Dan Woodard with Corporate Investors Mortgage Group is here to talk about the mortgage approval process. Today I’m joined by Dan Woodard with Corporate Investors Mortgage Group to go over the mortgage approval process. If you're thinking about buying a home, the first thing you need to do is get pre-approved. By doing so, you’ll run into a lot fewer problems when you purchase the house. For example, you as a buyer would have already provided your bank statements, paystubs, etc. for a lender to review and make sure there are no problems in your finances that might come up after the home goes under contract. Now, there is a difference between getting pre-qualified and pre-approved. A pre-qualification is basically a short conversation between the lender and the borrower in which the borrower provides some information and the lender does some quick calculations. After that, the lender informs the borrower that they are qualified. The pre-approval is the next step. To get pre-approved, you need to provide the documents that proves the information provided by the borrower was accurate. Completing this step is highly recommended for anyone looking to buy a home. Once you’ve found a home and made an offer has been accepted, your loan request will go to an underwriter. Once your loan request reaches this point, it will have gone through all the processing necessary to verify it. Whether it’s a clean underwrite or a difficult underwrite will depend on how thorough the processing was done. The underwriter may ask for some follow-up documents if they see something they have a question about, but then they will clear the loan to close. When going through the loan approval process, make sure you don’t have credit issues, switch jobs, or leave anything out of your file. There are a few reasons a loan will fall through. Credit issues, changing jobs during the underwriting process, or missing information in a file are the most common. Make sure you have all of those things taken care of before you start the process. If you have any questions for Dan, you can reach him at (919-676-1111) . As always, if you have any questions for me, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!…

When you're selling a home, you can help yourself out a lot by taking care of these items before a home inspection. When you're selling your home, there are certain things you can do to avoid issues with the inspection. Today, I'm joined by Greg Watkins with Advance Look Inspections to help me explain this topic. You obviously want your home to be in tip-top shape when buyers come through. There are some things you can take care of in the home before the inspection even occurs. According to Greg, curb appeal means a lot as a buyer approaches your house, so keep your shrubbery trimmed with 12 inches of clearance from the house. Doing so will also help prevent pests from getting into your home. Additionally, don't overlook areas of wood rot, which can take place in 95% of the house. Most wood rot, Greg, says, comes from gutters that aren't clean and cause water intrusion. If you have backed up gutters, it will show up on the home inspection. This issue can cause wood rot all the way down the side of your house, including the siding, the soffit, the trim, and the fascia. Clogged gutters can cause a lot of costly damage in the long run. When it comes to the HVAC system, you need to change your filters, and Greg recommends that you monitor it for the first few months after you move into a house to get an idea of how much dust is in your house. Some people have a lot of dogs and don't realize how much debris can build up, Greg says. Any areas that look dingy should be repainted, and it always helps to clean your windows. You might want to do some serious scrubbing to determine whether your windows are dirty or have a defective seal. As for pre-list inspections, Greg says that he'll do the same inspection that he would do for a home buyer. It will include the foundation, the siding, the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC system. As Greg says, it may save you time and money and makes everyone's life a little bit easier. If you're in need of a home inspection either as a home buyer or seller, you can reach Greg at 919-523-9241. If you're interested in buying or selling a home in the Raleigh market, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help you!…

