How to Find a Good Colorado Mortgage Broker and Buyer Agent
Making a six- or seven-figure decision without expertise and experience is very risky. Getting good professional real estate help can avoid costly mistakes and make your home buying experience much smoother and less stressful. To start the home buying process, let’s see how to find a good mortgage broker and real estate buyer agent. These are the two most important real estate professionals that you need on your side from the beginning because they can help you navigating the home buying process without wasting time or money.
Step 1: Find a Good Mortgage Broker
Unless you are a cash buyer, it’s important to sit down and talk with a local mortgage broker. A good mortgage broker can help you understand what you can afford to buy, how much cash you’ll need and what your monthly payment will be.
You can learn a lot about home finance on the web, but nothing beats sitting down with a knowledgeable loan officer and getting their input on the best approach to financing your home purchase.
At a minimum, you’ll gain an understanding of the process and your available options.
If, in the end, you decide that you prefer working on your own, at least you will have picked up some useful information. There are great resources available to you at little or no cost. Use them.
During a one hour meeting with a loan officer or mortgage broker, you should be able to find out how much you can borrow. A lender can explain different mortgage loan terms and discuss the advantages of each. He or she will describe 15- or 30-year fixed rate loans and estimate how much your payment would be. They’ll explain how you could extend that with an adjustable or balloon mortgage, and whether that’s right for you.
Furthermore, they can tell you how much you could afford if you limit yourself to the monthly payment you’re comfortable with.
Finally, you’ll want to know how much cash you will need to complete the purchase. If you are short of cash, they can provide you with sources available to help you raise it. There are a wide variety of assistance programs for home buyers who need cash for a down payment and/or closing costs and a good lender can connect you with these programs.
We Recommend These Four Reliable Lenders
The loan officer you meet with to begin the process of obtaining a loan is not the lender’s gatekeeper but your “loan coach.” Their job is to identify the loan that best meets your needs and to find a way to help you get it. We recommend these four reliable lenders. Our office has worked with each one and they have done a good job for our clients.
Terri Wolf
Guild Mortgage
(303) 530-7362
twolf@guildmortgage.net
Chris Cullen
Elevations Credit Union
(720) 652-7101
chris.cullen@elevationscu.com
Kim Clancy
Mindful Mortgage Group
(949) 933-9058
kim@mindfulmortgagegroup.com
Melissa Cotton
Greenlight Mortgage Group
(720) 309-7008
melissa.cotton@gmglending.com
Step 2: Before Looking for a Home, Take These Financial Steps
Be a Competitive Buyer
In a competitive market, a successful buyer will choose a mortgage lender early on and get the loan process started. In addition to figuring out what you can afford and how you will finance your home purchase, starting on the loan process is critical in other ways too.
Prepare to Make a Competitive Offer
The Colorado purchase contract has a section where the buyer must specify the type and amount of the loan they are planning to obtain. This is because the loan type can affect the seller. Your loan type determines the amount of time required for closing and/or the costs that the seller will have to pay. You should have a clear idea of how you will be financing your home purchase, or what type of loan you will be seeking, before you make an offer.
Get Your Finances Together
Once you get the loan process started, you may find that you need to save some additional cash, pay off some existing loans or credit cards, or clear up some credit issues to raise your credit score. If you find this out early on, you may be able to get things set right before you lose your dream home.
Know Your Loan Limits
There are upper limits on certain loan types depending on where you are buying. For example, with FHA loans, loan limits in Boulder County may exceed those in neighboring Weld or Gilpin counties by $100,000 or so. If you need to finance your home purchase with an FHA loan, you need to know not only how much you can afford — but where.
You may experience difficulties in purchasing certain types of properties using certain types of loans. In some condominium or townhome complexes, for example, you may not be able to use an FHA loan. In others, even conventional loans may not work.
Get a Pre-Qualification Letter…
Once you’ve met with a loan officer and they’ve run a credit check, they can typically write a “pre-qualification letter” for you. In general, this letter states that the lender believes you will be able to qualify for a loan of a specified amount and type. This is based on the information you’ve provided them and a review of your credit history. When you make an offer, having such a letter will make the seller much more comfortable. It is often difficult to get a seller to take your offer seriously if you don’t have a pre-qualification letter.
