Buying a home usually requires getting a mortgage. Great. According to the news, that’s nearly impossible now.
Hardly. When you look past the information about the barn door closing after all the nasty sub prime horses got out of the stable, getting a mortgage is not any different now than it has ever been. To put it in today’s vernacular, lending now is not unlike computer programs. If we’ve just entered the world of Web.2, mortgages are in Lending.v.1 Back to basics, baby. It always made sense. Still does today.
So, if you want to qualify for a mortgage, you want to look at some fundamental concepts of your finances. Lenders will want to to know that:
1. You have a source of income
2. You have a track record of paying your bills on time
3. You have some residual cash to cover expenses
It’s all really pretty simple. And for all the real and dire news about loans that were made for the wrong reasons to the really wrong people, the fact is that if you’re a qualified buyer, the interest rates are good and you will be able to get a decent mortgage.
I’m not saying that the news is histrionic. The economic reports aren’t making this stuff up. Things are really wild out there. REALLY wild. But, like Clemenza says in “The Godfather”, referring to the upcoming war between the families – these things have happen every 10 years or so. This “correction” is particularly harsh, but things will get back to normal.
In the meantime, those who keep their heads – and who’ve been paying their bills on time – are the people reputable mortgage lenders want to see coming through their doors.
