Shelter, it’s one of our necessities. We all learned that in elementary school, right? Air, water, food, and shelter; our basic needs as humans but we are far from the days of living in caves or chopping down trees to build our own home. Today, we have an option to build (using a licensed contractor), buy, or rent our home/ shelter. If you are considering entering a lease agreement there are a few items that you will want to do before you sign a lease.
If you are thinking about buying a home in Ohio, you are in the right place. I recently had a conversation with our Market Manager in Ohio and he made the statement, “so few people know about the special programs for home buyers, if they did, it might make the prospect of homeownership less daunting.” That’s exactly what I’m striking out to do, share with you just a few of the programs that are available to you as a future homeowner in Ohio!
Did you know that 68% of US households have a pet? However, only 55% of landlords, according to Avail, allow pets. This can drastically decrease the number of rentals available to pet owners. Think about it, you are searching for a rental property and in the search criteria, you indicate you have a pet. This cuts your search options in half, then you find out many of those are unavailable because other renters with pets are desperate for a rental property as well.
From the time you start an application to the time you arrive at the closing table—it can take 30, 60, 90 days or more but why does it take so long? Heck, you can get a car financed in an hour! Stockton Mortgage works hard to get everyone to the closing table as quickly as possible but there are a lot of moving pieces along the way. Let’s look at some of the steps that could cause delays.
It’s only natural to want to make everyone under your roof as comfortable as possible; this doesn’t apply only to those family members with two legs. You know that your love for your pets is genuine when you start considering renovations specifically for them! The best part is, you aren’t alone! The latest generation of homebuyers is said to be buying homes with pets in mind instead of children, as we’d seen from past generations; so, your pet approved improvements should be appealing when it comes time to sell. As a society, we have gone way past the swinging pet door, check out some of the latest home improvements for your pet!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!