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| Home Buying Expert
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3 Tips for First Time Home Buyers
Commentary
In his article, Jeff offers some good tips to first
time home buyers and discusses how not to rush into things,
work with someone you can trust and choose a loan officer that you
feel comfortable with.
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Tips for First Time Home Buyers
When looking at tips for first time home buyers, you've come to the
right place. Many people are looking all over the Internet for reliable
information. There's over 761,940 websites (as of March 05) with information
or online forms urging you to fill them out for more details.
While I certainly agree the Internet is a great place for obtaining
tips for first time home buyers, it can also become a real information
overload as well. So I want to give you some tips that can help in
your search.
Tips for First Time Home Buyers #1
Don't be too quick!
Avoid giving out your personal information like Social Security
number, date of birth etc. at every website that asks for it. This
is the single biggest mistake I've seen made. Some first time home
buyers in their zeal to get started do this.
The problem is this, many sites will require this information
before they'll give you any details.
They start out with a simple, name and address screen, then lead
into screens that ask for more personal details.
At all costs, hold off giving out this private information. You
will have to at some point in time. Not until you've learned about
the mortgage process should you do this.
What happens when you fill in the forms online? Your e-mail box
will be flooded with loan offers. Many places tout they'll have
4 lenders or even more give you quotes.
Guess what? Nearly every one of these lenders are going to run
a credit report. If you have numerous inquires in your credit in
one month, this can affect your credit score.
Another reason to be careful here is that most of these websites
are lead generators. The company or webmaster will sell your information
to one or perhaps even more sources and then we have a BIG problem.
It can costs you in your credit score. The lower your credit score,
the higher your interest rate will be. The higher your credit score
the lower your interest rate.
Tips for First Time Home Buyers #2
Work with someone you trust.
How can you determine if that person is honest and trustworthy?
Listen to them closely. Are they trying to hurry you along to
get your personal information?
Or are they taking the time to explain things and help you to
understand exactly what you're about to get into?
Buying a home is the single biggest investment most people make
in their lifetime. Then afterwards, managing that debt is important
also.
You want to work with someone who will help you do this. They
should be interested in a long term relationship with you.
Over your lifetime you'll get more than 1 mortgage. I know, it's
hard to imagine that now, but statistic's show that on average people
move or get a new home loan about every 7 years.
Having someone you trust, that has your best interest is what
you need.
I look at it this way, if I do a good job for you, you might tell
1-2 of your friends. If I did a bad job for you, you'll tell 100
of your friends.
I build my mortgage business 1 loan at a time. I love referrals
so I take a personal interest in each and every borrower. My ustomers
talk about me to their friends!
Tips for First Time Home Buyers #3
Choose your Loan Officer wisely.
Now because of the Internet, home lending has become a big business.
Mortgage Brokers and Lenders have popped up verywhere. Many have
also fallen by the roadside at the same time. The money business
is HUGE!
Did you know that over 1.3 TRILLION dollars changes hands around
the globe everyday? When you start to think about it, it staggers
your mind.
Your First Time Home Buyers loan is just a very small part of
daily business.
There's a big difference between a lender and a broker. Brokers
are middle men between you and the lender. They get paid for brokering
your loan. They also can help you get loan offers from many lenders.
Since the mortgage broker gets wholesale pricing, this can be
good if it's done without running your credit every time. That's
why I say choose your Loan Officer wisely.
Many times when working with a broker, you may not know who your
lender is until the day of closing. Again, this is still alright
if your loan is locked, you know all the details of the loan product
and so forth.
What's important is that the Loan Officer has revealed all the
correct information. Is it a fixed rate loan? Is it an ARM? Is the
interest rate what he quoted you in the beginning?
I can't tell you how many times I've heard horror story's about
last minute changes.
The buyer finds out that their closing costs are more, the interest
rate is higher etc. When you're at the closing table, the buyer's
there, the seller and the realtors. What are you going to do?
If you go ahead and close because the pressures on, it's going
to cost you thousands of dollars over the years.
Many ruthless loan officers have done this to first
time home buyers and just don't care. They may never see your
face anyway. You're just a paycheck to them.
Working with someone you trust can help avoid this problem and
save you money. Dealing with a loan officer who is on your side
will protect you.
Nevertheless if you've been taken advantage of, this is a RESPA
violation and they should be reported.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author - Jeffrey Ragan
Jeff Ragan is a loan officer interested in helping people understand
the mortgage process.
Too many people have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous loan
officers. His website has dozens of informative pages to help first
time home buyers save time, money and mistakes. Feel free to
visit to learn more.
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