Getting a loan for a house

Step 1. (Pre-Qualify with your Loan Officer)

Your first and most critical step is setting up an appointment to meet your loan officer. Whether your appointment is with a broker or representative of a direct lending institution, meeting your loan officer in person will give you an opportunity to assess his/her integrity and experience in person. At best it will create a lifetime relationship with a valuable professional you will be proud to call a friend.

Your meeting should consist of answering/confirming the following questions: Confirmation of qualifying income, credit score and debts, debt-to-income ratios, down payment capacity and last but not least, BUDGET! Regardless of what your scenario is on paper, the capacity to borrow money does not always equate to an ability to re-pay that money. Every borrower has a lifestyle that a home purchase will most likely have a dramatic impact on. Take this into account when determining your budget. Once you are comfortable with what you see, and have found your home, you will need to lock in your interest rate