Tips to Navigate a Changing Housing Market

In today’s fast-paced real estate environment, adapting to change is essential. We’ve seen first-hand that the market can be unpredictable. However, with the right strategy and the right team in your corner, there’s plenty of opportunity for you to thrive. Here's how you can collaborate with UMortgage to navigate these challenges and find success. Work With a Local Expert One of the biggest advantages you can get in any housing market, let alone one that changes quickly, is local expertise. National headlines paint a broad picture, but every neighborhood has its own dynamics. By partnering with one of UMortgage’s local mortgage experts, you can dive deeper into the market conditions affecting your area to make informed decisions while you shop for your home. UMortgage is proud to have Loan Originators who are rooted in their local communities and can offer in-depth expertise on the market dynamics of specific neighborhoods. When you choose to work with a UMortgage LO, you’ll get inside knowledge on regional trends, mortgage rate movements, and inventory fluctuations to help you shop with confidence. With the right information in your toolbelt, you can ensure you're acting at the best time to buy or own your home without unneeded financial strain. Understand the Economics Behind the Market A changing market can feel daunting, but it’s important to remember that real estate is driven by fundamental economics. Your LO can break down these key drivers—such as interest rates, inflation, housing supply, and demand—so you understand not just what’s happening, but why. This insight is especially helpful for homebuyers who may feel unsure about jumping into the market during periods of fluctuation. If you're a real estate agent, having a solid narrative behind these changes can set you apart when trying to win over a prospective buyer. Being able to clearly explain why certain trends are happening will build trust and reassure your clients that you're the go-to person for real estate advice. With UMortgage’s help, you’ll always have up-to-date market insights to share. We publish a weekly blog every Monday at noon sharing digestible insight into recent mortgage rate movements and a forecast of market-impacting events on the horizon. Check it out here every week to see the different pieces of economic data that will make mortgage rates shift to stay ahead of the curve. Find Your Niche and Strengthen Your Knowledge In a diverse market, it’s important to find a niche where you can specialize. As a real estate agent, honing in on a specific area—whether it's first-time homebuyers, military homebuyers, or investment properties—can set you apart. With UMortgage, we offer a wide range of loan products to tailor a mortgage to a client’s specific financial goals. When you specialize, you can provide better service, and we can match you with the right mortgage product to strengthen those client relationships. Homebuyers can also benefit from this strategy by working with a LO who understands their unique circumstances. Whether you're a veteran using a VA loan or a self-employed borrower with a more complex financial picture, finding the right loan product will make all the difference when your loan reaches underwriting. Managing the Emotions of the Homebuying Experience Finally, it’s crucial to manage the emotional rollercoaster of real estate transactions. Buying a home can be stressful, and market changes can add to that pressure. But don’t worry—we’ve seen it all. Your UMortgage LO is here to guide you with clear, rational advice that helps you stay focused on your long-term goals. By working closely with your UMortgage LO, you'll have the right combination of local knowledge, market insight, and emotional support to stay resilient through the ups and downs. The real estate market may be ever-changing, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to succeed. With the right LO by your side, you can navigate these shifts confidently. At UMortgage, we’re committed to helping you find the best path forward, no matter what the market throws your way.

