If you are looking to buy a house in Oklahoma, you’ve come to the right place. I am a mortgage broker, and my job is to go find you the best loans available, bring them back to you, and let you pick the best option for you!
Table of Contents
- Getting pre-approved for a loan
- What credit score do I need to buy a home?
- What is the current interest rate on home loans in Oklahoma?
- What is the easiest type of loan to get in Oklahoma?
- How much do you have to put down on a house in Oklahoma?
The first step to buying a home in Oklahoma is getting pre-approved for a loan
The first step to buying a house is to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan. Once you find the home you want to buy, you will want to contact my office to get pre-approved for the loan. Once you have pre-approval, you can hire a realtor and make an offer on the house. But having your pre-approval prior to buying the house will make the process go smoother.
Most sellers will not negotiate with buyers who do not have a pre-approval letter from a lender. And you don’t want them to not take you seriously. If you are serious about buying their house, then show up with the proof that you can afford to do so.
Getting pre-approved for a mortgage loan in Oklahoma is not difficult or time consuming. Simply click this link to start the process. Once you have completed the entire application and submitted it, I will call you to finish the process. I can usually have a pre-approval letter generated fairly quickly, if the application is complete and accurate.
What credit score do you need to buy a house in Oklahoma?
This is a great question, because credit scores are very important to mortgage lenders. All mortgage lenders use the borrower’s credit score as the starting point for the terms of the loan. That means the interest rate, the points and fees added to the loan, and the underwriting requirements – documentation required – are all affected by the borrower’s credit score.
The credit score is not the “end all, be all” of getting a mortgage loan, but it is definitely the starting point. So don’t be discouraged if your score is not where you want it; it won’t necessarily prevent you from getting a loan, but it can definitely affect the cost of getting a loan.
In general, borrowers with a score of 620 or higher will get better loan options than borrowers with a score under 620. We work with lenders that will go as low as a 580 credit score. But if you have a score between 580 and 620, you will not get as favorable loan terms as a borrower with a score above 620.
Terms get even better when a borrower has a score above 700. And for borrowers will really good credit, over 760, the terms get even better, as mortgage lenders really want to loan to borrowers with higher scores.
What is considered a low credit score when buying a home?
So what if you have a score below 600, or worse, below 580? There are still many, many lenders in the United States that specialize in these types of mortgage loans, called “subprime loans.” But my office does not handle subprime loans. And here is why.
If your credit score is below a 580, it will almost always be more affordable to rent a house than to buy a house. And your credit score is not permanent. You have complete control over it. Therefore, I would rather give you the guidance on how to raise your score over the next six to nine months, so that you can get a better loan, with a better rate, better fees, and better overall terms.
Which of the three credit scores does the mortgage lender use?
There are multiple agencies that offer credit scores. The three most commonly used by banks and lenders are Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Each of these three credit bureaus will collect data about your credit history and then offer a numerical score to represent your creditworthiness.
When you apply for a mortgage loan, the lender will use the middle score. Not the highest, not the lowest, but the score that is in the middle. This is important to remember, because the middle score may be different from your FICO score or from the score used by your credit cards.
What is the current interest rate on home loans in Oklahoma?
By far, the most popular question any mortgage broker gets is “what are your rates?” And the answer is always, “it depends!”
As discussed above, your credit score largely impacts the rate that any lender will offer you. But this issue is even more complicated with you consider the fact that all lenders charge borrowers for interest rates. What this means is that lenders charge borrowers fees for getting a loan (you already knew that), and some of those fees involve a fee for the interest rate. Let me explain.
When you borrow money from a bank or mortgage lender, there are many fees, which include an origination fees (just for giving the loan); processing fees (for doing the paperwork); closing fees (for the cost of hiring the title company and other vendors prior to closing); and discount points, which are the fees charged for the interest rate provided to the borrower.
There is a term we use when the interest rate is essentially free, and we call that the PAR rate. When you hire me as your mortgage broker (which, FYI, does not cost you any money out-of-pocket, the lender pays my fee at no cost to you), I will present to you the PAR rate offered by a particular lender. From there, I will show you options for buying down that rate.
Essentially, you can have whatever interest rate you want, but you will have to pay for it. Which begs the next question, is it worth it to buy down the rate? Well, again, it depends. Sometimes it is worth it, and sometimes the cost to buy down the rate exceeds the benefit you’d get.
The best way to make these decisions is to have your mortgage broker present a variety of options and scenarios. You should review the PAR rate, and then look at options for buying it down a quarter point, half point, or more. What you want to look for is how your monthly payment is affected, and how much money it saves you overall.
Sometimes it’s worth it to spend a few thousand dollars at closing to get a smaller monthly payment. And sometimes it is not. It just depends.
There is no need to spend time ruminating over this. Simply complete this application and we can start shopping options for you this week.
What is the easiest type of home loan to get in Oklahoma?
My biggest goal when working with any client is to lessen the stress and uncertainty of applying for any type of loan, whether it be a Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, HELOC or a refinance.
Getting a loan can seem difficult, tedious, stressful, and time consuming. But so much of that involves not having the right information. When you work with me, my goal is to provide you the information about how each product works, so you can choose the path of least resistance.
Even better, if you want to make it really easy, where you don’t have to think at all, simply tell me what you want your monthly payment to be, and how much cash you want to spend at closing. You don’t need to memorize the different aspects of all these loans. You simply tell me what you want. And then I will go shopping for you, and bring back the best options I can find that fit your criteria.
How much do you have to put down on a house in Oklahoma?
Depending on the type of loan you choose, you will have options from 3% to 20% or more. Conventional loans are available with 3% down and 5% down options. But many buyers will often put down 10% or more, in order to reduce the overall amount of the loan, which reduces their monthly payment.
If you are a veteran of the armed forces, then you will have options to buy a home with 0% down, and no money out of pocket at closing.
All of these loans still have terms and interest rates that will be affected by your credit score as well as your debt-to-income ratio (DTI).
Some types of loans allow a borrower to have a higher DTI and require a lower DTI. Again, there are many, many factors that go into how a lender chooses to loan money. But when you have a mortgage broker representing you, you don’t even need to worry about all of these metrics.
My job will always be to keep shopping until I find you what you want. You tell me where you want to land in terms of a monthly payment and out of pocket at closing, and I will do my best to go find a loan that fits your criteria.
Call today to start shopping for the best mortgage rates in Oklahoma
If you are ready to get started, you can complete this application online or call our office to talk to Travis. We can schedule a consultation over the phone, by video conference, or in-person at our downtown office.
Travis Charles Smith NMLS #2596609 Mortgage Broker