With Buyer’s Advantage, MasonMac not only preapproves customers through a fully documented vetting process, they actually submit a preapproval file to an underwriter for review.  This means underwriting approves the buyer for a predetermined purchase price, issuing an approval (read that again – not a PREapproval, but an APPROVAL) to purchase a home!  This is extremely important for sellers because with financed offers, many fall out due to a failure in the financing.  This is why ‘cash’ is often a preference amongst sellers, even though cash buyers often come with lower offer prices or a boatload of contingencies of their own.  With MasonMac’s Buyer’s Advantage program, buyers relying on financing are as strong as cash, since the only things not yet approved are property related.

Yes, that means that with an appraisal (unless there’s a MasonMac appraisal waiver!), title work, insurance, and any other property-related documents (HOA documents, for example), it’s on to the closing table with minimal processing times.  This allows our buyers to move faster, and give sellers the assurance that not only are they a serious buyer, but they’re a buyer that has very slim chances of not making it to the closing table, and making it there on time.

For our real estate partners and the agents of our customers, this also adds a layer of assurance when it comes to crafting a competitive offer!  Need a fast closing?  Well, with Buyer’s Advantage, the time from signing a contract to closing is drastically reduced.  Need to offer without a financing contingency to be more competitive?  While we never recommend waiving protective contingencies, where it’s needed, there isn’t much a buyer can do to be more assured than to have our Buyer’s Advantage approval certificate.  This gives our buyer customers and their agents additional layers of assurance that when it comes to the financing, the job will get done and get done fast!

“2 weeks?!?”, the agent on the other end of phone proclaimed.  Yes, as long as we can get the appraisal and title work back with a few days to spare – our buyer’s advantage program is making lives easier for buyers agents and adding additional assurance to sellers and listing agents that with our offers, the financing is as good as it gets in terms of getting done and done on time.

How does Buyer’s Advantage work?

As with a normal pre-approval, buyers need to apply with their MasonMac loan officer, and from there, the loan officer and their team will request any and all documentation needed for buyer’s advantage, then pass the loan to an actual underwriter for approval, before a property is even located!.  This does mean that the earlier in the process your loan officer is involved, the better!  Our underwriters are working hard to keep turn times FAST, but reviewing a complete file takes time, so requesting Buyer’s Advantage the same day an offer is being made doesn’t do anyone much good – but when you (of if you’re an agent, your clients) know you’ll be buying a home in the near future, getting in touch early will allow us to give you a Buyer’s Advantage certificate to submit with your offer.

Of course, other contract terms are important – price, the timing of closing, contingencies, and other aspects of your offer are all important considerations for a seller, but all other things being equal, Buyer’s Advantage offers a sure thing amongst other offers that may just have standard preapprovals or (worse) prequalifications, and will certainly stand out from those buyers who have chosen to make offers without a preapproval.

Want an advantage in today’s market?  Talk with your MasonMac loan officer about MasonMac’s Buyer’s Advantage program today!

The post Giving Our Buyers the Edge with Buyer’s Advantage appeared first on Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corporation.

Since the 1980s, rates in the US have consistently fallen on mortgage loans, with new all time lows regularly being established.  Refinancing can be a great financial decision, but it’s important to consider a few things before diving in so you can be prepared for the process, outcomes, and ultimately end up with a loan that offers you the most benefit possible.

1.  Act Quickly

If a refinance will benefit you financially, it’s important to act quickly.  The market moves every day, and rates change daily (sometimes multiple times during a day) so if a refinance benefits you, it’s important to act quickly on an application and locking in.  If you’re saving $500/month, it’s better to lock in that savings than trying to find another lender that can save you an additional $20/month while risking the market potentially getting worse.

2.  Understand a LOT Goes Into Your Rate

Mortgage rates vary a lot based on many factors, so don’t trust the ad, and understand that if things change on your application, the rate/product offering can vary, too.  For example, on many loans rates will be different (sometimes much different) based on just a 20 point difference in FICO score.  Different loan products (FHA vs Conventional, for example) have different rates, too.  Property type (Condo, Single Family, Manufactured/mobile) will often result in different rates, too.  Some other factors are loan amount, area, and the amount of equity you have in your property.  A good loan officer will ask the right questions up front to make sure your rate quote is accurate, but understand there are a lot of things that influence rates beyond what you see in the ads!

