AZ Arizona Business Blog

The first thing that you should consider before getting a Seattle mortgage, or a mortgage anywhere, is whether or not you are ready to buy a home.  Having a mortgage means that you are buying a home and no longer renting one.  You can do do many things that you couldn’t do in a rented home, such as paint, expand, etc, but owning your own home has other factors as well.  You are for one, responsible for repairs.  For example if you  are renting a home, and the hot water heater goes out, you can can your landlord and the will get it replaced.  When you own your home, you are responsible for replacing it.  Also if you are renting you sign a lease for a fairly short period of time, and when that is up you can move.  If you buy a home, you have to be prepared to stay for a significant amount of time, because you will lose money if you sell too soon.

The next thing that you need to do, is work on your credit.  You will not get a Seattle mortgage if you do not have decent credit.  There are three major companies that keep credit reports, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. They will show if you are continuously late on payments, and whether you have had serious problems in the past, such as repossessions, collections, etc.  A low credit score can hurt your chance of getting a mortgage, or give you a higher interest rate.  So you want to get a copy of your report, understand it and work on cleaning it up a little if you need to.  

Before getting your Seattle mortgage, know what you can afford.  There are many websites that have loan calculators on them.  Sit down and make a list of all your expenses, and compare the amount with your income.  This will help you determine how much money you have left over after your bills are paid.  This will also help you decide where to cut back your spending and how much you want to be paying for a home mortgage each month.  You do not want to be in a situation where you can not afford your mortgage payment, so it is important to put a lot of time and thought into your financial situation.

Any bank giving you a mortgage will require a down payment.  A Seattle mortgage is not different. Generally they would like to see at least 20 percent of the cost of the home down, before approving the loan.  There are some programs that will require less, but most of them have additional cost that you have to pay back eventually.  So it is a good idea that after decided how much you can afford to spend on a home, to start setting money back for a down payment.  So make sure you are ready to buy a home, that you know what your credit report looks like, how much you can afford, and that you have a down payment.  these things will all make buying a home easier for you.

Comments Off