At Mortgage Maestro Group, our clients run the gamut from experienced real estate professionals to first-time home buyers. For those in the second group, purchasing a home for the first time can be a stressful experience. We want to make sure that for our clients, there are no surprises when it comes to one of the most important financial decisions you can make—buying a home. For those looking to enter the housing market as buyers, consider this brief primer on purchase loans. Here’s what you need to know before taking the first step towards home ownership.

Know Yourself

There are plenty of things to consider from the standpoint of a homebuyer, from loan rates to market changes, but first of all it is important to know yourself. One of the first steps to take in the process of purchasing a home loan is to do a full accounting of your financials. If you are hoping to purchase a home with a husband, wife or partner, this part should include both parties. It never hurts to make a budget, you can even use Sallie Mae’s version to build from by looking back to your last 60 days of expenses. Take an inventory of all financial accounts, outstanding debts, incomes, tax returns and other loans. This will reduce headaches in the future and speed up the process. Documentation of this information will be necessary down the road, so make sure that everything important is catalogued and either printed out or you have web access so you can easily upload to the portals your lender provides.

Know The Market

At Mortgage Maestro Group, we pride ourselves on searching for the best home loans available to our clients. The market for home loans is large and growing every day, so this part may take some time. Loans can be offered by large-scale lenders, retail banks and smaller regional financial institutions as well. These loans will be available in different terms, with different interest rates, and with different financial requirements for purchase. Do some research to get the lay of the land for the loans that are out there, or work with our staff to find the right loan for you.

Make An Application

Once you have all of your ducks in a row and have selected a mortgage lender, it is time to submit an application. This document will combine all of the information you have collected above, and give you and the lender of an idea what kind of purchase loan you are available to buy. Once you have submitted an application, you can begin to think about shopping for a home. You can also go through a pre-approval process with your mortgage lender, which can make buying a home easier in the future and give you more leverage with sellers.

Finding Your Home

With everything settled between you and your lender, you can begin to look at the real estate market of your choice. Going through this process will give you a better idea of the type of home you are able to buy, and what your mortgage payments will be like. From here on out the process may include an appraisal of property, a title search, inspection etc. etc. When you have made an offer on a property that is accepted, you can then finalize your purchase loan with your lender. This timeline varies but on average, is around 30 days from contract to close.

At the Mortgage Maestro Group, we’re here to help you navigate purchase loans and much more. Apply now by calling 303-779-0591!