3.  You Can’t Catch the Bottom (Without Some Luck)

When rates fall, there are many factors that influence the rates a lender can offer.  One of those factors is capacity, or the number of loan applications a lender can handle and process at one time.  When rates fall and application volume increases, it can lead to longer rate lock periods, which cost more.  Additional staffing needs and system strains can also cause the margin lenders need to maintain on loans to increase to cover additional overhead, resulting in artificially higher rates.  The borrowers who catch the absolute lowest rate tend to be lucky and beat the crowd when applying.  After all, we don’t ever know when rates were the lowest until they’ve already moved up.

4.  Consider Your Benefits

There is really no magic rule when it comes to refinancing.  Some loans, like a VA IRRRL, require very specific changes to an existing loan, and all refinances should have a tangible benefit to a borrower – but for some people, $100/month savings is huge.  For others, taking cash out or reducing a loan term are where they find value.  Each situation is unique, but what’s consistent is that every refinance loan should be worth the cost.  Consider closing costs, and determine if the benefits of the refinance make sense for you.  One general rule is that a refinance is worthwhile if the monthly savings quickly offset your closing costs.

5.  Life Doesn’t Happen in 30 Year Increments

Just because you’re considering a 30 year mortgage, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should think about “all that interest you’ll save over 30 years”.  Odds are, you won’t have your loan even close to that long!  In 2018, the median duration of homeownership in the US was 13 years (according to NAR), and on top of that, many people have multiple loans while in a home.  The life cycle for many home buyers and homeowners often includes rate/term refinances to reduce monthly payments, cash out loans to use home equity, or term reduction loans to shave interest off the mortgage, so it’s not uncommon for people to have a new mortgage every few years as markets change and life events occur.  For these reasons, looking at “savings over 30 years” is going to offer a poor vantage point for most people, and an unrealistic picture.  Instead, focus on shorter term (3-5 years) benefits, BUT:

6.  Focus on Long Term Security

Always play it safe when it comes to a mortgage.  In most cases, it’s not just finances, it’s your home, so be smart when it comes to analyzing savings, rate, etc.  For example, if you’re in your forever home and don’t have much equity, a short term ARM loan may not be the greatest product for you.  If you can see yourself in your home for 3-5 years, a 7-year or 10-year ARM may make sense.  If you’re unsure but could potentially be in your home longer, a fixed rate loan may be a better option for you even if the payment and rate are higher than other products available.

7.  Work With a Savvy Advisor

Any lender can quote rates, drop ads in your mailbox, or advertise online.  You’ll end up in the best position if you work with someone you can trust.  Get referrals, and make sure your loan advisor can walk you through cost-benefit analysis, talk you through various options, and asks you questions to help determine which product is right for you.  The lowest rate isn’t always the best option, and when restructuring what is often the largest and most complicated debt you’ll have, it makes sense to get it right every time.  Closing costs for a mortgage are often in the thousands of dollars (for all loans – those ‘no closing cost loans’ have costs too, they’re just built into the rate), so it can be extremely costly to get the wrong loan.

8.  Find a Company with a Good Track Record

If you don’t have a loan officer you love and haven’t gotten a strong referral, work with a reputable lender that has a lot of great online reviews.   See what other customers are saying, check how long the company has been around (avoid “pop up” refi companies that pop up during periods of falling rates), and make sure they have a good track record.  If a company has only a handful of reviews or is difficult to find online, you’re likely rolling the dice.

Want to see how a refinance could benefit you, or what options you have?  Check out our refinance advisor and one of our experts can get you information on what could work best for you!

The post 8 Things to Consider When Refinancing appeared first on Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corporation.

When choosing a loan officer, some of the things people focus on have been the things people have focused on for years – decades, even; rate, APR, is the company local, do they have a good reputation?  All of these factors are important, but in today’s world, another equally important piece of the puzzle is the mortgage technology a loan officer is equipped with.

