Buying a Home? Build a Financial Team

Thanks to low mortgage rates, high net-worth buyers have recently found great success in purchasing luxury homes, especially over the last six months. For example, according to Bloomberg, in the second quarter of 2014, banks approved more than 15,000 mortgage loans ranging from $1 million to $10 million. And these numbers have continued into 2015.

Wealthy buyers are seeing the opportunity with these mortgage rates to jump on lucrative properties. This is coming at a time when many first-time home buyers are still struggling to get a loan. The main difference is that, “high net worth borrowers don’t have to borrow. They choose to, so they’re very strategic about what, why and when to borrow,” says Erin Gorman, managing director at Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

If you find yourself in a similar situation and are looking to strategically take advantage of the currently low mortgage rates or are simply looking to move your family to a luxury home in a beautiful location, it is important to plan correctly from the outset.

For any large financial decision you most likely have a “financial team.” This may include your CPA, your attorney, and your financial planner. The key, however, when purchasing a home, is adding a trusted loan officer to that financial team. Here are some reasons why adding a loan officer to your plans from the beginning can help:

1. Financial health. With a trusted, experienced financial team in place, you can ensure that you won’t be making an emotional purchase, but rather one that is smart for your financial well-being, both in the present and the future.

2. Price range. With a loan officer on board, your team can wisely arrive at the proper price range in which you should be looking.

3. The right mortgage. Your loan officer will know which type of mortgage is best suited for your financial situation in conjunction with the price range your team established.

4. Vested. Your loan officer also has the experience to make sure that the mortgage is vested correctly.

5. Approved. If included from the very beginning, a loan officer can ensure that you are fully approved to buy the home even before you select a real estate agent.

6. Assets verified. Everything will go much smoother down the road – like verifying assets for the transaction – if the loan officer is able to do this from the outset.

7. Close quickly. When you add a loan officer to the financial team from the very start, everything goes more smoothly and you can close much quicker.

With mortgage rates where they are, now is a great time to buy. And by adding a loan officer to your financial team from the very beginning, you can be confident that the right decisions will be made, the process will run more smoothly, and you won’t be trying to fix things during the escrow of the purchase, but rather the focus can become only the purchase, which is what it should be all about.
If you are in the market for an experienced mortgage lender, please don’t hesitate to contact me at (858) 354-4777 or norma.nelson-wiberg@everbank.com.