a smart consumer, the start of home buying shouldn't start with shopping. It should actually start with getting pre-qualified for a mortgage loan. Getting pre-qualified for a mortgage loan  can help you in more ways than one. Not only does it give you a better idea of what you can actually afford, but it gives you negotiating power when putting in offers! Take a look at how we can help you with your pre-qualification. Let's Get You Pre-Qualified At Mortgage Headquarters, we've been in the mortgage lending business for more than 20 years. This length of experience and the knowledge we've obtained over the years provides us with the necessary tools to help determine how much of a mortgage loan you can afford, and how much money you can borrow. We'll do this by analyzing your debt-to-income ratio, your work and residence situations, the funds available for down payment, required reserves, and other considerations. During the pro...

5 Tips for Improving Your Credit Report

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Your credit history is a key factor in determining whether you’ll be able to get a mortgage, and the rate you’ll pay. Your lender will pull your credit report when you apply for a loan to determine your creditworthiness and review your debt-to-income ratio to see if you are financially responsible. This also helps them to determine what loan amount you can afford and at what rate of interest to approve you at. The better credit history you have, the higher loan amount you'll likely qualify for, and at a lower interest rate. To help you get one step closer to loan approval, MHQ Mortgage Headquarters is offering you 5 tips to improve your credit report. 1. Review Your Credit Report for Accuracy Since your credit scores are based on the data in your credit reports, it’s incredibly important to make sure that all of that information is accurate. If you have a mistake or discrepancy on your credit report, your credit score will reflect that mistake. You can request a credit re...

Prepping in Your 20s for Buying Your First Home

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As you near the final stages of your college years and begin to think about what your future might hold, one thing you may be wondering is how you're going to buy your first home. As surprising as it may seem, buying a home at the Lake of the Ozarks isn't always a simple process. Nor is getting financed for said home. As a younger person getting out into the real world and facing new challenges, homeownership can seem daunting. We're here to share with you some tips to prep you in your 20s for obtaining your first home. Work on Improving Your Credit Many younger buyers don't realize that they either don't have very good credit because of their spending habits while in college, or they simply don't have any reported credit. Neither will help you in the mortgage lending process. Review your credit report to get an idea of where you stand and what you need to do to get your credit back on track or started. If you've got high balances on credit cards or o...