09:00 · what I do
Your first house in Rhode Island
The first one is mostly a translation problem. You are being asked to make a decision in a vocabulary nobody taught you, on a deadline set by somebody else. My job is to take the vocabulary off the table so you can look at the actual decision.
Where this one goes wrong
Three things worth knowing before you are under contract, rather than after.
The 20% story
Twenty percent down removes mortgage insurance. It does not unlock a better product or a serious-buyer badge. On a lot of Rhode Island purchases, waiting two more years to reach 20% costs more in rent and price movement than the insurance would have.
Pre-qualified is not pre-approved
A pre-qualification is arithmetic on numbers you said out loud. A pre-approval is arithmetic on documents somebody read. Sellers here can tell the difference and increasingly ask.
The escrow surprise
Your payment is not principal and interest. Rhode Island property tax varies enormously town to town, and the difference between two houses at the same price can be a couple of hundred dollars a month.
Illustrative throughout. Percentages and thresholds named on this page describe how these programs generally work, not a commitment about your file. Program rules change, lenders add their own overlays, and nothing here is an offer to lend or a rate quote.
Also
Other files I take
- 10
The three-decker, and everything like it
Buying a two-, three- or four-unit and living in one of them is the most Rhode Island way there is to own a house.
Read more - 11
Self-employed, 1099 and seasonal income
If you run something, an underwriter is going to read your tax returns differently from the way your accountant wrote them.
Read more - 13
Refinance, cash-out and the break-even
A refinance is only ever worth it against a specific date: the month the savings have paid back the costs.
Read more
Reach me directly
Talk about a first home file
Whatever stage you are at. If it is a house you have not seen yet, that is the useful time.
- Fastest(401) 555-0128Call or text. It rings on one phone.
- Writtennadia@botelho-mortgage.exampleReplies weekdays, usually within a couple of hours.
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