Let’s find a time to chat. What will it take to become Pre-Approved to buy a home? What loan options are best for me? Do I need a big down payment?
These are some of the questions I can help answer. If you have questions about buying your first home, or converting your current home into a rental property and buying a new home, consolidating debts to improve your FICO scores, gaining approval for a mortgage as a self-employed business owner, I can help.
I’m licensed to help borrowers anywhere in Texas. I do offer free consultations to home buyers nationwide as well. I will be adding a California license later this year.
How much cash do I need?
You can buy your first home with a 3% down payment, for a Conventional loan. Veterans may use their benefits with no down payment needed.
Let’s say your friend (we’ll call her Sarah) wants to buy 9805 Matchpoint Place in Dallas. She’s under contract to buy it for $315,000. She’s Pre-Approved for a 30-year Conventional loan, with 3% down. She needs her 3% down payment ($9450), and one year of prepaid home insurance and 3 months of taxes ($3621), and $2564 for lender fees and $1925 for non-lender fees. Sarah needs $17,560 in total. She can use gift funds from family to help out.
What will my monthly payment be?
Your monthly housing payment will have several parts:
– The mortgage itself (principle and interest)
– Mortgage insurance (very affordable, actually)
– Property taxes
– Home insurance
– HOA dues (if in a planned community, or a townhome or condo)
Sarah’s monthly payment will be $2132, which is $150 for insurance, $311 for taxes, $200 for HOA dues, $99 for PMI, and $1372 for the mortgage itself. Calculate what your new payment will be.
We’ll prepare a custom quote to show your monthly payment, and what cash you will need to buy your new home.
Why Work with a Broker (instead of a lender directly)?
Working with a broker can help you save time (and money). There’s a good reason why there are about 10,000 mortgage brokers (like us) nationwide. A broker helps you find the best mortgage faster, and provides expert advice along the way. My company can help you compare loan options from the following lenders in our network: Caliber Home Loans, United Wholesale Mortgage, Cardinal Financial, Home Point Financial, and Franklin American.
You can, and should, comparison shop multiple lenders. You’d be surprised how rates and fees vary, significantly, across lenders. Banks often charge high fees, and in fact most home buyers do not work with a bank. Over 68% of people who took out a mortgage in 2020 worked with a non-bank lender. Because of the mortgage broker’s experience in the industry and knowledge of lender capabilities, a broker can help you quickly identify the best lenders to consider working with, and compare lenders without needing to fill out 5 loan applications and have your credit pulled 5 different times.
Working with a broker may mean you receive higher quality customer service. I work with every one of my clients, from initial application, providing a Pre-Approval letter, through underwriting and the closing day, and beyond. With most lenders, you’ll work with a Loan Officer who sells only that one lender’s offerings and is unable to help you compare multiple lender offers. You’ll likely have many different people emailing you, asking for things, and it can get confusing very easily. You may be working with someone who is not even licensed, or is very new to the industry.
Working with us means you value honesty and integrity in business. I am proud of my company’s Better Business Bureau accreditation and our past client reviews. I want your lifetime business and referrals, meaning if I feel we don’t have the best loan for you, I’ll be sure to mention that as your advisor (the best Down Payment Assistance program in Texas, by the way, is not available through brokers but is offered by TSAHC. You should visit TSAHC to learn more).
Some brokers (like us) may provide reassurance to you, with an Insured Pre-Qualification Letter. Buying a home involves a lot of uncertainty. Working with us can help you eliminate some of that uncertainty. If you are a first time home buyer, are self-employed, have a student loan, and/or plan to bring a 3-5% down payment, we may be willing to offer to you an Insured Pre-Qualification Letter. This means that we will reimburse you for certain costs (up to $5000) if you follow all of our instructions and are still denied by the lender later on. Please read our full terms and conditions here. If you want more certainty and confidence as you buy your new home, a professional broker that offers this service can certainly help.
Your real estate agent has more support, when we’re on your team. We are the only mortgage company in Texas that offers a full day, online Continuing Education course approved for Texas real estate agents. Our course can educate your agent about the finer details of what lenders and brokers do. If your agent has not yet taken our course, they can enroll and complete the course in a single day to better prepare to serve you. And finally, I am proud to financially support the Texas Homeless Network, because I believe everyone deserves a place to call home. I look forward to working for you. You can schedule time on my calendar below.