Considering a Home Purchase? – Start Planning Early
I’ve been in the mortgage industry since the early 90s and I’ve seen just about every type of scenario. When I receive a call from a potential homebuyer, they nearly always ask:
- What are your rates?
- What are your fees?
Don’t get me wrong—rates and fees should be important considerations when choosing a lender. I can assure you, however, that there is much more to think about during the credit approval process.
In this digital age we live in, you can accomplish almost anything with a phone app—even mortgage lending. Guaranteed Rate goes a step further with an app that delivers fast pre-approval for my clients on top of their mortgage application. This timesaving tool is only the beginning. What happens next is the difference between your clients getting their dream home or losing out.
Even though my buyers have the preliminary credit approval through the app, they can’t secure full approval until their paperwork is verified. All lenders have to review pay stubs, two years of federal tax returns, W-2 forms, bank statements and credit reports.
Many borrowers think they already know their credit score based on a report from their app. Here’s what they don’t realize—lenders have to pull a report from all three credit bureaus.
One bureau may report differently than their counterparts. I recently had a client who wanted to put her house on the market to buy another home. Her agent told her to come to me first to get the credit approval done. When I ran her credit, there were two items on the report being misreported by one bureau. These items were tied to someone else’s name with a slightly different Social Security Number and kept us from getting the credit approval. It took us over 60 days to get the mess straightened out. A computer can’t instantly fix these types of issues.
The same thing can happen if the IRS doesn’t have your records up-to-date. Another recent client almost lost the home he wanted to buy because of an IRS delay. If a buyer doesn’t get their credit approved by a professional seasoned loan officer, they put themselves and everyone else involved in the transaction at risk.
If you want to buy a home, early planning is extremely important. I can’t emphasize this enough.
Roy Loo
VP of Mortgage Lending roy.loo@rate.com o: (951) 356-2154 c: (909) 645-85881484 E. Second St, Suite A, Beaumont, CA 92223
Roy Loo NMLS ID: 247485; CA - CA-DBO247485 - 413 0699 NMLS ID #2611 (Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) • CA - Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight, Division of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act Lic #4130699
*All information provided in this publication is for informational and educational purposes only, and in no way is any of the content contained herein to be construed as financial, investment, or legal advice or instruction. Guaranteed Rate, Inc. does not guarantee the quality, accuracy, completeness or timelines of the information in this publication. While efforts are made to verify the information provided, the information should not be assumed to be error free. Some information in the publication may have been provided by third parties and has not necessarily been verified by Guaranteed Rate, Inc. Guaranteed Rate, Inc. its affiliates and subsidiaries do not assume any liability for the information contained herein, be it direct, indirect, consequential, special, or exemplary, or other damages whatsoever and howsoever caused, arising out of or in connection with the use of this publication or in reliance on the information, including any personal or pecuniary loss, whether the action is in contract, tort (including negligence) or other tortious action.
Providence Wealth Planning doesn’t offer mortgage services directly, but can assist with a referral.