16 steps you need to know after escrow is opened
Viewing one house after another; weeks, or even months of searching; you have finally found your dream home!
Your offer gets accepted and now escrow is opened. So what is next?
Below are the steps that will typically happen throughout the process. Because every transaction is different, and every state may have its own rules and customs, be sure to check with the professionals you are working with about your specific situation.
Step 0 — Opening escrow
The phrase “open escrow” gets tossed around quite often when you buy a house. …
Let’s do a deep dive
This is typically how it goes:
You are having dinner with your friends, chit-chatting, talking about life. Your friend, Paul, brings up refinancing his home. Suddenly, you think of your own mortgage. Is it a good time to refinance?
Later, you go home, and Google about today’s mortgage rates. The next day, you decide to give your favorite mortgage advisor a call. The debate of whether it’s the right time to refinance, or not, has begun.
This is what I imagine my clients go through before calling me to discuss refinancing.
Where are we now?
It’s really not that complicated
If you have been renting for a while or living at your parents’ house, this question may have crossed your mind, “Should I buy a house?”
When you are moving to a new stage of life, see those beautiful homes on HGTV or, when you drive by a very charming neighborhood, you just can’t shake the feeling that you want to have your own home.
When you call your realtor friend, the first thing she asks you is, “Are you pre-approved?” You have no idea what she’s talking about and start to feel the tension of the process. …
Should you apply for mortgage forbearance?
As of April 24, 2020, about 6.4% of all mortgages are in forbearance, and May 1 mortgage payment due date is approaching. As a mortgage loan originator, I get this question pretty often these days, “Should I pay my mortgage?” My answer is always, “You should if you can pay.”
I am a strong advocate of paying your bills on time because it will come back to you, and they do not go away. Just like the amount you owe from the forbearance plan.
We know it by now that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act left…
Make the most out of it.
According to CNBC, another 5.245 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance last week, which brings the total to over 22 million since social distancing.
While there are a lot of things we cannot control, we can control our mindset and the way we work. I once heard a wise man say, “the strong survive”. We have to remind ourselves this is only temporary. Business will go back to normal, and we want to come back strong.
Being a mortgage loan originator in two different states taught me how to manage work and relationships remotely and effectively. …
Dorothy Pang
Mortgage expert (NMLS 1191301, CalDRE 01488417) and part-time explorer. About me: https://linktr.ee/dorothypang
