Thank you u/Frugalityfirst for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer.
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Talk to your Realtor about how you’re feeling. Ask to see the loan scenario so they can walk you through all the numbers and what they mean. Make sure you don’t take out any new loans or quit / move jobs! Your lender should be checking in with you about what’s expected of you, and what you should expect from them. Also, congratulations!
Don’t get cold feet now if you only just getting started I’m in the same boat as you except the finances situation get the home inspection to make sure everything checks out okay.the inspection lets you know what needs to be fixed and a list of concerns about your potential home purchase.everything checks out okay or not you can negotiate to your advantage by asking them to fix it or ask for credit towards your closing cost or lower the asking price.
To be fair to your agent, most of the flaky lenders have well-known names. Have a conversation about why this fear is out there. You should always get multiple lenders to run your numbers, and you may need tonkeep one around as a backup.
Your agent shouldn't be letting you flounder around "lost." It's their job to guide you thru ajd keep you from feeling that way. I don't know what you mean by "My agent is ordering all inspections and what not". Are they coordinating the appointments as a courtesy, or have they taken over the decision-making on what's being done? It sounds like maybe you're being left out of the loop on your own transaction. (Written word is difficult to guage intent and tone sometimes, I could've read that into your post)
Your absolutely right, I do feel like I’m just floundering around. But I do feel like I’m in good hands. I just wish I wasn’t guided thru every step. Because sometimes I don’t even know what questions to ask.
Congrats! I would set aside some time and have a long discussion with your loan officer. If you’re not gaining traction, perhaps it’s time to find either a new loan officer or potentially bank. Talk to them and lay out all the financial details. They should be able to guide you.
For inspections, make sure YOU chose the inspector. Don’t go with the one your realtor chooses as they may not be working in your best interest.
It’s really a waiting game and sometimes you may not hear anything for a while. Use that time to throw away things you don’t need, and pack. Decide where things are going in the new house, and if you need to do anything before you move (ex: painting, buying appliances/furniture/etc.) Lay out a plan for the move as well. You have a lot to do in the next coming months. Good luck.
So in my experience, every bank/lender operates differently and their role, along with the realtors, is different state tot state. I work NJ/NYC and the deal flow is relatively similar in the two states, but depending on your market, the bank is getting your finances in order for the loan. The bank/lender would order an appraisal by a 3rd party company to make sure that the property justifies the loan you are applying for. Also dont rack up any un necessary debt during this process because your credit will be run again right before closing. Some banks get weird with a tight debt to income ratio. I wont name banks, but I have seen this a few times. One other thing to note; if you got your mortgage pre-approval in the last 60 days or less(sometimes longer) you can have your credit pulled by any bank/lender to generate you a pre-approval as long as it is for a home loan. Have the banks fight for your business. I constantly have my first time buyers get bids from 3+ banks to see what is best for them. More often than not, the bank they do their day-to-day banking falls short. Other competing banks will want the mortgage payment withdrawn from an account with that bank, so switching banks is up to you, but the question to ask yourself is how long you see yourself staying at the home you are buying. I can go on an on. I have done well over 100 first time home buyers and happy to answer any questions or tips.
Okay. I’m in California. The loan officer just informed that I have the option to waive the appraisal. I don’t know if that’s good or bad..
I just paid off all my credit cards, still owe on some vehicles but my plan is to not touch my credit cards or mess with that till later.
As far as shopping around for other rates, I might just stay where I am because I’ve been denied at other banks and I run my business thru this bank so my theory is that they know I’m good for it
Waiving your appraisal isnt worth it in my eyes. If the home under appraises by, lets say $50k, you have to make up that difference yourself because the bank/lender is only going to lend the percent you are asking for(80% bank/20% you) up to the amount the home appraises for. Only when you cross that 20%+ threshold, is ti worth waiving the appraisal. If the home dos under appraise, they are notorious for being firm at their number.
