The housing market has recently been favoring buyers lately.  This trend is bringing more and more first-time buyers to the closing table.  If you are considering buying your first home, preparation will be essential to your success.  There are a few things you can do to make sure you are ready to buy.  Following the right steps will help you secure a better rate and save money over the course of your loan.  Wyndham Capital Mortgage offers this quick primer for first-time home buyers.  

You cannot start preparing too early

It’s never too early to start building a healthy credit history.  Even if you’re many, many years away from your first home purchase you can still start laying the groundwork for your credit history.  Use credit cards sparingly and wisely from the beginning.  Don’t get in credit trouble while still in college.  Pay your bill on time and in full every month.  Set up a payment schedule for paying off your student loans as early as possible.  Put of major purchases like a new car or furniture until you have a significant down payment or can pay in cash.    It’s never too early to start building a solid foundation for your financial future.  

Create a budget

If you want to buy a home, you need to have a budget.  Creating a budget helps you allocate your dollars and see what you’re spending.  Once you’ve planned out a budget you have a much better idea of how much you can afford as a mortgage payment, where you can make cuts and how you can save up a down payment.  Stick to your budget.  Resist the temptation to overspend here and there.  Small expenditures add up quickly.  Each one can push your new home that much farther into the future.  

Save up a down payment

Having at least a 20% down payment saved and available for use at the time of purchase will save you money and give you a better position in negotiations.  A buyer with a larger down payment is viewed as a serious buyer and one carrying less inherent risk.  A 20% down payment will likely qualify for better rates and terms on your mortgage loan as well.  It also saves you the cost of private mortgage insurance, which most lenders require on loans with smaller down payments.  Use your budgeting skills to build a sizeable down payment.  

Be a smart borrower

Once you are ready to obtain a mortgage, be a smart borrower.  Do your homework.  You should never go into such an important process uneducated.  Read up on the various types of loans, learn about points and interest and investigate insurance and incidental fees.  You can also call a mortgage professional like the staff at Wyndham Capital Mortgage for more information on the loan application process.  The staff at Wyndham Capital Mortgage is always happy to help.  

Don’t overdo it

Part of being a smart borrower is understanding where your limits lie.  Don’t borrow beyond your means.  You may be tempted to look at homes just beyond your budget with the intention of negotiating down to a better price.  However, this tactic usually just ends up with the buyer falling in love with a house he cannot afford.  Once you find a home you love, it’s hard to go back and start over.  You compare every home to the one you cannot have.  Resist the urge to take a peek at what a little more can buy.  Stick to your price point and don’t overspend.  

Collect your paperwork

The staff at Wyndham Capital Mortgage can help you figure out what paperwork and documentation you will need for your applications.  Start collecting pay stubs at least 3 months in advance of a purchase or ask your employer if records are available online.   

It takes some work to become a homeowner.  Start early, stick to a budget and make sure you have all your documents ready.  Your home buying experience will be so much smoother with a little preparation.

When you apply for a mortgage loan with Wyndham Capital Mortgage or any lender, the lender will require some documentation.  If you want your home loan process to go quickly and smoothly, you will need to have your paperwork in place and ready.  It may seem like you have to dig up every piece of paper ever produced but there are really only a handful of things you should have.  

Income

Documentation of your income will be essential to fast loan processing time.  Here are a few of the essentials you should have on hand.  The expert staff at Wyndham Capital Mortgage can give you more specific details on what items you should have for your loan application.

• W2 forms.  At least 2 years should be provided to your lender.
• Pay stubs.  Most lenders like to see at least 30 days’ worth for each wage earner.
• 1040 forms.  You’ll need these if you are self-employed, own rental property or earn a significant amount from interest, capital gains, commissions or bonuses.
• Pension and/or social security letters.
• Year-to-date profit and loss statement.  Self-employed borrowers will need this.  

Assets

You should also be ready to document all of your assets.  Here are a few ways to document your assets.

• Stock statements.  About 2 months of documentation should be sufficient.
• Bank statements.  These should go back 3 months.  Have statements for each deposit account like checking, savings, and money market and brokerage accounts.
• Child support and/or alimony payments.
• Retirement asset statements.  Documentation on your 401K and other retirement accounts may be required.
• HUD statements.  If you have recently sold a home or have a home for sale you may need a HUD1 statement.
• Documentation of gifts.  If you have been gifted funds for the purchase of your home, you will need to provide a copy of the check or a deposit receipt showing these funds.  

Credit Items

You may also be asked to provide documentation or explanation of items in your credit history.

