improve your home buying power
Before you start deciding how many bedrooms and bathrooms you need, it’s crucial to sit down and determine how much house you can afford.
Once that’s done, we give you a Certificate of Pre-Approval, a loan-approval document that tells your realtor and the seller of any home you’re interested in that you’ll likely be able to afford the house. In a competitive market, it can be really difficult to get sellers interested in your offer without it.
An Ark Advisor can help you to work out a budget. We consider your net income and subtract your current debt while leaving wiggle room for unforeseen expenses. That determines your Maximum Affordable Payment (MAP) for your mortgage, which in turn tells us what amount of loan you’ll be likely to be approved for.
Your Ark Mortgage Advisor will also tell you about various ways you can maximize your purchasing power.
How much mortgage can I afford?
The first step in buying a house is determining a realistic budget. Start with this handy calculator to get an estimate of how much you can qualify for, and how a home loan will fit into your monthly payments. The calculator considers your income, the purchase price, and the total monthly payment. Try a couple of scenarios to see how it might affect your finances.
FAQs
Why should I lock in a rate?
Mortgage rates are notoriously unpredictable. If you’re close to buying, it’s a good idea to lock in your rate before it goes up. Of course, if the rate goes down during your lock, we’ll get you the lower rate.
Will I get charged a float-down fee?
Ark Mortgage never charges a fee to get you the lower rate once you’ve purchased the rate lock.
What if my lock expires before I close?
We can usually get an extension, but there may be some cost involved. If your closing is delayed because of any problem on our end, we’ll of course cover the cost of your extension.
Pair with Other Programs
Lifetime Guarantee
For any number of reasons, you may refinance your Ark loan. With our Lifetime Guarantee, you pay lender fees and appraisals only once per property, no matter how many times you refinance.
Heroes Program
If you’re a first responder or health care worker, thank you. To show our gratitude we give a substantial discount on our fees whether you purchase or refinance a home loan.