Real Estate Articles | Published: Thursday, February 03 2011

Found a Home in Orlando? 5 Steps to Get Approved

Hooray for you! You've found the home that you have been wanting in Orlando, Florida. You've gone through a trying step, but it is not the hardest step. The hardest part, especially if your credit is not top notch, is getting approved for a Florida mortgage. Commercials and advertisements make it seem so easy to walk into a bank and then walk out with enough money to buy the home of your dreams.

The truth is that homes cost a lot of money and lending out that money is risky. As a mortgage broker, however, I can help you learn the steps that you need to take to further ensure that you will be approved for your Orlando mortgage.

The first step you can take when applying for a Florida mortgage is to bring in a co-signer. When you apply for a mortgage, your income is looked at with all of your bills. This determines what monthly payment you can and cannot afford. It is a good idea to bring in a co-signer if you have additional income from something, like your own business or disability, which a lender won't consider. A co-signer must be someone that has enough income or a high enough credit score to make up for what you lack.

Make sure, however, before you recruit a co-signer that he or she understands what they are signing. If you were to not make your monthly payments, the lender can go to your co-signer for the full amount that you owe. Also, if you were to not make these payments, yours and your co-signer's credit score would take a big hit.

Another step in making sure you get accepted for your new mortgage is to watch and wait for a good time to buy. If the economy is bad and the housing market is plummeting, it's probably not a good time for anyone to get approved for a mortgage,espically Florida. While you are waiting for things to return to normal, however, work on getting your credit score higher.

If a loan officer ever disapproves your application, you can ask for a second opinion as if you were seeing a doctor. They will send you to another officer within the same company and your application will be looked over again by a second party. Of course, you can just ask for a second opinion. You must have a good reason to back up your request. A very detailed letter that explains your reasoning and why you should get another chance is a good thing to have as well. When you write this letter, stay away from sob stories and excuses.

Sometimes if all of the above fails, you may just need to try a different lending company. If you keep getting denied for the same reasons from different lending companies, it's obvious that you need to fix whatever is wrong and try again at a later date.

Finally, if you want to have a better chance of having your Florida mortgage approved, try being a little more conservative and shopping around for a less-expensive house. If you can't get approved for say, $200,000, you may want to start your search again with a smaller maximum budget. Or, you can build your credit and wait until you can afford and be approved for what you want.

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Found a Home in Orlando? 5 Steps to Get Approved

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