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Wondering what your payment might be? Use our calculators to perform mortgage-related calculations such as your expected monthly payments.


The Mortgage Loan Process


Dreaming of a new home:

Most people in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin dream of owing their own home. Owning a home is indeed a key to long term financial security and independence. Buying a home is the single most important economic decision most people make, therefore one must be careful in selecting the appropriate mortgage lender and loan officer to assist them.

All our Loan Officers are licensed, with an average of over 14+ years industry experience giving us unique and exceptional customer service, with free loan analysis, a good faith estimate, and recommendation of appropriate loan programs best suited to your needs.

 

Select a new home to buy:

Selecting a new home is can be stressful, and must be done with proper consultation through a reputable real estate agent. Your home is a major your investment, and it must be selected with care.

Your real estate agent and loan officer are two vital people, and picking who to use is not something you should take lightly.

Step one - Apply for a mortgage loan

The key to buying a home is to start with getting pre-approved for financing.

It is the most essential step towards owing a home. Don't hesitate to apply for your Minnesota, Wisconsin, or South Dakota mortgage loan today. This lets you know if you can get a loan, what type of loan, how much house you can afford, and how much money you will need to buy a home.

It doesn't make much sense to be looking at homes before you know what you can afford.

Pre-qualified versus Pre-approved

Getting just pre-qualified basically means you have spoken to a loan officer, provided some basic information, usually over the phone, and have gotten a basic idea of your options. Generally you have not supplied your loan officer with any supporting documentation, and no legitimate approval letters will be written.

Getting fully pre-approved means you have provided a loan officer with a full application, AND you have supplied them with your supporting documentation, like pay stubs, W2's, bank statements, etc. for review.

It is an important advantage in today's fast paced real estate market to be fully pre-approved before looking at homes, so you can make an offer right away, without having to slow down to go get pre-approved, as no home seller will accept an offer WITHOUT a pre-approval letter included.

Shopping for the Right Mortgage Loan

Looking for the right mortgage program can be confusing with so many types of loans to choose from.

We recommend that home buyers don't try to figure it out themselves. We suggest letting a professional loan officer take an application, then zero in on what may be the most appropriate loan for you based on some of these considerations:

Is this a starter home? Will I be moving in five to seven years years? How much can I safely afford per month? How much cash do I have for down payment and closing costs? What will the payment be?

Different loan programs work to your advantage in different situations. If you're planning on staying in your home for several years a fixed loan may be best. On the other hand, if your are only going to live there a shorter period, maybe an adjustable rate with a lower initial interest rate may work more to your advantage.

Another key factor in understanding different loan programs is to be aware of the relationship between closing costs, discount points, and interest rates. The more closing costs or discount points you pay at closing means a lower interest rate. A discount point is considered prepaid interest, and is tax deductible. Each discount point is one percent of the loan amount. Paying points on your loan can lower your interest rate but increase your upfront costs. On the other hand, we can dramatically lower your initial up-front closing costs by slightly increasing your loans interest rate.  Visit our live mortgage interest rates page to see the difference between interest rates and closing costs.  No obligations, and no SSN reguired.

Shopping for and comparing loans can be tricky. There are many programs, each with different rates and different points. What loan is right for you? We take pride in our highly experienced and licensed Loan Officer's and their ability to help you choose which loan is appropriate for your goals and needs.

Documents Required for A Mortgage Application


ALL mortgage applicants will need to show

- Your last two years W-2s

- Your pay stubs for the last 30-days.

- Self-Employed persons please provide the last two years of Federal tax returns and maybe even a YTD profit and loss statement.

- If you have rental properties, we will also need the past two-years federal tax returns.

- Your last two months bank statements

- Your most recent 401K, IRA, Pension or other retirement savings statements.

- Divorce Decree, if applicable.

- Bankruptcy papers (all schedules) and Discharge letter (if applicable).

 

Select loan program and lowest rate


Choose a loan program Choose a loan type
  • Fixed Rate Loans
  •   (terms from 10 - 30-years)
  • Adjustable Loans
  •   (Fixed periods of 1, 3, 5, 7
  •     or 10 years available)
  • Conforming Loan
  • Refinance with cash out
  • Refinance with no cash out
  • No Closing Cost Loan
  • FHA Loan
  • VA Loan
  • USDA Rural development
  • Jumbo Loans

Mortgage Loan approval and sign the application documents

Once we have received your completed loan application, the full loan approval process begins. This involves verifying the following information:

- Credit report (Excellent, good, fair, or poor credit?)

- Employment and income history

- Personal Assets; bank accounts, stocks, pension, mutual funds, 401K (do you have the cash for down payment?  What is left over?  Are there any large unexplained deposits)

- Property Appraisal (it the house worth the price?)

- Title check (is the seller the legal owner?)

Additional documents or verifications may be requested by underwriting depending on your individual situation.


Helpful hints to improve your chances of a loan approval:

Fill out the loan application completely. Answer ALL questions.

Provide all requested documents to your Loan officer promptly.  Don't argue over something the Loan Officer is asking for. We don't ask for anything we don't need.

In the months leading up to buying a home, Do NOT make any large new purchases, as increasing your debt load can mean you can afford less house.

Bank account statements may be verified.  Do not move money around various account. Do not make large cash deposits that can not be verified. Do not get gift money before hand. Gift money needs to be paper trails and documented.

DO NOT dispute items on your credit report right before applying for a home loan. Any credit repair MUST be COMPLETED prior to the loan application. This process generally takes up to 90-days in most cases.
After your complete loan application is fully approved (we call it Clear-to-Close), your file goes to the Closing department who will complete your final loan documents and send them (and the money) to the title company for signing on your scheduled closing date.

Congratulations!  You now own your new home.