Navigating the Mortgage Maze

        Before moving your prep package on to the next important stage in the process of acquiring a mortgage loan, your mortgage loan officer will have meticulously reviewed your application documentation.  They will have run your credit, analyzed your income and employment, and reviewed your assets for cash needed, probably several times! Together, you have covered all the bases in preparing this important documentation.  Together you have checked and crosschecked everything necessary to move the process successfully to the next step.   Your loan expert analyzes the information package for completeness and all needed inclusions.    With you, personally, your detailed information and your overall profile in mind, your expert begins to research which kind of loan would best fit your needs and goals. When the best match choice has been decided, your loan officer then is ready to issue a Pre-approval.   This is the point in the application process when your file go

           It’s time to take all your prepared documentation in hand and submit it to your mortgage lending expert for preliminary review.   It is also time to understand that, from this point forward, trust and confidentiality could not be more important. This is not the place in your process to go into a “fast forward” mode!  Instead, before you set that meeting appointment and head into that important preliminary review, you will want to do your own deliberative fact-check and make sure you have your documents in comprehensive and thorough order.   Take a bit more time to look over your credit related information for accuracy.  Go over those basic definitions of Income and Assets (as they relate to the context of a mortgage loan application), and be sure you have not overlooked something relevant. Remember, all of your submitted information will be subject to verification by your mortgage loan officer. Briefly, return to the beginning of your preps and start

                                                   Why should you do the rounds of the “Open House Season?”   If you have made the decision to buy a house and begin the search that leads to the benefits and security of owning your own home – there are lots of reasons to plan time for viewing open homes! To begin with, educating yourself concerning what is available on the market, in general, will give you important insights.   Beginning to see just what’s in your price range now, as well as prospects for comparison and future upgrading, will be good information for discussion with your mortgage loan expert.  Aside from pragmatic considerations, such as what actually fits your budget and your family’s requirements right now, there is the fact that touring open houses can be a lot of fun!   It is an activity that can help make the prospect of buying both real and exciting, and one that can include the whole family.  And, it’s important to see what the range of availa

Clean House?  Well, that can mean many things to many people!  So, what do I mean by “clean house” when all you want to do is get a loan to buy a home.  No mystery here – but no progress either, until you and your mortgage lender get all your facts, figures, and credentials pulled together, and in good condition! Oh, boy.   How and where do we start that process?   Simple: we begin at the beginning.   Here’s where your financial history (good, bad or indifferent) comes into play.  We are going to take a nice hard look at your Credit history, your Income patterns, your Assets (liquid and non-liquid) and...your Goals!  We will then be working on the compatibility of all factors and requirements for a home loan. It is going to also be a matter of trust, authenticity and confidentiality.  Without mutual respect for those factors, not much else can happen.   Just as you and your mortgage lender need confidence in those areas, time itself becomes a serious matter.   In th

   You may not think you have any or many assets but trust me, it’s an often misunderstood aspect of financial terminology.  You probably have -- or could easily have – some assets that can count well for you as you pull things together and try for a home loan. By intention or by default, most of us have a few assets!  It’s important to understand what counts and qualifies, what does not ...and why!   Assets, in our context here, amount to funds available to you, and other qualifying items that constitute or potentially represent a value comparable to actual funds. There are two primary categories for “assets” – those that are considered “liquid,” and those that are “non-liquid.”  No, that’s not doubletalk; it’s actually quite clear once you get the gist of it!   You might look at it this way: Liquid means immediately accessible and usable such as Savings in a bank, Settlement funds, a 401K or properly documented gifts from family members.   Non-liquid means not ava

    What is it, where does it come from, what to do with it and what are the right and wrong ways to manage it – in the context of seeking a home loan?  All good questions – and most of us believe we know the answers.  However, the answers go further than we might realize when it comes to examining “income” for the purpose of obtaining a mortgage loan. There are many, many sources for income, and some of us have multiple sources for acquiring what we need.  It is a daily challenge to maintain our living needs, to pay our just debts, to help with emergencies, to maintain our health, accommodate special circumstances and prepare for our later years (retirement, for some). When thinking about buying a home, not only your income itself is important, but also – very importantly – how you manage the income that you generate.  There are many misconceptions about good money management!  How you acquire, handle, spend, store and redirect your income has huge influence on a

                                                                                                                                                   What are the relevant connections between Credit, Income and Assets now that I want to buy a house?  Which is what?   How do they help me?  Is one more important than the others?   How do they impact my goals?  How can they work for me? All those questions are significant; and, you will be further ahead if you pause and make sure you understand, not only each concept, but the power and impact of each. Your mortgage lender should be your coach and interpreter concerning how to fully understand credit, income and assets relative to acquiring a home loan. Most of us have learned a lot about the practical functions of credit and income simply from our day-to-day adult living.  Many of us have some “assets” – in the commonly accepted definition of the term.  What needs to happen when you want to buy a home is that you n

There’s a good chance you’re wrong!   Let’s begin at the beginning. That means we need to examine your Credit, Income and Assets.   These three concepts are often misunderstood.   Rumors and half-truths can discourage even the bravest prospective first-time homebuyer. The second and third, Income and Assets, are irrevocably connected to the first -- your Credit path and history.    They are pragmatically linked, and they mutually impact each other as what you earn, own and acquire, and how you manage your debts.    Contrary to popular beliefs, delinquent credit history typically   never goes away!   Items don’t always just drop off your credit record after a certain number of years, and wipe the slate clean.   (Darn!) Understanding the facts about how Credit and credit reporting works is necessary in order to use a good Credit record to your advantage, improve a flawed one, and fix a bad one. One of the myths about credit reporting is the assumption that if you

                      It’s the New Year – that time when resolutions and fresh plans are flying around everywhere!   And, you might be right on the edge of a big decision. Choosing between renting or buying a home is huge.     And when the details of taking on the process are so daunting it keeps you awake nights – well, it’s time to get the picture in focus, get the right information from the right source, and get on with it! I’m Jacie Casteel, of Sterling Mortgage.   Finding solutions is what I do best!   In fact, in this new column, Demystifying The Mortgage Maze! (s cheduled to appear two times monthly) I hope to bring important insights about home buying and mortgage lending to our Record Bee readership.    Last month, I briefly profiled my intentions to remove some of the misconceptions that can get in the way of exploring a home purchase process.   With fifteen years of experience in mortgage lending, and with associates of the highest caliber, I deci

                                 You might be right on the edge of a big decision! Choosing between renting or buying a home is huge.   And when the details of taking on the process are so daunting it keeps you awake nights – well, it’s time to get the picture in focus, get the right information from the right source, and get on with it! I’m Jacie Casteel, of Sterling Mortgage.   Finding solutions is what I do best!   In fact, in this new column, Demystifying The Mortgage Maze! (scheduled to appear two times monthly) I hope to bring important insights about home buying and mortgage lending to our Record Bee readership.    With fifteen years of experience in mortgage lending, and with associates of the highest caliber, I decided that I could help!   I can help by communicating – in small bites – what the process is, how to prepare for it, when to begin and where to start.   With the proper guidance, your experience could move from utter frustration to a new beginnin