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If buying a home in Portland, OR is on the agenda for you, you’ll want to look at various mortgage products available to help you finance this big purchase. A Portland mortgage company can help you work out what your next move should be and help you get preapproved.
Finding the right Portland mortgage company entails looking at several different mortgage companies that can provide home loan products to you. Here are some tips for potential buyers on how to identify and choose the best mortgage company in Portland, OR.
The largest and most heavily populated city in the state of Oregon, Portland is known for its stunning natural landscapes, equipped with vast parks, paths, and bridges. The city is known for its hipster vibe and consciousness of the environment and boasts vibrant art, music, and theater scenes.
Portland also offers residents a booming job market, offering plenty of employment opportunities. It’s certainly a wonderful place to live and work.
If you are looking to buy a home in Portland, OR, you should be aware that the average price for a home is higher than the nationwide average. It’s also important to note that the current housing inventory in the city is rather tight, which means buyers may have to work a little harder to be more competitive amidst other prospective buyers who may be vying for the same properties.
Considering all this, you’ll want to make sure that you work with a seasoned real estate team and mortgage specialist to help make the home buying process in Portland a success. A reputable mortgage company will make your home purchase as stress-free as possible, leaving you with a home you love and mortgage payments you can comfortably afford.
Finding the right home in Portland may take some legwork on your part, but once you find it, you’ll want to have a dependable mortgage company to back you up as you go through the mortgage approval process. If you choose the wrong mortgage company, you run the risk of having to deal with a myriad of issues.
In this article, we’ll give you a quick rundown of the current real estate market in Portland, as well as what you can realistically expect in terms of home prices and down payments.
From there, we’ll provide you with 4 helpful tips on how to find the best mortgage company in Portland, OR. Finally, we’ll direct you to the ideal mortgage company in the city, where you’ll be sure to find exactly what you need in a mortgage to help fund this important investment.
Currently, the city of Portland has a median home value of about $547,362. For comparison purposes, the median home price in Oregon is $507,312. On a city-to-city comparison, the median home prices in Salem, Eugene, and Bend are $443,077, $484,283, and $751,026, respectively.
Right now, the real estate market in Portland is healthy. Home prices have increased 0.1% throughout the past 12 months. Since the market is hot right now, buyers could face competition from other interested buyers.
The down payment amount you will need to put forth will depend on the type of mortgage you take out and the percentage of the purchase price that you are able to pay upfront.
For instance, if you take out an FHA loan, you can put down as little as 3.5%. In this case, your down payment amount would be a little over $19,158 based on the average price of $547,362 in Portland right now. If you put a 10% down payment on a conventional loan, which tends to be the typical down payment amount, you’re looking at putting down close to $54,738.
The down payment you require will also depend on the mortgage company in Portland that you choose. This is just one reason why you need to take measures to make the right choice.
To successfully buy a home in Portland, consider these steps.
Our first tip is to give your credit score a boost, and for good reason. Improving your credit score is a crucial component of the mortgage approval process and is one of the first things that mortgage companies will look at. That’s because your credit score paints the picture of the type of borrower you may be and tells a story of how responsible you may (or may not) have been with your finances in the past.
Making timely bill payments every month will contribute to a higher credit score and typically means you’re less of a risk. On the other hand, missing payments in the past will lower your credit score and will make you appear like more of a risk. In this case, your chances of getting approved for a mortgage at a decent rate are much lower.
By improving your credit situation, you can expand your options. While mortgage companies have different required minimum credit scores, the general consensus is that a score of at least 650 to 680 is needed to get a conventional mortgage (though there may be FHA loan options that allow lower scores). If you improve your credit score, you can open up more possibilities.
Related: Check Your Credit Score for Free
When you’re in the process of finding and choosing a mortgage company, consider it somewhat like an interview. You want to ask mortgage companies the right questions, and the answers that you get will help you determine whether or not a specific firm is the right one to work with.
Asking detailed questions about things such as:
The answers to these questions will help you get an idea of what the mortgage company will be able to offer you. A good mortgage company will give you detailed answers to all of these questions. If you feel like you’re not getting all the information you need, that’s a red flag and means you should walk away.
Asking tough questions will ultimately make it easier to determine which mortgage company is really looking out for you.
