Questions for a Mortgage Company in Southwest Florida

1. What is the difference between a property valuation and a property appraisal?

When you decide to purchase a home, an appraiser will be contacted by your lender and asked to provide a value on your property. Appraisers physically go to the home and do a walk-through and visually inspect the number of rooms in the home, basic condition of the structure and some basic things such as age of plumbing and electrical systems, etc. These are called property appraisals and help determine the value of the home based on similar homes in the area. A property valuation is generally performed by a local real estate agent and is based soley on information that is available through the property records. These valuations are done without the agent physically going to the property for a visual inspection. Valuations are typically provided for a seller as a way of helping them determine the potential sale value of the property.

2. What is the difference between a mortgage pre-approval and mortgage pre-qualification?

Unfortunately, this is a common mortgage question primarily because many mortgage brokers do not take the time to thoroughly explain them to their clients. The difference between these two terms is significant and if you think you have a pre-approval and it turns out to be a pre-qualification, you may have trouble with your real estate contract. A loan pre-qualification means that a lender has generically reviewed documents you have provided and made an educated estimate based on that information of how much you may be able to borrow. On the other hand, a pre-approval means your documents have been reviewed by an underwriter, your credit report has been reviewed and your loan is approved to be issued (provided there are no significant changes to your financial situation) for a specific amount. A pre-approval allows for shorter closing times while a pre-qualification basically means “if we can find a lender who will accept all of your paperwork we will provide you a mortgage”.

3. What taxes have to be paid when I close on my home?

Depending on the time of the month that you are closing on a home purchase, you will most likely be required to pay the quarterly taxes from the date you sign your mortgage through at least the end of the current quarter. In addition, many towns and counties also may require you to pay an additional tax called a “stamp tax” which is in effect, a sales tax. The amount should be provided to you as an estimate on your good faith estimate and should also be clearly shown in your closing statement.

These are only a few of the questions that you may have about your home mortgage. There are so many small details and other questions that should be asked as well. At Core Mortgage Financial, we believe that a well-informed consumer is our best client. We encourage every borrower to ask any mortgage question they feel uncertain about and we’ll be happy to address their concerns.

NMLS #1743702