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Answer: Personal satisfaction, and a real home of your own - one that suits your family's way of life. And, there's more to owning your home than comfort. You can deduct the cost of your mortgage loan interest from your federal income taxes, and usually from your state taxes, too. And interest will compose nearly all of your monthly payment , for over half the number of years you'll be paying your mortgage. This adds up to hefty savings at the end of each year. And you're also allowed to deduct the property taxes you pay as a homeowner. If you rent, you write your monthly check and it's gone forever. Another financial plus in owning a home is the possibility its value will go up through the years.

Answer: You may be a good candidate for one of the many private and federal mortgage programs that are available. A good place for you to start is by contacting you Frontier Sales Representative for details. She can help you sort through your options. In addition, one of our home loan representatives can help you identify a purchase program that may meet your needs.

Answer: Although you won't have the benefit of two incomes on which to qualify for a loan, there's no reason that you can't become a homeowner. Become familiar with the process and get pre-qualified for a loan. You will want to contact Frontier Home Mortgage to talk through your options.

Answer: Using a real estate broker can be a very good idea. All the details involved in home buying, particularly the financial ones, can be mind-boggling. A good real estate professional can guide you through the entire process and make the experience much easier. A real estate broker will be well-acquainted with all the important things you'll want to know about a neighborhood you may be considering...the quality of schools, the number of children in the area, the safety of the neighborhood, traffic volume, and more. He or she will help you identify the Frontier community that best suits your family's requirements, and introduce you to the Frontier team. And you don't have to pay the broker anything! The payment comes from Frontier - not from the buyer.

Answer: Go to the easy to use Mortgage Calculator. You'll be able get a general idea of what you may afford. To get an even better picture, contact a Frontier Home Mortgage representative, or call (phone).

Answer: Yes. Consult your sales representative or loan officer for specific details.

Answer: Of course. The limiting factor is the stage of completion of the home at the time of your purchase.

Answer: Well, that depends on a number of factors, including the cost of the house and the type of mortgage you get. In general, you need to come up with enough money to cover three costs: deposit money - the deposit you make on the home when you submit your offer, to prove to the seller that you are serious about wanting to buy the house; the down payment, a percentage of the cost of the home that you must pay when you go to settlement; and closing costs, the costs associated with processing the paperwork to buy a house.

When you make an offer on a home, your real estate broker will put your deposit into a special account. If the offer is accepted, your depositt money will be applied to the down payment or closing costs. If your offer is not accepted, your money will be usually be returned to you. The amount of your earnest money varies according to community and value of your purchase.

The more money you can put into your down payment, the lower your mortgage payments will be. Some types of loans require 10-20% of the purchase price. Many homebuyers can qualify for homes with no down payment. Others opt for FHA loans that require only 3% down - and sometimes less.

Closing costs - which you will pay at settlement - average 3-4% of the price of your home. These costs cover various fees your lender charges and other processing expenses. When you apply for your loan, your lender will give you an estimate of the closing costs, so you won't be caught by surprise.

Answer: Frontier can usually find a loan program that will enable you to purchase one of our homes without a down payment - assuming your credit rating and income meet the lenders' requirements.

Answer: Use our simple mortgage calculators to see how much mortgage you could pay - that's a good start. If the amount you can afford is significantly less than the cost of homes that interest you, then you will want to contact a sales representative for details, and for special opportunities that may be availabler. And, you'll want to contact your Frontier Home Mortgage represenataives (link). They will help you evaluate your loan potential. A FHM broker will know what kinds of mortgages offered and can help you choose a program that might be right for you. Another good idea is to get pre-qualified for a loan. That means you go to FHM and apply for a mortgage before you actually start looking for a home. Then you'll know exactly how much you can afford to spend, and it will speed the process once you do find the home of your dreams.

Answer: Well, of course you'll have your monthly utilities. If your utilities have been covered in your rent, this may be new for you. Your real estate broker will be able to help you get information from the seller on how much utilities normally cost. In addition, you might have homeowner association or condo association dues. You'll definitely have property taxes, and you also may have city or county taxes. Taxes normally are rolled into your mortgage payment. Again, your broker will be able to help you anticipate these costs.

Answer: Most loans have 4 parts: principal: the repayment of the amount you actually borrowed; interest: payment to the lender for the money you've borrowed; homeowners insurance: a monthly amount to insure the property against loss from fire, smoke, theft, and other hazards required by most lenders; and property taxes: the annual city/county taxes assessed on your property, divided by the number of mortgage payments you make in a year. Most loans are for 30 years, although 15 year loans are available, too.

Answer: When you have everything with you when you visit with your Frontier Home Mortgage representative, you'll save a good deal of time. You should have: 1) social security numbers for both your and your spouse, if both of you are applying for the loan; 2) copies of your checking and savings account statements for the past 6 months; 3) evidence of any other assets like bonds or stocks; 4) a recent paycheck stub detailing your earnings; 5) a list of all credit card accounts and the approximate monthly amounts owed on each; 6) a list of account numbers and balances due on outstanding loans, such as car loans; 7) copies of your last 2 years' income tax statements; and 8) the name and address of someone who can verify your employment. Depending on your lender, you may be asked for other information.