First and foremost, is there technology to keep your data secure?  If your loan officers email ends with @yahoo or @hotmail, they may be cutting some other corners, too.  Beyond security, today’s mortgage technology offerings make the mortgage process immensely easier for borrowers, and also make things faster, and a faster process means a shorter rate lock which mean a better rate.  So great technology actually makes getting a mortgage cheaper for customers on top of faster and easier!

Let’s look at some ways we use mortgage technology to make things more affordable for our customers, while offering a better process and more value!

Our digital mortgage application allows a borrower to securely upload all of the information and documentation needed for us to get a complete preapproval completed, and also contains information for us to digitally retrieve income and asset statements – that means if a customer banks with a financial institution using a digital platform (do you have online banking/login?  If so, your bank probably does!) and your company does payroll through ADP or a similar service, you may not need to gather the standard documents that the “old way” of getting a mortgage required.

Less documentation means less to review, again resulting in faster turn around times for everything from a preapproval all the way through underwriting and closing!  And we use AVM technology and offer appraisal waivers on qualifying loans when Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac allow for them – which results in even more savings and a faster closing time because we don’t have to wait for appraisals on every loan.

After closing, we provide valuable home and market insights to customers on a monthly basis, including AVM model home value estimates, and information on how home equity can help build wealth.  Our technology also alerts us the moment the current market offers an interest rate or loan program that can better suit you, resulting in more savings.  The best part of all of this is that as a home buyer, home owner refinancing, or real estate partner, you don’t have to think twice about any of it – we provide an app or desktop experience for your initial application, and once it’s complete, we handle the rest!  Our mortgage technology saves time, money, and makes your life easy – it’s another way we work hard to provide value to every one of our customers and business partners.

The post How Our Mortgage Technology Helps You appeared first on Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corporation.

How can all 3 of these loan terms be the best?  Well, they’re all the best option for different people.  At MasonMac, we offer loan terms for everyone – if a 30 year fixed is best for your situation, we’ll let you know that.  But maybe a 27 year loan works best for you.  Or maybe a 13 year loan fits your financial situation like a glove.  Unlike other lenders, we don’t stick to the conventional rules of 30, 20, and 15 year loans.  Our loan terms are flexible because our goal isn’t to provide a “best loan”.  Our goal is to provide the best loan for YOU.

MasonMac offers mortgage terms that fit any client’s needs. More options mean better planning.

For MOST borrowers, yes, the 30 year fixed rate loan tends to be the go to – this product offers a mortgage term that’s manageable, competitive rates, and a lower monthly payment than a shorter mortgage term.  In the current environment, the rate is actually pretty close to shorter term loans, too, which isn’t always the case (perhaps you’ve heard of the ‘yield curve inversion’ that’s been in the news?).

Most mortgage loans these days don’t come with prepayment penalties, so borrowers can pay off their loan as quickly as they want.  If they have a 30 year loan, they can make extra payments to turn their loan into a 10 year loan, but that does require discipline.  Usually, that 30 year loan will have a higher rate than a 10 year loan term, too.  So if a borrower has plenty of disposable income, they could save one some interest with a 10 year mortgage term – again, it depends on the unique borrower.

For some people the discipline to pay extra toward the mortgage just isn’t something they have, and they know it.  In that case, it makes refinancing into a 30 year loan when they’re already paid 2, 3, or 4 years off their mortgage pretty unappealing.  For them, we all an individual to choose their own terms – you’ve already paid 3 years into your 30 year loan but rates have dropped?  Great, let’s look at a 27 year mortgage loan option.  Planning your mortgage payoff to coincide with your retirement?  We can put together a loan term that matches your plans perfectly, so the year you plan on retiring is the year your mortgage balance hits $0.

Whether you’re thinking about refinancing or buying a home, we want to have the best options for you, regardless of your financial plans.  Our ability to offer choices in loan terms is just one way we’re able to help.  So whether you want a longer term loan that stretches out to 30 or 40 years, something shorter term like a 10 or 15 year mortgage, or any mortgage term in between, we’ve got the loan product for you!

The post The Best Mortgage Term for You appeared first on Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corporation.