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Mortgage rates tie record low
Mortgage rates were unchanged this week at 4.57%, matching last week's record low.
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Get The Best Mortgage Loan For You
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When you decide to buy a home or refinance a mortgage, it's a big step. You can trust us to find the loan program that's best for you.
Buying a new home
is a source of anxiety, frustration -- and a huge sense of accomplishment. You didn't pick the house that was best for someone else, you picked the one that's right for you! Trust our professionals to find the mortgage loan that best fits your needs, too. "Less paperwork and more personal attention" means you enter a frustration-free zone from application to decision. Getting the right mortgage loan is like getting the keys to your new house! We can help you get there.
Refinancing your current mortgage
has never been easier. If you thought refinancing meant getting buried under mountains of paperwork, think again! We make it easy and worry-free to reduce your interest rate and monthly payment. We can even help you pay down your balance more quickly for comparable monthly payment. Let our professionals guide you to the very best refinanced loan!
Tapping into your home equity
is easier than ever before. You've been paying down your balance, and property values have gone up! Tap into that wealth and reward yourself. We'll help with the best program to fit your goals.
Our mortgage professionals give you the personal attention you deserve and treat you with the respect due a valued customer. We understand you're making a commitment in buying a new home, refinancing a mortgage, or cashing out your home equity. So we make a commitment to you. We will help you qualify, apply and be approved for the right mortgage loan for you. Not anyone else!
Please navigate our website to learn more about us, what we do for you, and how easy it is to get started.
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 Should you talk to a mortgage professional before house hunting?
Absolutely! Even if you haven't so much as picked out houses to visit yet, it's important to see your mortgage professional first. Why? What can we do for you if you haven't negotiated a price, and don't know how much you want to borrow?
When we pre-qualify you, we help you determine how much of a monthly mortgage payment you can afford, and how much we can loan you. We do this by considering your income and debts, your employment and residence situations, your available funds for down payment and required reserves, and some other things. It's short and to the point, and we keep the paperwork to a minimum!
Once you qualify, we give you what's called a Pre-Qualification Letter (your real estate agent might call it a "pre-qual"), which says that we are working with you to find the best loan to meet your needs and that we're confident you'll qualify for a loan for a certain amount.
When you find a house that catches your eye, and you decide to make an offer, being pre-qualified for a mortgage will do a couple of things. First, it lets you know how much you can offer. Your real estate agent will help you decide on an appropriate offer, but being pre-qualified gives you the confidence to know you can follow through.
More importantly, to a home seller, your being pre-qualified is like you walked into their house with a suitcase full of cash to make the deal! They won't have to wonder if they're wasting their time because you'll never qualify for a mortgage to finance the amount you're offering for the home. You have the clout of a buyer ready to make the deal right now!
You can always use the calculators available on our site to get an idea of how much mortgage you can afford -- but it's important to meet with us. For one thing, you'll need a Pre-Qualification Letter! For another thing, we may be able to find a different mortgage program that fits your needs better.
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 What is a credit score?
Before deciding on what terms lenders will offer you on a loan (which they base on the "risk" to them), they want to know two things about you: your ability to pay back the loan, and your willingness to pay back the loan. For the first, they look at your income-to-debt obligation ratio. For your willingness to pay back the loan, they consult your credit score.
The most widely used credit scores are FICO scores, which were developed by Fair Isaac & Company, Inc. (and they're named after their inventor!). Your FICO score is between 350 (high risk) and 850 (low risk).
Credit scores only consider the information contained in your credit profile. They do not consider your income, savings, down payment amount, or demographic factors like gender, race, nationality or marital status. In fact, the fact they don't consider demographic factors is why they were invented in the first place. "Profiling" was as dirty a word when FICO scores were invented as it is now. Credit scoring was developed as a way to consider only what was relevant to somebody's willingness to repay a loan.
Past delinquencies, derogatory payment behavior, current debt level, length of credit history, types of credit and number of inquiries are all considered in credit scores. Your score considers both positive and negative information in your credit report. Late payments will lower your score, but establishing or reestablishing a good track record of making payments on time will raise your score.