Answer: there are many types of mortgages, and the more you know about them before you start, the better. Many people use a fixed-rate mortgage. In a fixed rate mortgage, your interest rate stays the same for the term of the mortgage, which normally is 30 years. The advantage of a fixed-rate mortgage is that you always know exactly how much your mortgage payment will be, and you can plan for it. Another kind of mortgage is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). With this kind of mortgage, your interest rate and monthly payments usually start lower than a fixed rate mortgage. But your rate and payment can change either up or down, as often as once or twice a year. The adjustment is tied to a financial index, such as the U.S. Treasury Securities index. The advantage of an ARM is that you may be able to afford a more expensive home because your initial interest rate will be lower. There are several government mortgage programs that might interest you, too. Most people have heard of FHA mortgages. FHA doesn't actually make loans. Instead, it insures loans so that if buyers default for some reason, the lenders will get their money. This encourages lenders to give mortgages to people who might not otherwise qualify for a loan. Talk to your Frontier representative about the various kinds of loans, before you begin shopping for a mortgage.

Answer: Basically, you'll meet with an agent of the Escrow company closing agent. The agent will have a stack of papers for you to sign. While he or she will give you a basic explanation of each paper, you may want to take the time to read each to make sure you know exactly what you're signing. After all, this is a large amount of money you're committing to pay for a lot of years! Before you go to closing, your lender is required to give you a booklet explaining the closing costs, a "good faith estimate" of how much cash you'll have to supply at closing, and a list of documents you'll need at closing.

• Your outstanding debts
• Your credit history
• Type of mortgage you select
• Current interest rates

Answer: Lenders require appraisals to ensure that they are not loaning too much on your property compared to its value. It is to protect their interest should you default. An appraisal is ordered by your lender but paid for by you. It occurs during the time between when the purchase and sale agreement is signed and when the transaction closes.

Answer: A Good Faith Estimate (GFE) is a breakdown of costs that the lender estimates you will be charged to acquire the home. It also shows the interest rate they will give you. It is an estimate, but it is supposed to be an estimate done in good faith that it will be the actual rate and costs. Lenders are required by law to provide you with these when you submit a loan application. Make sure you talk with your mortgage broker about the GFE if you are confused. It is their job to make sure you understand it.

Answer: The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the relative cost of credit as determined in accordance with Regulation Z of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for implementing the federal Truth-in-Lending Act. The APR is the actual yearly interest rate paid by the borrower, including the points and other fees charged to initiate the loan. The APR discloses the real cost of borrowing by adding on the points and by factoring in the assumption that the points will be paid off incrementally over the term of the loan. The APR is usually about 0.5 percent higher than the loan rate.

Answer: It is best not to. In fact, you should avoid all major purchases that would create debt of any kind prior to purchasing a house. It's plain and simple. When determining your ability to qualify for a mortgage, a lender looks at what is called your "debt-to-income" ratio. As mentioned above, a debt-to-income ratio is the percentage of your gross monthly income that you spend on debt. This will include your monthly housing costs, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and homeowner's association fees, if any. It will also include your monthly consumer debt, including credit cards, student loans, installment debt, and car payments. Suppose you earn $5000 a month and you have a car payment of $400. At 8% on a thirty-year fixed rate loan, you would qualify for approximately $55,000 less than if you did not have the car payment. Even if you feel you can afford the car payment, mortgage companies approve your mortgage based on their guidelines, not yours. Do not get discouraged, however. You should still take the time to get pre-qualified by a lender. However, if you have not already bought a car, remember one thing. Whenever the thought of buying a car enters your mind, think ahead. Think about buying a home first. You can always pursue buying a car after you have purchased the home.

Answer: It depends. For most people, changing employers will not really affect your ability to qualify for a mortgage loan, especially if you are going to be earning more money. For some homebuyers, however, the effects of changing jobs can be disastrous to your loan application. If you earn your income from regular pay (i.e. not commissions, bonuses, etc) and are either a salaried employee or an hourly employee who works a straight forty hours a week, changing jobs should not be a problem as long as you are remaining in the same line of work. If, however, you are a commissioned or part-time employee or a substantial portion of your income comes from bonuses or overtime, you should not change jobs before purchasing a home. Lenders consider these to be unstable sources of income and would like to see at least 2 consecutive years with the same employer to average your income over the period. The same applies for self-employed individuals who already tend to have a more difficult time of getting a mortgage, partially due to the fact that they tend to include a lot of expenses on the Schedule C of their tax returns, especially in the early years of self-employment. While this minimizes your tax obligation to the IRS, it also minimizes your income to qualify for a home loan.