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
