Do you qualify for today’s best mortgage rates?

Equity The amount of equity you currently have your is a large factor when determining if you qualify for the best mortgage rates available. The recent sales in your area determine the current market value of your home. Within the past 3 months what have the houses surrounding your home sold for? Home prices are being driven down in most areas by all the recent foreclosures. Lenders judge home value based on what they could sell your home for if they ended up having to foreclose. (Measures to properly value your home are used to protect the banks in case they end up with your home. But in reality, they do not want that to happen.)

To qualify for the current market’s best rates the amount of down payment in a home purchase or the amount existing equity helps determine whether this is available to you.

Income A very important factor in any loan transaction and one of the first questions the bank asks themselves. “Can this person afford this payment?” The general lending guidelines are if your loan amount is under $417,000 your total monthly debt payments (credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, taxes and insurance) need to be about half of your gross income if you are a salaried employee and about half your adjusted gross income if you are self employed. If your loan is above $417,000 you will need your debts to be at or below 45% of your income.

Assets When determining if a borrower has the capacity to be able to repay a mortgage loan on time liquid assets are taken into account. Most banks like to see that anyone they lend to has a between 2 and 6 months of mortgage payments saved up somewhere in accounts they have access to. This provides a buffer for stability in case someone is between jobs or an unforeseen bill comes up one month. Lenders like to know that someone has enough money saved to be able to overcome unforeseeable events such as paying for car repairs in the event of an accident. Without any assets saved up a person could be forced to reallocate money that typically is used for their mortgage payment for something else.

Credit Score Assuming all your other qualifying factors are in line 720 seems to be the magic number to qualify for the lowest mortgage rates available. Most consumer credit reports are only from one credit bureau but this is not how lenders gauge your credit. They look at the three major bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion). Some creditors only report to one bureau so the scores at each are usually different. As a standard practice all lenders look at all three scores and take your middle score. If you have an 810 at one bureau, 725 at another, and a 650 at the third you will qualify your rate off the 725 score. Your credit score is a way to determine your willingness and ability to repay your debts. If you pay you will be rewarded with better financing options.

Now that you know what will be looked at when you apply for a loan and if you meet all this criteria you can begin your search to find the best mortgage companies that deliver what they promise. Your home financing is one of the largest investments you will make in your entire life. If you have proven that you will honor your commitments you should get a great deal!