You Probably Can Afford More.
There are dozens
of loan choices. If you are not going to live in your home for 30 years
why pay a higher rate for a 30 fixed mortgage? Consider 5 or 7 year adjustables
with lower
interest rates. How about an interest only loan? They're not for
everyone but at least explore your options ahead of time.
The main point is to make sure that you sit
down with a good loan officer. They will listen to what your current situation is and
listen to what your future plans and dreams are. If you are up front with
them they'll usually be able to provide you with several options that will work
for you.
If you are self employed or only have been on your job for 1 year you might just
assume that it will be difficult getting a loan. There are "no
doc" loans that don't require the usual documentation such as two
years at your current job.
Maybe
you think you need to have 10 or 20 percent as a down payment. There are
several low down payment loans now. Also, there are "piggyback"
loans like an 80-15-5 or a 80-10-10. These are 80% first mortgages with
the rest being 2nd mortgages or equity lines. You pay a little higher rate
on the 2nd but you avoid the private mortgage insurance.
There
are also down payment assistance programs such as Nehemiah. You get a 97%
FHA loan and get the seller to pay the other 3% for the down payment. You
can also get the seller to pay the closing costs and actually get into a home
without spending any of your cash.
How
about interest only loans? Right now they offer some unbelievably low
rates. They're not for everyone but you should at consider the
possibility.
Is much of your money
tied up in the stock market and you don't want to sell at a time when the market
is at a low point? There are programs where you can pledge your stocks as
collateral for your down payment. This allows you to use your stock to buy
a home and not have to suffer selling at a loss. Or if you have a
gain you can avoid having to sell and pay taxes on the gain.
How
do you find a good lender that you can trust? We deal with lenders all the
time and can refer you to some really good people who can give you good advice
and also have very competitive rates. The loan is the most important part
of buying your home. Make sure you're dealing with someone you can trust.
You
might try searching out deals on the Internet. Many times what you'll see
posted on an Internet site sounds great and gets you to call in to get more
information. Unfortunately, when you finally get all the figures it's not
really that different from all the rest that initially seemed just mediocre.
To
really compare rates make sure you are comparing apples with apples. You
need to make sure all of the following are accounted for because they all affect
the final price: Rate Type of loan Discount points Origination fees
Loan amount(know whether or not some fees are being rolled into the loan
amount) Closing costs such as application fees, underwriting fees, processing
fees. Lock period(15 day locks will be cheaper than 60 day locks)
Rates
change a couple of times a day so you really need to shop at the same
time. Some lenders offer great rates on one type of product but are
terrible in others. Make sure you get everything in writing.
I like
working with a local person that I can visit if need be. It's also nice to
have the loan officer attend the closing. If something is needed it's nice
having someone there who can pick up the phone and contact the right person to
make things happen.
Knowing what your finance options are in the beginning
usually determines what homes you are able to buy. Being pre-approved is
also a very powerful negotiating position.
We go over this in our initial
consultation. We'll recommend a few of our best lenders so you can get
approved before you find your dream home. We also can help you compare various lenders to
make sure you're not overlooking any important details. Call us today to set up
a free consultation. 404-845-0265
Our market area is in the
north metro Atlanta area.
We service Cobb County,
north Fulton County, Dekalb
County, Forsyth County and
Gwinnett County. We
are very familiar with Sandy
Springs, Dunwoody, Marietta,
Roswell, Alpharetta,
Buckhead, and Midtown.
We have sold homes inside
the perimeter and outside
the perimeter. We
can't know everything so for
clients who want to look for
property in Peachtree City,
Newnan, Stone Mountain,
Douglasville, Macon and
areas further out we will
gladly recommend a good
agent who specializes in
those areas.
We help buyers negotiate
with builders for
residential new construction
houses. New houses in
Atlanta are hot right now.
We can represent you in the
purchase of your new house
built by any of the
following builders: Torrey
Homes, MDC Homes, Centex
Homes, Pulte Homes, Morrison
Homes, Ryland Homes, John
Wieland Homes, Winmark
Homes, Meridian Homes, John
Willis Homes, Benchmark
Homes and many more home
builders.
We can help clients find
short term apartments for
rent but normally we don't
work with clients who are
just looking for rentals.
We do help clients find
Atlanta condos. We can
also help you purchase HUD
homes in Atlanta. We
are an authorized agent with
them and have the HUD key to
get into HUD homes. We
have access to foreclosure
homes that banks want to
sell.
We love showing executive
homes and luxury homes. We
always like to know how
people find our site.
Send us an email and tell us
which search term you used.
Some terms that we might be
found by are realty Atlanta,
Ga homes, Atlanta realty,
condos Atlanta, Atlanta
realestate, Atlanta
property, houses Atlanta,
Atlanta realtors, Ga houses,
or realtors Atlanta.
Maybe you found us by typing
in Atlanta MLS listings, or
Atlanta MLS search, or MLS
Atlanta GA. Hopefully we
don't come up under nursing
homes or funeral homes.
It is always amazing to me
how the Internet can allow
total strangers to find each
other and build new business
relationships. It
truly is becoming a small,
interconnected world.
