Register Real Estate Advisors

In today’s real estate market, there are many different mortgages available for you to choose from. If you are thinking about purchasing a home, you can call RREA’s in house lender today to see what type of loan products you qualify for. Our in house lender, Terry Traylor, can help you determine your mortgage limit, interest rate, and what product will best meet your home purchasing needs.

There are a variety of mortgage loans available. There are Jumbos for loans over $417K. There are loans for investors that allow homes to be flipped before the 90 day limit. For first time home buyers, there are Down Payment Assistance Loans that help with closing costs. For Foreign Nationals that are non-U.S. Citizens there are loans that allow them to purchase second homes in the U.S. With the 203K Loan people can make improvements before or after closing. The HomePath Program was designed for Foreclosed Fannie Mae owned properties. The REO Extended Lock Program helps homeowners purchase a short sale or REO property by allowing an extended interest rate lock. The credit 580 Program increases the FHA guidelines to include borrowers with credit scores between 580-639. Dissipating Asset Programs provide asset-rich clients the ability to qualify with no income up to a maximum loan amount of $5 Million while the Pledged Asset Mortgage allows borrowers to pledge eligible assets in lieu of a down payment, second mortgage or a home equity loan to cover normal down payment requirements. And you thought there were only FHA, Conventional, and VA Loans! Today’s lender has lots of options for you to take advantage of. Call today to find out more -281-288-3500.

If you need to purchase a home for your aging parents because they cannot qualify for a mortgage on thier own, there are mortgage programs that can help you. The property would be classified as a primary residence for your mother and father. It can be an investment property for you at the same time. Your parents must have insufficient income to qualify for the mortgage on their own and you must be their primary source of loan qualifications. Technically, you will own the property, but your parents will also be on the title. There are no distance requirements for the location of your parents residence, so they can be cities apart from your primary residence. To learn more about this or any other mortgages available, please call RREA’s in house lender, Terry Traylor at 281.288.3500. He can help you get pre-approved for your next real estate purcahse.

Sometimes when I get to the closing table clients will tell me, “It’s About Time.”  Especially first time home buyers who are anxious to get into their new homes, but they have to wait on their lenders and the title company to have everything ready for closing.  Then there are those cash buyers that think we should be able to close a home purchase in just three days!

In today’s real estate market it takes a minimum of seven days to close on a home purchase.  That is because a recent Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act disclosed rules stating that lenders cannot close a loan until seven days after they have provided the borrower with the original required RESPA disclosures and application (including the Good Faith Estimate and Truth-In-Lending Disclosure).  This is a consumer-protection measure designed to help ensure that a buyer has enough time to read and understand a loan before the closing.

If there are any last minute changes to the loan amount, purchase price, or seller contributions that will add three extra days to the closing.  RESPA now requires lenders to again provide the Truth-in-Lending Disclosure when the annual percentage rate changes 0.125% or more from the original disclosure of the APR on the Truth-in-Lending Disclosure—every single time.  Some lenders interpret this to mean that a re-disclosure is required only when the APR increases, while others require a re-disclosure when the APR changes 0.125% regardless of the direction of the change.  This is a protection that was put in place to prevent lenders from changing the loan note rate or fees on borrowers at closing without proper disclosure to the borrower.

Something else that slows down closings is when the buyer has not filed their tax returns.  All Self-employed borrowers must provide tax returns to their lender.  Consumers want to know why closings are being pushed back or why they fall through completely.  If you are the seller, you are really angered when the sale falls through and you have to put your house back on the market when you were already preparing to move out.  Below is an example to explain one of the many things that can go wrong…

A couple wants to buy a home.  The wife is a W2 employee and qualifies for the loan on the home.  The husband is self employed.  Under new lender rules, the lender has to request the tax returns for the past two years for the self employed spouse and could even require the financials for his company.  The lender has to then consider his business losses a liability, which affects the amount for which they can qualify.  See where I am going with this?  It is common for self employed people – especially those operating an LLC, LLP, or Subchapter S corp – to run their businesses at a loss.  Sometimes this is the difference between pre-qualified and pre-approved.

All of these new lending regulations can slow down or derail real estate transactions, so understanding the requirements will help you to be better prepared for your mortgage process so that you can close on time.  If you would like to pre-qualify for a mortgage, please contact RREA’s in-house lender at 281.288.3500 to get started on your path to home ownership.  We have Realtors that can provide you with a smooth transaction – from house hunting to the closing table.  Call us for more information.

