Home Buying Tips

Home Buying Tips

What you DON’T know will make Home Ownership more expensive for you.

Current updates + Home Buying Tips

Are there hacks for obtaining a better mortgage rate?

There is a little-known secret that the 80% Area Median Income (AMI) limits for the HomeReady and Home Possible are expanded to 120% of AMI for High Cost Areas. Almost all the counties in the foot-print we service (including Southern NH and Portland ME) are High-Cost Areas. We have clients making over $170,000 qualifying for these low-income programs.

Home buying tip 1:

FICO score calculations

Home Buying Tip: Did you know your FICO score has no cap on how much it can move up (or down) in a single day?

Why is this?

A FICO score is predictor of financial failure. Mortgage Loan applicants with a lower risk of failure (they have a higher FICO score) inversely have a higher percentage of positive performance.

Think of the FICO score calculation as a flash-bulb that instantaneously illuminates your entire credit history and accesses its risk.

The FICO score is designed to pick up trends before they become visible. It needs to act swiftly. Todays FICO score is calculated on what is presented at the time of the flash bulb firing. What the report or data looked like yesterday is no longer relevant.

It you swapped out the entire credit report between today and yesterday the score would calculate on different observation points and would output a different score.

But more likely only one or two items tend to change between days and even then, typically in small ways. However, a large change can occur. In that case the FICO score wouldn’t be doing a good job at holding on to it’s statistical accuracy if it didn’t adjust swiftly.

Somebody PAYS to access your FICO score. It’s more expensive then you would think. And the reason they are willing to put up good money to buy it, is to help protect the money they are about to lend you. (“somebody” is a company and “they” are the investment or loan fund).

When you understand the mechanics of a FICO score it can help guide you on your credit journey.

Higher scores = lower borrowing rates = a higher consumer household net worth.

It’s provable that a home buyer with a lower FICO score will pay $100,000 more in unnecessary mortgage interest than a borrower with a higher FICO score over their financing journey.

Home buying tip 2:

Fannie Mae HOME READY + Freddie Mac HOME POSSIBLE

Your Loan Officer needs to run your mortgage application for the purchase of your house or condo through both of these two programs. Doings will determine your eligibility potential. If they don’t you could be overpaying on your financing by more than $100,000 in unnecessary mortgage interest.

The income limits vary by state, but in Essex County, for instance, is considered a High Cost area and the Home Ready + Home Possible eligibility ceiling goes from 80% AMI to 120% AMI.

Pro Tip: You do not need to be a low-down-payment mortgage borrower for this program.

Although the program functions for down payments as small at 3%, you can a use a larger down payment, like 20% down, AND utilize the significant interest rate savings.

If you’re a still paying rent as a tenant, this program will greatly assist you. Using this Home Buying Tip will lower your future mortgage costs. Lowering your future mortgage costs will fiercely compete with your current monthly rent outlay to your landlord. Your housing journey, and everything you need to know about transitioning from renting to owning can be found on our Tenants Lounge page.

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