What Every Home Buyer Should Know

When buying a home, it is very important to know how much of a mortgage you can qualify for, how much will your payments be, and how much you can afford. Also how much money you will need to close on a home. You need to decide what area you want to live in.

You need to know all of this before you go to a R.E. Brokers office! The R.E. Broker and agent work exclusively for the seller of the home. Their job is to get the highest price for the seller.

Therefore, you will want to call us to get a free pre-approval or apply online. Use our monthly payment calculator and mortgage qualification calculators. As a direct lender we can tell you all the facts and figures you need to know before you make an offer to buy a home.

Having a pre-approval from 1st Republic makes you like an all cash buyer to the seller and R.E. Broker. Once you are pre-approved, you will receive your free Home Access Card. It looks just like a credit card. It has your name and the amount you are pre-approved for imprinted on it. WE PUT PURCHASING POWER IN YOUR HANDS!

DO NOT FORGET THE R.E. BROKER AND THE AGENT WORK FOR THE SELLER ONLY!

Therefore, you must take steps to protect your interests for the largest financial transaction of your life:

• Choose your own attorney independent of the R.E. Broker.
• Make sure he/she is a R.E. Attorney.
• Get an engineers report on the home.
• Do not be pressured into buying a home.
• Do not buy the first home that you see.
• Work with many R.E. brokers in the area, not just one.
• Do not pay mortgage broker fee's/commissions.
• Remember, gifts from relatives are an acceptable source for down payment and closing costs. They must be documented, so keep all your paperwork related to the transfer of the gift.
• SUSU is also acceptable as a source of down payment and closing costs. Speak to one of our loan officers about the paperwork required.
• You can use money borrowed against your 401K for most programs. Take into account that it may take more than 30 days, from the day you request the money, till you receive it.
• Keep your last 2 years of 1040's & W2's, your last 3 months of bank statements, and a month's worth of most recent pay stubs handy. You will need to provide these at application..

It has never been easier to buy a home than right now! We have programs to fit almost everyone's needs, including those with past credit problems.