بقلم Patrick Fitzgerald

بقلم Patrick Fitzgerald

If you don’t already have a will, it’s time to set one up. Even if you don’t think you need one right now, the truth is that unexpected tragedy can strike at any time.Take, for example, a past client of mine who recently reached out to inform me of her husband’s passing. When I asked if he had a will, she said no. The widow assumed that all of his …

A one-time close, or OTC, happens when a homebuyer wants to build a home on land they own, but needs a construction loan in order to fund the build. When the home is finished, then we create the 30-year mortgage to get them on down the road with it.The one-time close has many benefits. It pays off the land if you owe money on it, it provides funds …

So you’ve decided to buy an investment property. What kind of financial regulations should you be aware of before proceeding any further?First, since I’m known as the “VA loan guy,” let’s get this out of the way: You can’t use a VA loan to purchase an investment property unless you’re purchasing a duplex, triplex, or quadplex and you plan on living…

In case you haven’t heard yet, the VA has eliminated down payments on all high-priced homes. Right now, the conforming limit on a VA loan in most areas is $484,350. For a home purchase below that price, there is no down payment and no issue. For purchases above that price threshold, VA buyers have to pay 25% of whatever the overage is. For example,…

If you’re planning on buying a home and going through the loan process, don’t quit your day job. You’d be surprised at how often this happens. Let me tell you a quick story.I’m doing an FHA loan right now for a wonderful client. We contacted her employer to verify her income, but the employer relayed to us that she no longer worked there. Imagine t…

What happens when an appraisal comes up short of what a home is sold for? If the buyer has a VA loan, here’s what it looks like. Let’s say a home is sold for $250,000 to a buyer with VA financing. The mortgage company will send the appointed VA appraiser along with the contract for the property. The appraiser then goes to the property, measures it,…

There have been some recent changes to the USDA loan in regards to manufactured homes.Effective immediately in Texas, you can now use a USDA loan on pre-owned manufactured homes. What’s so cool about this? Well, the USDA loan is a zero down conventional loan program, meaning buyers don’t have to make a down payment.This doesn’t mean all mortgage co…

Today we’re going to talk about the difference between being pre-qualified and being pre-approved. I get this question a lot, so I figured I’d answer it for you.A pre-qualification means that a lender has pulled your credit, examined your documents, and submitted an automated online approval with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. A pre-approval contains a…

Continuing from last time, here are the last five questions featured in our series about the 10 most frequently asked questions we receive about VA loans:6. “Can I use my VA loan to buy raw land?” I get this question nearly every single day, and the answer is no. The VA loan does not finance the purchase of raw land all by itself. Here in Texas, we…

Today I’m excited to launch the first half of a two-part series covering the top 10 questions I hear about VA loans. We’re going to share five of these common queries today and finish with the remaining five in our next message.1. What kind of credit score do you need to qualify for a VA loan? Believe it or not, the VA does not set a specific thres…

When there are required repairs or renovations that show up on an appraisal, they can be paid for through what is called an escrow holdback.As an example, I’m currently helping an elderly couple who don’t have the ability to make any repairs—but they do have the money needed to do so. In situations like this, we hold money back from the seller at c…

Today we’ll be talking about the recent increase to conforming loan limits and what it means for you.The conforming limit is the maximum loan amount the government allows someone to borrow when using a conventional or VA loan. Essentially, it’s been increased because home prices have risen.For 2018, the conforming limit has been $453,100—on January…

Right now, I’m working on two separate files for unmarried couples planning on buying a home together. And with that being the case, I thought now was the perfect time to share my insight on this scenario. Is it really a good idea for an unmarried couple to purchase a home together?Actually, the answer to this isn’t black and white. It is possible …

The rules for purchasing a rental property are highly specific, so anyone considering doing so should be aware of a few key stipulations.First, realize that you will need a 20% minimum down payment. That said, the higher your down payment on an investment property is, the better—as is the case for other home purchases, as well.The interest rate on …

If you’ve ever had your credit pulled without your permission or you’re worried about identity theft happening to you, a new federal law was recently passed that allows you to freeze your credit if you want to. The best part? You can do it for free.“A new federal law was recently passed that allows you to freeze your credit if you want to.”All you …

Today we’re going to take a closer look at USDA home loans and the benefits they bring to homebuyers.A USDA home loan is a loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It doesn’t work everywhere, however—the purpose the of the program is to help with financing homes in rural areas. You will not get approved for this loan inside a city wit…

Today I want to talk about credit repair. What is it? And how can it help fix your credit score?Before I get to that, however, I want to talk about the things that cause credit problems. Obviously, late payments and collections both contribute to a negative credit score. More recently, I have also seen broken apartment leases negatively impacting p…

Do you know what your insurance deductible is?In most cases, people tend to select a 1% rate in case of things like hail or fire damage. This means that if someone with a 1% annual rate has a $250,000 home, then their deductible would amount to $2,500.But in some cases, people may take shortcuts and attempt to get a lower annual rate on their insur…

When buying a home today, receiving a clean report from the home inspector does not mean you are out of the woods. Systems or appliances in your home could fail a week, a month, or even years down the line. And they may no longer be under warranty, meaning that you will be the one to pay if something goes wrong. That is, if you do not have a home w…