• Explanation of negative items on credit: late payments, collections, judgements, leins, charge offs or recent credit inquiries.
• Copies of bankruptcy claims.  If you have filed in the past 7 years, be prepared to provide a copy of the paperwork.
• Contact information for your landlord.  If you are a renter, your lender will want to check your history so have your landlord’s full name, phone number and address.  

This is not a comprehensive list.  It’s just a basic outline to help you get started collecting your documentation.  There may be specific items that a particular lender wants that have not been listed here.  Calling a loan professional at Wyndham Capital Mortgage will help you figure out what paperwork you need to locate and what won’t be necessary for your mortgage application. 

Many first-time home buyers, even some veteran buyers, can be a little unsure about whether or not they are really ready to purchase a home. When it comes to buying a home and taking on a monthly mortgage payment, you really should be prepared. It will be in your best interests to talk to one of the professional agents at Wyndham Capital Mortgage to…

When shopping for a first home and a first mortgage, smart shoppers quickly realize that they have a lot of homework to do.  The first thing you can do is study some of the basic vocabulary that is so specific to this industry.  There are a lot of terms to pick up that you, as a first-time buyer, may not have ever heard.  Here are a few you should know before you talk to your Wyndham Capital Mortgage advisor.  

Principal

The principal on your loan is the amount you have contracted to borrow.  It’s usually the purchase price minus any down payment you have made.  

Interest

The interest on the loan is a percentage of the principal that the lender charges you for the privilege of securing the loan.  This rate can vary depending on your credit score, the cost of the home, the type of mortgage you choose and other factors.   

Collateral

Collateral is something of real value that you offer to secure the loan.  Typically, the property you are buying will serve as the collateral that you will have to give back to the lender if you default on your loan.  

Amortization

Amortization is the schedule of mortgage payments you will make over time to repay your loan.  For a while, most of you payment will go to interest but after a certain period of time more and more will be paid towards the principal.  

Escrow Account

A borrower pays a certain amount into an escrow account.  Taxes and insurance payments are made from this account so that the lender is confident none have been forgotten and the buyer doesn’t have to remember to pay many different fees separately.  

Adjustable Rate Mortgage

In an adjustable rate mortgage, the interest rate will change at certain times during the term of the loan.  Your monthly payment could go up or down depending on market conditions.  

Fixed Rate Mortgage

In a fixed rate mortgage, the interest rate may be slightly higher than with an adjustable rate but your monthly payments will remain consistent throughout the course of the loan.  

Loan-to-Value (LTV)

Ratio This is the value of your loan in comparison to the value of the property itself.  If your LTV ratio is high you may have to buy additional mortgage insurance.  

This is just a list of a few basic terms.  Many other specialized terms and topics should be discussed with your helpful Wyndham Capital Mortgage representative.  He/She will be glad to help you decode industry terms and learn about your loan choices. Call us at 888-923-9911.

Wyndham Capital Mortgage

Not every customer of Wyndham Capital Mortgage is a home buyer.  Many clients are not buying a home from a seller but they are buying from themselves.  Refinancing your home is a good way to get a better monthly rate.

Not every home loan needs to be refinanced, even if the current interest rate is lower that your current one.  An associate at Wyndham Capital Mortgage reviews whether or not this move makes sense for your budget.  A good rule of thumb says if you will not save at least one percentage point by refinancing, you should wait until the rates drop further.   Perhaps more important is how long you will be staying in the home and thus the loan.  If you can break even by the time you would likely sell your home, refinancing might be a good idea even if you are not saving a full percentage point by doing so.  Talking to a mortgage professional like those at Wyndham Capital Mortgage can clear up any confusion you have regarding refinancing.

Some homeowners choose to refinance with the same company currently holding their loan.  Others choose a different provider entirely.  Your current lender should already have all the paperwork and documentation required so it may be easier and more convenient to stick with them.  However, there may be others on the market who can give you better terms.  Get a Good Faith Estimate from at least one provider for the sake of comparison.

Changing the type of loan is another reason to refinance.  You may find that your ARM is about to readjust in a way you cannot afford.  ARMs typically have lower introductory rate but they can also rise quite a bit higher later in the course of the loan.  You might consider refinancing into a fixed-rate loan instead.  You could also refinance into a more favorable ARM.

If you decide you might like to refinance, be sure to so your homework.  Investigate whether or not you will be reducing your tax savings by having less of a mortgage to deduct.  Look at the costs on your GFE to see if the fees outweigh your savings.  You will also want to find out if there is a fee for early payment on your current mortgage.  These and other assorted charges may eat away at the savings a refinancing might bring.

