News

There’s a perfect home for every stage of life:

• Upsizing empty-nester dreaming of acres to roam
• Downsizing zoom towner ready to travel
• Multi-generational mastermind with renovation ideas aplenty

And Numerica offers home loans to help make every stage a reality.

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, start here. If it’s been a while since you walked the home-buying process, rest easy. This guide covers home ownership trends, how to right size, and different loan types. There’s also a refresher on the steps in the homebuying process.

Rightsizing for life’s milestones

Life milestones can bring big changes. Marriage, growing a family, switching jobs, retiring. Those events are a good time to ask yourself: Does my current home still check the boxes I need it to? If it doesn’t, it may be time to rightsize.

When rightsizing, think about your family’s emotional, structural, and geographical needs.

• How many rooms — bedrooms, offices, common areas, bathrooms — do you really need?
• Do you spend more time outside the home than in it?
• Does the home carry positive or negative memories?
• Is someone willing and able to do maintenance for the yard, pool, or shop?
• Do multi-levels help your family dynamic, or are they a risk?

Keep that ideal next home in mind as you start to plan for how to achieve it — including getting a mortgage.

Qualifying for a mortgage: the 5 C’s

Very few lenders allow homeowners to transfer an existing mortgage to a new home. That means you’ll need to go through the mortgage process again. Any lender — Numerica included — wants to make sure you have the ability to take on mortgage debt. At Numerica, we partner with you by evaluating all mortgage applications on the 5 C’s:

1. Character: Your credit history, employment history, long-term financial goals, and your overall relationship with Numerica
2. Capacity: Your monthly income compared to your monthly debt
3. Capital: Your assets like investments, savings, and property
4. Collateral: Any specific assets you want to use to secure your loan
5. Conditions: Factors beyond your control, like interest rates and cost of living

Numerica serves people — not just people with perfect credit scores. We focus on understanding you and how you manage your money. We also make lending decisions locally and on an individual basis.

Understand home loan options

There are so many loan options available, it can feel like a lot. Here are some of the distinctive characteristics of the home loans offered at Numerica.   

• Fixed rate: Steady rates for the life of the loan mean your principal and interest payments never change.
• Adjustable rate: Lower initial payments for the first 5 years that adjust annually thereafter. Can increase your purchasing power.
• First-time homebuyer: No-money down options smooth the path to homeownership. Income limits apply, and you’ll need to take a homebuyer education seminar.
• Combo: Lower down payment options with no mortgage insurance for qualified buyers.
• Veteran (VA): Available to veterans, reservists, active-duty personnel and eligible family members. Up to 100% financing.
• FHA: A flexible option for individuals with lower credit scores. Low money-down options and fixed or adjustable rates.
• Zero down: No money down means you only pay closing costs.
• USDA: For homes and property in eligible rural areas. Income limits apply.
• Construction: Combine construction and home loan into one package. Available with fixed rates and interest-only payments during construction phase.

Numerica’s Home Loan Team is made up of experts on all of these options. Reach out to them to talk about your goals and the right loan for your situation.

Refresher course: 5-step homebuying process

Ready to jump into the homebuying process and make your next home a reality? In positive news, it likely hasn’t changed a lot since you bought your first home. You’ll want to get your finances in order, find out what you can afford, apply for a loan, shop for a house, and make your offer.

Step 1: Get your finances in order

Set aside time to do homebuying pre-work. You want a clear picture of your financial health.

• Check your credit score
• Update or review your budget
• Pull your credit report for free once a year

If needed, follow these 5 steps to boost your credit score

Step 2: Decide how much you should spend

Be honest about what you’re comfortable spending on your next house. Will others help with the mortgage on a multi-generational home? Do you have more cash at hand now that the kids have left? Also factor in additional expenses that come with every home purchase. Closing costs can range from 3 to 6 percent of your new home’s total purchase price. These include loan origination fees, home inspection reports, and more.

Step 3: Apply for a loan

Prequalification is next. Use Numerica’s Mortgage Loan Application Checklist to review all the documents you’ll need.

With prequalification:

• You provide your income, debt, and assets to your lender
• The lender gives you a ballpark estimate of what you could qualify for
• The process doesn’t affect your credit score

To start the prequalification process, call us at 800.433.1837 or visit a branch.

Pro tip 1: Don’t confuse prequalification with preapproval.

Pro tip 2: Many lenders allow from 4 to 6 home loan co-applicants. If you’re going the multi-generational home route, this may help. A co-applicant’s income may or may not factor into the loan eligibility amount. But all co-applicants are liable for loan repayment if the primary applicant defaults.

Pro tip 3: Don’t want to receive prescreened offers of credit or insurance? You can register at optoutprescreen.com to “opt out” of offers that weren’t specifically requested by you.

Step 4: Start house hunting

Shopping for your next home is just as exciting as shopping for your first home. Consult home-search websites. Work with a Realtor to provide listings that fit your needs. Realtors often have early access to new listings and can pull comparable homes in the area.

Then visit homes to be sure they match what you’re looking for — photos can sometimes be deceiving.

Pro tip: Some Realtors may offer a lower commission if you work with them on your home purchase and home sale. This keeps more money in your pocket.

Step 5: Make an offer

The offer stage moves fast. A Realtor can help you navigate contracts, counter offers, and negotiations. If you own an existing home, you’ll need to decide on contingencies. For example, you may request a certain timeframe so you can sell the home you’re living in before you move.

Once there’s a signed purchase agreement, the next step is often a home inspection and appraisal.

• Home inspection: looks for structural issues, mold, asbestos, roof issues, etc.
• Home appraisal: looks at total square footage, renovations, etc. to determine the value of the house as collateral for your lender

If everything clears, you’ll own the new home! 

Numerica: home loans for every stage of life

When life moves, we’ll help you move with it. Contact one of our local lenders or call 800.433.1837.