Brace Yourself If You Are Trying to Get Your Finances in Order So You Can Apply for a Home Mortgage Loan
It is not just your imagination that it is a long process for applying for pre-approval for a home mortgage loan to actually closing on the purchase of the house and signing the loan agreement. Before you can settle into your new home and your new set of worries about keeping up with your new mortgage payment, you must go through several rounds in which your loan officer asks you for even more detailed financial documents than you sent during the previous round. To make matters worse, only about half of all mortgage loan applications end up closing. Actually, the nationwide average is about 52 percent, but the closing rate varies considerably from one state to another. The easiest state to close on a mortgage is Wisconsin, where more than 65 percent of mortgage loan applications eventually close. Meanwhile, Florida is in the bottom three, with less than 47 percent of mortgage applications resulting in a closing. Only Texas and Louisiana have lower closing rates. This means that, in Florida, preparing to take out a home mortgage is a marathon, not a sprint, and the best way to maximize your chances of success is to contact a Plantation debt lawyer.
Why Is It So Difficult to Close on a Mortgage in Florida?
A recent article on the National Mortgage Professional website identified the states where it is easiest and hardest to close on a mortgage and explored reasons for these discrepancies. The five states with the lowest closing rates are Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and Georgia, and David Krechevsky of National Mortgage Professional describes these states as the Beach Belt, because they border the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or, in Florida’s case, both. Krechevsky also refers to Florida as the Alligator State, in a throwback to the artistic flair that used to dominate Florida-related journalism in the pre-Internet age.
One reason that so many mortgage application processes in Florida fall apart before they get to closing is that many Floridians’ debt to income ratio is so high that they cannot actually afford the mortgage loans that, at first glance, seem to be within reach. You can blame Florida’s laws that allow abusive business practices to run wild. Another reason is that homeowners’ insurance is prohibitively expensive. Six of the ten most destructive hurricanes in recorded history have hit Florida, and more than three quarters of all homeowners’ insurance lawsuits originate in the Alligator State.
What You Can Do to Get Your Finances in Order
The best way to ensure that your mortgage loan application makes it to closing is to play the long game. Don’t make it your goal to apply for a mortgage in 2024. Instead, 2024 is for lowering your debt-to-income ratio. A lawyer can help you strategize about ways to do this.
Work With a Debt Lawyer About Getting Relief From Debt
A South Florida debt lawyer can help you develop a long-term strategy so that you can qualify for a home mortgage loan. Contact Nowack & Olson, PLLC in Plantation, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/florida-battles-riptide-closing-problems
