Selecting A Georgia Home Mortgages For Your Home
Over the past few years we have seen the virtual desiccation of both the housing markets and all large financial institutions. For anyone who hopes to get a Georgia fixed mortgage in this new world order, they might be terribly disappointed, if not totally shocked. Not long ago a 620 FICO score, steady income, and normal well paid debts all helped put you in just about any home you wanted. No more!
That’s not to say that lenders are refusing everyone. It does, however, take almost perfect credit and larger than normal down payments. It also requires plenty of backup documentation to verify everything on your application. No more ‘no verification’ loans!
Also seemingly extinct now is to have your lender pay off your credit cards with a Georgia home equity mortgage in order to improve your income to debt ratio. This was almost de rigueur not long ago. Now, forget about! If you owe too much, you just don’t get approved ‘ it’s as easy as that.
If a 20% down payment will be an issue, you might find yourself priced completely out of the market. Even though housing prices have fallen dramatically over the past few years, your median priced home in most markets is still hovering around $200,000, bringing your down payment alone to $40,000. This doesn’t even take into consideration closing costs and residual cash the lender expects you to keep on hand for emergencies.
However, if you think you’re all set and lenders are just dying to give you the money you need, you still have plenty of prep work ahead of you. Research lenders carefully; after all, you should be just as leery of them as they are of you. It’s a two way street. Get as much data from them as you can before sending in an application fee. Chances are, you could lose the entire sum if you aren’t approved, and yes, many companies actually make most of their money just collecting these fees without any intention of lending mortgage funds.
As opposed to only a few years ago when banks merely asked for three months of bank statements to prove a reliable income stream, they now ask for one to two years of statements. This actually could be to your benefit since if you had a few months with decreased income due to a layoff or similar situation, it gives you the chance to show a recovery period afterwards. If you don’t tend to keep your bank statements for long, see if you can print them out from online or pay a fee and have the bank send you duplicates.
Collect statements from all accounts including savings, money markets, annuities, and brokerage accounts. No matter how confident you are that you will easily be able to pay your mortgage, your lender wants proof positive. This level of preparation is key to your approval.
When you are looking for a Georgia home equity mortgage, you might be overwhelmed. It’s ok! Just take it slow and make sure you gather all of the appropriate info before proceeding forward with any decisions regarding your home loan.
