No matter if you bought a home, know someone who has or are looking to buy, one thing you know is getting a loan for most people is a long, difficult, time consuming, left in the dark feeling and stressful process too often resulting in a turn down for the loan or the amount of the loan you wanted for your dream home.

WHY? The #1 reason getting a home loan seems like such a hassle is because there is not just one single source where you can turn to help you navigate the system, avoid the pitfalls and not hurt your credit. At Make Home Buying Simple we change all that. Using our 3 Simple Steps, we guide you through the process in as stress-free, hassle-free manner as possible. We work with and educate you to make sure you meet lender credit and financial criteria without hurting your credit and then provide you with a loan officer so you can get a Lender Approval Letter to go home shopping to find and close on your new home.

Looking to get a re-fi or home loan in the next 30 days to 6 months

Step 1. Credit Criteria

The first Step in obtaining a home loan starts with having your credit pulled so lenders can determine if you can qualify. The problem is that when your credit is pulled one or more hard inquiries can appear on your credit report and, if you don’t qualify for or go forward on getting a loan your credit score usually drops. With Make Home Buying Simple we eliminate that problem. Instead we pull your credit with a soft inquiry so your credit score doesn’t have any negative impact and then we review it with you to determine if your credit can qualify you for a home loan or if it needs work before you can qualify.

If your credit meets approval criteria for your home loan, CONGRATULATIONS! You are moving on to Step 2 right away which is one step closer to your Lender Approval Letter. However, if your credit doesn’t meet lender approval criteria or your Debt-to-Credit Ratio or Debt-to-Income are too high to qualify for the loan or amount of the loan you hope to get, don’t worry when the lender or real estate agent can’t help you. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT ALL ON YOUR OWN!

At Make Home Buying Simple, if your credit doesn’t qualify yet, our team will work with you so you can qualify. We will give you options discussing the ins and outs of what is keeping you from qualifying, how the items on your credit report are impacting your score and what can be done to fix it. We will review your Debt-to-Credit-Ratio and explain how it can impact your score negatively or positively which can affect your interest rate and how much you can borrow. We’ll also review your Debt-to-Income and help you understand why it’s affecting your ability to get approved even though your credit score can qualify you for your loan. We will show ways you can make changes to your Debt-to-Income numbers so you can qualify for the loan and even get a higher amount to borrow simply by lowering that number.

How? By working with lenders, brokers and agents, we stay up-to-date on the lender credit approval criteria for qualifying for your home loan, how to maximize the amount you can borrow and potential ways to help lower your interest rate. This is what we do so you aren’t out there trying to go through the credit process with no one to help you understand what’s happening and how to fix it so you don’t lose hope and can hear the lender say “YES!”

Also, while helping you qualify on a credit basis, we will help you understand the credit scoring process so you can build and maximize your credit score over time. This way you won’t have to wonder if your credit is keeping you from getting approved for any of your future borrowing needs. Instead you will be armed with the knowledge of how to control your credit and its impact on your life.

Once you meet credit approval criteria or while you are working on meeting it, we begin with Step 2. Here we provide you with information on types of loans, the DOs and DON’Ts of borrowing, what to expect during the process and so much more. In fact, even if you don’t have a real estate agent, we can make recommendations of agents who excel in negotiating on your behalf so you get the best deal possible. In other words, we make sure you know what’s happening with all aspects of the process and when so you can be at peace knowing you have the help and knowledge you want and need.

Step 2. Financial Criteria

Many people don’t realize just meeting credit approval criteria does not assure you will get a home loan. To qualify, you must also show you have the financial ability to close. This includes not just your income to determine how much you can borrow; it also means you have to show you have the money to pay the expenses required at closing as part of being approved for your loan.

While working to meet credit approval criteria, in Step 2 we determine your financial ability to close the loan and gather the documentation to receive your Lender Approval Letter. Regarding income, we will discuss your source and type of total household income (W-2 or 1099), how long you have been on your
job and how we get you approved.

Of course, your Debt-to-Income factors into the minimum or maximum amount you can borrow in relation to your total household income. What this means is the lower the percentage the greater the amount you can have for purchasing your home. However, the higher that percentage, the lower the amount you can borrow or, if the percentage is too high, you may not even qualify. Not to worry. We understand this and just as our team can help you with meeting the credit approval criteria, our team can help you navigate the financial approval criteria. In fact and especially if your income is derived from 1099s, we have in-house tax review assistance to help you work through any pitfalls that might minimize how much you can borrow or even disqualify you simply because your tax returns don’t show you make enough money to afford your home loan.

Besides the income, there is also the question of showing the lender you have the ability to pay the costs associated with closing on your home loan without having to borrow any money to do it. You will be required to show you can pay things like an inspection, appraisal, down payment, closing costs the first month’s mortgage payment including the property taxes and insurance. This can be done with savings, retirement funds, tax refunds and the like which we will help you determine and document. Again, don’t fret trying to figure this all out on your own. We know what questions to ask and, based on the information you give us, help you take the steps to document that you can close so you do meet the financial approval criteria.

So now that we have the information and ways to meet the financial approval criteria, it’s time to document it. As part of this Step we will be discussing what documents you will need to provide to complete this Step. These documents will include tax returns, bank and financial records statements, IDs, paystubs, W-2s, 1099s and the like. Also, if applicable, you will need to provide other documents like divorce decrees, alimony, child support, bankruptcy and military documents if your applying for a VA loan as well as any additional documents that the lender might need like a completed loan condition form.

Don’t worry. During this Step we help you figure out the ways you can meet the financial approval criteria and what documents you will and may need all the while making the process as simple and stress-free as possible. We ask the questions, gather the information and make the suggestions as we guide you and let you know what to provide in documents so you will be approved for your home loan.