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Jan 10, 2020

Buying a Home

So, you’re thinking about buying a home. Congratulations! If you’re just getting started, with your permission, we’d love to offer advice! While this doesn’t cover everything, we hope it puts you in the right direction to get started. In this blog, you’ll find some of my do’s, don’t’s and helpful links:

At the very beginning of the home buying process, the first thing we recommend is to sit down with a mortgage lender. A mortgage lender can give you a great understanding of what kind of loan you qualify for, what your payments would be, how much you need for a down payment, and more.
  • Do Ask as Many Questions As You Like: There is a lot to the mortgage process; we don’t expect you to understand or know it all. It’s our privilege to give you the answers you seek!
  • Do Work With a Realtor: They are there to help you through the process! Find out more about why realtors are crucial to the home buying puzzle in this blog we wrote for you.

Mortgage lenders are there to help you! You will need to be prepared to talk in-depth about a lot of your financial history. Expect to go over your employment history, assets that may assist you in coming up with a down payment, and your credit history. Be honest with your lender so they can give you the best advice on how to move forward. 

  • Do Get Pre-approved: Pre-approval lets you know what you’re qualified to borrow (up to a certain amount of money at a specific interest rate). This way, you know that the homes you are looking at are within your budget. (It also makes it easier to put in an offer when you find a house you love).
  • Do Review Your Budget: Understand what monthly payment you can afford. Having a budget written down to review with a lender will help you know your maximum affordable amount.
Things that may change the structure of your loan and cause you not to qualify for the same loan amount as before: 
  • Opening a new line of credit or increase balances on existing lines of credit. New credit lines could cause your debt to income ratio to increase.
  • Closing trade lines may cause your credit score to drop, resulting in a higher interest rate.
  • You are changing jobs. Your lender used the information on your application for approval. 
  • Changing bank accounts or moving funds from one account to another. Your lender needs to be able to document your funds. Changing statements could result in additional paperwork.

Once you’ve made an offer, how soon you close on your loan varies depending on the time of year and how extensive your mortgage is. But generally speaking, 30-45 days.

  • Don’t Rush into anything – Buying a home can be exciting! But once you make an offer, that is a legally binding contract. Make sure you have taken the time to understand what is each piece of that contract. Again, ask all questions you have – your lender will happily explain or re-explain anything to give you clarity and comfort.
Helpful definitions:

“Floating” rates: Your initial mortgage rate will be “floating” or subject to change as rates vary. Once you have an offer in on a home, your lender will help you decide when to “lock” that rate. 

Rate lock: Your interest rate won’t change between offer and closing for a specified time frame (i.e., 30 days, 45 days, 60 days). This locked rate cannot change unless your lock period expires. Your lender will be beneficial at this time as they can identify the best time to “lock” your rate based on your local market’s trends.

Closing cost: Closing costs is the charges associated with closing your loan. Included in closing costs are things like your appraisal cost, your title insurance cost, setting up your escrow account, and a few other costs.

Down payment: The amount of money you are putting down on the purchase of your home (usually around 3.5%-5% of the purchase price).

  • Mindful Money Tip: Don’t stretch your budget too far. Owning a home comes with other costs, so make sure to leave room in your budget to create a savings plan for your new home.
Sometimes you need to research on your own before talking to someone. We get it. We’re here when you need us.

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see what we’ve been up to @altana_fcu
Our Bingo for Life Night on May 9 was such a fun a Our Bingo for Life Night on May 9 was such a fun and meaningful evening, and we couldn't have done it without all of you! Thanks to your generosity, we raised $2,753 for Relay For Life. 💚💜⁠
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A big thank you to the local businesses and individuals who donated prizes, food, and support:⁠
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Bonnie's Xcel 2Go Teas⁠
Beaver Creek Perk⁠
Gram's Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe⁠
Mountain Meadow Massage⁠
Cottonwood Cinema 4⁠
Dyllan's Pizza⁠
Char's Family Dining⁠
Tastefully Simple – Debbie⁠
Pampered Chef – Bobbie⁠
Northern Home Essentials⁠
Sysco⁠
Mike Kellam⁠
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And most of all, thank you to Brandy Kurtz and the Havre Elks Lodge #1201. Your support made this night happen, and we're so grateful!⁠
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This is what community looks like. Thanks for showing up and helping us make a difference in the fight against cancer!
With just two weeks to go until our Havre Bingo fo With just two weeks to go until our Havre Bingo for Life event, we're reminiscing on all the fun we had at Bingo for Life in Billings! 💜💚⁠
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Thanks to our incredible community, we raised nearly $1,800 for Relay for Life of Montana. We're so grateful to everyone who came out, played, and supported such an important cause.⁠
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We can't wait to do it again in Havre on May 9 at the Elks Lodge! Check out the details and RSVP at the link in our bio. See you soon!
Big thanks to Valley Credit Union for rallying the Big thanks to Valley Credit Union for rallying the crew this morning! We had a blast teaming up with them and the rest of our friends at Billings Federal Credit Union and Black Hills Federal Credit Union for the Reality Fair at Senior High. It's always a good time when we get to help students explore real-world financial decisions! ⁠
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#GoBroncs
We're celebrating big wins at #MPRD25 in Austin, T We're celebrating big wins at #MPRD25 in Austin, TX! Altana is honored to bring home three Diamond Awards, recognizing the creativity, dedication, and rich history of our team. ⁠
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A huge congratulations to all the Montana winners and the credit unions across the country pushing innovation forward! Together, we're shaping the future of financial services with a people-first approach. ⁠
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Check out the full list of winners at the link in our bio!🔗
We're renovating! 🛠️⁠ .⁠ Our Downtown Bil We're renovating! 🛠️⁠
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Our Downtown Billings branch is under construction, and we appreciate your patience while we work to complete the project. ⁠
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If you'd rather avoid the noise, we're always happy to service you at our next closest branches! Thanks for your understanding!⁠
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https://altanafcu.org/branches-atms/
🍀Happy St. Patrick's Day! We had a blast strutt 🍀Happy St. Patrick's Day! We had a blast strutting our stuff in the downtown parade with the American Cancer Society!⁠
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Feeling proud and pumped to kick off another year of fundraising for Relay for Life. Here's to making a difference together! 💚💜
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