Reasons To Meet With Your Mortgage Lender Every Year

8 Reasons To Meet With Your Mortgage Lender Every Year

You might think that you only need to meet with your home loan officer when it’s time to buy a new house, but that’s not so. We sat down with Fairway’s Tacoma Branch Manager Michael Fornerette and asked, “Do clients ever meet a mortgage lender like you other than when they want to buy a new home?” and his reply was enlightening.

His advice is that you should meet with your mortgage lender at least once every year, regardless of whether you’re ready to buy a house, have already purchased or simply have plans to do so some time in the future. Here are eight things a mortgage lender can do for you that merit an annual meeting.

8 Reasons to Meet with Your Mortgage Lender Annually

Buying and Selling

It’s the obvious one, so we’ll list this first. Clearly if you’re in home buying or home selling mode it’s a smart idea to meet with your mortgage lender either to get pre-qualified for a home loan or to discuss payoff details.

Comparing Options

There are many different types of home loans. Even if you’ve already been pre-approved by your bank, it’s a good idea to meet with a knowledgeable mortgage lender agent. An experienced home loan agent can show you different types of mortgage programs and talk you through the details so you can be confident you’ve got the one most appropriate for your financial needs and goals.

Refinancing

Ok so this is another obvious answer, but only when you’re aware of refinancing options. Many people lock into a home loan and don’t revisit it for years until something happens to their circumstances (such as a job loss or decrease in income) or something else occurs, like a steep drop in interest rates. However, these aren’t the only circumstances where refinancing might make sense. If you meet with your mortgage agent annually, they will be able to tell you what’s going on in the financial marketplace that might merit a closer look.

Annual Review

Reviewing your mortgage annually gives you the big picture and the opportunity to analyze your current mortgage in light of your household’s finances and goals. Some of the details a knowledgeable mortgage lender agent will include are:

  • Financing rates
  • Whether you now qualify for a better loan type than before
  • Current promotions
  • Whether you can stop paying PMI (mortgage insurance)
  • For faster or slower payoff
  • For a current appraisal for potential to sell, refinancing, home equity loans, etc.

Short and Long Range Planning

For most home owners, the mortgage represents a significant portion of income and available capital. An experienced home loan mortgage agent will have the ability to help you evaluate your current (or proposed) home loan options in light of your and your household’s short and long range goals.

For Renovation, Repair, Remodel

A home equity loan could help you unlock capital to make major renovations, repairs or remodeling to your home. When you meet with your mortgage agent each year, you can discuss any major projects you plan to accomplish or work that needs to be done. You can also discuss potential projects in light of the marketplace, since a knowledgeable mortgage agent will also know a lot about which projects add value to a home’s selling price and which are popular with today’s home buyers.

To Get Money Out

Your home loan is a responsibility; however, your home itself is an asset. And you may be able to draw upon this asset when you need to take money out in the form of a home equity loan, line of credit or refinancing. There’s no one size fits all need and there’s no one size fits all working capital solution. A knowledgeable loan officer is going to know which financial tool is best-suited to your needs and which are available to you.

To Stay on the Radar

So many things change each year in your life as a home owner as well as externally in the financial and real estate markets that could impact your mortgage scenario. When you prioritize meeting with your mortgage agent once a year, you keep your household’s needs and circumstances in a more top-of-mind position with your agent. If something changes in the marketplace they think you need to know about, they’re much more likely to contact you when they have a good idea of your needs and wants.

 

5 replies

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] You might also like: 8 Reasons To Meet With Your Mortgage Lender Every Year […]

  2. […] Buying a home comes with a lot of big decisions. What neighborhood do we want to live in? How many bedrooms will we need in our new home? Do we want to live in an area with acreage? Or maybe you’ve already purchased a home and you want to know whether refinancing would be a good idea. These questions can be answered with the help of your family and real estate agent, but to answer the question of “what loan is right for me?” it’s best to talk with your lender. […]

  3. […] always best to talk with a mortgage lender when you are seriously ready to be a home owner. There’s nothing worse than finding what you […]

  4. […] you’re a home owner, there are good reasons to meet with your mortgage agent every year, not just just when you’re in the process of buying a new home. To assess whether a home equity […]

  5. […] around for a mortgage lender who understands the needs of the first time home buyer. Then when you’ve established a […]

Comments are closed.