If you have questions about refinancing, the staff at Wyndham Capital Mortgage is a great resource for you.  Their knowledge of the industry and its various products will help you make an informed decision.  If you do choose to refinance, they can also help guide you to the right type of loan for you home.

 

When you are signing off on a loan large enough to pay for a house, you want to be absolutely sure that everyone involved is operating in good faith.  While Wyndham Capital Mortgage strives to attain the highest ethics in its procedures, not every lender has the same practices.  The closing table is no place for a surprise.  You should know within a reasonable margin of error what you will be expected to pay before you arrive.

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) which passed in 1974 endures just that.  It requires a lender to provide a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) to every borrower.  This document gives you a solid approximation of the fees and costs associated with your loan.  

What is a GFE?

A GFE is still an estimate, so don’t expect it to be exact down to the penny.  However, it should accurately represent your closing costs.  A reformation of RESPA went in to effect on January 1, 2010 and it says that any major discrepancies come out of the lender’s pocket, not yours.  It’s in the best interests of both parties to get it right.

How can I get one?

Your lender should provide you with a GFE within three days of your application.  This is required by law; don’t let them slide on this document.  You should not have to hunt it down or ask for it for make sure your lender has all your contact information.  Check your spam filter files in case your lender used e-mail for delivery.




Why do I need a GFE?

A GFE can help you comparison shop for rates or lenders so be sure to go over the costs and fees carefully.  It can give you negotiating power if you have a GFE from more than one lender and the fees are much higher.  A GFE gives you a great deal more security going into the loan process.  A GFE shows you that your lender is worthy of your trust.




Will anything else do?

Make sure what you receive is a true Good Faith Estimate.  Ask for by name.  Some lenders try to get by with a “work sheet” which may not be guaranteed to be accurate and will give you no recourse should it be grossly incorrect.   Windham Capital Mortgage always strives to be accurate and ethical in providing our Good Faith Estimates. 

If you do not understand the fees or cost outlined in the document, ask one of our associates to go over the paperwork with you and explain how it works.

With the help of a Wyndham Capital Mortgage banker’s guidance, a person or couple can typically make a decision regarding the price range in which their new home should fall fairly easily.  However, it is not always as simple to know the price range for your housing search.  Due to the fact that home sales generally include price negotiations, the listed price is rarely that which the house will sell for.  This is something that many people enjoy about the process, but others find it to make the whole situation even more complicated.  Whether you love it or hate, you will have to account for negations whether you are buying or selling.

You will likely want to keep your price range for the house search slightly broader than what you are actually looking to pay.  In this way, you are less likely to miss out on the ideal property that could have bought within your range of what you are able to spend.  So, in order to properly determine what your minimum and maximum search prices should be, continue reading.

Basing the Highs and Lows on Your Affordable Price Range – First and foremost, understand the way that sellers may think.  If your maximum amount that you can afford to pay is $295,000, understand that there are likely several properties available, which are listed for $299,000, or even $296,000.  Second, take a moment to understand the current market.  In a sellers’ market, which is a market in which homes are moving quickly and selling near, or even above their listing prices, the prices will be quite firm, thus you will want to set search ranges very near your actual range.  But, if the market is a buyer’s market and houses are moving very slowly or are selling well below listed prices, then you can feel freer to extend your search range by a fairly large margin. Your real estate agent will be able to tell you what the market trend is currently.  If you want to be a bit more exact about your search, you might consider determining the average difference between the listing prices of homes in recent months versus what they actually sold at.  You can use that ratio to adjust your own search range.

We at Wyndham Capital Mortgage, and everyone else for that matter, have all heard the horror stories regarding adjustable rate mortgages lately, so why is it that they still exist?  Why would you want to consider the adjustable rate?  Many choose to look at an adjustable rate mortgage as a way to pay a little less now and pay more down the road when he/she/they are “making more money.”  Others only see the little picture.  Often the interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages are considerably smaller than those on traditional loans, and seemingly appealing. 

The problem with both of these ways of thinking is that there is no guarantee that the interest rate will stay at its current level for any given length of time.  There is also no guarantee that you or your spouse or significant other will, in fact, be making more money down the line.  If nothing else, this poor time in America should teach us that nothing is certain.  Look at the number of people that had their retirement savings wiped out by the crash of the stock market.  Consider those that had worked for the same company for twenty years or more only to have the company close down, or to be laid off and replaced by a younger person willing to work for far less.