…or Get a Loan Approval
With most mortgage lenders, you can take this one step further and apply for loan approval before you find a home. If you are approved for the loan — and submit an approval letter with your offer — you’ll look like a cash buyer to the seller. In some cases, this may give you some bargaining leverage. In others, it may allow you to win out over other buyers in competing for an attractive property. Having loan approval may very well make the difference between the seller accepting your offer or someone else’s.
In addition to negotiating power, loan approval makes you more comfortable when you’re searching for a home. If you know what you can afford and what your monthly payment will be, you will be able to think more clearly as you consider your housing options. You’ll be off to a great start!
Set Up Financing Early Instead of Later
The busiest period of the home buying process is getting to closing, which begins after your offer has been accepted. During this time, you will be completing inspections, checking title work, preparing for closing, and planning your move.
This will be much easier if you have most of the loan issues out of the way before you start. Talking with a lender and getting loan approval before you begin your home search is a good step in reducing the stress and spreading out the paperwork.
Step 3: Find a Good Real Estate Buyer Agent
An hour-long meeting with a good real estate buyer’s agent can be very enlightening. A buyer agent can give you a realistic idea of the kinds of homes available in your price range in a variety of local communities.
If you’ve already met with a mortgage loan officer, you’ll learn whether the amount you want to pay will allow you to buy the kind of home you want. If not, a real estate agent can help you to think through some of the trade-offs. For example, you’ll have to decide whether you want to rethink house size or location to keep your payments down. Or maybe you’ll decide to take on a larger house payment. Those are decisions only you can make as you focus your home search.
Before you set a meeting, you’ll want to understand the different types of real estate agents in Colorado because which type of agent you’re talking with makes a huge difference.
How to Find a Good Real Estate Buyer Agent
Many home buyers, especially first-time buyers, hesitate to commit to a single real estate agent because they have no idea how to find a good one. Here’s how:
- Get trusted recommendations. To begin, set up meetings with two or three buyer agents who have been recommended by friends or coworkers. Some agents focus on selling listings, so make sure the agents you interview have lots of experience representing buyers.
- Insist on a buyer’s agent contract. Before revealing info, be sure to tell them clearly that you are looking for a buyer agency relationship. Then tell them what you can about your situation, even if you’re unsure about whether or not you should buy a house in the first place. Working with an agent without a contract is one of the top mistakes we sometimes see home buyers make.
- Observe: Watch and listen to what they say. Look for a buyer agent who tries to help you think through basic issues at your first meeting. If they are organized, knowledgeable and focused, with a concrete plan of action, they can probably help you a lot.
- Read the fine print! Next, request a copy of their buyer agency agreement and carefully review it, with a real estate attorney’s help if you need it. We recommend insisting on a termination clause that allows you to end the relationship without penalty at any time. When you feel entirely comfortable with the terms and the agent, sign a short-term agreement and get started.
Of course, we at Agents for Home Buyers hope that you meet with us!
At your first meeting with Agents for Home Buyers, we’ll cover a lot of ground:
- We’ll learn about your home ownership goals and share how we can help you achieve them.
- We’ll talk about what you want in a home, and what you don’t, and help you understand how your housing goals match up with the market.
- We’ll answer your questions about the purchase process, help you prepare, and show what we can do to ease the way.
- We’ll share the many benefits of working with a buyer’s agent and our team approach, and answer any questions you have.
Once you have a buyer agent under an agency contract, your home search can begin.
Your buyer agent can take you to any open houses you want to see, or better yet, arrange for a private showing of any home on the market. (See why being careful with open houses is important.) A good agent can show you a property on the day it becomes available, so you can beat the rush.
Next Steps in Buying a Home in Colorado
Contact Agents for Home Buyers! Lindsey and Danielle can help you navigate the home buying process to find a great home you will love. It’s what we have been doing as buyers agents for 25 years in Boulder County, Jefferson County, Broomfield, Larimer County, and nearby.
Step 1: Educate Yourself About the Home Buying Process
Step 2: Form Your Team of Real Estate Professionals: Mortgage Broker and Buyer Agent
Step 3: Set Realistic Goals for Your Home Search
Step 4: Beware the MLS and Online Real Estate Databases
Step 5: Begin a Focused Home Search
Step 6: Craft Your Home Purchase Offer
Step 7: Negotiate the Contract
Step 8: Colorado Real Estate Documents and Forms
Step 9: Home Loans and Financing
Resources: Home Buyer Assistance Programs