Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is West Michigan's Morning Do Steve, Kellytkita Schmidti back
with us soon. If you are buying a home for
the first time, we're giving advice to your kids about
that very thing. Things are a little different than when
you did it. Mortgage loan originator with Lake Michigan Credit Union,
Jenna Mitchell on the liveline with us this morning. Thanks
for doing this.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Today, absolutely, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Talk to us a little bit about maybe the first
steps someone should take when they're thinking about buying their
first home.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
The first stat you should absolutely take is to connect
and speak with your local loan originator. So before you
even start house hunting, the worst thing you want to
do is fall in love of the house and then
find out it's out of your budget. So talk to
a mortgage loan originator. We'll discuss the mortgage process, understand
what the qualifications are, and determine what their options are
(00:54):
when it comes to purchasing a home. And then from
there they can talk to a recommended realature so they
can go over maybe market trends. They're seeing what the
timeline looks like and what the expectations are for the
health hunting process.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Jenna, It's so funny that you say that, because I
remember that our first house was nineteen ninety six and
going through that process and you're like, we can't afford that,
we can afford, and now my son is going through
that same thing. So can you explain what a pre
approval is and why it's beneficial for first time buyers?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Absolutely, the pre approval is what we use to get
a verified look at all of your finances, So we
pull your credit, we look at your income and employment history,
what kind of debt you have, and that helps us
determine how much you can afford and qualify for with
the mortgage. Once we do complete that, the pre approval
(01:43):
letter is issued, so that's what your realtor or potential
sellers need to see to know that you are preapproved
and been qualified to buy that home. And the good
news is that pre approvals are free and they're active
for four months, so that gives you time to go
out look at homes, put an offers, and then they
can update it accordingly after that if they need to.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
What types of loan programs are available for those first
time home buyers.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
There are a lot of different options out there today,
which is really helpful to people who are looking to
buy their first home. Would be affordability factor. The main
ones are a conventional loan which has as little as
three percent down payment for first time home buyers, SAHA
loans which are a little more flexible credit guidelines those
have a three and a half percent down payment requirement.
(02:32):
There are down payment assistance programs out there, the main
one being through the State of Michigan that is called Misstep,
and then Allens also has our own portfolio programs, so
that could be agreeant or a lower to no down
payment option depending on the property in your situation.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Jenna Mitchell is joined issue is the mortgage loan originator
for LMCU questions about first time home buyers maybe that
you have in your household or that you know now
credit score this is a different animal and I'm still
getting my head around this as far as the younger generation,
because I mean, it was tough for my son to
even get a credit card. Can you talk about where
we're at with that, And it's certainly different than when
(03:11):
Steve and I were applying for loans back in the day.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Absolutely, you know your credit score is it's one of
the most important factors we look at when we qualify
you for a mortgage. So it's going to impact what
type of loan program you qualify for as well as
what interest rate can be offered to you. So we
pull off three credit bureaus and we use your middle
score out of the three. But the businesses you don't
(03:37):
use perfect credit. So there are things that you can
do to improve your score if you need to. Those
things such are keep your credit card balances under thirty
percent of what your actual limit is. Of course, make
on tam payments every month. You want to avoid taking
out any new or large debt right before purchasing. And
(04:00):
the great tool we have is called our Credit Expert tool,
and we can run a what if scenario so we
can say, Okay, what happens if they pay this off
or they do this, or how will that impact this score?
And that helps us to kind of guide and educate
you a little bit if we need to improve that
credit score.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
How can working with a local lender like you guys
at LMCU make the difference when you're buying your first home.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I think it makes a really big difference because we
have that brand recognition rateful to say that we are
the number one lender in the state of Michigan, and
so we're well known with our partners in the industry.
So whether that be realtors, pyro companies, appraisers, chances are
they have probably worked with us in the past and
so they know that they can rely on us and
(04:47):
we're going to get the deal done. It's also a
big piece in the mortgage process and in life' quit
greatly as communication, so they know that working with someone
local processing and underrade is done locally. They have access
to your loan officers, so they can call them, text them,
email them, get a hold of them. Because not every
(05:08):
deal is perfect, right. Things are going to happen and
things are going to come up. But as long as
you can communicate with your partners and I'll be on
the same page and work together, that's the big piece
of it. And for us, it's really personal. You know,
we are very big in the communities we live and
work in and we want to see our members succeed
and achieve their goals in our communities as well.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Mortgage loan originator with Lake Michigan Credit Union, Jenna Mitchell,
thanks for your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Thank you so much have a wonderful day, and to
Speaker 1 (05:39):
You the same.