Common mistakes when obtaining a Home Loan
The most important aspect when shopping for a home loan are the features and benefits of the loan. After all isn’t that what you look for in a home?
Because lenders use a variety of ways to calculate how much someone can borrow on their income, they all differ in the amounts they can lend. They also vary in the types of income they will take into consideration. These considerations can make tens of thousands of dollars difference in how much the lenders may approve finance for.
It’s one thing to find out what your borrowing power is, but quite a different thing to actually get your loan approved. You must satisfy the lender’s requirements as to the deposit, savings criteria, the location and type of property, your credit record, your stability and reliability of income etc, etc. These are just a few of the things that the lenders’ decision-makers need to consider before committing a decision on a loan application.
Depending on the complexity of the application, the current workload of the lender concerned, and a number of other variables, it could take anything from half a day to a week or so to receive an answer on a loan application. Some lenders have on-line submission/approval capacity while others may be inundated with applications because of a special offer they are running. Whichever is the case, applicants should allow themselves time to search for the right lender and loan and to make an application.
When people start their search for a new home however, they generally want to find out what is available in the market that suits their lifestyle expectations and price range.
Mistake 1 — selecting property before calculating how much you can afford.
How do they know what their price range is until they have calculated how much they can afford to repay and how much the bank will lend them? Have they got all the funds together to complete the purchase and will that position suit the bank’s criteria?
Unfortunately, this scenario is a recipe for frustration. The home hunters then fall in love with a property that they may or may not be able to afford, make an offer, and only then start to hunt in earnest for a home loan.
Mistake 2 — rushing the decision-making process.
Because the pressure is on to complete the contract, time is of the essence. People feel that they have to rush to get an approval as soon as they can for fear of missing out on the property or because of the self-imposed time pressure. This leads to hasty decision-making and insufficient research to find the loan best suited to their needs.
In most cases, because of these time constraints and the hassle in shopping around, people are happy to settle for the first or second bank they go to. What’s the chance of finding the best loan with this limited opportunity?
If the loan is subsequently approved, they are delighted with the result and the search for the best loan ends right there.
Mistake 3 — not shopping around different lenders.
How do they know that they have the best loan deal? Because the loans officer said so? Of course they would. They are not there to sell another bank’s product. What they are really saying is: “It’s the best loan we have available.”
If the application is subsequently declined, will the applicant go to another lender? Often not, because many people incorrectly think that all lenders are the same. They give up the home loan search, the contract falls through and their dream home satisfies someone else’s dream.
Mistake 4 — giving up too quickly.
Why give up the search? Another lender may have been willing to lend more money or may have had different lending criteria. The search should be halted only after a number of traditional lenders and some non-traditional lenders have been approached and have turned down the application.
For people to access all this information and be satisfied they have made a reasonable search, it would take considerable time and effort. However, with one phone call to respected mortgage broker, you can establish your maximum borrowing potential, find out if you qualify (link to loan qualifier questionnaire), learn about the features, benefits and costs of more than 500 loan products and arrange for an application to be lodged. at no extra cost to you.
It makes more sense to obtain pre-approved finance before looking seriously at houses.
Contact Don Hogden today on (02) 6681 6599 or 0417 816 599 obtain an obligation FREE QUOTE .