Before you choose one particular mortgage company in Portland, consider comparing what a few of them are able to offer you. Comparison shopping is important in many aspects of life to make sure you get the best deal, and this includes comparing mortgage companies.
Thanks to the internet, it’s much easier and faster to get rate quotes from several prospective mortgage companies. That’s precisely what you should do when you choose a mortgage company in Portland.
Get interest rate quotes from different mortgage companies, take a print out, and then compare them side by side. This is an essential part of your analysis when choosing one mortgage over another.
Of course, there are other factors that will also need to be looked at. For instance, one mortgage company might offer a lower interest rate but may require a higher down payment amount. The point is that analyzing the mortgage interest rates offered by various mortgage companies is important before making a choice.
Not only should you ask about interest rates, closing costs, fees, monthly payments, and so on, but you should also thoroughly interview each option. Narrow down your options and interview those that make your short list.
Ask questions about the loan programs they offer, what you can qualify for, whether there are any assistance programs you can take advantage of, what credit score is needed, how much money you need to put down, and so on. Get a sense of the mortgage company’s financial stability so that you won’t be unpleasantly surprised down the road.
Related: Loan Programs Available For Home Buyers
Pre-qualifications and pre-approvals are part of the mortgage application and approval process, but they’re different. As a buyer, it’s important to understand these differences:
Pre-qualification is an informal assessment of your ability to get a home loan. You’ll self-report information about your income, debts, and assets. Then, your mortgage company will give you an estimate of how much you may qualify for, typically without a hard credit check.
However, pre-qualification is not a commitment from the mortgage company and doesn’t carry much weight with sellers.
A mortgage re-approval is a much more thorough and formal process. During this process, you’ll submit a full mortgage application and provide all required documentation. A hard credit check is typically required. Based on this verified information, you’ll receive a conditional commitment for a specific loan amount, often with an interest rate locked in for a certain period.
Pre-approval makes you a more serious buyer in the eyes of sellers and real estate agents, so you’ll have a competitive edge when making an offer.
It’s important for buyers to understand loan limits when they apply for a mortgage. Loan limits refer to the dollar limit that borrowers can take out when they secure a home loan. Any loan that is higher than the loan limit is considered a “jumbo home loan.”
Conforming loans and FHA loans have their own loan limit amounts, which are determined based on the specific county, and reflects home prices in the area. VA loan limits have been eliminated, though some borrowers may still be subject to loan limits if they have more than one active VA loan or have defaulted on a previous loan.
Check out our mortgage loan limit tool for conventional, FHA, and VA loans.
Sammamish Mortgage distinguishes itself from other mortgage companies with several unique features under its Diamond Homebuyer Program to give buyers an edge in a competitive Portland housing market.
What’s the minimum down payment requirement for an FHA loan?
The minimum down payment allowed on an FHA loan is 3.5%, making it easier for home buyers to get into the housing market in Portland, OR.
Do I need mortgage insurance in Portland?
Whether you need mortgage insurance depends on your down payment amount. If your down payment on a conventional loan is less than 20% of the property value, you’ll need to pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). On FHA loans, you’ll need to pay Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP), no matter what down payment size you make.
What factors do mortgage companies in Portland consider when approving a mortgage?
Mortgage companies look at your credit score, income, employment, debt-to-income ratio, down payment amount, and the appraised value of the home you’re buying.
Does mortgage pre-approval from a mortgage company means I’m guaranteed a loan?
No, a pre-approval is not a guarantee, but rather a conditional commitment. A pre-approval provides an estimate of how much you can borrow, but final approval depends on the home’s appraisal, complete verification of all your documentation, and no major changes to your financial and credit situation.
How is a mortgage lender different from a mortgage broker?
A mortgage lender actually provides the funds for a mortgage, while a mortgage broker acts as the middleman between borrowers and lenders.
What’s the difference between mortgage origination fees and discount points?
Loan origination fees cover the mortgage company’s costs to process loans. Discount points are fees that allow borrowers to lower their interest rate, which also reduces monthly mortgage payments. Both origination fees and discount points can affect your mortgage interest rate.
There’s so much to know about mortgages in Portland 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, 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 Portland, or visit our website to get an instant rate quote and track rates using our rate tracker tool.
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.