Happy New Year everyone! We’re off to a wonderful start in 2008 and there are still great buys on the market. Take advantage of it while it lasts! It will not be around forever.
Last month, we talked about what the different credit tiers mean for you and what makes you eligible or ineligible for a certain type of loan. We’re now going to talk about what the next steps are in the loan process.
The next step, once you understand why you are eligible for the type of loan choices that are presented to you, is to give the approval to move forward with the loan.
One of the first thing that happened at this point is the Preliminary Title report is ordered. This report tells the loan professional many things about your existing property (Refinance) or the property to be purchased. It tells us if there are any liens on the property which may prevent the loan from proceeding. If there are liens on the property, then they have to be taken care of prior to proceeding with your loan. The Title report also tells us who holds title on the property and gives us a legal description of the property.
Once the Preliminary Title report is received by your loan agent, then they will order your appraisal. This is an essential element of the loan process. The appraiser is a state licensed individual who will determine the value of the property based on many factors such as age, condition, improvements, size and comparable properties which have sold in the immediate area. This is one of the factors that the bank will use to determine if it makes sense to lend you the money that you’re asking for.
Once the appraisal is received by your loan professional, it is then sent to the bank for an appraisal review. An appraisal review is when the bank also does their homework on the property to determine if the appraisal is valid. It’s like a double check of the value.
If the appraisal checks out, then the bank will issue a conditional approval. Sometimes this is issued before the appraisal. This conditional approval pretty much says that you are approved, but there are a few things that we (the bank) will need to close your loan. It’s sort of a good faith gesture by the bank to let you know that they will work with you.
These days we have a lot of choices and the best way to learn about these choices is to ask your loan professional. My team of professionals and Real Estate partners can assist you and answer any questions that you have regarding home purchase, refinance or foreclosure. We are well versed in all aspects of these topics and best of all…we’re local.
We’re not finished yet. We’ll continue with the loan process next month. We will talk about how to meet the conditions on your new loan approval to close your loan. Remember…This is the time to buy!
Selwyn Jamurath is Branch President with GC Financial Services
200 Broadway Suite 84
King City, CA 93930
Phone: (831) 385-7848 x119