Purchasing

Becoming A Homeowner

The decision to become a homeowner can seem daunting.  Many folks believe that buying a home requires a large sum of money for down payment or that they need to have stellar credit to even attempt the purchase.  This is not the case and many times you may find that a mortgage payment is very similar to the amount your paying for a rent payment.  Here at J&L, we guide you through this process to dispel some of the myths as well as educate the potential borrower on the many options available to pursue buying a home.

First Step – Obligation Free Consultation

At the start of the process, we will discuss your goals as well as review your budget and financial profile to help determine what options or loan programs best fit your situation.  This is very much an educational consultation, especially for first time home buyers.  There are several loan programs available that have varying qualification requirements for getting approved for a loan.  We will walk through the pros and cons of those with you for which makes the most sense given your goals.  At the very least, if through this process we find that you are not ready to buy, we will help you come up with a plan in order to prepare for obtaining a home loan.

Next Step – Pre-Qualification

After the consultation and determination that you are ready, the next step is getting pre-qualified for a home loan.   This will help you know what your buying power is when shopping for a new home.  Many real estate agents require this before the shopping stage begins.  In this step, we gather the initial documentation to apply for a preapproved loan with the lender.  Think of it as starting a mortgage loan and then filling in the remaining gaps once you find the house you like.   We will work with your real estate agent on what they require for satisfactory preapproval documentation.

Final Step – Finalizing your loan

Having gone through the initial prequalification, a lot of the legwork is done.  Once you have found your dream home and your offer is accepted, we will get to work obtaining the remaining documents required to help you finalize the loan.  This is typically a 30 days or less process involving ordering title docs, getting the appraisal ordered, and any remaining underwriting conditions to get the loan closed with the lender.