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We help people buy houses so they can create a home. Here we share more than mortgage finance tips (although we do that too). We aim to help you make your house a home through DIY projects, pet care, hosting tips, yard maintenance, and much more!

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Free Mortgage Calculator

Using a mortgage calculator prior to obtaining a mortgage or starting a home search is a great idea! A good calculator can assist you in finding a home price you can afford. Just as you wouldn’t want to look at a home that is too pricey, you wouldn’t want to settle for a smaller house if you could afford the larger home you were hoping for. After all, if you end up purchasing a home that doesn’t truly fit your needs you could end up needing to resell in just a few short years. A good mortgage calculator can help you find that perfect price that matches in affordability.

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Ask a Mortgage Banker: What Kind Of Mortgage Is Best For A Fixer Upper?

With all the television shows on the home improvement channels that feature the flipped houses and fixer uppers, it has caused many of us to have dreams of taking an outdated or dilapidated house and turn it into a beautiful home. But financing that dream on your own would require quite a bit of money, so for most they would need a mortgage. Stockton offers a variety of renovation mortgage options that could accommodate almost any borrower.

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Mortgages for the Self Employed

It can be more difficult for self-employed borrowers to prove their income than those who are paid by their employer. When it comes to qualifying a self-employed borrower, lenders needed a simpler, faster way to underwrite income. When determining a self-employed borrowers’ income, Stockton takes the time to use bank statements. It works this way: a Stockton employee looks through the provided bank statements, which could be from a personal or business account, and adds together the amount of each deposit made over the course of a calendar year. Then that total is divided by 12 to arrive at a monthly income.

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Selling a Home with a Pet

Almost everyone loves pets! We love to watch movies about pets, we love to post pictures of our pets to social media, and we love to talk about the funny things they do. So, why wouldn’t a homebuyer also like our pets? It’s a hard concept to grasp but sometimes, even home buyers who have pets are averse to buying a home that other pets have lived in. They could be allowing their imagination to run wild— perhaps envisioning your pets, clawing, jumping, and vomiting. If this is the case, doing your best to reduce the evidence of a pet may help you sell your home faster.

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Mortgage Down Payment Assistance

Many states recognize that it can be difficult in today’s economy to save for a down payment so to encourage their residents to move towards home ownership, they offer down payment assistance programs. The programs range from educational courses to grant money dedicated to assisting qualified home buyers. Check out what your state offers below!

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Ask a Mortgage Banker: What Is a Refinance?

A refinance replaces your current loan with a new loan; that new loan pays off the debt of the old loan. So, you are trading your loan in for one with better terms. For example, if there is something that you don’t like about your current loan, you may qualify for a loan with different terms and by refinancing eliminate the terms you dislike. Refinancing, as with anything, has benefits and detriments.

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Mortgage Down Payment Amounts; How Much is Enough?

If you were to ask the question, “how much should I save for a down payment?”, you will likely get a range of answers. Some may say, “20%” while others say, “you shouldn’t need much” but the real answer is, “it depends on what loan you want and qualify for”. Keep in mind, that the minimum down payment is just a minimum requirement; the more money you put down the less you have to borrow and will thereby lower your monthly mortgage payment.

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Ask a Mortgage Banker: What Kind of Credit Score Do I Need To Buy a Home?

Credit is an essential part of the economy. Without credit, lenders would have no scale by which to create lending standards that determine who should receive credit and who should not. Your credit score is based on your debt repayment history; so, if someone is consistently late on making payments their credit score will be impacted negatively.

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Money Saving Tips for a First Time Home Buyer

We have worked hard to make those in our community aware that there are options for 100% financing (meaning a down payment is not required) available. However, you may choose to include a down payment to reduce your mortgage amount, or you may qualify for a loan which requires a down payment, or you may simply want to take care of the closing costs instead of rolling them into your loan. No matter the reasoning, saving up money when buying a home can feel overwhelming at first but there’s no reason to become overwhelmed let’s look at some easy ways to save.

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Why did my loan change hands?

You have closed on the purchase of your home. You have moved all your belongings into the new house. You are sifting through the dozens of pieces of mail you’ve received from local companies then you see a notice of transfer. Meaning your loan has been sold.

Let us guide you home.