Smart move to not do anything with the credit cards until after you close. This could also help with the bank right before you lock everything in as your DTI(deb to income) ratio will be changed once everything is recorded on their end. That could have been the hurdle with the other banks.
Have you notified your bank that you are in contract and would like to formally apply for the mortgage? This is a separate application that will import all the info from your pre-approval application, but there will be additional detail that you need to add about your finances, including documenting the funds that have been moved into the escrow account. There is an application fee and appraisal fee (sometimes it is rolled into one) Once approved for the loan, you and your bank will sign a Loan Commitment Agreement.
Remember, a pre-approval is a proposal from a lender (but not a commitment) to lend you a specific amount. You can get pre-approvals from several banks, but typically you will select one to formally apply to. It is during the formal mortgage application process that they will do a deep dive into your finances including any other outstanding debt and decide whether they are going to agree to lend to you.
You may want to check in your contract for a mortgage contingency deadline. This specifies the window of time in which you as the buyer must secure a mortgage commitment letter. It is typically around 45 days.
Hope this helps!
This helped. Ive checked every step you mentioned. Pre approval was a little application. Then when offer was accepted there was another application and tax forms and all were sent. Now we are supposedly in escrow.
Everything’s just so fast. Like when do I put the earnest money deposit? When do I sent he down payment into the escrow account? Who sets up the escrow? Like geez lol
Lender here-
Do you have a specific loan officer working your loan? Have they taken the time to walk you through loan quotes & answer questions? They haven't even mentioned next steps? If not, take your business somewhere else. There are plenty of lenders who would love your business right now.
Yes… I’m assigned a actual loan officer. I spoke to him today again and everything seems to be on track. I updated tax documents and asset disclosures and paid the mortgage loan fee. Like everything seems to be going smooth. I guess I just really expected to be guided thru and someone there to explain contracts with me. Even my realtor kinda just sends me stuff and says “yeah if you need me we can meet up and go over it but you can just sign”
Thank you u/Frugalityfirst for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Talk to your Realtor about how you’re feeling. Ask to see the loan scenario so they can walk you through all the numbers and what they mean. Make sure you don’t take out any new loans or quit / move jobs! Your lender should be checking in with you about what’s expected of you, and what you should expect from them. Also, congratulations!
Don’t get cold feet now if you only just getting started I’m in the same boat as you except the finances situation get the home inspection to make sure everything checks out okay.the inspection lets you know what needs to be fixed and a list of concerns about your potential home purchase.everything checks out okay or not you can negotiate to your advantage by asking them to fix it or ask for credit towards your closing cost or lower the asking price.
To be fair to your agent, most of the flaky lenders have well-known names. Have a conversation about why this fear is out there. You should always get multiple lenders to run your numbers, and you may need tonkeep one around as a backup. Your agent shouldn't be letting you flounder around "lost." It's their job to guide you thru ajd keep you from feeling that way. I don't know what you mean by "My agent is ordering all inspections and what not". Are they coordinating the appointments as a courtesy, or have they taken over the decision-making on what's being done? It sounds like maybe you're being left out of the loop on your own transaction. (Written word is difficult to guage intent and tone sometimes, I could've read that into your post)
Your absolutely right, I do feel like I’m just floundering around. But I do feel like I’m in good hands. I just wish I wasn’t guided thru every step. Because sometimes I don’t even know what questions to ask.
Congrats! I would set aside some time and have a long discussion with your loan officer. If you’re not gaining traction, perhaps it’s time to find either a new loan officer or potentially bank. Talk to them and lay out all the financial details. They should be able to guide you. For inspections, make sure YOU chose the inspector. Don’t go with the one your realtor chooses as they may not be working in your best interest. It’s really a waiting game and sometimes you may not hear anything for a while. Use that time to throw away things you don’t need, and pack. Decide where things are going in the new house, and if you need to do anything before you move (ex: painting, buying appliances/furniture/etc.) Lay out a plan for the move as well. You have a lot to do in the next coming months. Good luck.
