What are the steps to getting a mortgage?

could you sum it up in a few sentences?What are the steps to getting a mortgage?
You will need a deposit of at least 10% of the property value. Then you need to find the best deal for you 鈥?some people prefer fixed rates, some prefer variable deals. You can either shop around yourself or use an Independent Mortgage Adviser or IFA to do the research for you. Once you have found a mortgage you are happy with, you complete an application form and send it to the mortgage company 鈥?they will assess it and, if they are happy, will instruct a valuer to assess the value of the property and make sure it is suitable for mortgage purposes. Assuming this is ok, they will send you a Mortgage Offer confirming all the details. Your solicitor will then carry out various legal checks and searches to ensure the property has no legal issues attached to it and, once they are happy, a completion date is agreed with the seller and the mortgage company. The funds are then exchanged and the house is yours !





Disclaimer:


The answers above are for guidance only and should not be acted upon without you receiving professional mortgage advice relevant to your circumstances. To find an independent mortgage adviser please go to http://www.impartial.co.uk.


What are the steps to getting a mortgage?
Depends on how pro-active you want to be. Your best bet is to look for a mortgage broker who works with a number of different banks (a Yahoo search will probably turn up a few in your area).





Contact the broker of your choice and tell him/her you want to buy a house and are looking to get pre-approved. The broker will have you fill out some paperwork and shop your application around for the best rate (a good one will anyhow).





If your credit is adequate, you will receive back a pre-approval, a maximum loan amount and an interest rate quote.





Go house shopping. Remember to ask for the payments on the maximum amount available, then figure in taxes and possibly PMI (if you can't put down 20%) to get your full payment. If you don't think you can comfortably afford that payment, do not look at houses in the upper range of your pre-approval. this is what got many people in trouble - they figured because the bank said they could afford something, then they would have no problem. While banks will probably get better at not over-extending credit, remember that they make more money by lending more not less, so they will probably still approve at higher levels then you may be comfortable with.





Also ask the broker about points and loan origination fees - you may be able to negotiate better terms.





When you find a house, it will get appraised and you will actually have some more papers to sign and probably more to fill out (verification of salary, etc.). After you fill it all out, the paperwork goes to the underwriters who will then confirm that availability of the loan - be prepared - they may ask for even more paperwork.