The Mortgage Process

Whether you are a first-time home buyer or moving up to a luxury home it is important to choose the home loan that best suits your needs. Skobel homes works with preferred lenders in your neighborhood that will give you personalized service and simplify the financing process. Our team of preferred lenders will help you secure the most competitive interest rates and are ready to provide you with a wide range of financing options to make purchasing your Skobel Home as quick and easy as possible. Below is a summary of what you can expect during the mortgage process:

Pre-approval

Before you begin your new home search it is important to meet with a lender and get pre-approved for a loan. Pre-approval is a formal process where the lender will ask you questions about your finances and verify that your information is accurate. This will include providing income documentation, background checks, and other factors used in evaluating a loan application. While this may seem like a lot of effort to go through before you have even found your new home, you will eventually have to go through this process when applying for the actual loan later on. With loan pre-approval, the lender provides you with a written commitment (subject to verification) of how much they will let you borrow. As a buyer, pre-approval will give you peace of mind knowing exactly how much home you can afford.

For people not involved in the real estate or mortgage industry on a daily basis, the concepts of ‘pre-approval’ and ‘pre-qualification’ can sometimes be used interchangeably, but this is incorrect and it is important that you are aware of the differences. Pre-qualification is a quick and casual conversation with a lender, where the lender asks you a few questions about your finances (income, monthly expenses, etc.). The lender will then provide you with an estimate of how much money they might lend you, assuming that all of your information is true and accurate. While you will get a pre-qualification letter, this letter in no way bounds the lender to underwrite your loan. Pre-qualification does not provide any assurances you can truly afford the estimated loan amount and it is still very possible that you may not qualify for the necessary loan when you go through the official loan application process.

Although pre-qualification is quick and easy, obtaining pre-approval is strongly recommended. With a pre-approval you know exactly how much money you can borrow, allowing you to spend your time looking for the right home and removing last-minute loan surprises that could delay closing or prevent you from obtaining the loan.

Find Your Home

The next step, finding your home, is fun and easy with Skobel Homes. Choose a lot and home model that you wish to purchase in one of our beautiful communities and sign a contract for your new home.

Apply for a Loan

With your signed contract in hand, you can make a final decision on the loan type and submit an application. After completing the application process your lender will notify you of your loan approval and work with you to prepare for closing.

Locking in your Interest Rate

At some point before your closing date, you will need to lock in your interest rate. You can typically lock your interest rate for 30, 60 or 90 days, depending on how long you anticipate it will take before you can close on your new home. Locking your interest rate protects you from increases in interest rates that may occur before your closing date. However, it will also prevent you from enjoying a lower interest rate should interest rates go down before your closing date.

It is difficult to predict whether mortgage rates will go up or down, even for professionals, so once you have found a mortgage and monthly payment that you are comfortable with, it can be a good idea to lock it in so you will know exactly what to expect at closing.

Prepare for Closing

A Skobel Homes representative will work closely with you and your lender to coordinate a firm closing date and time and ensure that the process is moving along smoothly. During this time, your lender will review your information and request any additional documentation that may be required such as pay stubs, account statements, W2s, etc., and validate that your loan information is still accurate. As the closing date approaches, you will need to obtain hazard insurance and review the final closing documents. Your lender will also place orders for a property appraisal, a survey of property boundaries, a flood determination and a title search and title insurance. The underwriter will review all your information and grant a final approval on your loan.

If anything significant changes during your mortgage application process (changing jobs, marital status, etc.), you should tell your lender as soon as possible. On closing day, you will be certifying that no significant changes have occurred, so it is important to address changes as they arise.

Closing

At closing, Skobel Law, P.A., the closing agent, will assemble the closing package and ensure that all fees and other closing payments are accurately documented. The closing agent will explain all of the final mortgage documents to you and answer any questions you may have. After signing all the documents, the closing agent authorizes the mortgage funds for disbursement. Once the wire transfer has been received, keys are handed over and the celebration begins. Congratulations, you are now a homeowner.