Hey Yall!!! I hope you had a great weekend!
I just can't believe it ya'll, I'M A HOMEOWNER!!! Buying a house was not part of my goals this year, but once my landlord started doing shady stuff it was time to take the leap in homeownership so I wouldn't have to deal with no mess again.
Remember, I mentioned that before I left my job, I saved over a years worth of income for emergencies. Well, I had enough money for down-payment and closing cost, plus enough money left over still for emergencies. That's why it's important always to have savings, you just never know when something suddenly comes up.
The whole process of home buying was the most painful, stressful experience of my life! I thought it would be a smooth walk in the park since I use my bank Chase, but that wasn't the case at all.
I have been with Chase for about 15 years, so being a loyal customer for almost half my life, I would've thought they would know my money and history. They treated me like I was a huge risk since I'm a business owner and not working for someone else. And mind you, I have excellent credit, not a lot of debt, plus make over $100K a year. But Chase seemed not to care about all of that; they still put me through hell!
Chase kept losing my documents they requested from me, which made me have to send my docs over and over again. At times, they would not return my calls when I would call or email them to check on the status of my application. They gave me hell about my retirement from my old job since my previous employer transferred my 401k to a new retirement company. I had to call my old job harassing them to send Chase documents showing proof that my 401K is now with a new corporation. Thank goodness I have a good relationship with my old boss, and she helped me out with this matter, but still I felt like an annoying pest.
And you know what else? I was dealing with Chase on the phone while I was vacationing in Puerto Rico, they had me all kinds of pissed while I was out there!
And what's even worst, my closing date was on 10/26; Chase delayed closing for over a week which made me end up paying $100 a day to the builder. Chase kept having their closing documents wrong, and they had my home on documents as a single family home when it's a townhome, that's another reason for the delays. Oh yeah, please believe they'll be paying me back for this!
There were, even more, problems I dealt with thanks to Chase that had me fussin', cussin' and calling the manager. It's like everyone I was dealing with didn't know what the hell they were doing!
Word of advice: Do not use Chase for a home loan; do not use a bank for that matter. Use a mortgage company since that's their expertise. Everything is in-house with a mortgage company, like having your mortgage lender and underwriting all under one roof which helps make the process go quicker.
And by the way, if you watch those home buying shows on HGTV, home buying is not easy as it seems. When you get a pre-approval letter, find a home you like, and your offer gets accepted, the real headache beginnings with underwriting and home appraisals. UGH! I'm telling you, the worst experience of my life, and it wasn't like I was buying a freakin' mansion, I was purchasing a brand new three story townhome that was on the bottom end of my budget.
But it's all over! I signed my life away and was handed keys to my brand new house!
So, was this three months of stress worth it? Yes, it was! Now, I have a mortgage that is almost $400 less than my rent, plus the townhouse is fully under warranty! I won't have to worry about repairs for a long time. Also, my loan is not filled with fees.
If you're thinking about buying a home, here are things you need to do:
1. Make sure you have a high credit score; this will help you get the best mortgage rate. Thanks to my credit, I received the lowest going market rate and no points on my loan.
2. Save your money. The lender will check to see if you have enough money reserved in your bank account.
3. The lender will check your debt to income ratio, make sure you pay down your debt before you start the home buying process. And don't use your credit cards, buy a car, buy big ticket items, open up a new loan during the application process. Doing that will get your loan denied.
4. Before you start with your mortgage loan process, make sure you have all your financial documents in order, like W2's, bank statements, tax returns, 401k statements, child support statements, etc. Since I'm a business, I had to show a lot more documents; Chase even wanted a profit and loss statement for this year to make sure I'm still making money with my business.
5. Most importantly, don't lie! If you had liens, didn't pay a bill or two, tell the lender. They'll find out. It's like they know all about your life. And if something is wrong on your credit report, get that cleaned up before applying for a loan.
Do you have any home buying horror stories?
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