In the Washington, DC area, it's not uncommon for homeowners to climb the property ladder, gaining equity over time and upgrading to a home that better fits their longer-term needs (instead of buying that forever home from the start).
Kingsbury
Some owners will hold onto their first property as an investment but many will want or need to sell it to move onto their next house. In a less competitive market, having a contingency around the sale of a home is not uncommon but, in this region, it can make getting your offer accepted more challenging. However, there are options...and we tapped into the expertise of local lender Greg Kingsbury, who leads the Kingsbury Mortgage Team at Caliber Home Loans, to answer some of the most common questions when looking to sell and buy in short order:
What is the #1 question or concern homeowners come to you with when they are looking to sell their current home and buy a new home?
Of course all situations are different so many prospective borrowers will have different questions based on their individual scenarios. If I had to narrow it down to a single question, it would be how to qualify for a home prior to selling their current home. Most of the time this is based upon wanting to declutter and make minor improvements to their home so it looks best and will command the most value on the sale.
The advice that seems to get thrown around the most is to just go get a bridge loan. I find that most clients are told to go get one, but don’t really know what a bridge loan actually it is. Many think it is some kind of magical loan that just gives you your equity to allow you to buy something new. The truth I find is that most people won’t qualify for a bridge loan. When getting a bridge loan, you have to qualify carrying your current mortgage, the new mortgage and a payment on the bridge loan. There usually also are substantial costs to the bridge loan, generally in the form of a few points paid on the amount (in addition to closing and recording costs). The other common misconception is that you can get a bridge loan for all of your equity. Most providers of bridge loans don’t want to exceed 80% of the value of the residence you are departing inclusive of any outstanding debt.
So, what options are available to sellers who are looking to qualify for and finance their new home purchase?
There are several options to consider when trying to qualify to move up and buy a new home. There is the bridge loa, but often times, as noted above, that doesn’t work or isn’t cost effective.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there, so do yourself a favor and talk to someone that is local and, even better, someone that has been referred.”
The second option is doing a lower down payment with the intention of paying down that loan after closing with the proceeds of the sale after the departed residence sells. This is usually accomplished by a principal reduction followed by a loan recast. (A loan recast is when your loan servicer re-amortizes your loan after a large principal payment.) Usually the minimum required for a recast is $5,000. This allows you to get a lower payment without having to refinance your loan and allows you to keep your current interest rate. The recast just takes your new principal balance and adjusts the payments to still keep the original loan maturity date.
A third option is a combo loan. This is where you have a first and second mortgage with the intention of paying off the second mortgage after the sale of the departed residence leaving you with just the single first mortgage.
Aside from working with a top-notch agent, what recommendations do you have for your clients who are looking to "move up"?
Do your homework upfront and budget accordingly. Make sure you get all the numbers and consider things on a worst-case scenario. You never know if the market is going to turn, and you have to hold onto a property longer than anticipated. Consider backup plans in the event you can’t sell. Find out what the rental market would command for your property. Would you be able to carry both payments if you had to hold onto it and rent?
Are there any potential pitfalls when selling and buying as it relates to mortgages? If so, how can clients avoid or minimize the chance of these?
The only pitfall I can think of is not having everything reviewed up front to make sure you really qualify for what you are hoping to get into. You may have your credit pulled and someone take a quick look and think everything is ok but, if they aren’t asking questions about the total picture, you could all of a sudden not qualify. If the debt ratios are close and a bank is only looking at a credit report and not asking if there are additional items such as condo fees, taxes not included in the mortgage, child support/alimony, etc., it could look on paper like you’d fully qualify and once all the pieces are put together you end up not qualifying.
This can all be avoided by being upfront about everything and making sure that the lender you speak to has the full picture when they are reviewing your file.
The DC area real estate market is competitive and buyers often need few or no contingencies to win with sellers. How do you work with a buyer’s agent to strengthen their offer?
We try to get as much information at the beginning to make sure that there are no concerns with their ability to get financing. If there is an option to waive contingencies, this definitely helps win offers. However, waiving contingencies can put borrowers in a difficult spot and prove to be very costly if something were to go wrong. But, with the right questions asked and the appropriate documents supplied and reviewed, these risks can be mitigated to protect the borrower while also allowing them to present the strongest offer possible. We’ve been able to help buyers with financing beat out all cash offers with these strategies.
What is the best piece of advice you have have for prospective homebuyers today?
Take some time to set up a call with a trusted loan officer before you go out looking at anything. You should be able to have a conversation about your individual situation and get a real understanding of your options. From there, ask for scenario sheets to show you perspective loan options.
There is a lot of misinformation out there, so do yourself a favor and talk to someone that is local and, even better, someone that has been referred. A random contact from the Internet has no vested interest if they steer you wrong or something goes wrong. They can just move on to the next online lead. A local person lives on the referral. They have a more vested interest to see you succeed as their livelihood depends on satisfying each customer to keep the referrals coming.
Thank you to Greg for sharing his experience and knowledge, and make sure to connect with the Kingsbury Team on Facebook and Twitter for more mortgage insights.