Mortgages are, by far, some of the most stressful events in life. The process itself involves a lot of paper filling and demands loads of patience, to begin with. Whether this is your very first home and you are also experiencing the butterflies of the process, or you are looking to move house and invest in a bigger property, these mortgage tips should come in handy.

See How Much House You Can Afford

While you may be day-dreaming about a luxury villa with 5 bedrooms and a pool, your bank account/credit score/savings might be telling you something else. The trick is to buy what you can actually afford and never go over your limits. Your DTI is your monthly debts compared to your income. The majority of mortgages enable 41% DTI at most. For more peace of mind, you should focus on a DTI ratio that will not go higher than 36%. There are calculators you can use online to determine just how much house you can buy, or you can get in touch with one of our experts and figure out what to expect.

A high DTI rate is very likely to force you to miss mortgage payments in case something urgent comes up. Act responsibly and listen to the professional advice of mortgage experts for a smooth process.

Get Yearly Credit Reports And Look For Errors

You are entitled to ask for a free copy of your credit report on a yearly basis at www.annualcreditreport.com. Check for any potential errors in terms of your contact details, home address, or accounts. Get in touch with the credit bureau and have them fix any problems you may find.

Don’t Worry About Having The Perfect Credit Score

There are tons of mortgage programs that will allow you to have a credit score of 620 the minimum so your loan can be approved. FHA loans are excellent for people with a credit score of 580. However, just because you have a 580 credit score, it does not mean that you will automatically qualify for your loan. A lending institution will usually assess a number of factors, and not just your credit score.

Your credit history over the last year prior to your mortgage request should be as clean as possible. Focus on getting rid of all of your payments. Keep in mind that provided you can afford to pay a down payment of 20 percent, you can prevent paying for a PMI mortgage that also requires you to get mortgage insurance. The PMI is up to 1% on a yearly basis, and it is tied to the type of mortgage program you will select. An FHA loan has a PMI of 0.85% and it is required for the loan’s life. For more details, feel free to check the information on our website or get in touch with us and let us guide your steps toward the ideal mortgage solutions.

Save Some Cash

Having some extra money aside means improving your odds of receiving your loan. Lenders will look at it as payment for a few months and they would much rather grant you the loan instead of someone who will be depleting all of their savings in order to get the mortgage.

Start well ahead and take advantage of this compensating factor and you could get your credit faster and with less hassle.

Improve Your Credit Score

Prior to filling in your paperwork for your mortgage, try to improve your credit score as much as possible. You could try to pay a high credit card balance below 15% of the limit. Focus on disputing any negative information concerning your account by contacting the credit bureau and creditors and negotiate a payment to have the information deleted. You could also ask a family member with a good credit score to add you as an authorized user.

Secure Your New Home

Once all the paperwork is filled in and your loan approved, you can start planning your move into your new home. Make sure to secure it properly prior to spending your first night there. Consider changing the locks or having them re-keyed so you can prevent any of the old owners from using their keys to break in. Professional locksmiths services like 24/7 ASAP Locksmiths can provide you with expert consulting services and advanced solutions for home safety, including deadbolt lock installation, safe installation, window lock fitting, peephole and mailing box lock installation and more.