By Jayson Stebbins Mortgage Professional

Jayson Stebbins is a 25 year veteran of the Mortgage Banking industry and an Accredited Mortgage Professional through the Mortgage Bankers Association . He grew up in Morgan Hill and currently lives in Gilroy . He is the local Branch Manager of Guild Mortgage , a 58 year old Mortgage Banking firm . His office is in Morgan Hill and serves all of Santa Clara , San Benito , and Monterey counties . You can reach Jayson and his Team at 408-825-0220 or at jstebbins @ guildmortgage . net

he Spring and Summer buying season is well underway . Homes are selling quickly , many times over the asking price with multiple offers . So how do you make your offer more attractive to the seller when they control the market ?

Many clients have been struggling with the idea of selling , knowing that they may not have a place to go or get their next purchase lined up in time due to low inventory . So what do they do ? Contingent offers ( an offer to buy a home that requires a sale or some other conditions first ) are not in vogue right now , so what can you do ?

FULL APPROVAL : We all know that preapprovals are a must before you even shop or engage a Realtor , but what is a “ full approval ”? This is when your loan , even without a property identified , is fully approved and underwritten by the Lender and ready to go once a property has been identified . This will minimize the number of contingencies on your offer to purchase . Many Lenders will allow you to get fully approved to strengthen your offer .

BRIDGE LOANS : If your current home has the equity you need to buy the new home , sometimes you can access that through a “ bridge ” loan , which acts just as it sounds , borrowing as a temporary bridge to help you avoid a contingent offer . Once your home sells , you pay off the bridge , but you are not subject to that for the new loan . Bridge loans are tricky ; they can be expensive as well so be sure to do your research with a trusted lending source . You can also

try to qualify with both payments , by reducing the down payment on the new home and carrying both loans for qualifying .

UNIQUE LOAN PROGRAMS : There are loan programs out there that might help as you try and get creative . Some fall under traditional lending , some are more “ portfolio ” in nature and may cost money up front or come with a higher interest rate . These include options like excluding the departing residence debt if the home is listed for sale and you have an executed purchase contract . There are also loans that will allow for much higher qualifying ratios in the short term to facilitate the transaction but require points ( costs ) upfront .

LETTER FROM THE HEART : There are very lovely stories of sellers taking slightly lower offers to accommodate a sale to a first-time buyer family , a single parent , or a veteran . Tell your story ! Have your kids draw pictures and include family photos and tell your story to the seller . They may be willing to accept a contingent offer if they know that the home will go to wonderful family like yours . Shameless self-promotion is a good attribute in this market .

LOCAL PROFESSIONALS : I have mentioned this many times , but use local professionals . Use a local Realtor and Lender . The listing agents like to see local names on the pre-approval letters and may be more likely to take an offer with local representation than a national call center or Bank . Good luck out there !

Jayson Stebbins is a licensed mortgage agent in CA for Guild Mortgage Company NMLS # 38463 ; Licensed by CA Disclosure : Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act . NMLS Company Unique ID 3274 ; Branch Unique ID 38480 . The postings on this editorial don ' t necessarily represent the positions , strategies or opinions of Guild Mortgage Company or its affiliates . This information is not guaranteed to be accurate and shall not be construed as a guarantee of loan approval . All loans are subject to underwriter approval , and are subject to change without notice . Equal Housing Lender .

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JUNE / JULY 2018 gmhtoday . com

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