Matt Layman
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas – Step One: Get Pre-Approved for Mortgage Financing
Buying a Home in Austin, Texas – Step One:
Get Pre-Approved for Mortgage Financing
This is the first post in a series designed to get you prepared for what to expect when you are considering buying a home in the Austin area. I intend to link to the other parts as soon as they have been written.
When you are ready to begin shopping for a home to buy, it is best to start by determining how much you can afford, so that you don’t waste time with properties that are out of your price range. I realize that this is not the glamorous or exciting part to buying a home in Austin, but it is a necessity and not as painful as you may think.
Mortgage
But how do you begin?
Our team works with a trusted network of mortgage professionals who can assist you in getting pre-approved for a loan so that you can comfortably begin looking at homes with the assurance that you can obtain the proper financing. Give us a call anytime and we can provide some names to get you started. But the fact of the matter is I have ONE trusted mortgage professional that I send all of my business to because I have complete trust and confidence in his services. He has proven himself to be on top of the ball, detailed, operates out of honesty and integrity, under promises and over delivers, and always beats deadlines. His name is: Chad Mullenix an Executive Mortgage banker with LeaderOne Financial.
Chad Mullenix’s Contact Information:
Mobile: 512.657.8017
Office: 512.356.9436
Email: Chadmullenix@leader1.com
Feel free to speak to any mortgage professional that you would like to – I just happen to recommend Chad since he does such an outstanding job and operates out of the same motto as me: Service based! Like I said I have a network of trusted mortgage professionals if you desire to compare apples to oranges in regards to the fees.
Pre-Approval vs. Pre-Qualification
Generally, our mortgage contacts can help you with a pre-qualification by getting some basic information (address, social security numbers, etc.) over the phone or internet. This only takes a few minutes, including pulling your credit report.
In order to get fully pre-approved, you will be required to provide all of the normal documentation required, which would include:
* Full loan application
* 2 years of tax returns, W-2 forms
* Year-to-date pay stubs
* A couple of months’ worth of bank statements
* List of monthly debt, account numbers, minimum payments, and balance
* Address of mortgage company or landlord for past 2 years
* Driver’s license
* If VA financing is wanted, you will need your VA Certificate of Eligibility (DD214)
In Austin, most lenders will require you to pay for your credit report and property appraisal upfront. This would run $400 or thereabouts. The appraisal is a third-party assessment of the value of the home you choose.
Comparing Lenders
If you choose to purchase a new home, many builders have mortgage companies that will offer large incentives to use them. Sometimes, the offer is too good to pass up. We can help you to compare “apples to apples” by looking at the estimates provided by lenders that you speak with. A GFE (good faith estimate) is the only way to easily compare quotes. Sometimes, you might get a lower interest rate from one place, but they charge exorbitant fees. We can help you to avoid potential pitfalls.
I always require that my clients begin the loan process before we begin looking actively at homes together, in order to best spend my time and yours. Believe me, it is much more productive this way. As I have said many times to potential buyers, you would hate to find “the perfect home”, only to later realize that you won’t be able to get a mortgage for it.
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to call me anytime at 512-771-0754 (cell) or email: mlatxrealestate@gmail.com
Next step – Selecting an Area of Town, including factors to consider – post coming soon!
Keep Austin Rockin’
Matthew C. Layman
Austin’s Rock’in REALTOR®
Austin Texas Homes, LLC.
Cell: 512-771-0754
mlatxrealestate@gmail.com
http://austinsrockinrealestateblog.com/
https://twitter.com/matthewclayman
12612 Tierra Grande
12612 TIERRA GRANDE TRL, AUSTIN, TX 78732
MLS #: 5296150
$319,900 – Active – 18 Days on Market
House for Sale in River Dance Ph 04, Steiner Ranch, in Austin, Texas
Bedrooms:3Bathrooms:2Square Ft:2045Acres:0.203Garages:2Year Built:2009
For a more detailed listing of this property, please visit:
http://www.realtyaustin.com/idx/homes/texas/austin/78732/12612-tierra-grande-trl/5296150.html
6213 TASAJILLO TRAIL AUSTIN, TX 78739
$279,900 – Active – 62 Days on Market
House for Sale in Park West At Circle C Ph 01, in Austin, Texas
Bedrooms:3Bathrooms:2Square Ft:1985Acres:0.157Garages:2Year Built:1999
MLS #: 5879047
Extraordinary & Exquisite! Most “Distinct” home in ParkWest. UPGRADES GALORE $89k Worth, Beautiful Brazilian Hard Wood Floors throughout including Master, beds: 2 & 3, upgraded Travertin Tile Kitchen & wet areas, Gorgeous Granite Countertops, Tile backsplash, Under Cabinet Windows kitchen, Recessed Lights, Custom Built out Fireplace w/ Stone, Custom Stone Bar in kitchen, NEW water heater, Gated Community, Covered porch w/ tile. Minutes to pool school & shopping. Looking in Circle C Best Buy under $300k!
