Hooray! You decided to make your dream of becoming a homebuyer a reality. Now, what do you do? Once you do some research, you realize there are many steps required before you cross the finish line. Buying a home is a large financial transaction and often has many moving parts. At Guaranty Bank & Trust, our mortgage professionals will be with you step by step, making your voyage a smooth one. Here are a few tips to prepare you for the home buying process.
Get Pre-Qualified:
Meet with a Guaranty Bank & Trust mortgage loan originator before you begin looking for a home. This is the time to decide which loan program and product will work best for you. How much money do you want to put down? What is the highest mortgage payment you are comfortable with? How long will you stay in this home? Your mortgage originator will find the best product to meet your needs. Guaranty Bank & Trust offers FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional financing along with down payment assistance programs. It is important to provide income and asset information at this meeting to ensure you qualify for the loan you want. Once you have been pre-qualified, you are ready to meet with your realtor to discuss homes for sale in your price range and geographic area.
Find Your Home:
With a Guaranty Bank & Trust Pre-Qualification letter in hand, your real estate agent will be able to show you homes that meet your requirements and are within your budget. The Pre-Qualification letter demonstrates that you are a qualified and capable borrower. Many sellers will not consider an offer on their home without the Pre-Qualification letter, and the letter may move your offer to the top of the list.
Once You are Under Contract to Purchase:
While your real estate agent arranges a home inspection, Guaranty Bank & Trust will work to finalize your mortgage. This includes locking your interest rate, disclosing loan terms, ordering your title commitment and requesting a property appraisal. This is also the time any remaining information required from you will be requested. With your cooperation, it will not take long to complete your credit file and submit to underwriting. Once the title, appraisal, homeowner’s insurance, and any trailing documents are received and accepted, your loan is submitted for final underwriting.
Finding the home of your dreams may make you do the happy dance. At Guaranty Bank & Trust, we want to be a part of your celebration. When you're looking for a home or want to refinance your mortgage, we understand that your home is as unique as you are. To get started or for periodic reviews to ensure you're staying on track, we have the full range of tools to help you understand your options.
Running the Numbers
If you are renting and considering buying a house, our rent vs. own tool will help you analyze the cost of both options.
To estimate the difference in payments for a fixed vs. adjustable rate loan, use our payment calculator.
As with any other type of loan, the interest rate will affect the amount of your monthly payment. Using our annual percentage rate calculator, you can enter various interest rates to see the payment amount.
If you are considering combining credit card, auto, or another type of debt with your home mortgage, our debt consolidation calculator will provide the information you need.
Prepayment can reduce interest costs by shortening the amount of time it takes to pay the mortgage and lowering the balance during the term of the loan. Check out our prepayment savings calculator to learn more.
Similar to prepayment, you can find out the additional payment needed to pay off your loan early by using our early payoff calculator.
If you are planning to stay in your home, refinancing to lower your interest rate may be a good option for you. To learn more, use our refinance break-even pointtool.
Of the many benefits of buying a home, you can save money on your taxes. Calculate your tax savings.1
Whether you're looking for a particular type of loan (FHA/VA, USDA, or conventional) or have some needs such as making a low down payment, we offer personalized service to find the best option for you. Meet our mortgage team.