Buying a condo or apartment in Florida is a significant investment. It can impact your finances as well as your entire life. With so much involved in the loan application and the complexities on the way, the process can get challenging, especially for first-time buyers. Mortgages are quite like loans. There is some money borrowed, a rate of interest to be paid, and a time fixed to repay it. However, the only difference is that mortgages are specifically used for real estate transactions and are customizable.
So, hire a local experienced mortgage broker who can take you through the following mentioned mortgage lending process smoothly and make your home buying ride hassle-free and exciting.
Step 1: Take Mortgage Pre-Approval
With a mortgage pre-approval in hand, it is easy to tell the sellers that you are not fooling around and are serious about making the purchase. So, please fill out an official application and provide your bank/lender the desired financial documents and a credit report to get it.
Step 2: Submit Loan Application
You can officially start your house hunting journey when you are pre-approved for the loan. Once you find your dream home, you can apply some documents to the bank and wait until it gets processed.
Step 3: Get Loan Estimate
Within three days or so of your loan application, you receive a loan estimate that describes the terms and the costs associated with it. It also includes the interest rate and monthly payments such as principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.
Step 4: Wait for Mortgage Processing
In this phase, all the information related to your finances and loan application, and documents are opened. Also, your tax records, employment letters, bank statements, the purchase agreement, and home appraisal report are requested for further evaluation.
Step 5: Receive Underwriter’s Decision
A mortgage underwriter is the final decision maker who passes or rejects your residential mortgage application after carefully looking at the documentation. They are ultimately the person who sees if everything complies with the standards and fits the guidelines.
Step 6: Lock in Loan Interest Rate and Terms
Your underwriter also locks in your interest rate and loan terms. The maximum loan repayment duration is fixed, and whether the interest rate is adjustable or fixed is decided. Doing this is crucial because there can be a risk of interest rates rising later without locking in an interest rate.
Step 7: Obtain Loan Approval
When the underwriter is sure that there is no problem, they let the process keep moving forward and finally grant you the approval. Your loan is signed off, and your loan is cleared to close, allowing the purchase of a home you desire.
Step 8: Close the Deal
This is the final step of the loan process. Documents are printed out, sent to the title company, and then a meeting is arranged to finalize the transaction. A “closing disclosure” is settled on that has details such as the projected monthly payments, loan terms, fees, closing costs, etc.