What makes Austin ….. Austin?!?!
Have you ever wondered what makes Austin……. Austin?!?! I have! So what is Austin’s unique equation? This is (distilled!) result of over a year’s worth of conversations and research distilled into a simple expression: Experience + Community = Scene.
Cities that have what I call Unique Ambition are:
- Boston: be smart
- Silicon Valley: be powerful
- Berkeley: live well
- NYC: be rich
- LA: be famous
- DC: be an insider
- Austin?
We have all heard Austin, TX described as: Keep Austin Weird, Live Music Capital of the World, an Open City …….
What makes Austin, TX uniquely Austin is it’s powerful social exchange!!! The scenes that make Austin are….
- Music
- Film
- Leadership
- Spirituality
- Entrepreneurship
- Fitness
- Sustainability
- Interactive
- Social Innovation
- and much more
what does all this add up to? Austin is the BE YOURSELF CITY!!! I can attest to that. When I started to follow my heart & passion a few years ago and “jump” head first into real-estate I told myself I wouldn’t be that average boring square pants Realtor ®. I would be ME!!! I’m Passionate, Unique, Driven, I’m part businessman, part nature boy …. I love music, art, fashion … I like to dress the way I want to dress! Some days I’ll throw on a suit and wear my favorite pair of chucks (converse shoes) or other days I will be wearing a comfortable pair of linen shorts or pants and a golf shirt!
I would fully commit to the person that I am and step into my Destiny …. just being me and allowing Austin to except me for me… nothing more … nothing less …. I am a faithful friend, Austin’s rock’in realtor, energetic entrepreneur, marketing maverick, passionate person, fitness fanatic, lover of life … and overall cool dude! The beauty of that experience is the city accepted me for who I am …. for what I am. And Austin will accept you for who you are …. if you want to have a tattoo, rock a mo-hawk, dye your hair pink, or wear a business suit …. Austin and it’s citizens will accept you for you … as we are the BE YOURSELF CITY!!! No judgment just acceptance!
People from all over the world are drawn and attracted to Austin because of it’s high quality of life but people also come because on a subconscious level they know they can just BE! How refreshing and empowering is that!!!
Austin is that city where your DREAMS come to LIFE! Where you truly live your dream life and career! You get to help people, make a good living, follow your passions and interests, give back to your community, and you are allowed to be yourself all at the same time without ever having to SELL out!
Watch this awesome video called: The Austin Equation by Bijoy Goswami
If your thinking about visiting Austin because you are attracted to this uplifting city motto: BE YOURSELF CITY - and interested in getting a closer look at the local real estate market because you seriously considering a move or relocating- I would love to be your Tour Guide & Ambassador to this special place on earth so please give me a call to set up an appointment to tour this wonderful place we call heaven cell: (512) 771.0754 or email: mlatxrealestate@gmail.com Come plant your roots in Austin …we would love to have you!
If you are all ready living in this Rock ‘in town we call Austin and looking to become a first time home buyer or looking to move up give me a call. I would love to assist in helping you find your next dream home.
Keep Austin Rock’in,
Matthew C. Layman
Austin’s Rock ‘in Realtor
http://austinsrockinrealestateblog.com/
cell: 512.771.0754
The Elevation Group – Secrets to The Elevation Group revealed…
The Elevation Group – Secrets to The Elevation Group revealed…
The Elevation Group - Secrets revealed...
How it all got started….
It’s amazing how how quickly time has flown by this year. I’m sitting in the snowy mountains of Virginia as I write this post. My personal good friend and mentor Mike Dillard asked me to assist him personally with his vision and mission of The Elevation Group back in March of this year. Before Mike actually stepped down as CEO of his both companies: Magnetic Sponsoring and Better Networker – I was one in charge of The Elevation Group. At first the vision was to start out with a local Austin Chapter and that is exactly what we did.
