Put it Down on a House

How much money does it cost for a down payment on a house?

Well here is the classic answer… it depends. But I am going to give you some specifics don’t worry. It depends on the type of mortgage you are looking at:

1. VA – for veterans
2. FHA – for houses below $271,050 that meet some appraisal guidelines
3. Conventional – no upper limit on price and fewer appraisal guidelines

Here are the minimums for down payments for these three options

*It is important to keep in mind that if you get a FHA loan you will have to pay upfront and monthly mortgage insurance. If you get a VA loan and are not disabled from the military, you will have to pay that VA funding fee upfront which is similar to mortgage insurance.

If you want to know what category you fit into or the specific appraisal guidelines, talk to a good local Realtor or lender.

 

Hope this helps and as always, thanks for reading,

Mitch Biesemeyer | Realtor

Weichert Realtors Centennial

Mitch@WeichertOK.com | 405 360 0303

Open Houses – Just Come By

I know people see postings for open houses online and yard signs every weekend. As far as I have heard, most people see the ad and think “Maybe that would be fun…” quickly followed by a “oh, but I don’t want to get hounded by some Realtor trying to sell me something.” I understand. I really do. I used to think the exact same thing before I became a Realtor, but since I started doing open houses I realized there are some cool things that happen when people decide to take 15 minutes and walk-through.

1. You get some ideas for things that you might want to do in your own home

Most people don’t realize that an open house is just a time interval that a Realtor is willing to hang out so you can come by and walk through. Feel free to take you time and look at some of the design ideas that you may want to implement at your home. You can “try out” what it might feel like to walk on a certain type of flooring like wood or travertine tile in your kitchen or what it really looks like to have a certain material like granite or quartz on your counter-tops. If you think watching some House Hunters on HGTV can help you find what you like, why don’t you try the real deal and walk through with no strings attached.

2. You can see other neighborhoods around Norman

Many people that live in Norman (“Normanites”), even ones that have lived here a long time, haven’t seen a lot of the residential selection. The area I am doing an open house in this weekend (here is a plug) is Cascade Estates on the west side of town, and I didn’t even know there were homes like this in that area before I was a Realtor. Some of these neighborhoods just may be the area you decide you want to live when you have your first kid or when all of your kids leave home or when you win the lottery. It’s just nice to know what is out there.

3. You meet people

I know this is a hard sell for my generation (including myself) who think having to meet to new people is very 20th century. But it really can be valuable. One of the most important people you may meet is the Realtor. Most people just work with the first Realtor they find on the internet when they start looking for a house, but if you go to some open houses you can “interview” the Realtor and see if they are someone you might like to work with in the future. Other people you might meet are people that live in the neighborhood looking at the house or people in the community that might be able to give you some advice or referral for something you need.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I am doing an open house Sunday, August 23rd from 2-4 pm over on the west side of Norman at 3009 Pine Hill Rd. I promise not to hound you.

Thanks for reading,

 

Mitch Biesemeyer | Realtor

Weichert Realtors Centennial

Mitch@WeichertOK.com | 405.360.0303

 

How to Begin Your Home Search

 

Many people I talk to have started their search for a new home by either Googling “Homes in Norman” or going to Zillow or Realtor.com. These options are all fine if you are just trying to get an idea of what is out there, but the most important question that any of those site will ask you is What is you min and max price?

Well this is where most people just pick a number that sounds right to them without much thought to what it means. But, the important thing to realize is that the easiest way to hone in on your search is to know your true (1) purchasing power  and (2) what you are comfortable paying

1. Know your purchasing power

Many local lenders will lead you through a quick pre-approval process to give a you a ballpark figure of what you can afford to borrow (purchasing power). They calculate this amount with some simple metrics including your household income and debt obligations (car loans, credit cards, and other loans). You will be amazed at how much stress will be taken out of the search once you know your purchasing power and then you can just focus on the fun part of seeing houses.

Here are some awesome lenders here in Norman and no I don’t get paid for recommending them:

• Terry Teel | Bank of Oklahoma  | 405.366.3629 | tteel@bokf.com
• Nikki Sorrells | Republic Bank & Trust | 405.579.5438 | nsorrells@rbt.com
• Cheryl Koontz | First United Bank Mortgage | 405.364.0101 | ckoontz@firstunitedbank.com

2. What are you comfortable paying

As explained in a previous blog post, house payments are made up of principal, interest, insurance, and taxes. Many people know what they are comfortable paying for a house per month, but not so much based on the total price. The hard part of estimating monthly payments is that interest rates change, and insurance and taxes vary from house to house and based on purchaser credit. But below I gave some estimates (these are just estimates) so you might be able to look at a house price and know about what you are going to end up paying per month if you borrow money.

**Note: If you are borrowing via an FHA loan (which must be less than $275,000) you have to pay private mortgage insurance monthly

*Please keep in mind that these are just estimates and you should consult your lender or a Realtor so they can find a more specific estimate based on your specific situation

 

Thanks for taking the time to look at this and please let me know if you have any questions or comments and feel free to send me some real estate questions you would like me to address in future posts.

 

Mitch Biesemeyer | Weichert Realtors, Centennial

Norman, OK | 405.360.0303 | Mitch@WeichertOK.com