By Matt Joy, Princeton Mortgage
Did you know that the word mortgage comes from the Old French (spoken language from the 8th century to the 14th century in Northern France) words mort gage or “death pledge”? Yep. That’s right. A mortgage is a death pledge and sometimes it can feel as scary as it sounds. According to a survey conducted by Homes.com nearly 40% of Americans say that buying their first home was the most stressful moment in their lives. Not having a child, getting married or interviewing for a new job… they felt that buying a home was the most stressful event of their lives. That’s pretty incredible and when you pull back the curtain on our industry… can you really blame them?
We need to know where you work. How long you’ve worked. Where you worked before. Then let’s see your paychecks. Oh… you have student loan debt? Let’s see that paperwork too. While you’re at it… let’s take a peek at that large deposit you got from your Great Aunt that passed away 6 years ago but didn’t get the check until 2 weeks before you decided to get a mortgage. Then icing on the cake… you have a vacation planned (because let’s be real EVERYONE buys a home then flees the country for some reason) and you were promised you’d close before you left. It’s stressful!!
That’s why it’s so important to choose a lender you feel comfortable with. You might want to do the whole thing on your own. Great! There are lenders for that. You might feel comfortable with a referral from a friend. Great! There are lenders for that. You might feel comfortable with someone on the phone. Great! There are lenders for that. What I’m getting at is, as a consumer… do not feel pressured! You have options. Take your time and become comfortable dealing with the situation that makes you feel confident about the home buying process. Your realtor might be great, but you do NOT have to use their “preferred lender” … even if they are offering a $1,000 credit. You have choices. Use them.
Speaking of “preferred lender” what’s going to happen when you log on to Zillow to just shop for some homes in the area? Are you going to be peppered with adds from their new mortgage division? I get it. It makes sense for them to have a mortgage company, but I feel like we’re going to see a fine line between capturing market share and flat out steering the customer into using their “preferred lender”. If I’m a mortgage lender… can I still advertise on their site? Why would I want my rates up there if I’m going to be competing with the company that I’m giving rates too… (ummm yea that makes sense). Honestly, I don’t know how the details will shake out and anything I come up with now would just be speculation, but even Zillow’s shareholders were left scratching their heads. After the final bell last night their stock fell 19% and it’s still falling.
It’ll be an interesting story to follow in the coming months and I’ll make sure to keep an eye on things for you all.
Talk to you soon!
MJ
Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash
The opinions expressed in this post are the sole view of the writer and do not reflect the opinion of Princeton Mortgage Corporation.