Sonoma County Home Mortgage Rates – November 20, 2009
November 20th, 2009 categories: Mortgage Rates
Sonoma County Home Mortgage Rates - November 20, 2009
The story of the young couple with the good attitude
Once upon a time there was young couple with a good attitude who wanted to buy a home. They heard that Sonoma County Home prices were down and that maybe this might be the best opportunity for them to buy their own home. They went out and looked at Sonoma County Homes, imagining they were living in this home or that home. They looked and looked at homes and then they met a Sonoma County Realtor.
The Realtor asked them some questions like, “What are your needs?” and “What are your wants?” The Realtor also asked what they felt they could afford how much money they had for the down payment and what their budget was. Well the young couple couldn’t answer some of those questions, so they agreed to go home and discuss it.
The Realtor also asked the couple if they had been pr-approved by a lending institution, and had their Docs In A Row. They said they had not, after all, they didn’t even know what they wanted to buy? The Realtor explained that the first step was to go to a lender and find out what they could afford. She added, “It makes no sense to look at homes you either can’t or would not want to afford.” The Realtor recommended a lender she knew who would take good care of them.
So the young couple with the good attitude packed up all their papers and went to see a lender. The lender asked more questions and then said, “Do you know what your credit scores are?” They said they did not. The lender explained the importance of the credit scores and offered to pull a free credit report. The young couple was surprised at how fast the lender got the report.
Seconds later they were looking at their credit report. But it was bad news. Their credit scores were too low to get approved for a loan. The young couple was sad. Normally this would have been the end of the story, but then something magical happened!
Instead of escorting the young couple to the door, the lender said, “Let’s see what we can do to help!” The lender ran a Rapid-rescore Test which tells the lender what the young couple can do to improve their score. The test suggested doing a few things that would raise the score 40 point, far more than needed to get loan approval. The young couple was concerned, but they had a good attitude, so they didn’t give up.
Over the next month the young couple did what the lender had told them to do. They paid off one account. They opened two new accounts. They even used the new account to charge exactly the amount the Lender said to charge. When done they let the lender know, and the lender ran a new report. Magically, the scores went up. They even went up more than expected! The young couple was happy again.
The young couple couldn’t wait to tell their Realtor. The Realtor said,”Let’s go shopping!” The young couple was so excited. They went out and over the next couple weeks found a perfect home! They made an offer on it and did not get it. So they looked some more and made another offer. But they didn’t get it either. The young couple was frustrated, but they had a good attitude.
Five offers later, they found the best house of them all. They made an offer and it was accepted! The young couple with the good attitude went back to the lender and made sure everything was ok for their loan approval. The lender needed some more paper work. So the young couple got most of it for him. The lender asked for more paper work. The young couple got the lender more paper work. But the lender needed even more paper work. The young couple was getting a little impatient, but they had a good attitude, and got the lender what he needed.
Finally it was time to get loan approval. The lender submitted their new credit report, their offer on the home and all their paper work. And guess what? Their loan was approved! The young couple was happy. A couple days later they were signing something called loan papers. The stack of papers was tall and scary, but the young couple signed and signed and signed.
A few days later they got their keys to their new home. They backed up their truck with all their stuff and moved in. And the young couple with the good attitude lived happily ever after.
Moral of the story: Seek the help of professionals who are there for you. Do what they say and work through the challenges. Always keep a good attitude and you too can be living in your own home and living happily ever after!
Footnote: This is not a fairytale.
Rate Update…Rates moved even lower this week! If ever there was a time to make your move it is right now.
The following rates were quoted for a sample conforming loan with the following criteria: $300,000 Loan Amount | 80% LTV (Loan To Value) | 680+ FICO Score
15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage – 4.75% (5.12% APR)
30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage – 4.875% (5.17% APR)
1 Year Adjustable Rate Mortgage (1 Year ARM) – 4.625% (3.77% APR)
5/1 Adjustable Rate Mortgage (5/1 ARM) – 4.75% (4.13%APR)
7/1 Adjustable Rate Mortgage (7/1 ARM) – 5.00% (4.63% APR)
Article Contributed by: Dave Raffi, Regional Manager at Mission Hills Mortgage: 707-303-2933
Make sure you tell Dave that the Sonoma County Grapevine sent you!
* DISCLAIMER: These mortgage interest rates are quoted at a specific time, 11.20.2009. Interest rates are subject to change upon changes in market conditions and borrower qualifications.
Now that you are caught up on the latest mortgage rate news, check out the latest prices of Sonoma County Homes by clicking the appropriate link below:
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