It may be safer to consider adjustable rate mortgages in a different way.  Instead of considering the payable interest rate to be the current interest rate, instead think of it being the highest possible rate.  Thus, your adjustable rate mortgage can become your savings plan.  If you plan to pay the amount due at the highest interest rate, then anything extra can be stashed in a savings account, or you can pay the full amount each and every time toward the mortgage and pay it off in significantly less time.  Not only will this help you save for the future, it will also protect you should the interest rate every actually reach that high interest rate. If you want to learn more, consider talking to a professional such as those that work at Wyndham Capital Mortgage.

Your choice of mortgage lender may determine how successful you are in purchasing the home of your dreams.  You’ll be counting on your lender to lock in rates before they change, to promptly and accurately process all your paperwork and get you to the closing table on time.  Your lender also determines many of the fees that you’ll be paying.  Choosing the right lender, such as Wyndham Capital Mortgage, can make all the difference in your home buying experience.

Know what you need.

You should take the time to educate yourself on the different types of lenders and mortgages available on the market and consider which is best for you.  Talking this over with a HUD-approved mortgage counselor may help clear up any confusion you have.  The choice of mortgage product ultimately belongs to the home buyer so it’s important to know your own needs and not give the decision over to someone else, even a professional.

Shop around.

Spend some time on–line checking typical rates and fees.  If you have a solid idea of what the usual charges are you will be less likely to overpay or fall for unscrupulous practices.  You can also compare lenders and products to see which ones are the most affordable. 

Get referrals.

Don’t go it alone when you’re shopping for a mortgage lender.  Ask your friends, relatives, coworkers and especially your realtor about the lenders they trust and use.  A service-oriented company like Wyndham Capital Mortgage will have clients that are happy to give you an account of their loan process. 

Investigate.

Don’t forget to investigate the lender’s certifications and state licensing, too.  This is one way to avoid getting burned by a disreputable company.  Make sure the mortgage lender you use is licensed in your state.  Don’t use a lender who is vague or won’t give you a specific interest rate or list of fees. 

Do your homework.

It will take a little legwork to find the right mortgage lender for you.  Once you’ve done the research you’ll see that Wyndham Capital Mortgage is an excellent choice of mortgage lender.  Our team of professionals is hardworking and completely dedicated to our clients.  Wyndham is focused on giving each customer the kind of service that will make them gladly recommend us to their friends and family.  Wyndham Capital Mortgage can help you find the right type of loan and terms to finance the home of your dreams.

Are you thinking of buying a home? Wyndham Capital Mortgage want you to know that despite what you hear in the media, now is a great time to buy. Mortgage rates are at historic lows, and the market is filled with great choices. After making out your list of wants and needs in a house, the next step is to consider the price tag you can actually afford. Most people are familiar with the terms prequalified and preapproved, but may not know their exact meanings or which one is better. Wyndham Capital explains each term and shows how it fits into the home buying process.

If you are prequalified for a loan, then you have discussed the possibility of a loan with Wyndham Capital Mortgage or another lender, and they have run some preliminary figures from information you have given them to find an approximate amount for a loan. There are no contracts made, and no promise of a loan is given. This should be your first step in the loan process. It is difficult to look at houses if you are unsure of the amount you can spend. Another important aspect of prequalification is that it is done without checking your credit score. This is important because every time a lender checks your credit, your rating is affected. Being able to find out your loan amount without affecting your credit is very important.

Preapproval is one of the most important steps in the loan process. If you have been preapproved for a loan, then you have met with a Wyndham Capital Mortgage or another lender and filed paperwork applying for a loan. At this point, the lender will run a credit check and advise you of the maximum amount they are willing to lend. Additionally, the lender will give you an approximate amount for the loan fees when you are approved. As with the prequalification process, you are under no legal restraint to receive the loan through that particular lender. However, because of the paperwork and review involved, there are often fees associated with being preapproved. Nevertheless, being preapproved for a loan is a big benefit when house-hunting. When placing a bid on a house, you should include the preapproval letter from your lender. This shows the seller of the house that you can afford the house and have already completed some of the necessary paperwork. A preapproval letter can be the difference between your bid being accepted or rejected.

It is important to understand the differences between being prequalified and preapproved. Both are vital steps in the home buying process. Prequalification will give you an approximate loan amount so you have an idea of the purchase price for a home. Also, you can get this without having your credit checked. Preapproval involves more paperwork and possibly some fees, but will make you a more powerful buyer when it comes time to put in a bid on your dream home. Buying a home is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. Look to Wyndham Capital Mortgage to answer all your questions and assist you through the mortgage process.