Finding your dream home is a process. From your initial pre-approval to the steps taken searching the housing market and submitting your offer letter, it’s not uncommon to get excited and attached to a home once you’ve had your offer accepted. However, that excitement can quickly turn to stress if your home appraises for a price lower than your offer. Although appraisal gaps aren’t uncommon in a competitive housing market, these gaps can significantly impact your home purchase. Let's dive deeper into understanding what appraisal gaps are, their implications, and strategies to navigate them. What is an Appraisal Gap and Why Do They Occur? An appraisal gap occurs when a professional appraiser determines that a home's market value is lower than the price a buyer offered. This discrepancy can raise concerns for both buyers and lenders and might lead to various complications in the homebuying process. Understanding the Home Appraisal Process Appraisals are conducted by licensed professionals who possess extensive knowledge of the local real estate market. They meticulously analyze the property's characteristics, comparing it to similar recently sold homes in the area, known as "comps." An appraiser considers factors like square footage, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the home's age and condition, any recent upgrades or renovations, and the property's location and surrounding neighborhood to land on the appraised value. By meticulously weighing these factors, appraisers arrive at a fair market value estimate for the property. Reasons That a Home Might Appraise Lower Than Your Offer • Competitive Markets: In hot markets with low inventory and high demand, buyers often offer above the asking price to secure a home. This can lead to prices exceeding the actual market value. • Dated Comparisons: The appraiser may compare the property to those that don't accurately reflect recent market trends or the unique aspects of the home being appraised. • Seller Concessions: If a seller agrees to cover certain closing costs or make repairs, the appraiser might lower the value to offset these concessions. How an Appraisal Gap Can Impact Your Offer Appraisal gaps have far-reaching implications for buyers. Mortgage lenders rely heavily on appraisals to ensure they're not lending more money than a home is worth. If a gap exists, the lender won't loan you the full amount needed to cover your offer and can force you to make up the difference in cash. This unexpected financial burden can be a major obstacle for many buyers, especially those looking to buy their first home or those without substantial cash savings to cover the difference. A low appraisal can be used as leverage to renegotiate the price with the seller. However, this isn't always successful, especially in competitive markets where sellers may have other offers. Additionally, renegotiations can delay the closing process and create tension between parties. What to Do If Your Home Appraises Lower Than Your Offer Facing an appraisal gap can be daunting, but it's not the end of the road. These strategies can help you overcome this hurdle and potentially get your homebuying journey back on track: • Cover the Gap with Cash: The most straightforward solution is to pay the difference between the appraised value and your offer price in cash. However, this is only feasible for buyers with ample savings. • Renegotiate the Price: If the seller is motivated, you can try to negotiate a lower price based on the appraisal. This requires strong negotiation skills and a willingness to compromise. • Challenge the Appraisal: If you believe the appraisal is inaccurate, you can dispute it by providing additional evidence of the property's value, such as recent comparable sales data or information about renovations or upgrades the appraiser might have overlooked. • Order a Second Appraisal: Sometimes, getting a second opinion from a different appraiser can reveal a different valuation. However, this comes at an additional cost and may not always yield the desired results. • Exercise Your Appraisal Contingency: Many real estate contracts include appraisal contingencies and clauses that allow buyers to back out of the deal if the appraisal falls short of the offer price. These contingencies often come with deadlines, so it's important to act fast if you wish to exercise them. Appraisal gaps are a common but often stressful aspect of the homebuying process. By understanding what they are, their impact, and the available strategies for addressing them, you can confidently navigate this obstacle and make informed decisions to secure your dream home without compromising your financial well-being. If you experience an appraisal gap or have any concerns about a potential appraisal gap before submitting your offer, feel free to reach out to your UMortgage Loan Originator for expert financial guidance.

Mortgages can be complicated. That’s why, at UMortgage, we’ve broken down the loan process into 8 easy digestible steps. A strong buyer is a well-informed buyer, so to help you know what to expect every step of the way, let's walk you through the 8-step mortgage process from pre-approval to your first mortgage payment. Step 1: Pre-Approval To set yourself up for a successful homebuying experience, you must first work with your UMortgage Loan Originator to get pre-approved for your future home loan. Not only will your pre-approval give you an accurate budget to help you shop for homes, but it will also expedite your approval process once you’ve had an offer accepted on your home-to-be. Your pre-approval is a document from your lender stating that they are willing to let you borrow a certain loan amount based on your creditworthiness, income, and other financial considerations. In a competitive housing market, a strong pre-approval can go a long way to help you stand out among the sea of competing offers. This first step demonstrates that you are a serious buyer by proving that a lender is willing to provide the loan necessary to purchase the property on your shopping list. Once you’re pre-approved, you will have a quoted figure that you can use to help yourself narrow down your home search to those that are in your budget. Pre-approvals typically last up to 90 days, so be in contact with your UMortgage LO as you shop to make sure your pre-approval is up to date for a smooth homebuying process! Step 2: Application Submitted Once you’ve worked with a real estate agent to shop for homes and have had your offer accepted, it’s time to apply for a mortgage! This is where your pre-approval will come