Focus on Your Mortgage First

Assuming that you are good to go on the mortgage front can be risky.

Unless you are an individual financing the transaction with cash, your mortgage will dictate the home shopping process itself.

Don’t put the cart before the horse.

Without a mortgage from a reputable and trusted lender, you may not get a house in today’s market. While shopping with a reputable realtor is important, make sure you allot the time and attention to your home loan first.

A new study from Fannie Mae revealed that there is a “lack of mortgage focus” out there and that lack of focus is more prevalent among low and moderate-income borrowers.

In about half of the cases in the Fannie Mae study found that lack of research and planning meant they didn’t qualify for a loan at all. Those people were forced to go back to the drawing board. Some were asked to improve their credit score and other needed to add to their savings to qualify.

We get it! The loan process – and the work it may take to get you approved for a mortgage – isn’t anything like the fun of going out shopping for a new home. Picking out a neighborhood, paint colors, kitchen counters are WAY more fun than looking at your credit, your savings and your current and past job situation. Analyzing the not-so-fun stuff is necessary to avoid being sorry when you can’t buy the house of your dreams.

Remember, wasted time can actually end in a higher mortgage rate, a potentially higher home price and the possibility of missing out on a house that you really, really want.

The time you put in upfront can reduce the overall amount of legwork through the process and will increase your chance of getting the right mortgage and the right house…the first time around.