Tucson Real Estate - Home Buying 101

Home Buying in Tucson

As in many parts of the country home buying in Tucson requires some preparation, studying, learning and application. I am asked all the time by buyers, especially first time home buyers, what do I need to do? This is the first in a series of articles I am providing to help home buyers prepare, understand and move into home ownership. At graduation, you will be a smart, savvy, and well prepared Home Buyer. 

Home Loan

The first step is to talk to a lender. Without knowing what price you may qualify for, you may be wasting your time. If you find a home you fall in love with and have to wait for loan approval consider it sold before you are ready. I have seen this happen too many times. Be prepared before you start. There are a variety of lenders out there to choose from. Which one is right for you depends on the your specific needs and qualifications.

• Banks and Credit Unions have home loans normally based on established criteria. Banks and lending institutions have a solid base for home loans. There are a lot of good loans they provide. If you have good credit, a good job that you’ve been in for a while, and have money put away a Bank, Credit Union or other traditional lender are a good choice. They do not have the variety of choice that a Mortgage Broker has.
• Mortgage Brokers have a variety of lenders to choose from. They offer loans for people with all levels of credit. Mortgage Brokers can provide loans that traditional lenders cannot. The reason is variety. For someone just starting out or who may have questionable credit, a Mortgage Broker may be the best choice. For someone who has good credit and who is looking for another choice to make sure they are getting the best deal, a Mortgage Broker may have that one loan that the Banks don’t have. 

Lenders who provide home loans in Arizona must be approved lenders in Arizona. If you find a lender in New York who you feel comfortable with, make sure they can legally provide loans in Arizona.  

Find out how the lender provides the loan.

•  Do they table lend?
• Do they require all original documents before releasing the money from the loan? 
• Who makes the final decision? Generally loans go through a loan officer, processor, and underwriter. The underwriter generally has the last say. It is important to know from the beginning what the process is.
• Is it all in-house like a Bank?
• Are the loan officer, processor and underwriter in the same building, or are they all working for separate companies?
• What are the deadlines? There is nothing worse than getting to the Close of Escrow (COE) and find out that the loan is being held up.  

In the Arizona Residential Purchase Contract the Buyer is required to sign all loan documents a minimum of three days before COE. That’s a topic for another article. Will your lender perform in time? 

Finding the right lender to meet your specific needs is the foundation for buying a home. Your REALTOR® is a good source for finding a lender to work with you. You can find some good lenders on the Internet, I have several clients who have done that. However, buyer beware. Some have performed, others, lets just say I told you so. Is your lender going to perform? Your REALTOR® has experienced several lenders and how well they perform. Your REALTOR® should be able to provide you with a list of lenders who can meet your needs. If he or she gives you just one name…Hmmmm? The choice is yours, you can go it alone or trust a professional to help you and guide you in the right direction. 

So, if you are looking to buy a home in Tucson and need a good lender. I have a list of lenders for you.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 10th, 2007 at 7:16 am and is filed under Tucson Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Actinozoa…

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9. bernie mac…

   Thanks for the nice read, keep up the interesting posts…..

   November 16th, 2007 // bernie mac

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