Securing Oklahoma Mortgages
Buying a home is a big investment and knowing your financing options will make a big difference when you start looking at securing Oklahoma mortgages. Although Oklahoma loans are just like any other loans, there are a few different types of mortgages available to individuals depending on your geographical location.
Getting Pre-Qualified
As with any home loan, you want to get pre-qualified for a loan first. This will let you know how much home you can afford. You can think of it as a security blanket to let you and your real estate agent knows that your chances of obtaining a mortgage after all that house hunting is a likely probability.
Finding Your Home
There are many options when it comes to searching for a home – the Internet, real estate agents, word of mouth, foreclosure listings – the list goes on and on. Once you have an idea of the area you want to live and the price range you can afford, you can create or have your agent create a list of home to view. For the first time home buyer, it is suggested that you deal with an agent because they know the ins and outs of the business. They can help you with the contracts, home inspections, and other things that you may not be aware of if you’ve never purchased a home before.
Different Types of Oklahoma Loans
There are basically three types of home mortgage loans; fixed rate mortgage where your interest rate states the same for the term of the loan, adjustable rate mortgage where your rate may vary throughout the term of the loan, and a balloon mortgage where you only pay the interest payments for a specified period and make a large payment at a pre-determined time.
For Oklahoma residents, there is another type of loan for low income individuals and there are many programs that help low to moderate income families own their own home.
Sealing the Deal
Once you have picked your home, you will write up a contract with your agent to purchase the property. This is a 1-2 hour process, but it is part of the process. You will need a deposit or earnest money, which is a sign of good faith that you will purchase the property. There are certain situations such as FHA or VA loans where you may not need to have a down payment, but typically this is required.
The agent will submit the contract to the seller and/or the seller’s agent. If they accept your offer then you would move on to inspections and appraisals. If the seller does not accept your offer they may counter-offer. You can accept it or offer a counter-offer.
Once you have come to terms on a selling price, the inspections and appraisals are complete, the loan is approved, and it’s time for the closing.
During the closing process, you are signing tons of paperwork, but once this is done you and you have secured one of several Oklahoma mortgages, you are now a proud new home owner.