Video Two
How Do I Get a Mortgage?

In this video, we chat with Jennifer Burnett of Pennsylvania Preferred Mortgage about all the home financing options that are available for first time homebuyers. Plus, Jennifer gives us advice how first time homebuyers can get approved for a mortgage.

KRISTIE: Hey guys, I’m Kristie Forsman with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty and you are watching the second episode in our video series all about buying your very first home. So, today we’re going to talk about one of the most important, but nerve-wracking, steps in buying your first home and that is… Mortgage and Financing. So, with me today, I have an expert mortgage consultant from Pennsylvania Preferred Mortgage. Please welcome Jennifer Burnett.

JENNIFER: Hello

KRISTIE: Hi, welcome to the show.

JENNIFER: Thanks for having me.

KRISTIE: Of course. So Jennifer, can you tell me a little bit about what you do?

JENNIFER: Sure. So I work with a lot of homebuyers in obtaining financing and answering any financing questions they have throughout the process.

KRISTIE: Great! So, do you work a lot with first time homebuyers?

JENNIFER: I do actually and I like it.

KRISTIE: Yeah!

JENNIFER: They’re always really excited.

KRISTIE: Eager to get into their first home.

JENNIFER: Yes.

KRISTIE: Wonderful. So, Jennifer are there any programs out there specifically for first time homebuyers?

JENNIFER: Well, depending on their qualification, really any program out there is available to them. But, there are some that are tailored to first time homebuyers.

KRISTIE: Okay.

JENNIFER: There’s a conventional product that allows them to put as little as 3% down.

KRISTIE: Just 3%? Wow.

JENNIFER: I know…

KRISTIE: Wow, that’s awesome.

JENNIFER: Yeah, it is. And it still has that traditional 3% seller assist.

KRISTIE: Wonderful.

JENNIFER: And FHA, which it’s not specific to first time homebuyers, but a lot of first time homebuyers do utilize that product because it allows up to 6% seller assist.

KRISTIE: Oh, great.

JENNIFER: Some of the PHFA loan products out there are specifically geared toward first time homebuyers.

KRISTIE: And, you and the other loan reps at PA Preferred Mortgage will actually work with those homebuyers to figure out which one of those loans is right for them.

JENNIFER: Exactly. With some homebuyers, it’s very clear that one option is more beneficial than others and some it’s a toss up. It depends on what’s most important to them. Having the lowest monthly payment or coming out of pocket with the least amount of money at closing.

KRISTIE: Right, that makes sense.

JENNIFER: So, it really depends.

KRISTIE: So Jennifer, a lot of first time homebuyers, myself included, have student loans. Will that deter us from getting a mortgage?

JENNIFER: Not necessarily. I mean there are certain guidelines specific to student loans. If they’re in deferment, often times we still have to count them in the debt-to-income ratio. That means, you might not be making payments right now but we still have to count them as though you are. But, there are programs out there that allow for a little bit higher of a debt-to-income-ratio as long as they have other compensating factors.

KRISTIE: Alright. So probably, if you’re a first time homebuyer with student loans, probably the best thing to do is just get preapproved.

JENNIFER: Yes, absolutely.

KRISTIE: So, speaking of preapprovals… let’s say I get preapproved and I’m ready to go, what tips do you have for me moving forward?

JENNIFER: Yeah, so I just encourage my clients to keep me in the loop. If there’s a property you’re interested in, let me know. I can prepare figures for them and answer any questions they have. But also, it’s really important, once you are preapproved, to not really do anything to change your financial situation. So you don’t want to take out any new debt, buy a car, furniture, appliances, you know…

KRISTIE: Anything.

JENNIFER: Right, you don’t want to have your credit pulled because that can sometimes negatively impact the credit score. And then, you just want to obtain as much cash on hand that you communicated at the time of application and you don’t really want to do anything to change that.

KRISTIE: Oftentimes, people think that the mortgage process is either black or it’s white. You’re either approved or you’re denied. But what’s great is that the experts at Pennsylvania Preferred Mortgage, are going to work with you every step of the way. So if by chance you were denied for a mortgage, they’re going to work with you so that in the future you do get approved.

JENNIFER: Yeah, I mean, I really do personally dive in with each client. I’ll prepare different types of financing options, just so they’re educated when they’re making that decision. Because it is so very important.

KRISTIE: It’s overwhelming.

JENNIFER: And it is overwhelming, so you’ve got to be patient, answer all the questions, but also, on that rare circumstance where there isn’t a loan product out there for them and they’re not able to get preapproved at that time, I will try to give them recommendations of what they can do to improve their situations so that in a month or two down the road, they are able to buy.

KRISTIE: That’s great.

KRISTIE: So Jennifer, can you tell us a little about Pennsylvania Preferred Mortgage’s App?

JENNIFER: It helps a lot of people calculate payments on the fly, so they might be in a home or going to look at home and they just want to have a general idea of what the payment’s going to look like. And, it’s specific as far as conventional financing, FHA, VA, it will calculate payments but also let’s say you make an offer, your offer’s been accepted, as you go through the loan process you can upload supporting documentation like paystubs, W-2s… just by simply taking a photo of the document…

KRISTIE: Awesome!

JENNIFER: And, it uploads into my system … it is great. It’s really easy.

KRISTIE: Yeah.

JENNIFER: Also, as their loan goes through the approval process, it will give them live push notifications letting them know as it is making process.

KRISTIE: Very cool.

JENNIFER: Let them know what’s happening.

KRISTIE: It keeps them on track so they’re not calling their representative everyday going, “Ah! What happened? What happened?”

JENNIFER: That still may occur. But that’s okay too.

KRISTIE: Yeah, that’s okay!

JENNIFER: We understand.

KRISTIE: Right.

JENNIFER: We’ve all been there.

KRISTIE: Oh yeah, absolutely. So Jennifer, if there’s one piece of advice that you could give to first time homebuyers that are starting that mortgage process, what would that be?

JENNIFER: Just get preapproved… sooner rather than later. I mean, it’s very good to know, before you’re out there looking, what you can afford and what things cost. Oftentimes people assume maybe they can’t be preapproved when they can or maybe they assume they can’t afford as much as they actually can because interest rates are at an historical low right now. So, I just recommend that they make contact with a licensed loan officer as soon as possible so they can start getting a better understanding.

KRISTIE: Absolutely, that’s great advice. Well Jennifer, thank you so much for coming on the show today.

JENNIFER: You’re welcome.

KRISTIE: And, for anybody that’s out there watching, definitely download the PA Preferred Mortgage App. It’ll be so helpful for you. And if you are starting that process and you want to get preapproved and talk to a mortgage lender. Give Jennifer a call or anybody at Pennsylvania Preferred Mortgage, they’re going to be so happy to help you out with that.

KRISTIE: So again, thank you for watching and please stay tuned for out next episode.