Recently I have had people ask me "What if I find a home, but it needs repairs?". There is a loan program out there that allows you to add money to your loan for repairs or additions. For example, you found a home and you want to update the kitchen, or maybe you want to add an extra bedroom to the home. The house is selling for $200,000. This would be a good opportunity to get a 203K Loan. Your loan would be for $200,000 + the cost of the estimated repairs. Once your home goes under contract the next step would be to get a contractor out to the home ASAP and to give you an estimate of how much it would cost to do what you want to do. Let's say the cost will be $30,000. The next step is to have the appraiser look at the house and appraise the home as if the updates were complete. The total amount of the loan would be $230,000. 
                 If you would like more information please let me know. I have lenders that can still get ...

              I get a lot of new buyers asking if they should be pre-approved for a loan first before starting to look for a home. You do not need to be pre-approved for a loan to start your search, but it is highly recommended. 
              When you get pre-approved for a loan it helps us know what price range your search needs to be in. If you have been pre-approved for a loan for $300,000 we do not need to look at homes in the $400,000 range. It also helps the lender know what loan programs you qualify for. This can determine the down payment you will need and any assistance programs you may qualify for. Getting pre-approved for a loan also lets us know how well your credit score is. Sometimes there are things on a credit report that the buyer did not know was on there, or they need to do a little work on their credit before they can be pre-approved for a loan. Finally when you find the prefect home we don; ...