Different portions of your credit history are given different weights. Thirty-five percent of your FICO score is based on your specific payment history. Thirty percent is your current level of indebtedness. Fifteen percent each is the time your open credit has been in use (ten year old accounts are good, six month old ones aren't as good) and types of credit available to you (installment loans such as student loans, car loans, etc. versus revolving and debit accounts like credit cards). Finally, five percent is pursuit of new credit -- credit scores requested.
Your credit report must contain at least one account which has been open for six months or more, and at least one account that has been updated in the past six months for you to get a credit score. This ensures that there is enough information in your report to generate an accurate score. If you do not meet the minimum criteria for getting a score, you may need to establish a credit history prior to applying for a mortgage.
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 What is a "rate lock period"? How can you make sure your rate is low?
A rate lock or a rate commitment is a lender's promise to hold a certain interest rate and a certain number of points for you for a specified period of time while your application is processed. This prevents you from going through your whole application process and at the end of it finding out the interest rate has gone up.
A rate lock period can vary in length, and longer ones usually cost more. A lender will agree to "hold" your interest rate and points for a longer period, say 60 days, but in exchange the rate and maybe points are higher than with a shorter rate lock period, for example.
There are many ways besides opting for a shorter rate lock period to get a lower rate, though. A larger down payment will result in a lower interest rate than a smaller one, because you're starting out with more equity. You can pay points to lower your rate over the life of the loan, but that means you pay more up front. For many people, this makes sense and is a good deal.
Closing costs are fees paid by the lender, which the lender in turn charges you to close the loan. Many people pay closing costs when they sign on the dotted line, but a person can also finance their closing costs. Paying closing costs when the loan closes will reduce your interest rate.
Finally, the interest rate a lender is willing to offer you depends on your credit score and your debt-to-income ratio. If you have good credit and your income far exceeds your debt obligations, you will qualify for a lower rate.
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 An overview of the loan process
Make no mistake, there's a lot involved in getting a mortgage loan. You wouldn't be here on our website if you could fill out a one-page application and get the best loan for you funded the same day. What we do is most of the heavy lifting for you, so you can concentrate on what's important -- preparing to move into your new home, saving money, or making plans for your home equity line of credit.
There are four main steps involved in getting a loan. You'll see that we've made your part in them as easy as possible, and we do all the work! That's what we're here for.
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Step one: determine how much you can borrow
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This is a function of a couple things. How much of a monthly payment can you afford? And given your unique credit and employment history, income and debt, and goals, how much will a lender loan you? The first part you can get a rough idea of by using the calculators on our website. We'll also help you through different scenarios by asking a few simple questions. Based on standard lender guidelines, we'll get you a good idea of what kind of terms and loan program you can expect to benefit most from.
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Step two: pre-qualify for your loan
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This is where the rubber meets the road and you save the most money. You supply information about your employment, your assets, your residence history, and so on. We get your permission to run your credit score. When we review all this information we give you a Pre-Qualification Letter. Handle it with care -- to a home seller, it's like a suitcase full of cash! Your realty agent will use your Pre-Qual (as they may call it) to make the best offer on the home you choose, and the seller knows you're pre-qualified. It gives you buying clout! And while you're picking out the home that's right for you, we're busy finding the loan that's right for you.
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Step three: apply now! We make it easy
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Once you've made an offer and it's been accepted, it's time to complete the loan application. It couldn't be easier, and you can do it online, right here at our website. When the time is right, we'll order an appraisal of your new home.
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Step four: your loan is funded
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Your realty agent and the seller's will work together to designate an escrow/title company to handle the funding of your loan once it's approved. We'll coordinate with the escrow company to make sure all the papers your lender will need are in order, and you'll sign everything at the escrow/title company's office.
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You've answered a few questions, given us some detailed information, applied online, and next thing you know, you're moving in! We're in the business of mortgage loans -- so we do most of the work. Doesn't that make sense?
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Free Reports!
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To enhance your buying and refinancing experience, it’s our job as mortgage professionals to provide you with as much valuable information as possible. It is essential that the consumer be aware of all aspects of the real estate finance market before making a major decision. Whether it be through newsletters, checklists or news articles, we are here to make this process stress-free and rewarding. Please access our free reports today!
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