Michal Bander's (mbander) Blog

Buying a home involves a variety of parts; many people, documents and tasks are needed in order to make your purchase go smoothly. This post will give you the 20 Documents You Need for a Smooth Home Purchase.  It's better to get organized as soon as possible, but what exactly do you need? To star...

It’s known that buying a home can be a secure option to invest in. And lately, many are taking advantage of today’s low rates and home prices to buy investment homes. If you’re thinking about getting another property, keep in mind the following 8 tips to make sure your home purchase goes with th...

When you’re beginning the mortgage process, you may start coming across many terms you’re not familiar with. At Guaranteed Rate, we know educating our customers is one of the most important parts of helping them obtain a loan. Today we wanted to break down what a Jumbo mortgage is and if it’s a l...

Freddie Mac has announced that they will now provide one year of forbearance for unemployed borrowers to pay their mortgage payments. Prior, lenders were only allowed to grant out-of-luck borrowers three months. Part of this new deal allows lenders, like Guaranteed Rate, the ability to approve un...

With all the news about record-low rates recently, you may be contemplating if now is the time to plunge into home ownership. But maybe you’re a bit hesitant about entering the housing market with all this uncertainty about when home prices will rise, wondering if owning a home is a good investme...

When preparing to purchase a home, whether you’re a first time home buyer or looking for an investment home, it pays to do your homework before house hunting. But where do you start? Do as the experts do! Here are some insider tips Real Estate Agents follow to know where to find great homes for t...

A FHA mortgage is a home loan that requires a small down payment. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) runs several programs that make it easier for home buyers to qualify for a mortgage loan. The FHA does this by promising the lender to pay for the mortgage if the borrower should default. A ...

Reasons Why We Need So Much Documentation From You As you prepare for a mortgage application, I want to educate you on why we ask for, what may seem like, an excessive amount of documentation during your mortgage process. Due to lax underwriting from 2004 to 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac decid...

24 Easy Ways to a Smooth Loan Approval For an effortless loan process, here are 24 dos and don’ts to prevent you any delays with your loan approval. Some of them may surprise you! DO continue to live at your current residence.DON’T start any home improvement projects.DO continue to make your mort...