Brandon Harris from Perennial Mortgage Group joins us today to answer eight common questions about credit scores and mortgages. Brandon Harris from Perennial Mortgage Group is here to answer a few common questions about credit scores. 1. Why are credit scores important to the loan process? Credit scores give the lender a history of your past, including how you pay your bills and how you work with other lenders or credit card companies. Your credit score lets the lender know if you are reliable enough to be approved for a mortgage. 2. What is the best credit score you can have? You can have a credit score as high as 900. However, any score over 760 is an excellent credit score. Also, if your credit score is higher than 760, it won’t necessarily impact your interest rate any further; 760 is a great score on its own. 3. What kind of credit score do you need in order to obtain a loan? A lot of people think that you need a credit score of 780 or above to get a home. However, you can actually have score in the low 600s and get a home. Typically, your score should be around 640, but Brandon has worked with clients in the 620 range before. 4. What are some reasons for a low credit score? Late payments will bring your credit score down, as well as not using your credit card enough. Medical collections can also drag down your credit score; on the bright side, medical collections are fairly easy to remove from your credit report. Medical collections are fairly easy to remove from your credit report. 5. How can you raise your credit score? First of all, catch up on your payments. Once you have a strong history of making those payments on time, your score will improve. You can also speak with a credit repair agency. Sometimes, if you have a friend or family member with a great credit score, you can become an authorized user on their credit card in order to build good credit for the future. 7. How often can you check your credit score? There is no real limit on the number of times you can check your credit. Brandon recommends going to AnnualCreditReport.com once a year to check your score for free. However, if you go to several different banks in a short amount of time to check your credit, you can get a hit on your credit score. Technically, you should still be allowed to shop around if you are looking for a lender. Just don’t look at too many. 8. When does a lender check your credit score, anyway? That is always going to be one of the first things that your lender does. After the lender collects all of your information, they will get your credit score so they can put together a pre-qualification letter for you. If you have any other questions about your credit score or the loan process, you can reach Brandon at 919.848.4748 or brandon@perennialmortgage.com. As always, if you have any real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would be happy to help you!…

We just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your continued support this year, as well as wish you a happy holidays. We owe a lot of our success to you. It has been a pleasure to help make your real estate dreams a reality. We hope you enjoy this holiday season and make some wonderful memories with friends and family. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. As a bonus, enjoy our many failed attempts at a full team holiday greeting in the video above. We think you’ll like it. Happy Holidays!…

Even if you don’t plan on selling until next year, it’s always good to be prepared. Here are three ways to get your home ready now before you list. We can’t believe it’s December already. The year has really flown by. Real estate has been great in 2016 and all indicators point to 2017 being a good year too. One of the most common questions I’ve been getting lately is, “What can I do right now to prepare my home for sale when I’m ready to list?” I’ve got three tips to share with you today: 1. Hire a professional real estate agent. A professional will know the market and where to find buyers in it. They also know how to market your home so it attracts the highest number of buyers possible. 2. Improve your curb appeal. That’s the outside of your home. We spend so much time on the inside that we sometimes forget about our home's exterior. Focus your attention on the inside of the home as well. 3. Stage your home to sell. There is a difference between staging your home to live in and staging your home to sell. You can hire a professional stager or use your agent and their experience for advice on what you can do with what you already have. All indications point to another great year in 2017. If you have any questions for us or would like to list your home, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help in any way possible and look forward to hearing from you soon.…

Hurricane Matthew left a lot of devastation in its wake. Here’s some tips for those of you trying to rebuild after the storm. We’ve been asked a lot lately about the effect that Hurricane Matthew is going to have on the real estate market and those thinking about selling their home. There have been tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes all over the last few months, so we wanted to give you some tips to make sure you’re approaching things the right way. For starters, use a licensed contractor when repairing any damage or making any renovations. Make sure you verify their license and make sure they are in good standing with the state. Contractors are necessary for things like electrical and plumbing work, and your insurance company may not cover future damage if you don’t use a licensed contractor. If you’re going to expand your square footage at all, you’ll need permits. If you don’t have an addition permitted and inspected, it won’t be added to the square footage on your home when you list it. When seeking out contractors, be sure to check their references and pay them when the work is complete, not upfront. Use a licensed contractor when making renovations. Certain jobs, like removing branches and tree limbs from your yard, don’t require contractors. In fact, you may even be able to reach out to the local scouts, YMCAs, and other service organizations that are looking for ways to help clean up. Finally, make sure to keep copies of any receipts to prove that any repairs or renovations you made were legitimate. If you have any questions for us or need any assistance or recommendations, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.…

Buying a Raleigh Home ? Search all Homes for Sale Selling a Raleigh Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report We ended strongly last year with the most showings in December since we started documenting them in 2004. Unfortunately, buyers didn’t have many options to choose from on the market. We experienced a 12% drop in inventory since December 2014. However, we now have a 3.8 month supply of inventory. As for pending sales, they were down 10% in 2014. Although buyers are out looking for their dream homes, they’re not writing contracts. Closed sales were a strong 10% year-to-date , and our average days on the market rests at 52 days. As you’d expect, with low inventory and high demand, average sales price has increased by 5%. We predict our biggest challenge of 2016 will be inventory. There are buyers out there. If you or anyone you know is thinking about selling their home, give us a call or send us an email today! We’d be happy to serve your Raleigh real estate needs.…

