The Mortgage Process

Unless you plan to pay cash to buy a house, it’s a great idea to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you begin looking for properties to purchase. In order to make an offer on a property, you will need a pre-approval letter from a lender, so you’ll have to go through the mortgage pre-approval process one way or another. Our real estate agents in Austin suggest starting the pre-approval process sooner rather than later; it not only gives you buying power, it also helps you narrow down your search.

1. How much will you need to put down on a property & how do different down payment amounts affect your mortgage rate & any PMI (Mortgage Insurance.)
2. What do prospective monthly payments look like for different-priced homes?
3. How do different down payment amounts affect your monthly payment for a specific price point?
Answering these questions helps you determine your price range and gets us off to a great start on your search.

If you would like a referral to a great lender, just let us know.

When looking for a lender, we recommend the following:
  • Go Local!

    Local mortgage bankers rely on referrals to get most of their business, so they have to protect their local reputation. A local loan originator (LO) will be much more motivated to close your loan on time & with little hassle than someone in Hoboken, NJ.
  • Use an LO & bank that specializes in mortgages.

    These types of LO’s are typically 100% commission jobs. So, they’re highly motivated to get you approved & to make sure your loan closes on time.
  • Use someone w/ an online social media presence, specifically with reviews.

    If your lender is rated well on Yelp, Google+, or AngiesList, that the lender will want to protect his/her rating (and hopefully get a new, positive review from you.)
  • Stay away from national retail banks

    Like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, etc… You might already bank w/ a national bank, and it might seem natural to go to them for a mortgage. In our experience, their mortgage departments are typically staffed with lower-paid employees who aren’t heavily incentivized, which means they have little motivation to do a good job for you.

If you’re hesitant to speak with a lender now, you can get started on your own by taking the following steps:
  1. Check your credit score at CreditKarma.com. Typically, you’ll need at least a 660 to qualify (with some exceptions for FHA & VA financing.) The higher your credit score, the better rate the bank will offer you. You’ll get the most attractive rate with a 740+ credit score.
  2. Use an online mortgage calculator or download an app to your phone. Make sure that it calculates Principal, Interest, Taxes, & Insurance (PITI) which is your total monthly payment. Bear in mind that Texas has higher property taxes than most calculators will assume. For Android, we recommend using Karl’s Mortgage Calculator and we recommend the Quicken Loans app (though we strongly recommend against using Quicken Loans.)
  3. Calculate your Debt to Income Ratio (DTI.) This is your total monthly debt load (student loans, car payments, minimum credit cards, etc) divided by your monthly pre-tax income. Your lender will approve you for roughly 50% DTI, so you can add in prospective mortgage payments (PITI) to get an idea of what you’ll qualify for.
As you can see, the mortgage pre-approval process can be a little complicated, which is why we think it’s best to speak with a lender early in the process. We’re happy to help in any way we can! Give us a call at 512-883-5445!
Sources: [1] Credit Karma [2] Bankrate – Mortgage Calculator With Taxes And Insurance [3] Dr. Calculator – Karl’s Mortgage Calculator [4] Quicken Loans Mortgage Calculator App
Buyer Resources
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2300+ Client reviews!

Elizabeth Michael was awesome to work with! As a first time home buyer, she was able to explain the process clearly and professionally, from our first meeting, all the way through closing.

She was very communicative and we never felt we were left in the dark. She fought for us when we needed her to fight for us, and her advice was invaluable. She absolutely excels at navigating the Austin real estate market.

She was also able to recommend a great lender, insurance agent, etc., which made it feel like we had a whole team working for us. I’d recommend working with Elizabeth to everyone I know.

We worked with Julie Stoakley to purchase a home since moving back from Florida. We were impressed with her knowledge of the incentives and mortgage strategies. We never felt lost in communication on where we stood in the buying process. We purchased a home with an incentive and with her knowledge we were able to obtain clarity and an understanding for it. She also helped us in negotiating repairs from the inspection process and were able to get a brand new roof! I would definitely recommend Julie to my friends and family!

Crystal Hirst understands market conditions and how to position. She does her research well and helped us price our house to “SELL”. Indeed it sold much faster than our expectation, while multiple other units in the area, and in fact on the “same street”, still remain unsold. Ultimately Crystal brought us multiple interested buyers and we achieved higher than asking because of this multi-party interest that Crystal generated. We enjoyed our experience, her professionalism and excellent communication. We highly recommend Chrystal Hirst as your realtor.

Crystal Hirst understands market conditions and how to position. She does her research well and helped us price our house to “SELL”. Indeed it sold much faster than our expectation, while multiple other units in the area, and in fact on the “same street”, still remain unsold. Ultimately Crystal brought us multiple interested buyers and we achieved higher than asking because of this multi-party interest that Crystal generated. We enjoyed our experience, her professionalism and excellent communication. We highly recommend Chrystal Hirst as your realtor.

I have been thoroughly pleased with my experience with Bramlett Residential and my realtor Tyson Hombroek. Tyson provided outstanding service in helping me with the sale of my house. He is very professional and on top of the market. We stayed in constant communication and he was helpful in answering all my questions I had. This was a great experience. I highly recommend them.

Kasey Gilliam was very professional and communicated through the whole home buying and searching process. highly recommend working with her. She has great expertise in Austin and lead very helpful with all of our home buying questions and concerns!

Vicki Duran from Bramlett was extremally informative and made the whole sales process effortless. I used her to not only purchase my home 4 years ago but also for the sale of the same home. Communication is key for me and Vicki was available at any time to answer questions and to keep us looped in during negotiations and or pending offers. Her attention to detail really stans out and had her clients best interest in mind at all time.

I highly recommend Vicki to anyone looking to purchase a home or sell their home, having used her for both I know you will be glad you did.

Elizabeth is AMAZING!!! She went above and beyond to secure me an absolutely beautiful home. HIGHLY recommended.

Elizabeth is amazing at her job. She found my roommates and me a great house and made the whole process very easy 10/10

Elizabeth was great and easy to work with and helped me a find a tenant quickly. She was prompt in communication and I would highly recommend her to everyone finding a new tenant

Elizabeth has helped me find a home not once, but twice! She’s incredibly responsive and communicative- Both times I’ve worked with her, she has prioritized what I’m looking for, been super realistic and honest, and is always my advocate. I’m so grateful for her hard work!

Elizabeth was extremely helpful in our process of buying our first home. She was extremely responsive, friendly and made the home buying process extremely simple and easy. Thanks again Elizabeth you’re the best!

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