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As a potential home buyer, you need to know how to identify and select the best possible mortgage company in Kirkland. Finding the right mortgage company will make your home purchase as pleasant and hassle-free as possible. When you identify the exact property in Kirkland you wish to buy, the last thing you want is to run into issues with your mortgage lender!
You’ll want to take time and locate the best mortgage company you can possibly find. You also need insight into the Kirkland, WA, home market landscape. Here’s a look at why Kirkland is so desirable, a brief sketch of the current state of the Kirkland real estate market, and four tips on how you can find the best mortgage company in Kirkland.
Located directly northwest of Bellevue, WA, the city of Kirkland, WA, offers some of the most desirable real estate in the Greater Seattle metropolitan area. The city of Kirkland has a lot going for it: the city boasts a relatively high median home value, convenient access to downtown Bellevue, great views of Lake Washington, and a host of other perks. If you’re searching for a home in the Kirkland area, be advised that you may encounter competition from other buyers on the market.
As of March 2022, the city of Kirkland has a median home value of approximately $1,102,449. This is well over the median home value seen in the city of Seattle. That’s pretty impressive when we consider that Kirkland is just a fraction of the size of Seattle in terms of population. Again, this median value in Kirkland is due to the many perks offered by the city.
Given this median home value, you’ll be looking at a down payment amount of roughly $220,489 if you put down 20%. That’s not a small sum. But the down payment you’ll need also depends on the mortgage company in Kirkland you select, and could be as low as 10% or even 3.5%. That’s just one reason why you need to take the time to make a proper selection.
To get the best Kirkland mortgage company on your side, present a good front as a borrower and do some homework into local companies and current rates before you decide.
This is our first tip for a very good reason: improving your credit score is a vital part of the mortgage company selection process. And the reason for this is because your credit score will play an important role no matter which mortgage company you ultimately choose to work with. Improving your credit situation will widen the options you have to choose from. Mortgage companies have different minimum credit scores required for lending, for instance. If you improve your score, you will simultaneously open up more possibilities.
Related: Check Your Credit Score for Free
This is a piece of advice that is also frequently overlooked. It’s important that you ask tough questions when you consider a certain lender. This means asking detailed questions about mortgage interest rates, whether you can obtain a fixed rate or adjustable rate loan, what your closing costs will be, what your monthly payment obligation will likely be, and so forth.
A good mortgage company will give you good responses to all of these queries. If you feel as though you’re being kept in the dark about any major aspect of the home buying process, that’s a sign that you need to walk away. Asking tough questions will therefore make it easier to find out which company is truly looking out for your interests.
Some mortgage companies simply view you as a number; their goal is to process as many loans as possible, regardless of the level of service or care involved. This is why you need to grill your options carefully to figure out which company is really working on your behalf.
This may seem like an intuitive piece of advice, but believe it or not, many borrowers overlook this tip entirely. In today’s online environment, it’s possible to generate rate quotes from multiple prospective lenders with relative ease. And this is exactly what you want to do when you go to select a mortgage company in Kirkland. Generate rate quotes from multiple lenders, print them out, and then stack them, side by side, so that you can carefully examine them together.
This rate comparison should be an important part of your overall analysis when making a determination. Of course, other factors will also come into play. One mortgage company may offer a higher interest rate but require a lower down payment, for instance. The point is that you should scrutinize the interest rates offered by your options very carefully before making a choice
In addition to asking tough questions about rates, closing costs, additional fees, monthly payment projections, and the like, you should also conduct a thorough interview of each serious option. If you’re seriously considering a certain lender, subject that lender to a fairly rigorous style of questioning.
Ask questions about the various loan programs they offer, whether you qualify for any special assistance programs, whether they provide in-house loans, what credit score is required, what down payment is required, and so forth. You want to get a sense of the financial stability of the lender so that you won’t encounter any unpleasant surprises at any point down the road. You also want to know how your current financial situation aligns with the expectations of the prospective lender.
Related: Loan Programs Available For Home Buyers
It’s important for borrowers to understand loan limits. These are dollar limits that are placed on home loans. Any loans made over these limits are considered “jumbo loans.”
For conforming loans, loan limits are caps that are placed on mortgages that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will purchase or guarantee. For FHA loans, loan limits are caps that are placed on loans that the FHA backs.
VA loan limits have been eliminated as of 2020. But some borrowers may still be subject to them if they currently have VA loans or have previously defaulted on one.
Every county in the country is assigned a loan limit, which usually increases at the start of every year to reflect the growth in home prices.
Check out our mortgage loan limit tool for conventional, FHA, and VA loans.
There’s so much to know about mortgages in Kirkland, WA, and the mortgage companies that offer them. At Sammamish Mortgage, we can provide you with all the information required about home loans without the need to do any leg work yourself. We’ve been helping borrowers all over Washington, Idaho, California, Colorado, and Oregon apply for mortgages since 1992, and we’d love to help you too. We offer plenty of mortgage programs with flexible qualification criteria, and we would love to speak to you about how we can help. Contact us today to get the info you need about home loans needed to buy a home in Kirkland!
Whether you’re buying a home or ready to refinance, our professionals can help.
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No Obligation and transparency 24/7. Instantly compare live rates and costs from our network of lenders across the country. Real-time accurate rates and closing costs for a variety of loan programs custom to your specific situation.