Mortgage Updates

It has been a LONG time since my husband and I purchased our first home. Initially we looked at new homes when we were still living in the San Diego area. We fell in love with a builder’s new home and pre qualified with the lender. All the disclosure documents were mailed to us. No one took time to explain ANYTHING to this first time home buyer family. In our early 20’s…. fresh out of the military, and on the first real job we were trying to settle down. Unfortunately, the Truth-in-Lending disclosure with the APR, and amount financed as well as the TOTAL cost of the house over 30 years, well, it BLEW US AWAY! We said "Wow, why would anyone pay THAT much for a house???!! "– It was five years before we ventured to by a home again.

There was no one to take us by the hand, no one to do a rent vs. buy analysis. No one explained what those imposing numbers really meant. It was all very scary and we lost out. Five years later we did buy. We bought because we finally found the right real estate agent, someone who cared. She didn’t give in to our doubts and concerns about “rejection” or “denial” and correctly identified our true concerns. Applying for a 100% VA loan was still scary, but we did finally buy a home and with only $250! We looked at lots of properties, and finally bought the house 3 doors down the street.

With all the “scariness” buying in our neighborhood was appealing. The schools wouldn’t change, the neighbors would remain, even the floor plan was similar. Our agent was sensitive and smart. She made sure we followed through on all the required lender paperwork and was at our escrow closing. Of course, after close there were surprises! Oh my…. The house was occupied by the seller when we bought and when we did our final walk through. Then moving into the now vacant home we discovered the seller had wallpapered AROUND the furniture! LOL The house was vacant, but we could still “see” the dresser, the armoire, the hutch… What an unpleasant surprise! This was before the days of Real Estate Disclosure…. Hmmmm, no wonder disclosures became mandatory!

I think this experience makes me a better loan consultant. I like to take time to explain the documents to my customers. I like to give them a road map of what to expect. I let them know that some how when it comes to real estate and real estate transactions… there are times of “surprises”. If that should happen, take it in stride and tuck it away for a future laugh… Just as we laugh over the “furniture left behind”.