Vendor Interviews

Hey everyone, thanks for joining us today. We are here today with Nick Cowan, our preferred lender, to talk about the loan process of purchasing a home and what that is like. We did a Q&A with Nick and asked him some of the most common questions we get from home buyers. Here they are:

Q: What's the difference between a fixed-rate loan and an adjustable-rate mortgage?
A: A fixed rate mortgage has a set interest rate from the time your purchase, throughout the life of the loan, and won't change. An ARM usually starts out lower, but can go up or down depending on the market. 

Q: How does someone know which type of mortgage is best for them?
A: We're talking about one of the biggest financial decisions of your life here, so we usually have clients answer a few questions, such as "How long do you plan to live there?" and "Where do you see yourself in 10 years" to get a better idea of what mortgage is right for you.

Q: What does a mortgage payment involved?
A: An easy way to remember the answer to this questions is with an acronym, PITI.When you pay your mortgage each month, it will include a Principle payment, Interest, Property taxes, and insurance.

Q: How much cash does someone need to purchase a home?
A: It depends on the type of home and the type of loan. With a VA or USDA loan, you don't have to have any money down. With conventional financing, you can get a home with just 3% down and you can get a home for 3.5% down with FHA financing. There are also grant programs available for financial assistance. 

Q: How long does the mortgage process take?
A: The industry standard is 30 days, but our team can get it done in 21. During the loan process, your application will pass through the hands of at least 20 professionals, including but not limited to, underwriters, settlement teams, title sellers, appraisers. It's a lot to coordinate, but everything we are asking for is to help speed up the process.

Q: What are closing costs, generally?
 The fees are roughly 3% of the purchase price, and those are all associated with the transaction of all the parties involved.

Q: What is the best advice you have for a home buyer? 
A: Budgeting is very important. Figure out what you can afford first, before deciding on the home you want to buy. We look at the numbers in a very black and white way, and if you have bad spending habits, it's more likely you'll be denied. 

We would like to thank Nick for taking time out of his busy schedule to join us. If you have any questions, you can give him a call at (714)-642-3557 or send an email to ncowan@wccloans.com. 

If you have any questions for us, you can always give us a call or send us an email. Talk to you soon