The first meeting of The Elevation Group took place at my house back on March 1st, 2010. Mike touched on 3 main topics:
- What: Planning to protect and profit from the financial storms and economic depression
- Why: To educated and empower like minded people
- How: Through The Elevation Group events that will start taking place in Austin, TX
Mike shared his findings and personal feelings in my living room of my house to a small audience of about 20 people where he spoke about what was going down, what was about to take place, and the steps he was taking to protect and grow his fortune. Mike asked me to invite 10-20 of my closest most successful influential friends to my house that night and that’s exactly what I did. We kept the audience size small because we wanted the environment to be intimate. I remember introducing Mike to my friends and business associates and shared with them what I had discovered for the past two years of research and study ….. and how Mike and I’s vision was so in line with each other…. a mission to educate, equip, and empower people in the areas of finance, investing, money management, money mindset, real estate investing, gold/silver, and much more. I remember like it was yesterday looking around that room when Mike spoke … when he was sharing those amazing facts about history like Germany post WWI when they experienced hyperinflation, the Roman Empire, and how our governments monetary policy is so right in line with these previous empires mistakes…. everyone who was in that room that night was on the edge of their seat. Taking in every word Mike mentioned and diligently taking notes. Mike spoke for little over an hour and half but it only felt like 15 minutes. After Mike shared about his forecast and predictions of the future … he opened it up and asked the small group of people sitting in my house … what were their thoughts on the subject shared? Everyone was blown away, they all loved the content, but everyone was scared out of their minds, but was ready to take action, and share in part of this amazing project and program.
So fast forward a bit: We held our first hotel meeting in Austin, TX on April 19th 2010 at a secret location, where the event was by personal invite only, not broadcasted on the web for the entire world to see, we charged an ounce of silver to get in the door, and kept it ultra exclusive. The turn out was great, we had a packed room but again we kept it ultra exclusive so we only had about 50 attendees at our first Austin chapter meeting of The Elevation Group.
Mike had been diligently working on the content, slides, etc. I was busy working on the promotions side of it getting the Who’s Who of Austin in attendance, setting up the hotel room, confirming details, and making sure the event ran smoothly. We had a body guard guarding the door and we collected one ounce of silver as an entrance fee to hear the presentation. 
I remember first sending out an email to a VIP list asking them to bring an ounce of silver or they wouldn’t get in ….and lot’s of people wrote back …”why an ounce of silver” … Mike & I decided that we wanted every step of the process to be an educational one so we felt it was best that the guests started by paying in an ounce of silver to get used to thinking in terms of silver and gold not green backs.
It was a great privilege to introduce Mike Dillard to the audience of guests since 85% of the room was filled with people who I personally knew or invited. I remember the faces like it was yesterday looking around the room as Mike shared gold nugget after gold nugget and how everyone was shocked, awed, or on the edge of their seats. I remember after the presentation everyone coming up thanking me for the personal invite and how everyone was deeply touched that I thought of them to receive this important information through the Elevation Group.
Fast forward a little bit more …. we had 3 public meetings for the Elevation Group at a private hotel over looking downtown Austin during the summer months. We had the top floor space rented out .. it was beautiful … great prosperity vibration … top floor floor to ceiling glass windows over looking town lake and the downtown Austin, TX skyline.
…. << ring-ring >> Mike’s calling me… (chatting about the details of EVG and some big real estate moves for 2011)
so I will continue this post later…so you can learn more about the * SECRETS * to The Elevation Group and how it all got started
If you would like more information on The Elevation Group and our re-launch in January 2011 - feel free to drop me a line: mlatxrealestate@gmail.com or give me a call on my direct line @ 512.771.0754 – make sure you register your email so you can receive updates when we re-open in January: Click this link –> JOIN THE WAITING LIST <–
The Elevation Group has Officially Closed and Will Re-Open in January 2011, But Please Join The Waiting List…
I’d like to thank everyone for their incredible support of this amazing project over the past week... The response has been over-whelming, and we’re going to take a much needed rest with our families for the Holiday’s.
If you missed out on The Elevation Group or our 90 Minute Presentation on predicting the economic future, please join our waiting list… You’ll be the first to know when we’re back up and live in January…
Have a wonderful New Year, and I’ll talk to you soon…
Matthew C. Layman
–> Join the Elevation Group Waiting List Now: http://www.theelevationgroup.info/click.track?CID=142138&AFID=154563&ADID=435412&SID=
The Elevation Group
Austin Chapter
Co-Founder & President
Austin, TX ranked #26 most Dynamic City in the WORLD…
The friends and clients who know me well… know that one of my biggest PASSIONS in life is Traveling! Experiencing new places and new cultures. So I was excited to read Derek Thompson article on: 30 Most Dynamic Cities in the World. One thing I wasn’t surprised to read about was that Austin, TX was ranked #26 most Dynamic City in the World and the only city featured from the United States. If you are one of the lucky few who call Austin, Texas home and are currently not a proud home-owner you might want to take a serious look at making that next step towards the American Dream and Financial Freedom. Owning Real Estate is the foundation to building long term wealth. So taking ownership of a home or an investment property in ONE of the most Dynamic Cities in the World would be considered a smart play. No matter what happens to the economy people will always need a roof over their heads.