Buying a Raleigh Home ? Search all Homes for Sale Selling a Raleigh Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report Today I am excited to share with you some must-attend events in the Triangle area that are coming up. If you’re new to the area and don’t already know, there is something in the Triangle for everybody. Museums like the North Carolina Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and the Marbles Kid's Museum are great places to spend an afternoon. Durham is home to The Durham Performing Arts Center, where the Lion King plays until March 20th, followed by Cabaret in April and 42nd Street in May. If you’re looking for great sporting events, the Triangle is home to the Carolina Hurricanes NHL team, who celebrate the 10th anniversary of their Stanley Cup win in 2006. For NCAA basketball fans, the Triangle is a mecca for March Madness. The 1st and 2nd rounds will be held at the PNC arena on March 17th and 19th. If you or anyone you know is thinking of buying or selling a home in the Triangle area, give us a call or send us an email. We would be glad to help out!…

"First off working with Patty was one of the best experiences especially as a first time home buyer. I had interviewed with another realtor and immediately i knew it wasn't going to be a good fit. Patty became an instant friend and to this day is still a friend. Honestly everything she did went above and beyond and it was the little things you wouldn't pay attention to. She was just so helpful and put me at ease. We hit a very stressful point in the home buying situation when it came to my loan. I called her in complete panic and she was able to calm me down and she actually rectified the situation without me even knowing it. So when it got to the point I give up this is not going to happen she's like oh no this is happening. She made it work and I'll forever be grateful to her for that." -Carolyn…

Buying a Raleigh Home ? Search all Homes for Sale Selling a Raleigh Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report Today I have Patti Galloway with me, and she works with Sierra Pacific Mortgage. She's going to explain some important changes that the real estate market experienced this year. On October 3rd, changes made to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) will affect everyone involved in the real estate industry, from consumers to Realtors to lenders. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule amending regulations the Truth in Lending Act as well as the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. So, what does this mean for you? The TILA-RESPA rule consolidates four disclosures for closed and credit transactions secured by real property into two different forms. One of these forms is a loan estimate that must be delivered or placed in the mail no later than the 3rd business day after receiving the consumer's application. A closing disclosure must be provided to the consumer at least three business days prior to consummation. These new disclosures must be provided by a creditor or mortgage banker that receives an application from a consumer for a closed-end credit transaction. However, creditors are still required to use the current Good Faith Estimate, HUD 1 and Truth in Lending forms for applications received prior to August 1, 2015. After that date, these forms will no longer be used. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions about this issue. We understand that it may seem a little confusing or overwhelming. We would be happy to clear up any misconceptions that you may have!…

There’s some exciting news happening in Raleigh! Today, we join Holly Van Apeldoorn to discuss the new local businesses opening in Lafayette Village. We’re excited to have two new restaurants, a clothing shop, pharmacy, salon, and a gym! Fresh L e vant , a Mediterranean gluten-free restaurant, recently opened. They serve delicious non-GMO, organic food. Next, we have Joca’s Gourmet Dawgs N’ Shakes . Although this sounds self-explanatory, Joca’s offers vegetarian hot dogs, in addition to chicken and Italian sausage. Plus, their gourmet shakes go beyond just chocolate and vanilla. Lisana Activewear sells all kinds of clothes, not only activewear. They sell leggings, jackets, and anything you could wear on a night out. We’re pleased to have a new local, independently-owned pharmacy called OneRx . They’re on the corner, across from the Eiffel Tower. If you have any prescriptions, it’s an easy thing to set up. They stress the importance of getting to know your pharmacist and helping you receive the right prescriptions you need. Soon, we welcome Parlor Blow Dry Bar to our community. In addition to hair styling, they offer make-up, eyelash extensions, and spray tan. Additionally, there’s Carolina Barre & Core opening in the early winter. They’re an exercise and fitness business (but not exactly your traditional gym) based around the concept of a barre. There’s a lot happening, and we’re excited to welcome new businesses to the Raleigh community. For additional information, you can check out lafayettevillageraleigh.com . If you have any questions, give us a call or email today. We’re happy to serve your real estate needs. Buying a Raleigh Home ? Search all Homes for Sale Selling a Raleigh Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report…