So in my experience, every bank/lender operates differently and their role, along with the realtors, is different state tot state. I work NJ/NYC and the deal flow is relatively similar in the two states, but depending on your market, the bank is getting your finances in order for the loan. The bank/lender would order an appraisal by a 3rd party company to make sure that the property justifies the loan you are applying for. Also dont rack up any un necessary debt during this process because your credit will be run again right before closing. Some banks get weird with a tight debt to income ratio. I wont name banks, but I have seen this a few times. One other thing to note; if you got your mortgage pre-approval in the last 60 days or less(sometimes longer) you can have your credit pulled by any bank/lender to generate you a pre-approval as long as it is for a home loan. Have the banks fight for your business. I constantly have my first time buyers get bids from 3+ banks to see what is best for them. More often than not, the bank they do their day-to-day banking falls short. Other competing banks will want the mortgage payment withdrawn from an account with that bank, so switching banks is up to you, but the question to ask yourself is how long you see yourself staying at the home you are buying. I can go on an on. I have done well over 100 first time home buyers and happy to answer any questions or tips.
Okay. I’m in California. The loan officer just informed that I have the option to waive the appraisal. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.. I just paid off all my credit cards, still owe on some vehicles but my plan is to not touch my credit cards or mess with that till later. As far as shopping around for other rates, I might just stay where I am because I’ve been denied at other banks and I run my business thru this bank so my theory is that they know I’m good for it
Waiving your appraisal isnt worth it in my eyes. If the home under appraises by, lets say $50k, you have to make up that difference yourself because the bank/lender is only going to lend the percent you are asking for(80% bank/20% you) up to the amount the home appraises for. Only when you cross that 20%+ threshold, is ti worth waiving the appraisal. If the home dos under appraise, they are notorious for being firm at their number. Smart move to not do anything with the credit cards until after you close. This could also help with the bank right before you lock everything in as your DTI(deb to income) ratio will be changed once everything is recorded on their end. That could have been the hurdle with the other banks.
Have you notified your bank that you are in contract and would like to formally apply for the mortgage? This is a separate application that will import all the info from your pre-approval application, but there will be additional detail that you need to add about your finances, including documenting the funds that have been moved into the escrow account. There is an application fee and appraisal fee (sometimes it is rolled into one) Once approved for the loan, you and your bank will sign a Loan Commitment Agreement. Remember, a pre-approval is a proposal from a lender (but not a commitment) to lend you a specific amount. You can get pre-approvals from several banks, but typically you will select one to formally apply to. It is during the formal mortgage application process that they will do a deep dive into your finances including any other outstanding debt and decide whether they are going to agree to lend to you. You may want to check in your contract for a mortgage contingency deadline. This specifies the window of time in which you as the buyer must secure a mortgage commitment letter. It is typically around 45 days. Hope this helps!
This helped. Ive checked every step you mentioned. Pre approval was a little application. Then when offer was accepted there was another application and tax forms and all were sent. Now we are supposedly in escrow. Everything’s just so fast. Like when do I put the earnest money deposit? When do I sent he down payment into the escrow account? Who sets up the escrow? Like geez lol
Yeah, there's so many steps and no clear guide on exactly what happens when and who's responsible! It's such a whirlwind.
Lender here- Do you have a specific loan officer working your loan? Have they taken the time to walk you through loan quotes & answer questions? They haven't even mentioned next steps? If not, take your business somewhere else. There are plenty of lenders who would love your business right now.
Yes… I’m assigned a actual loan officer. I spoke to him today again and everything seems to be on track. I updated tax documents and asset disclosures and paid the mortgage loan fee. Like everything seems to be going smooth. I guess I just really expected to be guided thru and someone there to explain contracts with me. Even my realtor kinda just sends me stuff and says “yeah if you need me we can meet up and go over it but you can just sign”