FAQs

A home is an investment. When you rent, you write your monthly check and that money is gone forever. But when you own your home, you can deduct the cost of your mortgage loan interest from your federal income taxes. You can also deduct the property taxes you pay as a homeowner. In addition, the value of your home may go up over the years.

Here are a few tips to assist you when it comes to applying for a loan:

1. Use cash instead of credit for your purchases.
2. Avoid making any large credit purchases—the added debt could impact your ability to qualify for a loan.
3. Contact creditors immediately if you have a problem or concern about your ability to make payments on time.
4. Put money aside into savings so you'll have a financial cushion in case of an emergency.

Using a real estate broker is a very good idea. All the details involved in home buying, particularly the financial ones, can be mind-boggling. A Quadrant Homebuyer's Consultant professional can guide you through the entire process and make the experience much easier. We're well-acquainted with all the important things you'll want to know about Quadrant communities... the quality of schools, the number of children in the area, parks, amenities, and more. We can save you hours of research and driving-around time. The best news of all is that you don't have to pay us anything! The service is free and when you buy, the payment comes from the home seller—not from you, the buyer.

A pre-qualification will estimate how much money you are eligible to borrow before you apply for a mortgage. We can explain all the different mortgage options available and assist you in the pre-qualification process. Be prepared to provide basic information such as income, debts and assets. A pre-qualification is not a pre-approval or loan approval.

Yes. You may provide the required documentation for a loan pre-approval to verify income, debts and assets prior to your purchase. At this time we will refer you to Quadrant Home Loans, or you may choose another lender of your choice. Once the lender has obtained a credit report, they can make a credit only loan decision. This process is called a pre-approval. Since the property to be purchased is typically not known for a pre-approval, estimated sales price and loan amount are used to make a loan decision.

There are many costs to building your own home to consider. Well, of course you'll have your monthly utilities. If your utilities have been covered in your rent, this may be new for you. Your Quadrant Homebuyer's Consultant will be able to help you estimate how much utilities normally cost. You'll have property taxes, and you also may have city or county taxes. Taxes normally are rolled into your mortgage payment. Again, we will be able to help you anticipate these costs.

Most loans have four parts:

1. principal: the repayment of the amount you actually borrowed;
2. interest: payment to the lender for the money you've borrowed;
3. homeowners insurance: a monthly amount to insure the property against loss from fire, smoke, theft, and other hazards required by most lenders; and
4. property taxes: the annual city/county taxes assessed on your property, divided by the number of mortgage payments you make in a year.

Here are a few general tips to assist you in raising and maintaining your credit score:

• Maintain one to two revolving charge accounts (such as Visa or MasterCard) in good standing.
• Avoid "finance" company credit card offers.
• Avoid credit inquiries-they lower your credit score.
• Don't max out your credit cards-the ratio of available credit to your total credit balances is very important.
• Don't apply for multiple credit lines; this triggers an inquiry of your credit, which lowers your credit score.
• Never co-sign a loan for someone else.

Credit scoring plays a significant role when you apply for a loan. Higher credit scores help you to be eligible for more loan options. If you've had credit difficulties in the past, there are still mortgage programs available.

Use your good payment history on rent and utilities, as well as credit obtained through family members or friends. Provide a year's worth of canceled checks to validate consistent monthly payments. This information will become part of your application for the mortgage loan.

The total finance charges for a loan that is expressed as a percentage. APR takes into account the total cost of a mortgage, including interest, closing fees, lender points, and other charges over the life of a loan.

A FICO score is a credit scoring method to determine the likelihood of credit users paying their bills. A credit score attempts to condense your credit history into a single number. Credit scores are based on the following:

1. Any late payments to creditors
2. The amount of time your credit has been established
3. The amount of credit you've used as opposed to the amount of credit still available
4. The length of time you've been at your present residence
5. Your employment history
6. Any negative credit information: bankruptcies, charge-offs, collections, liens, etc.

When you file your application for a loan, the lender must, under the terms of RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act), provide you with a Good Faith Estimate of settlement services that will likely incur. The estimate may be stated as either a dollar amount or a range for each charge.

The disclosure is designed to give you information about the cost of your loan.

An appraisal is a report made by a certified appraiser who provides a professional opinion or estimate of property value. When you apply for a mortgage loan with Quadrant Homes Loans, they will initiate the process to get an appraisal ordered.

We can get you started by providing you with a Free Market Analysis. Learn how much your home is worth by talking with one of our Regional Market Specialists, expert Real Estate agents who really know your neighborhood. Simply call 866-78HOMES.