House Hunting Experience

This week I met with a loan specialist.  I talked to them about what I was looking at and what I could afford.  I told them how much we could afford monthly, and they went from there.  After doing a credit check, they came back with numbers on the high end of what I had told them.

Honestly, this didn't surprise me that much.  I know that the bigger the loan they give me, the better it is for them.  But, they completely disregarded on piece of information that I gave them.  I told them to factor in $250 for HOA dues.

For those of you that don't live in a big city, Home Owners Associations (HOA) charge you a fee for living where ever it is that you live.  This is common among Town Homes and Condo's.  You aren't just throwing money out the window however.  They take care of the cleaning of the outside of the property, maintenance, and sometimes you get cable and water.  HOA fees range anywhere from 150-500 depending on where you live, what you get, and how many people live there.

Now, disregarding that little piece of information threw off their entire estimation.  Instead of a 200K loan, they went up to 220K.  They also charge me a higher interest rate because they wanted to use a different type of loan.

I had to correct them, and put them back on track given their mathematical error.  This cost them another day, and it cost me precious time.  When I am in the housing market, I want someone who understands my needs.  Also, when estimating a price for someone, it is always better to come in under rather than over.  Coming in over gives people sticker shock, rather than "Oh I can afford better than that."

This whole house shopping experience has been an adventure so far and I haven't even seen a place yet.  As someone that plans every detail to ensure success I am sure that everyone working with me on this process will eventually hate me.  I have made my peace with that.

In the future, I suggest that you talk with a loan specialist early in the process.  Do not let them do a credit check unless you are intent on buying however.  This will lower your credit score.  I suggest knowing your credit score and asking them to proceed with that.  Knowing the value of the loan is one thing, but I specifically asked them to work from a monthly payment perspective. This meant that whatever they came up with worked with MY budget, not what some computer said I could afford.