Temecula first time home buyers shopping for your first time home buyer loan

Buying your first home in today’s Temecula real estate market, can be confusing and frustrating.
There’s so much information and misinformation for Temecula first time home buyers to sort through that it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction.
When you’ve made the commitment that 2012 will be the year you decide that your investment in Temecula real estate will be for you and not your landlord the next step is to determine how you’re going to pay for your first home.
The media and other so-called “experts” would have you believe that all you have to do to get your first time home buyer loan is pick up the phone and call around for the lowest rate. Getting the lowest rate is more fiction than fact for most first time home buyers.
When choosing between lenders for your first time home loan, you should consider Price, Product and Service.
Price – Fact: Federal law says that in order for a lender to give you a rate quote he/she needs at least 6 bits of information to be compliant. Unfortunately for first time home buyers most lenders and on-line resources, like Zillow are ignoring the law and as a result you’re not getting the accurate information the law intends that you be provided.
Why? There are more than 250 overlays that could affect the interest rate on your first time home buyer loan. These overlays affect pricing for credit score, property type and location and loan to value among other things. ALL lenders have overlays, but not ALL lenders have the same overlays, so unless your rate quote takes the applicable ones into consideration, it’s not going to be accurate.
Product – Fact: All lenders have the same basic products, 30 year fixed rate FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans. Most lenders have niche products too, but the basic products are what most first time home buyers will be using.
When it comes to Product, lender’s differ in their ability to match first time home buyer and down payment assistance programs with the basic programs. You don’t want them “practicing on your dime”, so make sure your loan is not their first experience with down payment assistance.
Service – Auto dealers tout “service after the sale”, while that’s important for mortgage lenders, it’s the “service BEFORE the sale” that makes the difference between a successful closing and a never ending bad dream escrow.

All first time home buyer programs have guidelines that require that you and your lender do the necessary “prep work” BEFORE you start looking at homes.
So, if youre a first time home buyer shopping for loans based on rate, chances are you’ll be making a decision based on incomplete information, which can be a “train wreck waiting to happen”. In short be a Smart Shopper

For more information about first time home buyer programs, click here