Redfin

JUNE 13, 2025

Step 3: Research second-time homebuyer programs and loans Step 4: Work with an experienced agent Step 5: Make a strong offer as a second-time homebuyer Step 6: Plan your transition Second-time homebuyer FAQs Is it harder to buy a house the second time? If your finances have improved, you might even qualify for a larger loan or better terms.

Debt-to-income ratio

Rochester Real Estate

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

No document loans or stated income loans were created in the 90’s but really became mainstream after the year 2000. If you had a social security number and an average credit score, you were able to get these loans without documenting your income or your assets. This eliminated stated income loans completely.

Mortgages

Marco Santarelli

MAY 20, 2025

Rocket Companies, the behemoth behind Rocket Mortgage (the nation's largest mortgage lender), has announced it's buying Redfin, a major digital real estate brokerage, for a cool $1.75 The Strategy Behind the Scenes So, why would Rocket, a mortgage giant, want to buy a real estate brokerage like Redfin? billion in an all-stock deal.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

APRIL 9, 2024

With the Federal Reserve gone AWOL on purchasing mortgage loans, mortgage rates have doubled and spreads over 10-year Treasuries are at historical highs. In late 2021, Congress renewed a 10-basis point tax on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans for another decade — not based on loan risk, but to pay for non-housing spending.

FHA loan

Housing Wire

MAY 14, 2024

With the Fed gone AWOL on purchasing mortgage loans, mortgage rates have doubled and spreads over 10-year Treasuries are at historical highs. In late 2021, Congress renewed a 10 basis point tax on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans for another decade – not based on loan risk, but to pay for non-housing spending.

FHA loan

Housing Wire

MARCH 15, 2024

Loan officers and mortgage executives expect home sellers and homebuyers to negotiate more aggressively on commission paid to buyer agents, potentially bringing costs down. NEXA has always been focused on purchase loans , which means some of its LOs do significant business with buyers’ agents.

Industrial

Housing Wire

AUGUST 23, 2024

Let’s talk about the brokerage aspect. What brokerage wants that publicity? Kleimann: One theory I’ve heard is that we’re going to return to a version of subagency for some buyers, especially in the lower price brackets, where maybe the buyer got an FHA loan and had to get a down payment assistance package.

FHA loan

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Ask the average real estate agent or broker in America if they believe the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and brokerages are likely to win the bombshell Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit case on appeal. If a Realtor represents a customer, they should not be incentivized to get the buyer a worse deal.”

Purchase and sale agreement

HomeLight

AUGUST 16, 2021

First-time homebuyer loans can help make it easier on first-time homebuyers , offering access to special mortgage programs with low down payments. With this expert-backed guide, we’re here to help: Here’s how to apply for a first time home buyers loan in eight manageable steps. You can qualify for loans with as little as 3.5%

Loans

Marco Santarelli

MAY 27, 2024

If you're in the market for a house, that 7% average rate on a 30-year fixed loan might feel like a brick wall blocking your dream of homeownership. An assumable mortgage is a way to take over the existing mortgage on a property instead of getting a brand-new loan. Unfortunately, conventional loans are generally not assumable.

Debt-to-income ratio

HomeLight

APRIL 14, 2023

Richie Helali , a licensed, senior mortgage advisor at HomeLight Home Loans , says that closing costs are most often paid through wire transfer or certified check, along with the down payment for your home loan (which is not part of your closing costs but is typically due at the same time). 1% of the listing commission.

Closing costs

Afford Anything

JANUARY 25, 2021

George is torn between paying down his student loan debt (which he deferred) or buying a househack. I’m torn between paying down my student loan debt versus buying a househack. I have a total of $130,000 in federal student loans – $26,000 in my name, and $104,000 in my parents’ names. I don’t have any revolving debt.

Loans

RIS Media

MARCH 19, 2021

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) states that “any agreement that entails exchanging a thing of value for referrals of settlement service business involving a federally related mortgage loan likely violates RESPA, whether or not an MSA or some related agreement is part of the transaction.”

FHA loan

HomeLight

APRIL 14, 2023

Richie Helali , a licensed, senior mortgage advisor at HomeLight Home Loans , says that closing costs are most often paid through wire transfer or certified check, along with the down payment for your home loan (which is not part of your closing costs, but is typically due at the same time). That 85% mortgage would amount to $281,095.

Closing costs

Marco Santarelli

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

If you're in the market for a house, that 7% average rate on a 30-year fixed loan might feel like a brick wall blocking your dream of homeownership. An assumable mortgage is a way to take over the existing mortgage on a property instead of getting a brand-new loan. Unfortunately, conventional loans are generally not assumable.

Debt-to-income ratio

HomeLight

APRIL 12, 2023

Additional costs: Prepaid points (optional): Your lender may allow you to buy down the interest on your loan by paying prepaid points at closing. Down payments vary by lender , borrower, and loan and can be as little as 0% (VA loans) or as much as 10% (jumbo loans). to 1% ) $2,625-$5,250 Intangible tax ( $1.10

Closing costs

HomeLight

JUNE 13, 2022

One of the biggest reasons why some people choose to rent-to-own a house is because they need time to build or improve their credit scores before they can qualify for a mortgage loan. If you just moved to the country, or you just entered the workforce, then you might not have a deep enough work history to qualify for a mortgage loan.

Purchase and sale agreement

Notorious ROB

JULY 18, 2022

And the FHA Loan Monthly Payment was calculated using Calculator.net. So looking at these median market-rate rents versus buying a median priced home in that market using first-time FHA loans with a low 3.5% The Median Sold Price is from Realtor.com. A couple of things jump out immediately.

Marketing

Redfin

MARCH 28, 2023

Get pre-approved for a loan before starting your home search The best advice I can give new buyers is to get pre-approved. That pre-approval will dictate what type of loan you qualify for and how much you can spend. That pre-approval will dictate what type of loan you qualify for and how much you can spend.

Pre-approval

HomeLight

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

It’s always up to the real estate brokerage firm that’s writing up [the rent-to-own agreement] to clarify that, but for the most part, it’s usually on the buyer.”. I have written up some rent-to-owns where the seller is responsible up until a certain time period when the buyer actually gets a standard loan,” Aparo-Griffin says. “You

Inspection contingency

HomeLight

DECEMBER 22, 2022

Chris Carozza ranks in the top 1% as an agent and brokerage partner in Stamford, Connecticut. While each lender is different in what score ultimately disqualifies an applicant, a general rule of thumb says that you’ll need a credit score of at least 500 for an FHA loan and 620 for a conventional loan.

Debt-to-income ratio

The Close

APRIL 28, 2022

Once the property is purchased, the buyer rents the property from Homeward until their loan is finalized. The fee is about 2%, but it is reduced if the buyer uses Homeward Mortgage for their final loan. The challenge with this strategy arises when your buyer needs a mortgage loan. There is a charge for this service.

Rent back

Redfin

APRIL 7, 2023

Get pre-approved for a mortgage My advice to first-time homebuyers is to find a good loan officer and get pre-approved, fully underwritten approval is best. Work with that loan officer and their agent to understand what timeframes they’re comfortable with in an offer.

Pre-approval

HomeLight

APRIL 29, 2022

Be aware of minimum property standards for certain loans. When you place your home on the market, it’s hard to predict if your top offer will come from a cash buyer or a buyer pre-qualified for a home loan. He noted in the listing that there were no rehab loans and no financing involved. Graham’s brokerage, John L.

As-is