HOME LOANS FOR REAL ESTATE IN CALVERT COUNTY
HOME LOANS FOR REAL ESTATE IN CHARLES COUNTY
HOME LOANS FOR REAL ESTATE IN ST. MARY'S COUNTY
Southern
Maryland home buyers, and especially first time home buyers, are often
overwhelmed by the home loan process. Don't worry, we'll be there with
you every step of the way to make sure you get the best loan for your
needs. We have worked with many lenders over the years and we'll be
glad to recommend a local lender to help you get pre-qualified and approved
for your home loan in Charles County, Calvert County or St. Mary's County.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A LENDER IN SOUTHERN MARYLAND
Lenders are indeed your friends. They will lend you a LOT of money.
Even MOM and DAD can't usually lend what a mortgage lender can. So,
we definitely need lenders. But, there are lenders and there are lenders.
You've seen advertisements for "NO POINT" loans, or "NO
CLOSING COST LOANS". These are often lenders who have everything
except what you want and need most . . . LOW INTEREST RATES and GOOD
TERMS, which is what we want from a lender and that's what our agents
will find for you.
WHAT ABOUT LENDERS THAT YOU FIND ON THE INTERNET
OR TV ADVERTISING
While some lenders that advertise heavily on TV and offers bargain interest
rates on their Internet site, our experience is that the percentage
of them closing the loan on time is not good. Further, even these lenders
advertise low "rates", there is a lot more to a home loan
than the rates. Our experience with buyers who come pre-approved by
an Internet based lender is that the "JUNK FEES" are extremely
high. Often the APR for the loan that the buyer is approved for is higher
than they could get locally from a lender that you can look in the eye.
These lenders rely on the average buyers' lack of technical knowledge
about mortgage financing.
Following are the types of loans popular in the Maryland real estate
marketplace. FHA - These loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration
and permit buyers to finance some of their closing costs, thereby reducing
the amount of cash that you need to buy. This loan is very popular for
first time home buyers. Anyone can use the FHA loans. You can only have
one at a time.
VA - These loans are guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Only active duty and military veterans, and their surviving spouse may
use the VA loan. This loan requires no down payment and the seller can
pay up to 100% of the buyer's closing costs. There are a lot of active
duty military buyers in Charles County, Calvert County and St. Mary's
County. We will do our very best to help you find a home with VA financing.
Conventional Conforming - These loans "conform" to the Fannie
Mae guidelines for eligibility, meaning that, on average, the buyers
may devote up to 28% of their before tax income to housing. These loans
require a down payment of at least 5%, ALTHOUGH the down payment may
be in a slightly higher interest rate. Homefinders.com will gladly refer
you to lenders who offer 100% financing at good competitive interest
rates.
Jumbo Loans - We work with lenders who specialize in the Jumbo or Portfolio
loans for Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's County home buyers who are
in the luxury home market price range. You will not have to lift a finger.
Our lenders will communicate and process your loan by electronic means
or, if you are local, will meet with you at your convenience in your
office or home. Loans up to over several million are available and special
long lock loans, up to 9 months, are also available. This may be important
if you decide to build and it appears that rates may be on the increase.
QUALIFYING/PRE-APPROVAL
Lenders use government established guidelines, FHA, VA, Fannie Mae,
with which to qualify buyers. One of the guidelines is the amount of
your before tax income you can devote to housing. That just means what
percentage of your annual gross income will you spend for your mortgage
payment.
Lenders permit the following approximate percentage of your income
for mortgage payments, including real estate taxes, hazard insurance,
mortgage insurance and association fees, if any.
FHA 29%
Conventional 28%
VA 30-41% depending on number of dependants
The other guideline they use is how much of your gross annual income
will be needed to pay all of the following:
Monthly mortgage payment
Monthly credit card payments
Monthly student loan payments
Monthly automobile payments
Monthly payments to any installment debt
NOTE: For qualifying purposes, debt does not include expense items such
as car insurance, life insurance, utilities, food or any items that
are not considered consumer debt.
Lenders permit borrowers to devote approximately 40-45% of their gross
monthly income for ALL debt payments. Your lender must establish that
you have and will continue to have the ability to repay the loan of
many thousands of dollars. Of course, the loan will be secured with
a lien on the deed and if you default, the lender can foreclose, but
lenders do not want to foreclose. They want to lend money and be repaid.
Documents needed to make formal loan application
As a part of the loan approval process, the lender will require certain
documentation to verify information provided on the loan application.
The following documents are generally sufficient to process a loan.
Past two years W-2 Forms
Current address
Employment addresses
Recent bank statements
Name and address of current creditors
Social Security numbers
Certificate of Eligibility for VA buyers
If you are a self employed borrower, you will need to provide two years
income tax returns AND possibly a profit and loss statement if your
type of business warrants that information.
Real Estate Charles, Calvert, St. Mary's County
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