Home Loans During A Recession? The True Boogie Monster
A recession brings on economic uncertainty. It’s one of those spiral effects. Consumers aren’t willing to spend money and banks aren’t always willing to lend it.
A recession is a good time to buy a home because interest rates tend to be lower, which will save the buyer thousands of dollars. But that doesn’t mean you should go into the home loan process unprepared. First of all, pull your credit report.
You need a high credit score to qualify for good home loan rates during a recession. Check your report for errors, and if you find them, get them corrected. If you have high balances on your credit cards, pay those off. If you have late payments, establish an on time payment history of at least six months. A year is even better.
A strong credit score will not do without money in the bank. Make sure you have least 20% of the property’s total value in the bank. Also allow money in the bank for two to three months payments of the loan. These steps are required by the lender.
Make sure you can verify your employment, income and assets. It’s not just enough to tell the home loan provider that you have a job and some money in the bank. You will need to provide documentation like paycheck stubs and bank account statements in order to secure a home loan.
This documentation is even more important if you are applying for a home loan during a recession because you need to prove to the lender that you can afford the home loan and will make your monthly home loan payments. Be prepared to provide at least three months worth of documentation. Collect the necessary documentation and have it on hand prior to applying for the home loan in order to speed up the application and approval process.
Do not let the recession scare you away from a home loan. The recession is like the boogie monster. You were concerned that it was real when you were kid. Now you are grown up and realize its nonsense. The same applies to home loans when you think as a kid. You are scared the recession prevents them, when in actuality it’s just like the boogie monster.
Scared about the recession and intimated about the recession. Do not worry, as a lot of it is in your head. As you can see, with the right credit score and funds, you are actually at an advantage over the lenders in this point of the economy.
Tom Martens is the content coordinator for South Arica?s leading Homeloans portal which amongst others offers Bond origination services for all major banks.