Mortgage Tips
February 25, 2015
Now that you know all the things you can accomplish with a mortgage, it is time to examine the best tips to get you there once you have it as one of your goals this year.
Consider all of the costs
Sit down and work out your budget before applying for a mortgage. You will need to be sure you can borrow enough to cover the purchase of the property and that you will have enough to cover all of the associated costs and fees. Make sure you have enough cash on hand for the following:
- Down payment (on a mortgage loan it’s 10% of the purchase price that’s required)
- Property inspection
- Closing costs (including property appraisal, legal fees and settlement fees, home-owners insurance and property taxes, loan fees)
- New appliances and furniture for your new house as well as lawn and garden equipment
- Home improvement projects.
Consider your credit history
Your credit history is very important to lenders as this is one of the criteria they will base their approval upon. Try to get a copy of your credit report from TransUnion so you will have an idea of your credit position and take steps to improve if need be.
Don’t hide any information
Help your lender by providing them with as much information as possible upfront, even if you think it may hurt you. Your lender is there to help you obtain that mortgage and it’s much easier to find a solution upfront rather than during the final approval when the clock is ticking!
Deposit all income
If you receive dividends, rent or you’re self-employed, we urge you to deposit all earnings into an account as this assists in validating income.
Make more frequent payments
Under a fortnightly payment plan, a home-owner can save thousands in interest. With fortnightly payments you basically pay one additional instalment every year (26 fortnight payments = 13 months). As interest is amortized monthly the additional payments every year will effectively reduce the amount of interest you pay over the term.
Want to know more about our mortgages? For all things mortgage, visit http://www.mymortgagefirst.com