Understanding The Lending Process with CrossCountry Mortgage
This past week I went live on IG to answer your questions about the lending and mortgage process with Andy Matkovic from CrossCountry Mortgage. Andy is a lifelong Clevelander and was a part of the inception of CrossCountry Mortgage as one of the original hires. He loves Cleveland and really enjoys working in his hometown. Read on to learn more about CrossCountry Mortgage and see the answers to your questions. Make sure to tell them TCBL sent you if you reach out!
*Please note: This content is part of a paid partnership with CrossCountry Mortgage. We only recommend products & services would use ourselves and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post contains an affiliate link that helps our partners track your interest in their offerings.
Haley: What advice would you have for a home buyer as they are out there beginning their search?
Andy: That's a great question. I think the biggest thing is that you have to have tough skin, just because you get turned down, you shouldn't give up, trust the process, trust your real estate agent, if it doesn't happen right away you just have to believe in the process and not give up hope.
Haley: That's great. One of the reasons I reached out to CrossCountry Mortgage to work with you was that I know that you guys really market your fast, easy, and transparent loan process. What makes you different?
Andy: #1 we are local so our headquarters is located in Brecksville, Ohio, soon to be in Cleveland. Our underwriting and our processing are all done locally here. Being transparent means when you are working with a loan officer and you call we are going to pick up the call. We are going to do whatever we can to get you the offer, within reason. I have no problem calling the listing agent up and telling them how great my buyer is, telling them they've been vetted, and telling them that this is a real offer.
Haley: That's great. How do you shop around? How do you even start?
Andy: The good thing is once your credit is pulled you as the consumer have up to 45 days to shop around and look for an interest rate. Now keep in mind that interest rate is important, but you also have to be comfortable with the person you are working with. At CrossCountry Mortgage we are a direct lender, and I can only tell you that rates are an ever-changing thing, we are going to get you the best rate that we can. We are going to be there the whole way, and we are going to pass those savings on to you because we are a direct lender and there is no middle man.
Haley: When you're shopping around does that affect your credit?
Andy: So, when your credit is pulled within a 45 day period that will have a penalty against you, we offer a soft credit pull with will not be an inquiry against you, however, eventually you will have to turn to a hard credit pull once you are ready to go into contract with a home.
Haley: Perfect, that is good to know. Does getting a pre-approval guarantee a certain interest rate?
Andy: So getting a pre-approval is really going to pull the onion back to know that the payments are going to be if you can afford the house, the amount that it's going to cost for a down payment. The rates are not guaranteed, we will give you the quote for what the rates are that particular day, but more importantly, I think the pre-approval is to say can I afford this house? Once the credit is pulled, “what can I do to improve my credit score?” We have the ability to help and give the advice to approve the score, and obviously, that's the most important thing, knowing what it will take and if you can afford the home. Once that happens it’s going to excite you and motivate you to know that you can get the house of your dreams.
Haley: Yeah, getting that callback, talking to the lender, hearing you can afford what you've been looking at, is just so satisfying. Especially in this crazy market, hearing that something is on budget is really great. What are some of the questions you’re going to ask me when I come to get pre-approved? What do I need to bring?
Andy: So getting pre-approved is really just going to be based on your working circumstances. Are you a self-employed borrower or do you work for a company? Sometimes the borrower’s companies on the work number and all that is is an automated HR system, if we can pull that that's going to help eliminate paperwork. But in general, W2, a pay stub, a bank statement to show the assets, or any other assets like a 401K. The most important thing to bring though is an open mind.
Haley: How does being self-employed affect getting some of the things you need and affect getting pre-approved? Is there anything special you need to do?
Andy: Well you know I think it's just cognisant of knowing if you're self-employed, you have the ability to write off a lot, to have the ability to put some money in your pockets. So, oftentimes we are going to be looking at, what are you claiming? What are you reporting to the IRS? If we can’t go that route because you've written off too much, we have other routes that we can go to help you get pre-approved. That's the luxury of being a full-service lender and having a lot of different programs at our disposal
Haley: How long does pre-approval last?
Andy: Your credit, once it's pulled, it's good for 120 days. I like to keep the pre-approvals at about 90. That way we are updating, and talking to each other. A lot of good and bad things can happen in those 90 days so it is always good to keep in touch.
Haley: Can you put an offer in on a house if you're not pre-approved?
Andy: I don't think you will have the ability to do so. It’s a hard market, and the realtors are running around. If you are not pre-approved, you're not going to be able to do that because there is no one that will accept your verbal offer and take their house off the market and fear losing out on someone that has been vetted. So, probably not.
Haley: Okay that makes sense. Someone has no clue where to start, what would you recommend they do first?
Andy: Where do you want to live? The school systems, I think that's important, and obviously, if you are with someone letting your partner know you want to move. Those are some of the most important things. You can use credit karma and different avenues for that, but have that conversation about your credit and see if there are any issues. To “know before you owe” is the most important thing, just to see if you're ready.
Haley: I like that you mention that even after pulling their credit score, you will work with people to improve their credit score I think that’s super helpful.
Andy: The ultimate goal is to give everyone the best experience possible. Maybe if you can’t help them now, in the future you can. Maybe it’s giving them that advice to help them build their score, and how to build them.
Haley: What kind of cash do you have to have on hand, if your appraisal is going to come in lower than your offer?
Andy: If your appraisal comes in lower, the first thing that usually happens is that the realtors start to communicate, and sometimes they can negotiate that and communicate and help to bring the purchase price down that way. You are going to have to cover the difference and the down payment that you agreed to.
Haley: Let’s talk about the mortgage process for an investment property, so if you are looking to buy a duplex and live in it or even rent it out fully, how does that differ?
Andy: When you are buying an investment property there is going to be more of a down payment that is needed, just to make sure there is enough equity in the home when you’re doing those, but the rent though can be used to help you qualify for the mortgage itself.
Haley: Someone wanted a little bit of information about a home equity line of credit (HELOCs).
Andy: So a home equity line of credit or HELOC is basically a credit card, so you are using the equity in your home. Now when you get one, you don’t have to pay it unless you start drawing on it, and then it will be set for a certain amount of draw. Let's say you set it to $20,000 then you can use up to that and once you start paying it down then you can start utilizing that amount you were approved for. If you have the luxury of that it’s a good tool to have.
Haley: That’s great information, I think that's all the questions we got. Is there anything else you want people to know about CCM or about the team?
Andy: Absolutely! So, CrossCountry Mortgage is local, the owner is a kid from Maple Heights, one of the most amazing success stories I have seen. We started off in a little shoebox in Cleveland 20 some years ago and we are growing and now moving downtown to the Superior Arts District. We have been bringing in a ton of business and a lot of excitement and a lot of jobs back to Cleveland. It has been so cool to be a part of something like this, to have the owner that we have, he won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year award a couple of years ago, and pretty much all the c level people that we have are all local and Cleveland owned and grown. It is an awesome success story. I am happy to be a part of it. I am here to help you get a house and feel free to reach out to me.
