First-time homebuyers make up about one-third of all those who purchase houses each year. These homebuyers are always very eager to go through the process of buying a house—and sometimes make mistakes as a result of it.
If you’re going to be going through the home-buying process for the first time this year, you should avoid making any of these mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes that first-time homebuyers often make is bringing the wrong mortgage loan advisor on board to help them through things.
Would you like to make sure that you don’t find yourself in this boat? Then there are some things that you can do to steer clear of finding yourself working with the wrong mortgage loan advisor.
Check out some tips on how to track down the right mortgage loan advisor when purchasing your first home below.
Begin by Looking at the Mortgage Loan Advisors Operating in Your Area
When you’re looking around for a mortgage loan advisor for the first time, one of the first things you should do is find out which ones are currently operating in your general area. You should create a long list of your options so that you can work on narrowing it down.
To do this, Google “loan advisors near me” and see which names pop up. You should see a bunch of options that all have offices set up in your city or town.
While you can work with an online mortgage loan advisor if you’d like, it’s usually best for first-time homebuyers to work with someone who can meet with them in person. It’ll help them get good answers to any and all questions that they might have.
It’s why you should try and select a local mortgage loan advisor, if possible. You’re going to have a much better experience when buying a first home when you have a local advisor on your side.
See Which Mortgage Loan Advisors Specialize in Working With First-Time Homebuyers
It takes a special kind of mortgage loan advisor to work with first-time homebuyers. So if you can swing it, you should make every effort to track down an advisor that has a wealth of experience when it comes to assisting those buying their first homes.
Of course, just about every mortgage loan advisor is going to tell you that they’re cut out to work with you. Most of them have some experience as far as working with first-time homebuyers is concerned.
But in a perfect world, you should try to find someone who works almost exclusively with first-time homebuyers. It’ll prove that they know what they’re doing and that they’re up for the challenge of working with a newlywed couple, a young family, or someone else buying a home for the first time.
Ask Family Members and Friends for Mortgage Loan Advisor Recommendations
Do you know someone who purchased their first home sometime within the last year or two? If so, you should feel free to use them as a resource when searching for a mortgage loan advisor.
There is a good chance that another recent first-time homebuyer will be able to give you the scoop on the advisors in your area. They should be prepared to tell you which advisors you should think about working with and, maybe more importantly, which ones you should stay far, far away from.
Go down the names that you have on your list of advisors and see what they have to say about each of them. They might be able to help you knock some names off it in no time at all.
Read Through the First Home Mortgage Reviews Left for Different Loan Advisors
If you don’t know anyone who has purchased a home for the first time recently, there is another surefire way to see what others in your community have to say about local mortgage loan advisors. You can do it by utilizing the first home mortgage reviews that others have left for local advisors.
Simply Google the name of a mortgage loan advisor in your area and the word “reviews” and you should see a bunch of reviews appear. These reviews will shed some much-needed light on what different advisors will bring to the table.
If you see an advisor with one positive review after another from those in your area, it’ll indicate that you should take some time to learn more about them. But if you see nothing but negative reviews for an advisor, it’ll be an indication that they’re likely not going to be a great fit for you.
Do Your Homework on Your Local Mortgage Loan Advisors
Once you work your way up to this point in the process of choosing a mortgage loan advisor, you should have a shorter list than the one you started with. The opinions of others should help you whittle your list down to just a few names.
You can then start getting to know some of your local advisors more specifically. It’s easy enough to do this in this day and age by poking around on an advisor’s website.
An advisor’s website will tell you:
- How long they’ve been advising those looking for mortgages
- What kind of experience they have working with first-time homebuyers
- The types of mortgages that they can help first-time homebuyers secure (more on this in a moment!)
You’ll know almost everything there is to know about a mortgage loan advisor after spending 30 minutes or so scrolling through everything on their website.
Interview Individual Mortgage Loan Advisors to See What They’re All About
Outside of using a mortgage loan advisor’s website to learn more about them and to see how they operate, you should also schedule phone interviews with as many advisors as you can. You’ll be able to ask tons of questions to advisors and find out how comfortable you are or aren’t when speaking with them.
Obtaining a mortgage for the first time can be a confusing process for many people. A good mortgage loan advisor should go above and beyond to put your worries to rest when you speak with them. If they don’t do this, they’re not going to be the advisor for you.
Find Out Which Types of Mortgages Loan Advisors Would Suggest for You
One of the things that you’re going to want to discuss with a mortgage loan advisor when you have them on the phone for the first time is what types of mortgages they would suggest for you. This is an important question since there are many different kinds of mortgages that you might want to try and apply for.
Some examples of the mortgages often available to first-time homebuyers are:
- Conventional mortgage loans
- First-time homebuyer mortgage loans
- FHA mortgage loans
- USDA mortgage loans
There are also VA loans that are great for veterans. But if you don’t have the best lender for VA loans, you might not ever get around to finding out about them. It’s why you should make sure you work with someone who can lay out all your loan options for you and find you the right one.
If you want to get some sense of what your loan options might be, you can view more here.
Start Working With the Mortgage Loan Advisor You Like Best
After doing everything else that we’ve discussed here, you should be left with just two or three mortgage loan advisors that you really like. One of them will get the opportunity to work with you while you look for your first mortgage.
This mortgage loan advisor should be everything that you want them to be. They should be experienced, knowledgeable, patient, creative, and dedicated. They should also have a decent sense of humor since it’ll help when the stress associated with obtaining your first mortgage starts to hit you.
As long as you’ve worked your way through the right steps, you shouldn’t have too tough a time tracking down a mortgage loan advisor that you love. They’ll make it so much easier than it would be otherwise to get your hands on a great mortgage loan so that you can buy your first home without any worries.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Just Use the First Mortgage Loan Advisor You Can Find!
As we mentioned earlier, first-time homebuyers make tons of mistakes when they’re in the process of purchasing a home. They fall in love with homes too fast, overlook crucial details when shopping for homes, and agree to mortgage terms that aren’t in their best interests.
An excellent mortgage loan advisor might not be able to help you avoid the first two mistakes. But they can make sure that you’re able to get the best mortgage terms possible. It’ll make the process of buying your first home so much more enjoyable and allow for you to pay down the balance on your first mortgage so much faster.
Want to get more real estate tips that will help you buy your first home? Take a look at the other articles on our blog to find them.