I get a lot of questions about homeowners insurance from clients as well as Realtors. So, today I’d like to discuss a few important points about this subject.Rates are going up sharply due to some pretty massive national losses from a lot of the insurance companies. Hurricane flooding in Houston and other natural disasters in California are creatin…

Here’s a quick rundown of the top 12 things you should not do during the loan process:1. Quit your job (or change jobs). Why is this important? The day before closing, we have to call your employer to make sure you’re still there. If you quit, retire, or change jobs, that will be known the day before closing.2. Buy a new car. All mortgage companies…

Today, I’d like to talk about the effects of a fast-moving market. Recently, I’ve been hearing from a lot of frustrated buyers who are tired of losing out on homes.Oftentimes the reason they lost out was that they told their Realtor they needed time to think. When the client calls their Realtor back with the decision to buy, they do so only to find…

Why is it crucial when buying a property that you check if it’s located in a flood zone? Let me tell you a quick story.I’m doing a loan for a couple who bought a 12-acre property awhile back but didn’t know that part of the property was in a flood zone. Since they only recently learned about this and we’ve pulled a flood certificate, they now have …

Today, we’re going to talk about why you need your own Realtor.When driving around looking for a home, you might come across a house you like with a yard sign featuring a phone number.Most people are tempted to pick up the phone and call, but you need to know that the number on the sign is for a Realtor who represents the seller. They have a signed…

What is the difference between an inspection and an appraisal? Today, I’d like to clear up some key differences.Many veterans call me believing that the VA is going to do an inspection on their home, when in fact, that’s not really the case. The VA will appraise a home, not inspect it.An appraiser is there to view the property, measure it for squar…

Today I wanted to clarify the rules on moving a manufactured home. A lot of people don’t know this, but there are some very, very specific rules regarding this topic and there’s a lot of confusion about it.Why is this so important?A lender may not be able to do one of the top three loans—FHA, conventional, or VA loan—on a manufactured home if it’s …

If you’re a veteran looking for a home improvement loan to make some upgrades to your home, I have good news and bad news.The bad news is the VA doesn’t offer any loans for this purpose. The good news is the Texas Veterans Land Board does, and they recently doubled the amount they’re willing to loan to a veteran—$50,000.There are a couple very favo…

Did you know that you can not only use VA financing to buy a home with 0% down, but you can also use VA financing to buy a multi-family property? If you set things up right, the home will essentially pay for itself. Here’s what I mean.You are allowed to use a VA loan to purchase a multi-family property, but there are a few caveats. First, you must …

A property survey is a very important document in a real estate transaction. What is a property survey, though? What do you need to know about them?When a mortgage company finances the property in question of a real estate transaction, they’ll require a property survey.This survey shows several key things. Most importantly, it shows where the house…

“Pat, I just closed my VA loan with you. Within two weeks, I’m starting to get letters every week offering me to refinance my home loan. How do they even know I did a loan with you? Why am I getting these offers right off the bat?”This is a question I get asked a lot and a scenario I encounter quite often. We didn’t sell your loan or your informati…

The terrible situations that have unfolded in Texas, Florida, and elsewhere are still fresh in our minds, and for good reason. People have been flooded out of their homes, and it has been absolutely heartbreaking to watch.So today, I wanted to talk about what flood insurance is and why it can be helpful in situations like these.The most important t…

Can you use a VA loan to build on land you own? Of course you can.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowIf you’ve got land, can you use your VA loan to build on it?The answer is: of course you can.Now that you know this is a possibility, there are a few things you need to consider before you…

Today I wanted to talk about VA appraisals and how they differ from conventional appraisals.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowI get a lot of calls about this with lots of questions about the VA appraisal and how it’s different from conventional appraisals. An appraisal is an estimated va…

Today I wanted to talk a bit more in-depth about how property taxes and homeowners insurance figure into the VA loan process.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowToday I wanted to talk about taxes and insurance and how they figure into a VA loan. I get this question from both veterans and r…

There are a few key rules you should know about in order to get a VA loan under a manufactured home.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowIf you’re considering using a VA Loan on a manufactured home, I have some information that you’ll need to know.To begin, you should know that you are, in …

If you’re thinking of applying for a VA loan, here’s what you should know about them.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowThe anatomy of a VA loan features four components: principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance.In January 2017, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs …

VA loans allow you to buy a wide variety of properties.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowIf you plan to use a VA loan, you might be wondering what types of properties you can use your VA loan for.The most popular use is for a single-family residence, but you can also use a VA loan on a m…

If you had a bankruptcy in the past and it involved a home that you used a VA loan to purchase, you haven’t lost your eligibility. Here’s the situation you’ll face instead.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowIf you’ve had a bankruptcy in the past and it involved a home you used a VA loan t…

Who can qualify for a VA loan? Do you have to have military benefits? I’ll go over the answers to those questions today.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowWho qualifies for a VA loan? I get asked this question quite often, and I’ll go over the details behind qualifying today.It’s true tha…

I get a lot of questions about VA loans and the eligibility restrictions. Can you use a second VA loan? Can you rent a home purchased with a VA loan? Find out here.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowI’ve been getting a lot of questions lately from people, which is great. I wanted to answe…

I offer all types of mortgages, but my specialty is making sure military personnel can buy their dream homes.It doesn’t cost a penny to talk….so call me right now and I will answer your questions!Apply NowI’m a loan officer here at Guild Mortgage in San Antonio and a mortgage expert. Although I do offer conventional, FHA, and all other different ty…