in handy because the financial documents that are used for your pre-approval are the same documents needed to apply for your mortgage. When you’re filling out your mortgage application, you can talk with your UMortgage LO to figure out the loan product that will work best for your financial situation. Once your application is complete and submitted, our Operations team will verify your credit, income, and other supporting documentation submitted with your application. Step 3: Disclosures The next step for your loan is disclosures. This step provides you with an overview of the specificities regarding your loan, including your loan terms, mortgage rate, rights, and a full breakdown of all fees associated with your mortgage. After your application and documentation have been verified, it moves to disclosures. During disclosures, our Operations team compiles estimates for all fees associated with your mortgage, including title fees, closing costs, and other third-party fees. Once all necessary fees have been confirmed, your loan disclosure will be sent. This document outlines your loan amount, mortgage rate, required down payment, closing costs, and estimates of third-party fees. When you receive this document, it’s crucial that you sign these documents as quickly as possible to avoid any delays and get you into your home faster. After signing your closing disclosure, your loan team will order an appraisal and all third-party services. Step 4: Appraisal & Third Parties As your loan awaits processing, UMortgage orders an appraisal on the home and any other requested third-party services such as an inspection, title services, and more. Appraisals assess the fair market value of the property being purchased. Lenders require an appraisal to be conducted on every property they’re helping finance to ensure that the property is worth the amount of money being loaned to the borrower. This step protects you and the lender from overpaying or lending more than the property's actual value. Appraisals are conducted by certified and impartial third-party professionals who have no vested interest in the outcome of the transaction. These third-party appraisers thoroughly evaluate various aspects of the property, including its size, condition, location, and comparable sales in the area. Step 5: Processing When your loan is in processing, it’s being assessed by a Processor on our Operations team. The Processor’s job is to ensure all financial documents associated with your loans are accurate and verified. Throughout the processing phase, you may be contacted by your loan’s Processor with any updates and requests for other supplementing documents to ensure your loan passes underwriting and is approved. Once they receive your loan, your Processor will be your main point of contact. You can expect them to reach out for a formal introduction when your loan enters Processing. As soon as all the necessary information has been collected and approved by the processor, they will submit your loan to the lender’s underwriters who do one final review of all the documentation before deciding to approve or deny the mortgage. Step 6: Initial Approval After your loan is approved by underwriting, your next step in the loan process is initial approval. During this stage, your UMortgage team might reach out for a few more pieces of documentation to get your loan across the finish line. These requests are a completely normal part of this step in the mortgage process, so don’t panic if you’re asked to send new or updated documents! After all conditions have been met, you’ll get your final closing disclosure which, like your initial closing disclosure, outlines your loan amount, mortgage rate, closing costs, and all other fees that you’re required to pay to close your loan. Unlike your initial closing disclosure, the figures on your final closing disclosure are the exact fees and terms associated with your mortgage. When you sign your closing disclosure, you’ll close three days later. Step 7: Cleared to Close When you’ve reached step #7, your loan is cleared to close! This means that you’re one final step away from homeownership! When a loan is cleared to close, that means it has passed underwriting and been fully approved by your lender. Before you head to your appointment to sign the final paperwork and close on your home, you’ll need to secure the required funds that have been outlined in your final signed closing disclosure. You’ll pay these funds with either a cashier’s check or a wire transfer. Please note that you will NEVER receive wire instructions from a UMortgage team member. If you do, please report it immediately. Only your Title company will reach out with wiring instructions once your loan is cleared to close. Closings most commonly take place at a title company or real estate office with your real estate agent, title agent, the seller’s agent, and any co-borrowers purchasing the home with you.You’ll need to bring a state-issued photo ID and all documentation related to your purchase, including proof of homeowner’s insurance and a copy of your purchase contract. Expect to spend up to an hour at the closing table, carefully reviewing and signing a multitude of documents, including the mortgage agreement, title deed, and various disclosures. Once this paperwork has been signed, the keys are handed over and you’re officially the owner of your new home! Step 8: Funding The final step of your mortgage process is the funding of your loan. Here, your lender contacts the seller’s agent to distribute the funds needed to complete the purchase of your home. After funding, you’ll hear from your UMortgage LO with more information on paying your first mortgage payment and a request for feedback on your mortgage experience. Your first mortgage payment will likely be due the first of the month 30 days after your closing date. So, if you closed on April 10th, your first mortgage payment would be due on June 1st. When it comes time to make your first mortgage payment, please take a look at the final documents signed at closing for all the details including your exact payment and due date. You also may receive correspondence from the new servicer via email or postal mail about where and how to make future mortgage payments. If you have any questions about your mortgage payment, feel free to contact your UMortgage Loan Originator. Finally, purchasing a home is part of the public record. After you close, you will most likely receive various forms of spam. Wire fraud is on the rise in the mortgage industry and the last thing we want is for you to become a victim.