Lock in Your Interest Rate for 150 Days! Chances are, you have heard this line before. But what you need to know is that if you are going to lock in a rate for that long, you can be sure the lender has added a cushion to that rate so that if rates go up, they don’t lose any money. When you are shopping for a mortgage, you need to compare many things, not just rates. Companies that lock your rate for long periods of time state they can safeguard you from volatility of interest rates while you are shopping for a home. Then they comfort you by adding that you can float down to a lower rate if rates reduce. In order for lenders to guarantee rates for a long length of time, they must be hedging the rate or they would lose money. I have seen some mortgage companies that will guarantee a rate for up to 5 months! The longer you lock into a rate, there is going to be a cost associated with it. Be on the lookout when shopping for your next mortgage!

Effective TODAY (Dec 15, 11) the automated underwriting systems will be tightening up their parameters on VA Loans. If you are a borrower with a credit score under 680, this could affect you. If you have a pre-approval dated before December 15, 2011 for a VA Loan you will probably need to get pre-approved to make sure you will still be approved by the automated approval system after these changes take place. Remember that you will need your certificate of eligibility to apply for a VA Loan. If you would like to get a pre-approval for a VA Loan or any other loan, please call us today at 281.288.3500 and ask for our in house lender.

I get a lot of questions about refinaincing homes.  Many people will contemplate refinancing vs buying another home.  With interest rates remaining near historic lows it is a great time to purchase a home.  However, if you prefer to stay in your current home, it is only worth refinanancing, in my opinion, if your current rate is over 5% and you plan to stay in the home for atleast two years.  If you need to refinance your home or get a pre-approval to buy a home, our RREA inhouse lender can help.  You can apply for a mortgage online with RREA or call 281.288.3500 and ask for Terry Traylor. 

Looking for ways to increase your credit score? There are some tips you need to know that will help you increase your score. The first is, never cancel a credit card that is more than two years old. Having a “seasoned” account, one that is more than 2 years old is beneficial for you.
Second, increase your maximum allowable credit limit. If you have a credit card that is close to its maximum balance, call the credit card company and ask them to increase the credit limit. The credit bureaus don’t like to see “maxed out” credit. Ask them to do this without pulling your credit.
In addition, spread out your balances among your credit cards to keep the ratio between cards balanced and credit limits to 30% or less. Finally, be sure to pay your bills on time. The number one reason for a low credit score is late payments. Studies have show that 79% of all credit reports have errors on them so check your credit periodically to look for mistakes. Remember that lower scores mean higher interest rates for buyers. Keep in mind that the “free” on line credit reports DO NOT include your credit score. You have to pay extra for your FICO score. So if you are thinking about purchasing a home, please call RREA’s in house lender, Terry Traylor, to apply. If anything negative shows up on your credit, Terry can help you fix it over time.

The Price of Business airs on Houston’s 650 AM and is powered by CBS Radio. On this segment of the Price of Business, RREA Owner Shannon Register introduces Register Real Estate Advisor’s new in-house lender, Terry Traylor. Terry has been in the mortgage industry for years and joins Shannon in the RREA Studio in Spring, Texas to discuss his role in helping the Agents at RREA and helping the RREA Buyer’s get pre-approved for mortgages. At RREA, clients can use a Realtor and Lender that work out of the same office and communicate throughout the home buying process until the purchase is complete.

The decision to purchase a home can be an exciting but sometimes confusing undertaking. When beginning your search for the perfect home, there are a number of factors that you will want to consider. Whether you are a first time buyer or already own a home and want to move up, getting pre-approval for your mortgage is a necessary and time saving step. Here are some of the benefits of getting pre-approved!

Know Your Budget!

Getting pre-approved means that you will have a clear picture of the credit you have available to you to purchase your new home, as well as your price range. This will prevent you from spending time looking at homes that may be out of your budget and perhaps getting attached to a home that you cannot afford. It means that if you find the home that is right for you, it can more easily become yours!

Close Quickly

Getting pre-approved for your mortgage means that you can act more quickly once you find the home that is right for you. The process of getting the mortgage approved is generally the longest and most complicated process in any home purchase. It requires verification of your income and employment, an evaluation of your credit reports, and the completion of a loan application. Having this step completed can save weeks of time in the closing process. Pre-approval also means that you have an advantage should a bidding war begin. The seller can be confident that you can afford the bid you are making and that you can move quickly to finalize the sale.

Overall, there are a number of benefits to getting pre-approval for your mortgage before beginning the search for your new home. Most importantly, it can give you peace of mind in knowing that you are ready and able to make the commitment to homeownership, and that you are not wasting your time in looking at properties that you may not be able to afford.