Mortgage Tips For Buying a Home In 2008

Author: Darin Sewell

It seems you cannot go one day with out hearing some gloom and doom news about the slumping housing and credit market in America right now. These news reports make it seem like not one house will sell and no lenders will lend anyone money to buy a home. The fact is is that nothing could be further from the truth, even with the slumping housing market and tighter lending guidelines there has never been a better time to buy a home but you need to be aware of a few things regarding your financing before you start to shop for your first home.

Its a fact that mortgage lenders have tightened up their lending guidelines and programs, many are not even doing 100% financing anymore. To make sure you are not just spinning your wheels when you shop for a home and to avoid being let down you should talk to a mortgage lender first to make sure you are pre-approved for a loan.

When buying a home in 2008 it is a good choice to use a mortgage broker over a bank or large national lender. The reasons for this are many but the main reason is that mortgage brokers offer the most programs and are the most flexible. If one lender has a better program a mortgage broker can switch your loan to a different lender in about 15 minutes. This cannot be done with a bank or national lender, you are stuck with what they offer in house and thats it!

When you arrive at the mortgage brokers office make sure you bring you most recent pay check stubs, any bank and retirement account statements and your last 2 years taxes. This will allow the broker to accurately quote your purchasing range and keep your debt to income levels around 41% which is considered acceptable levels by most lenders. By staying at acceptable debt ratio levels your loan is less likely to be denied in underwriting.

While buying a house in 2008 will be harder it will not be impossible if you take the right steps in the beginning and get an accurate mortgage approval from a reputable mortgage broker.