Sometimes I tend to skip past the seemingly basic mortgage questions, assuming everyone already knows the simple stuff. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, and what may appear basic isn’t really so straightforward. So let’s talk about qualifying for a mortgage. Unsurprisingly, it’s actually a pretty complex process. After all, you are asking a bank to loan you a ton...

If you want to refinance your home loan or purchase a home with a mortgage, you will be required to fill out a loan application and sign a set of disclosures to initiate the process. This bundle of documents includes things like the Loan Estimate, an authorization to run credit, a Social Security release form, the USA Patriot Act disclosure, homeownership counseling disclosure, and...

The “debt-to-income ratio” or “DTI ratio” as it’s known in the mortgage industry, is the way a bank or lender determines what you can afford in the way of a mortgage payment. By dividing all of your monthly liabilities (including the proposed housing payment) by your gross monthly income, they come up with a percentage. This key figure is known as your DTI, and...

Wondering when the best time to buy a home is? And the worst time? Well, thanks to data science, we no longer have to guess whether it’s fall and winter, or spring and summer. I’ll save you the suspense: the very best time to buy your dream home is late summer, namely August and September, this according to a new study from real estate listing website Zillow. Apparently...

When applying for a mortgage, a mortgage broker or lender will likely inquire about your assets, and more specifically, your liquid assets. They’ll want to know what you’ve squirreled away in order to come up with a down payment, pay closing costs, and make monthly mortgage payments going forward once you close your loan. Unless you’re relying on a documentation...

Mortgage Q&A: “Are mortgage points worth it?” When taking out a mortgage, whether for a new home purchase or to refinance an existing loan, one decision you’ll undoubtedly have to make is if it’s worth paying mortgage points to obtain an even lower interest rate. Jump to paying mortgage points topics: – Do You Want an Even Lower...

Mortgage Q&A: “Are closing costs included in a mortgage?” There seems to be a great deal of confusion when it comes to closing costs and mortgages, so let’s clear the air and make sense of it all. Simply put, home loans come with closing costs, similar to how most products and services come with associated fees. No one works for free, even if it doesn’t hit your...

These days, it’s a lot harder to find “mortgages with no money down,” though not entirely impossible. Thanks to the devastating financial crisis that took place several years ago, much of which could be blamed on the housing market, banks and mortgage lenders toughened up. They began requiring larger down payments because home prices weren’t appreciating like...

Mortgage Q&A: “What mortgage term is best?” Before you set out to snag the lowest rate on your home purchase loan or mortgage refinance, you’ll need to decide on (or at least narrow down) a mortgage term. I’m referring to the amount of time it will take to pay off your home loan in full. The “mortgage term” is essentially the duration of your...

Mortgage Q&A: “What is the easiest type of mortgage to get?” Relative to other types of loans, it can be difficult to get approved for a mortgage. After all, mortgage lenders typically require a tri-merge credit report, steady income and employment, and assets in the bank. They don’t just take your word for it like they might on a credit card application. All of those...