Qualifying in Las Vegas
Almost half of the real estate sales transacted in Las Vegas are short sales, and offers on short sale properties do not gain acceptance without the pre-qualification of the buyer. Thus, being pre-qualified as a buyer has almost become a requirement in the Las Vegas real estate market. The last thing that you want to do, as a buyer or a seller, is waste your time working on a deal that has no chance of being approved.
Using online mortgage calculators may provide you with some indication about your price range, however there are a number of new mortgage programs being introduced, and it is likely that a mortgage broker will be able to tell you if you can benefit from them.
Standard FHA programs start with a 3.5% down payment requirement plus closing costs. Typical conventional mortgages require 10% down payments with closing costs added and there are minimum reserve requirements.
Everyone knows that you need to have good credit, and with the huge number of mortgage defaults that are happening, lenders are looking closely at the credit scores of all applicants.
Unemployment is increasing at an alarming rate, and it hit 9.1% in Las Vegas in early 2009. Thus, your job security has now become an important factor to lenders. There are few recession proof jobs in an economy in free fall, but if you are lucky enough to have one you can join the ranks of the few and powerful pre-qualified buyers in the market.
Copyright 2008, Glenn Rigdon, Horizon Village Realty
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