How the mortgage process actually works

How much money do I need to have saved?

It is usually not one giant surprise. It is that there are several different buckets.

There is the money going toward the purchase itself. There are closing costs. There may be prepaid items like taxes or insurance. There may be inspection costs. People hear "down payment" and sometimes think that is the entire amount of money involved. It is not always.

Some of those happen before closing, an inspection being the obvious one. Some happen during the loan process. Some are handled at closing. What we do not want is you learning about one of those categories the day before you close.

One Michigan bucket people miss is the tax bill. The year after a Michigan home sells, its taxable value resets to half of the assessor's market value, so the seller's tax bill is not your tax bill. Estimate the tax for an address.

What should I not do while I am getting ready?

Do not make a large financial move without talking to your loan officer first.

A new car. New debt. Changing jobs. Moving money around in an unusual way.

This does not mean you are forbidden from living your life. It means call before you do something major, so we can tell you whether it changes anything. Sometimes somebody makes a move thinking it helps when they did not need to do it at all.

The loan is based on a financial picture. If the picture changes halfway through, we may have to look at it differently.

How long does it take?

Over the last 12 months Samantha’s loans averaged under 14 days from application to clear to close. Clear to close is not the same as closing: the closing date is set by your purchase agreement, and the job is to have the loan ready well before it.