“If you have played Monopoly as a kid why not play Monopoly as an adult and this time play the game to WIN!” -Matthew Layman
We don’t always know what the market will do … it might go up or it might go down, but in the long-term its a safe bet that real estate prices in Austin will continue to rise …. especially now that week after week and month after month a new publication comes out talking about how cool Austin, TX is! I can attest to this because in the last two months I have been working with a hand full of International buyers from all over the world: Germany, Canada, India, and Singapore. They all said the same thing: “We keep hearing great things about Austin so we had to come check it out and see for ourselves!”
Austin TX Matthew C Layman Realtor
Austin TX Matthew C Layman Realtor
#26:: Austin, TX
“There’s only one American city on this list, and you shouldn’t be surprised it’s in Texas. Austin has benefited from a shallow recession and quick recovery throughout the Lone Star State, in addition to steady state money supporting government and education jobs in the state capital. A robust high-tech sector has also helped the city withstand the vicissitudes of the housing market and energy prices.
Here’s the link to the article: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/12/30-most-dynamic-cities-in-the-world/67234/
What is the most dynamic city in the post-recession world? The surprising answer is Istanbul, according to a new report that shows the developing world is leading the way out of the Great Recession.” Derek Thompson
I’ve been lucky as I started traveling Internationally at a very young age so I was exposed to lots of different cultures and experiences and so it’s shaped me to become the man I am today. I’m not just an American, or a boy born in Virginia, or a businessman in Texas… I am a citizen of the world. My vision and culture interests have always been BIG … Internationally big. That’s why I love working with all kinds of real estate clients from all over the world as it gives me another opportunity to meet new friends and to learn more about different cultures.
I was excited to see that I’ve been to and experienced several cities on the top #30 Most Dynamic Cities in the World:
#27 Montreal, Canada – that city won my heart with it’s beautiful French influence … I felt like I was in Europe. The food and music was amazing. I loved the french accents – especially when the women spoke to me. Last time I was in Montreal was with my Mom, Dad, and two brothers. I’m ready to go back and experience Montreal as a Man in my 30’s … not just a boy at 14 years old. I’ll have a deeper understanding and appreciation this time to the arts, music, and history.
#25 Sao Paulo, Brazil – a very large city, great place to do business, but when I visited I felt it had lots of pollution, very dirty, and poverty was a problem.
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
#10 Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – Ahhh Rio ….. my favorite city in the world so far! It captured my heart when I was still just a boy at 19 years old. The beautiful beaches, mountains that run right up to the coast-line, the culture, passion for dance, arts, music, the food is just delicious, and can’t forget about the women…. beautiful and sophisticated. I’m ready to go back to experience Carnival … I’ve heard the city lights up for a week and is one big holiday celebration/party that ends on Fat Tuesday.
In all my International travels I always pick up a painting because I believe it’s important to learn from other cultures and art work is a great way to remember a special trip. Every time I walk into my bedroom and look above my bed I see a painting of Rio and the Copacabana Beach (one of the 10 most famous beaches in the world), the statue of Jesus that sits on over looking Rio along with a beautiful sunset…. the painting will take your breathe away. I bought it from a local street artist. It’s simple to be sophisticated and it can be accomplished without being super wealthy.
I love this quote from Jim Rohn on culture and sophistication:
“Money doesn’t make you sophisticated. Only study and practice make you sophisticated. Even people of modest means can become sophisticated because it is within study and practice. How much is a night out at the symphony? About thirty dollars. You say, “Poor people can’t afford thirty dollars to go to the symphony.” Yes, they can. It’s only thirty Hershey bars!” - Jim Rohn
Looking at the List of #30 Most Dynamic Cities in the World – which places have you visited and experienced? Please share your travels and stories…..as I would love to hear from you.
If you live in Austin, TX and looking to become a first-time home owner, looking to move up, or needing to sell please get in contact with me and I will help you anyway I can. If you are thinking about relocating to Austin, TX to live in the #26 most Dynamic City in the World and interested in learning more about the Austin, TX Real Estate market feel free to give me a call at 512.771.0754 or email: mlatxrealestate@gmail.com anytime. I will be glad to assist you with any of your real estate needs. If you have questions or just wanting to get some feedback I am here to help. To stay up on the Latest Rockin’ News & Real Estate News in Austin subscribe to my blog and you will be emailed every time I make a new post at: http://austinsrockinrealestateblog.com/
-Matthew
Austin’s #1 Rock’in Realtor
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/matthewclaymanFollow me on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/matthewclayman
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