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NMLS 209726 - A Division of Seattle Mortgage Brokers LLC
Bo L.
Marietta, GA
One word to describe Joe is WOW! We got our key in 2 weeks.
Joe is on his game and a Broker extraordinaire. He's extremely responsive, professional, true to his word and doesn't miss a thing.
We put in an offer on late Sat night. Joe called seller's agent to assure them our financial status, explained how he can close faster than cash offer. We won the house without entering a bidding war because of Joe. Joe closed us in 5 DAYS, literally. We spent our time waiting for the county and Escrow to catch up.
If you are in the middle of shopping for a mortgage, give Joe a call. That is all you need. If you want to compete with all cash offers, give Joe a call. That is all you need.
Chris R.
Seattle, Washington
Joe was EXTREMELY helpful in guiding us through the mortgage process. He was great at explaining everything to us clearly and presenting all of our options. We never waited more than 10 minutes for an answer to our questions, even on the weekends!
He made the whole process very relaxing, and made us confident that we understood what we were signing up for. On top of that he was able to close in 2 weeks!
Highly recommended!
Avishek N.
Olga, Washington
I found Joe on Yelp after my first lender could not close on time. I had a special immigration related scenario that required consultation with underwriting. He gave me an answer within 4 hours regarding whether he can go ahead with my application.
If it was not for Joe, I was thinking about going with a lender which was offering me 5 1/2 ARM at 4.75% because of my immigration status.
Joe was able to offer me a conventional 30 year fixed. We were working on a very tight deadline but for Joe, it was no big deal. He is on top of things and keeps you posted on a regular basis.
more Faqs
Good credit starts at 700 but maxes out around 760, depending on which lender you go with. If you are considering an FHA mortgage then good credit starts at 660. Credit score operate in increments of 20pt brackets so a 660 will be viewed as the same score all the way up to a 679. A 740 all the way up to 759 and so on.
There are three main points you should consider when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage. The industry refers to it as the 3 C's. Credit, Collateral and Capacity.
Your credit score is an indicator of your likelihood to make things work, even when money is tight, so the higher the better. If you believe you have a score in the upper 600 range, you are looking good.
Collateral has to do with your down payment. Around Seattle there are two major options, one is with Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and called "Conventional Financing" wile the other is Gennie Mae and called "FHA Financing". Conventional requires a minimum of 3% if you have moderate to low income (under 100k/yr) or 5% down for those over the income limits. FHA only requires 3.5% for their down payment and does not have income limitations. For people with low down payments, FHA is by far the most common method of purchasing a home.
Lastly Capacity has to do with your ability to repay the loan. The lender calculates this ability with a term called Debt to Income or DTI which is a ratio of your gross income vs. how much you owe in credit, auto, student loan and personal loan debts. The DTI ratio calculates only the minimum payments on these debts and is not concerned with anything that does not show up on a credit report like, cell phones, auto insurance, water bills, etc.
Seattle Jumbo loans start at anything above $726,525. Because of the high price point for Seattle, the median purchase price in 2018 has hovered right around $550,000. The thing to note about loan limits is they have to do with the amount you are borrowing, not buying. For example; you are purchasing a home for $825,000 but have a $100,000 down payment. This would put your loan amount into the conforming high-balance limit because you are only borrowing $725,000.
Getting pre approved for a home loan is a lot easier than you may think. There are only two steps and if you are a list oriented person, the process is a breeze.
First you should find the loan officer you want to work with, once you have had a chance to speak to a couple and have weighed the pros/cons of each you can move onto step two, the application.
Most applications can be completed online or, if you prefer, over the phone during the first step. Filling out the online paperwork should take less than 15 minutes and it will only ask questions you’re sure to know the answers to, make sure to supply the documentation the loan office lists out for you in the phone call/follow up email so they can thoroughly review your qualifications.
Pro-tip; if you are issued a pre approval or pre qualification letter and you have not supplied your supporting mortgage documentation, you need to be wary of your loan officers commitment to you, they have not done their job thoroughly enough for you to shop for your home confidently.
Once you have completed these simple two steps your pre approval can be issued, typically on the same day!