Tag Archives: Olathe Home Buying

Is Your Credit Score Good Enough To Buy A Home In Kansas City Or Johnson County KS?

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

If your credit score is over a 800, you’ll be in the drivers when getting Pre-Approved to purchase a home in Kansas City, Johnson County Kansas or the surrounding area. The mythical perfect credit score is 850 but in reality, even if you could obtain that score, there’s virtually no difference between that and an 800 credit score. More or less, if your credit score is over a 770 you’re considered an excellent credit risk and financing will likely be readily available to you.


Often times, a credit score of 750 is also considered excellent and may help you obtain the same good financing options that an 800’s credit score borrower gets.  But dip below 750 and you’ll likely fall below what most lenders consider an “A” paper borrower.  Still, there’s many lenders that consider a 720 or even a 700 credit score to be a solid credit risk. But dip any further, such as the 700’s to 720’s and lenders are likely to be scrutinized on your likelihood to repay the loan. If your score is in the 680’s or 690’s, you will face even more scrutiny, though you are likely to still be able to obtain a home loan.

If you’re in the 640’s to 680’s range, you may find lenders are unwilling to give you the most favorable terms and low fees. If you’re below 640, it’s possible you’ll get rejected for the loan. More or less, a mid 600’s presents lenders with a so-so credit risk, so you’re not going to get the most favorable terms. If your credit score is below 620, your ability to get a loan will certainly be in question with many lenders. Anything below a 600 could require you to check around for a lender willing to take on the credit risk. Once you find a lender willing and able to give you a loan, you should definitely expect a higher interest rate and/or higher fees to be charged.

If your credit score is in the 500’s, you are definitely credit score challenged and you should probably make plans to rent or move in with the in-laws. You’ll surely need to spend time improving your credit to raise the credit score and be able to purchase a home. Although I play one on TV, I’m not a mortgage lender, so be sure you contact a local mortgage lender to discuss your options in getting Pre-Approved to purchase an area home. It costs nothing to do so.


Posted by Jason Brown

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Why You’ll Want A Buyer’s Agent Helping You Purchase A Home In Olathe Kansas

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

It’s estimated that more than 80% of residential real estate transactions today involve a buyer’s agent. With fewer and fewer home buyers contacting the listing agent to schedule showings these days, it’s apparent that the majority of buyers realize how beneficial it is having a buyer’s agent. Probably one of the most important reasons is because the listing agent represents the seller’s best interests. Yes, a listing agent is happy to help you but it’s because they’ll earn more commission for working both sides of the transaction. So don’t misconstrue a listing agent’s friendliness for something it’s not.

Can you close a deal without a buyer’s agent involved? Absolutely. But the better question is, why would you? A buyer’s agent commission is already factored into the price you see on all listed homes. So, if you don’t have a buyer’s agent assisting you, the listing agent and broker are going to keep 100% of the commission. Think they’ll cut you a deal? Most will say no way because they now have both a buyer and seller to tend to and will be doing double the work. Others will inform you they’ve already given the seller a deal for buyer’s who are unrepresented. Others will not even discuss commissions.

Besides, having a buyer’s agent representing you will help you with contract negotiations, inspection negotiations, etc. If I were buying a home in another state I’d have a buyer’s agent assist me. They know the areas better than anyone. They can schedule 5 showings in a couple of hours whereas it could me days to see 5 homes if I’m trying to schedule directly with the listing agents. They will take care of the entire process for me, handle all the paperwork and generally help me get the best possible deal. Not only will it not cost me a dime, it will easily save me money and time in the long run. So if you’re thinking about buying a home in Olathe, Johnson County Kansas, Kansas City or the surrounding area, we have buyer’s agents to guide you through the process.


Posted by Jason Brown

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Lower Kansas City Mortgage Interest Rates Lead To Surge In Mortgage Applications

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Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

Kansas City mortgage interest rates have fallen drastically the past week and the result is the popular 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan has dropped from a 4.57% national average to 4.45%. These are the lowest mortgage interest rates we’ve seen all this year. Not surprisingly, the Mortgage Banker’s Association reports that mortgage loan applications jumped an astounding 7% over the past week.

Many economists feel home prices have bottomed out or will bottom out this year. Couple that with today’s low interest rates and this could be the best time ever to buy a home. Home buyers can certainly lock in an unbelievably low mortgage payment for years to come. Even if the real estate market encounters a slow rebound, first time home buyers will still be able to enjoy the pride of home ownership, a monthly payment lower than many rental payments, and building of long-term net worth when property values start rising again.


Posted by Jason Brown

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Only You Can Truly Decide How Much Kansas City Home You Can Afford

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Hands On The Heartland
Checking The Pulse Of The Kansas City Real Estate Market

As a Kansas City home buyer, the Golden Rule for how much you can afford is to simply ask yourself. No one is more qualified than YOU to decide what YOU can afford. Now a mortgage lender is going to tell you the max amount they’ll let you borrow. But that amount may be much more than you can or want to truly afford. And by afford, I mean how much you can “afford” to sacrifice other things in your life. It’s one thing to afford a $2000 a month house payment and another completely to be able to do so without compromising your favorite boat or expensive dining habits.


So when the lender says here’s your Pre-Approval Letter and you can buy up to a $290,000 home, the better question is “how much will my payments be? Once you know that you’ll know if buying a $290,000 works into your master plan. If it doesn’t, then maybe you should be looking at $200,000 or $250,000 homes. It’s up to you and this is not something than any loan officer, Kansas City Realtor, friend or family member can decide for you. When a lender pre-approves you, the underwriting guidelines are designed to minimize the lender’s losses and are not in place to protect your  future finances. A good loan officer will certainly help you with that, but the underwriting guidelines that spit out a Pre-Approval Letter don’t factor it into the equation.

So what are some good rules of thumb when deciding what’s the right amount of mortgage payment? A good general rule of thumb is that your house (including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and PMI on the loan and also including your HOA dues) should not take up more than 25% of your gross income. But if you use this rule of them then you’ve already broken the Golden Rule in  the first paragraph. I know that I’m seeing buyers purchase homes at double to quadruple the amount they make per year.  In other words you could use as a general rule of them that someone who makes $50,000 may be able to purchase a $200,000 home — of course that’s making a whole lot of assumptions. But you would never use a rule of thumb anyhow when making such an important decision, would you?


Posted by Jason A. Brown
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