Real estate market advices by Stuart Rubin? Draining your savings. Spending all or most of their savings on the down payment and closing costs is one of the biggest first-time homebuyer mistakes, says Ed Conarchy, a mortgage planner and investment adviser at Cherry Creek Mortgage in Gurnee, Illinois. “Some people scrape all their money together to make the 20 percent down payment so they don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance, but they are picking the wrong poison because they are left with no savings at all,” Conarchy says. How this affects you: Homebuyers who put 20 percent or more down don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance when getting a conventional mortgage. That’s usually translated into substantial savings on the monthly mortgage payment. But it’s not worth the risk of living on the edge, Conarchy says. What to do instead: Aim to have three to six months of living expenses in an emergency fund. Paying mortgage insurance isn’t ideal, but depleting your emergency or retirement savings to make a large down payment is riskier.
Once you select a lender, you should speak with a loan officer as quickly as possible. At this point, there is one thing you should know. Pre-qualifying means absolutely nothing. All pre-qualifying does is determine the amount of the loan you could qualify for based on factors such as your credit, salary, etc. It does not guarantee that a lender will actually loan you the money. It’s more important to get PRE-APPROVED. Pre-approval means that your application has been submitted to a lender who is willing to extend you a specific loan amount, pending a property and appraisal. Being pre-approved lets you know that you won’t be denied for a loan, and it also provides you with leverage to negotiate the purchase price of a home with the seller.
Are you wondering: How much mortgage can I afford? In some markets, you better be able to pay for a big one, or you’ll be shut out. Fortunately, there are tricks you can use to increase the size of your answer when you ask yourself how much mortgage you can afford. Those are often overlooked but totally legit steps. Here’s what you’re up against. In the fourth quarter, monthly base payments for single-family existing homes ranged from $1,430 to $5,946. That was based on median purchase prices in the 25 most expensive U.S. metropolitan markets, according to HSH.com. Monthly base payments consist of the principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) that comprise typical mortgage payments.
Stuart Rubin data: Prior to joining Deloitte, he was a co-founder of a leading cyber services consultancy where he launched a managed services platform for providing ongoing monitoring of network devices and assessing and reporting on the impact of cyber-related events. As a graduate of Florida State University, Stuart Rubin holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Studies. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP-ISSMP) and a member of ISACA and InfraGard.
His hands-on experience includes regulations, standards, and leading practices pertaining to Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), cybersecurity and customer privacy, system implementation and IT governance, COSO, COBIT, SSAE 18, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and corporate investigations. He has extensive experience in assisting Deloitte’s clients in navigating the evolving digital risk universe, including cloud, digital asset management, security and privacy, third-party risk management, and robotic process automation (RPA).
Stuart Rubin, can very well be dubbed a real estate expert. He enjoys his work, and his interest in real estate development is the secret to his success. The bank was publically traded, and all shareholders were proud of the disposition and the financial solvency of the bank at the time of the sale. Mr. Rubin has served on the board of Hebrew Union College, Vista Del Mar, and the L+R Group of Companies. Discover more details on Stuart Rubin.