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What to Consider Before Buying a Bigger Home

Deciding to upsize your home is a significant step. Moving from your first home to your next can be both exciting and stressful. Before deciding if up-sizing to the next home is right for you, take some time to address the following questions.

Why do you want to upgrade your home?

Sometimes the answer is clear. Many people decide to buy bigger because their family is growing and they have simply run out of space. Whether it's a new baby or aging parents moving in, having extra space to accommodate more people makes sense.

Other homeowners want to upgrade for different reasons. Some decide to rent a room or outbuilding to generate some extra income. Sometimes, it's about how the home is working for the lifestyle. Perhaps your home would be more functional if you had more storage space, or maybe you're running a business from your home.

Explore all the reasons you want to upgrade your home so that you and any other decision-makers are absolutely clear about why you want to upgrade.

Is bigger truly better?

Given the current housing demands, consider this answer carefully. The high demand for housing is pushing median housing prices higher and resulting in an ultra-competitive market. While you may get more from your home sale, you're going to pay out that money when you purchase a new home.

Before you decide moving is the solution, are there steps you can do to make your current property work better? Sometimes the answer isn't moving but making some layout changes or decluttering the property. You could use a home equity line of credit (HELOC) to upgrade the space, do some renovations, or add an addition that would solve your space needs.

How long will you be in your next home?

Like your current home, the longer you stay in it, the better it is to build equity. Purchasing a new home will have additional costs for closing and moving. Avoiding these costs will help you save money in the long run. If you do need to move, make sure you plan to stay in the new home for an extended time to make the closing costs worth the expense.

Where will you have to move to find something bigger?

When we buy a home, we buy not just the structure but the community around it. Do you really like the neighborhood you are in? Perhaps you initially picked the area because it was close to the amenities you like, or it was in the right school district for your children. Maybe you like the people and the community amenities. The thing is, to find a bigger home, you might need to leave that neighborhood.

Can you afford a bigger home?

If you are serious about upsizing your home, do the math to make sure it is a wise financial decision.

First, estimate how much you might clear on the sale of your current home. It can be helpful to talk to real estate agents to get an estimated list price. Compare this to how much you owe on the house, plus closing costs and the commission you'll pay an agent.

Talk to Luminate Home Loans about your current financial situation. Get an estimate on how much home you can afford right now. Look to see if that figure aligns with what buying a bigger home means in your local real estate market.

Remember, a bigger home means more expenses. Create a new estimated budget for your housing expenses. Include utilities, property taxes, insurance, and home maintenance for the larger home.

Estimate any other expenses associated with buying your next home. These include the closing costs, the storage of your personal items, and potentially temporary housing if you need to wait to move into your new home.

What are your home purchase goals?

Before you start looking on the market, set your criteria for the home purchase. Do you know why you are buying bigger? If it's to add bedrooms or for home office space, that should be one of your goals. Look for the features you want and stick to your budget.

Stepping up in your home

Moving into a larger home can be an exciting step in your life. Just make sure it's a decision made carefully and with due consideration for the big picture. It's easy to overextend what you need if you are not careful in your purchasing decision.

Talk to your real estate professionals and Luminate Home Loans about what a larger home could mean for you.

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What Happens During Mortgage Underwriting

By Luminate Marketing Team • 12 Mar, 2019

Whether you’re a first time home buyer, or it’s been awhile since you’ve been on the home-buying journey, it may seem a little daunting or overwhelming to know where to even begin. The first, and probably most important thing, you should know before buying a home: you are not alone. Statistically speaking, hundreds of thousands of people were first time home buyers last year and there will be hundreds of thousands more to come this year (yes-even in the middle of the pandemic). Another piece of good news is that our team here at Luminate is equipped and ready to help you wherever you are at on your home-buying journey. So before you begin with your home-buying journey, know that you have people in your corner (we are experts too). It's our goal to help you feel informed and engaged at every turn. What Happens During Mortgage Underwriting? Did you ever wonder what's happening behind the scenes during mortgage underwriting? For many homeowners, securing the financing they need is essential to successfully purchase a home. Underwriting is an important step in your chosen mortgage lender's approval process. What is underwriting? Your mortgage lender uses underwriting to take steps to verify your income, assets, debt, and property details along the path to approving your home loan. It's a way to reduce the mortgage lender's risk in providing you with the funds while ensuring you can actually afford the home you would like to buy. What do you need for underwriting? Your mortgage officer or lender will ask for a range of documents that answer questions concerning your income and ability to afford the home. These documents likely will include your tax returns, pay stubs, W-2s, W-9s, gift letters, and bank statements. The lender will assess any debt you have, such as monies owed on vehicles, student loans, credit cards, or furniture. The lender looks at any retirement savings and investments. Taken together, these paint a picture of your financial health. What will happen during underwriting? An underwriter is a financial expert specifically trained to do this kind of risk assessment work. The individual looks at your finances to determine how much risk the lender can take if they decide you qualify for a loan. Essentially, this underwriter decides if your loan will be approved or not. They want to ensure you don't receive a mortgage that you cannot afford and risks the lender initiating foreclosure proceedings. During the underwriting process, the underwriter will: #1-Review your credit report The credit report shows your credit score and how you used your credit in the past. They search for red flags like bankruptcies, late payments, and overuse of credit. A clear record with a good credit score shows that you are responsible about repaying debts. This improves your chances of loan approval plus better loan terms and interest rates. #2- Review your home appraisal The underwriter reviews the appraisal on the intended home. The appraisal is to verify that the amount you are asking for in funding aligns with the home's actual value. The appraiser pulls comparable sales from the neighborhood and inspects the home to make sure the purchase price is reasonable. #3- Verify your income The underwriter needs to prove your employment situation and actual income. You typically need three types of documents to verify your income, including: W-2s from the last two years Recent bank statements Your most recent pay stubs. If you are self-employed or own a large share of a business, your underwriter will look for different documents like your profit and loss sheets, balance sheets, and personal and business tax returns. The underwriter may ask questions about where certain deposits came from or for you to provide additional proof of assets. #4-Assess your debt-to-income ratio The debt-to-income ratio is a figure that shows how much money you spend versus how much money you earn. DTI is calculated by adding up your monthly minimum debt payments and dividing it by your monthly pretax income. The underwriter compares your debts to your income to verify you have enough income to afford your monthly mortgage payments, taxes, insurance. In addition to monthly income verification, the lenders want to see your assets because these can be sold for cash if you default on your mortgage payments. #5- Verify down payment Lenders want to make sure you have enough funds to cover the down payment and closing costs on the home purchase. Underwriters also look at your bank statements and savings accounts to ensure that you have the funds your sale and purchase agreement outlines you would make at closing. How long does loan underwriting take? Depending on how busy the underwriter is, the approval process can take 2 to 3 business days to work through the different steps. Other parties can hold up the approval process, such as the appraiser, title insurance, and any other external items in the process. Help speed along the underwriting process by actively responding to any requests from the team. Respond to any questions quickly and honestly. Avoid opening new credit lines during the process, as that will complicate your approval. After underwriting is finished Once the underwriter is complete, they will approve, approve with conditions, suspend, or deny the loan application. The approval will give you the all-clear to close on the home purchase. For any other determination, review the reason and see if you can take steps to improve your chances of a future approval.