• Qualifying for a housing loan

  • By SERGIO ANGELES-

     

    The second you realize this article is housing-related, like most people your first comment has to be "housing prices are crazy" followed by "I hear people in San Jose are paying over a million for a small two-bedroom home" followed again by "Housing prices are crazy." So what are we to do and what are some options to qualify for lunatic housing prices? The truth is there is no magic and no easy answer.  

     

    Combine forces — Banks do allow multiple borrowers, up to four on a loan application. Just like momma always said two heads are better than one, well, two incomes are better than one. And four incomes are better than two. The good news is you'll be able to qualify for more house. Yes! The downside is, things change. The day will most likely come when each participant would like to go their own way. Problem is the house, unlike pie, can't be physically cut and given away (I love pie). So this option, although effective, has its challenges but like everything in life, there's a remedy. A mortgage professional, like Sergio Angeles at Prime Home Loans, can help with working through such a challenge (shameful plug).

    Become a pioneer — this sounds so much more glamorous than what it is but desperate times call for desperate measures. Salinas, Los Banos, Chowchilla, Merced, Bakersfield. The reality is that the further you get from the nucleus (San Jose; Santa Cruz ) the more affordable it is. With lower payments often times families cut back to a one working parent home, imagine that concept. Downside, if you refuse to give up your current job and you commute, well ... good luck with that. By the way, banks will finance an owner occupied home that is a few hours commute away.

    Keep renting — If I had a dime for every time I heard a realtor say "stop throwing your money away on rent" I wouldn't be writing this article at my desk, I would be writing it on a beach while I counted my millions. Attention all realtors, nobody lives for free! You will always be paying for housing; renting or owning. Renting allows you to save money and not incur a larger mortgage payment (and no! Rent is not more than a mortgage on a property). The downside, you won't be a part of the insane asylum that is the housing market.