21 Feb 2025
By Mark Feder

How Do Mortgage Lenders Decide How Much You Can Borrow?

Home Mortgages
When buying a home, one of the most critical factors is determining how much you can borrow through a mortgage. Lenders evaluate multiple financial aspects to assess your borrowing capacity. Here’s what they consider: 1. Income and Debt-to-Income (DTI) RatioLenders assess your income to ensure you can afford monthly mortgage payments. A common guideline is that your total housing costs (including principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income. Additionally, your total debt-to-income (DTI) ratio—including credit cards, student loans, car loans, and other debts—typically should not exceed 43% for most conventional loans. A lower…
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20 Feb 2025
By Mark Feder

To Finance Or Not To Finance

Home Buying Tips
Deciding to finance a new home can be exciting, and because of that buyers tend to want to jump right in. Not so fast! Before you start searching for your dream home, you need to get pre-approved and that means applying for a loan. You will need to get things in order by deciding how much home you can afford, mapping out your expenses, gathering all of your documents and then start looking for a lender that can help you decide what loan is best for you. Some Pros of financing a home are: ?       Buyer builds equity in the…
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11 Feb 2025
By Mark Feder

Avoid These Costly Mortgage Mistakes

Home Mortgage Tips
Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make. While it’s an exciting milestone, the mortgage process can be complex, and simple mistakes can cost you thousands of dollars or even derail your homeownership dreams. To ensure a smooth home-buying journey, here are some of the most common mortgage pitfalls—and how to avoid them. 1. Overextending Your Budget It’s tempting to fall in love with a home that stretches your budget, but committing to a mortgage that’s beyond your financial comfort zone can lead to long-term stress. Lenders may approve you for a higher loan amount…
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15 Nov 2024
By Mark Feder

Understanding the Difference Between Mortgage Brokers and Mortgage Lenders

Home Buyer Tips
When you’re ready to buy a home, one of the first steps is securing a mortgage. While many people simply turn to their current bank for a loan, there are other options to consider that might provide better rates and terms for your situation.  This is where understanding the difference between a mortgage broker and a mortgage lender can help. Both play essential roles in the home loan process, but they function in very different ways. Let’s break it down so you can determine which path might work best for you when seeking mortgage financing. What is a Mortgage Lender?…
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