Imagine standing outside your newly acquired property, enjoying the peace and quiet as you sip your morning coffee. Better yet, having no mortgage interests holding you up.

Did you know that understanding the ins and outs of a mortgage will guarantee you freedom in your life? I am a proud homeowner now, but deep down, I still wish that when I decided to make my dream of owning my first house a reality through a mortgage, I could find more help. Additional insights from mortgage books would have been handy.

Maybe, I would have evaded some of the pitfalls along the way, like weak deal analysis and offers, long loan processing, and costs exceeding the purchase price. But now I know better. That is why in this article, I have reviewed a must-read book on mortgages and crucial information you need to know to make buying your mortgage less stressful. Let’s dive right in.

What Are The Must-Read Books on Mortgages?

Buying and Financing Your New Home: Find the Right Home and the Best Possible Mortgage in Any Market, by Casey Fleming (2023)

Buying and Financing Your New Home is a short guidebook (147 pages) that helps homebuyers understand the buying process and their options for financing a home purchase. Written by a licensed California Real Estate Broker, Casey Fleming, the book offers a detailed look at the impact of home ownership on a family’s finances and the benefits of owning a home. It aims to empower the reader during the most expensive transaction of their lifetime by outlining how to navigate the home-buying process in a way that yields the best possible results and how to finance their purchase with the lowest possible lifetime cost.

The guidebook describes how homebuyers can search for and buy a home that is right for their circumstances, goals, and concerns. It also explains the options for choosing a lender and mortgage structure that meets the buyer's needs. When it comes to financing the new home, the book makes the complex process simple, breaking it down in an easy-to-understand way. The goal of Buying and Financing Your New Home is to provide the reader with the necessary information and tools to make informed decisions during the home-buying process.

Essential Advice for Buying Your First Home And Navigating Through The Mortgage Process, by Diana Donnelly (2022)

Have you been wondering what you can do to make your mortgage or buying your first home less hassling? It is possible that doing it for the first time may leave you confused and wondering which is the right call to make. But this book is what you need to make that call.

Diana has systematically unearthed a step-by-step guide to help you find a suitable home and, most importantly, according to your budget. If you want to avoid the hurdles of regretting a home purchase, picking this book is the right call.

You will benefit from the well-detailed tricks and tips Diana highlights for buying a home, for instance, tax breaks. You will also appreciate the dynamics of practical financial savviness that Diana discusses when purchasing a home, like your credit scores. She has excellently outlined her findings based on different types of homes to choose from, which I think is very smart.  Moreover, the book has ideas for managing your expectations throughout the loan process.

At its core, this book gives information about what really happens before and once your offer is accepted.

Real Estate Investing 101, by Michele Cagan (2019)

My second choice among mortgage books is Michele Cagan's Real Estate Investing 101 guide.

Whether you’re looking to build a business or make some extra money on the side, real estate investing is a great option. And you don’t have to be a full-time landlord to do it. There are a number of ways to get started in real estate investing, and with a little research and planning, it can be a very lucrative endeavor.

There are many different types of real estate investments and it can be difficult to know which one is right for you. In this book, you will learn the difference between purchasing traditional property and investing in funds such as REITs and interval funds plus new types of realty investment trusts.

By the end of this book, you will have a better understanding of the different types of real estate investments and how to choose the one that is right for you.

Five Essential Pitfalls To Avoid When Getting a Mortgage

Five Essential Pitfalls To Avoid When Getting a Mortgage

If you really desire to own a home through a mortgage, then you need to make intelligent decisions for lending institutions to close your agreement and enable you to make an easy purchase.

It would be best if you avert some of the drawbacks buyers face and steer away from unnecessary ignorance that may prevent you from acquiring a mortgage. Let’s get to the bottom of this.

01 Avoid Making Immediate and Risky Changes in your Career

If you end up quitting your job or starting a new business venture as an entrepreneur, the change might reduce the chances of closing on your deal to get home.

It is not illegal to make these changes, but then you should be aware of the significant interference they can have on your payroll’s monitoring. If you have to shift careers, make it known to the mortgage underwriters to ensure that they consider the stability of your new career.

02 Applying for an Additional loan

This may indicate danger if you are committed to applying for a mortgage. Reopening your line of credit may disrupt the provided debt-to-income ratio, affecting your mortgage application process. Ultimately, this ends up blocking your home’s purchase by a large deficit.

Even cosigning a loan for another person may damage your mortgage offer. The better idea is to avoid this and make smart decisions. For instance, consider purchasing loan offer items after first closing the deal with your mortgage provider.

03 Interfering with your Bank Accounts

Making large deposits or withdrawing substantial amounts from your account may cause the lenders to raise the alarm leading to the denial of your mortgage purchase.

Sometimes, loan officers are concerned that deposits made may not belong to you. Even though this is generally an assumption, they cannot risk factoring in income deposits they may be unable to account for. Making withdrawals certainly affects your debt-to-income percentage, and mortgage providers must factor in the new debt as your mortgage application is evaluated. You do not want to be on the wrong side of things.

04 Covering up Financial Difficulties

This is another essential loophole that many buyers assume but eventually regret later. You cannot ignore this ‘innocent’ pitfall. Failure to be transparent with your loan officers about your financial challenges makes you doomed for mortgage approval failure. They will eventually figure the issue out, which may complicate things simply because of a lack of trust, sabotaging your mortgage.

Financial openness must prevail. Failure to unearth the financial challenges you may be facing can make your loan officer doubt your credibility, which you do not want.

05 Lacking Preparedness

It is vital that you set your things in order before planning to take a mortgage. You can improve your planning by visiting a financial consultant. Don’t see this as too much time lost in consulting; instead, view it as an effort to build better credit for your lenders to consider you for a mortgage easily.

Even as you prepare for this new leap, conduct research on the best offers in the market and negotiate prices. You can even consider using a mortgage broker to harmonize your needs with different lenders and make comparisons.

Also, remember to polish up on what to ask during the mortgage application process and, if possible, be patient for a few months before beginning the process.

Final Thoughts

A mortgage can significantly contribute to the success of your home ownership experience. But the truth is that there is a lot to wrap your head around regarding mortgages. The many details to brush up on, like credit score, affordability, and down payments, to name just a few, can be overwhelming.

But I have highlighted ways you can avoid mortgage disappointments alongside a book you can use as a guide. We hope you will find this article’s information helpful whether you are applying for a mortgage for the first time or refinancing an existing one.

If you are looking for more books on the investing part check out my selection on real estate investing books.

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