--- title: "ON KATV: FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS" description: Thinking about buying your first home? Now may be the best time to invest in your dream home. image: https://blog.blrmortgage.com/hubfs/Patrick%20KATV%20Pic%203132020-1.png --- ![blrm_logo-166x45.png](https://blog.blrmortgage.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Mortgage_Site/images/blrm_logo-166x45.png?width=166&name=blrm_logo-166x45.png "blrm_logo-166x45.png") ![logo-rock-mortgage.png](https://blog.blrmortgage.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Mortgage_Site/images/logo-rock-mortgage.png?width=180&name=logo-rock-mortgage.png "logo-rock-mortgage.png") ![blog-bg.jpg](https://blog.blrmortgage.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Mortgage_Site/images/blog-bg.jpg?width=1600&name=blog-bg.jpg "blog-bg.jpg") # NEWS # ON KATV: FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS Posted by [Blake Montgomery](https://blog.blrmortgage.com/mortgage-newblog/author/blake-montgomery) on Mar 16, 2020 1:01:58 PM ![Blake Montgomery](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/0d0a314baa0a411b65de2e97005b52d9) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Watch Patrick and Chris to learn more From the March KATV interview with Patrick Dennis and Chris Kane No Headphones.  No Problem.  See below for transcript. From the station that's on your side this is channel 7 news good morning Arkansas also Patrick Dennis with Bank of Little Rock mortgages here today sharing 5 things to consider for first-time homebuyers and we are approaching the home buying season season of spring is a time where you see a lot more on the market so if you're one of those that's looking to be a first-time home buyer some really important information to share with you coming up a still to come on today's show we've got Patrick Dennis with Bank of Little Rock Mortgage here sharing the 5 things to consider for first-time homebuyers have you and Sarah buy your first home yet no okay well good news it's get pre-approved that's right coming up here shortly I got back after the break sharing five things to consider for first-time homebuyers which James will be one of them soon so stick around we write back hey 935 is a time welcome back and good morning Arkansas if you're thinking about buying your first home now may be the best time to invest in your dream homes mortgage rates are at historic lows and understanding all of your options is crucial for acting fast during this time between understand the market industry jargon a lot of local options buying your first home doesn't need to be a daunting task though so to go over the top five things to consider when purchasing your first home Patrick Dennis a loan officer from Bank a Little Rock mortgages back in studio today breaking it all down in Patrick this is uncertain times of course we've talked about uncertainty with the coronavirus and that has really caused a lot of fluctuation in the markets and we saw the dow yesterday just absolutely tanked what would you tell people coming to your office right now saying hey we've been looking at we've been planning on buying you know because planning we know takes time what do you recommend right now what do you tell people coming and saying what should we do don't try to guess okay take what you get right now because rates are phenomenal I mean we're still in the 3% ranges as far as conventional loans go FHA is low we have been at historic lows for years to be honest yes and and we really can't predict what a market is gonna do so now is the time it's a great time to buy let's start with the first of the five share because you want to talk about today what's number one yeah so your your most crucial thing that you want to work on is your credit okay just make sure that's in check making sure we're don't have any glitches on your credit report any mistakes I found to this week on people's credit reports really yeah and the other thing is don't just go in blindly pay down your credit cards but anything other than that make sure you come to us get a pre-qualification and we'll help you with the with boosting the rest your credit and finding out someone's credit score I know there's a lot of different ways to do that today what do you guys recommend the free services that are available you know at fax you know those aren't bad to monitor your credit yeah absolutely those are good check points but but if you're if you're really serious about buying a home you want to get a pre-qualification we pull your credit report we'll review it with you tell you what your score is and we'll also help you if it's needed yeah to raise that score for you to get the best possible interest put together a game plan together right what's number two okay so if we're looking at a you know loan-to-value on a loan you want to get your your down payment and in line so you can you've you know what kind of equity you have in a house if you get a hundred thousand dollar loan or a hundred thousand dollar purchase even eighty thousand dollar loan there's no mortgage insurance on that because you're a TV presenter below ya which it really is yeah yeah it's a big factor so make sure you know that going in and figure out what works for you right based on those numbers right and I know you guys will work with them on that and say hey here's what you're looking at at with your kind of down payment right Oh question to avoid that PMI cuz the PMI is something that you know it could be it's doable but it is something that is I know can be pretty expensive over time what's up right cuz it does how long does PMI staying you know generally it's gonna last on your loan until you get to 80% of loan-to-value I'm gonna be what we categorize it first it's 120 payments it's ten years on a conventional loan okay on FHA it's for the life of the loan Wow okay so those are things to think about and once we do a pre-qualification we've got a better idea of what you qualify for and what the best fit for you is all right that was number three what's number four on the list today so number four those numbers up are those that information up so we can go through them today because they're something that you know whenever you're going through this process interest rates are always gonna be like you said there's something to monitor and right now you said they went up slightly so just slightly it's been don't wonder for but it's a bit like range in volatile market this week so we've just been following it and you know working long hours trying to figure it out and get people taken care of with refinances with purchases big drop on Monday went back up on Tuesday Wednesday is kind of a blur but you don't want to try to catch a falling knife rate wise and interest wise after interest rate wise go with what you got right now so interest rates in the mid threes right now which is great and here's my big thing about interest rate it is determined by the program you're on FHA rates or FHA mortgages are gonna have different rates VA is gonna have different rates conventional loans are gonna have different rates and your credit score is gonna determine a lot of what that rate is okay and things will put up our fifth note this morning if you're looking to be a first-time homebuyer and you want to head out there and talk to make a little rock mortgage closing costs are going to be part of the conversation is every time what are those entail so closing costs are not always something that somebody factors in to a loan you have different several different third parties that are involved such as title companies you have an appraisal fee insurance we collect a year of insurance a lot of players in this game right yeah absolutely three to four percent of your purchase prices and normally that rate of what closing costs are going to be and if you're buying you want an experienced realtor to help you negotiate that as well as possibly have the seller pay some of those closing costs for you that's negotiable so you don't want to come out of pocket yes that is negotiable talk a little talk with your Realtor about that and make sure that you can at least have the conversation because that can be you know depending on the home and depending on the process they can be up there right you can make or break a deal yes and we're willing to you know there's possibilities that the lender can also provide some of those closing costs based on premium rate pricing so there's options remind everybody about where you guys locate okay so we're bank a little rock mortgage BL our mortgage com we're on twitter we're on Facebook our phone numbers 209 9100 how are at us we're here for you call set up an appointment go in talk a it's an easy conversation to have whenever you got great people to talk to and they're gonna break it all down in layman's terms because if you're a first time homebuyer you might not be familiar with a lot of the jargon and a lot of the different things that go through in this process so call bank a little Rock mortgage today and they'll take you carry you alright we'll see you next go thanks my thank you Topics: [first-time home buyer](https://blog.blrmortgage.com/mortgage-newblog/topic/first-time-home-buyer) [On Time 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