Sonoma County Mortgages

All financing provided by New American Funding

(707) 217-4000 | Prequalify Now
  • Home
  • Purchase
    • How Much Down Payment To Buy A Home?
    • How Much Income You Need To Buy A Home
    • How Much Should I Save For Buying A Home?
      • How Rates Affect Payment
    • No PMI Mortgages
    • FHA Loans
    • Sonoma County Disaster Loans
    • Jumbo Loans
  • Refinance
    • Mortgage Rates
    • Does It Make Sense To Refinance?
      • Get Your Refi Paperwork In Order
    • How To Pay Off Your Loan Faster
    • How To Remove PMI
    • How Lenders Price & Quote Loans
  • Loan Programs
  • Payment Calculator
    • Mortgage Affordability Calculator
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Scott Sheldon
    • Scott Sheldon
      Senior Loan Officer
      NMLS ID# 287389
      Direct: 707 217-4000
      Scott.Sheldon@nafinc.com
      Specializing in Residential Home Loans for Primary Residences, Second Homes, Investment Properties, Single Family Homes, Condos, PUDs, 1-4 Units.

Get Your Latest Rate Quote Now!

The new way to buy a house in Sonoma county

October 31, 2017 by Scott Sheldon

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print
The new way to buy a house in Sonoma county

The recent fire disasters have created housing demand not seen in Sonoma County in many years. Prior to the fires, strong competition, coupled with limited supply best described the local market. Now that the fires have wiped out 5% of the Sonoma County housing market, the problem has intensified. Here is how to win…

  1. Be Realistic- Gone are the days of finding a screaming deal on a home. Be prepared to pay fair market value. Part of being realistic also means listening to your real estate agent. They have a finger on the pulse of the market. Your agent knows what is selling, what is not selling and what types of offers generally earn you shot at the prize.
  2. Be tenacious-if you don’t have the stomach for making multiple offers stay out of the game. This market requires a strong degree of tenacity if you want your home buying efforts to result in success.

Despite the housing shortage that exists in the County of Sonoma, people purchase still sell houses around life events. This was, is and always will be the catalyst for home sales. Such events include job change, income movement, death, illness, sickness, divorce, marriage and children. There are others, but these are the main events to cause people to move real estate. These events will always stand the test of time no matter what is happening in the market.

Knowing that every real estate market is cyclical, the next thing you must have is your finances lined up. This means if you were paying cash for a house, have your cash available and be ready to provide proof of funds to close. If you’re securing mortgage financing this means letting your lender do at complete and thorough analysis of your financial picture so you are bulletproof when you make your offer.

Mechanics of the offer to increase your odds…

  • 20 day escrow
  • Shorter loan and appraisal contingency

Why: shorter close of escrow is stronger on paper because it conveys to the seller that you can perform quickly which is appealing from a monetary timing standpoint. Shorter loan and appraisal contingency means a full commitment faster which also is faster to the green for the seller.

Hand deliver offer

Why: your realtor hand delivering the offer to the listing agent makes a statement. It says “I am proud of this offer so much so that I’m willing to devote my time and energy in delivering it to you because I value you.”

Letter to the seller about your family

Why: A letter to the seller can pull on their heartstrings appealing to one of the life event situations. Oddly enough while every seller is concerned about purchase price you may be surprised to see how many people really want to make sure their house they are selling goes to a family they established a connection with.

Video preapproval 

Why: a video from the lender to the listing agent they can share with the seller can go a long way in making your offer stands out from the competition.

Proactive lender calling listing agent 

Why: It is the listing agent’s job to help their seller vet each offer. When the lender proactively makes a phone call to the listing agent, it makes the job for the listing agent easier because the lender is already doing the work for them. If your lender is local they can help establish a connection further leading to picking your purchase offer.

Avoid an FHA loan if you can

Why: FHA loans are a tougher mortgage loan to close. There is more paperwork and the property requirements are slightly more stringent than conventional financing. This does not mean that an FHA offer will not stand in this market. It does mean that if you have the financial means to go with a conventional loan do it.

To buy a house in this current market it is imperative that you have the eye of the tiger approach to buying a home. You must do whatever it takes to stand out from the competition.

Looking to buy a home get a pre-approved now.

 

Related Mortgage Advice from Scott Sheldon

  • Understanding FHA Home Loans

    The two types of loans offered by a local mortgage lenders are conventional loans and…

  • how to get a mortgage with tax returns
    What you must do when getting an FHA mortgage with an income based student loan

    FHA loans generally are easier to get than conventional mortgages. They require less money down,…

  • Comparing Mortgage Rates In Sonoma County

    What to look for in comparing mortgage rates in Sonoma County. The Federal Reserve came…

  • Where To Get Information On Sonoma County Home Buying?

    You will want to speak with the local mortgage loan officer upfront. Ideally a loan…

Filed Under: Loan Programs, Loan Qualifying Tagged With: buying a home, buying a house, buying your first home, mortgage comparison shopping, Santa Rosa compare mortgage rates, Santa Rosa mortgages, Sonoma County home loans

SCM on Zillow

Zillow Reviews for Scott Sheldon, New American Funding

SCM on Facebook

SonomaCountyMortgages.com

Location & Contact

Scott Sheldon, Senior Loan Officer
NMLS ID# 287389
1450 Neotomas Ave Suite 115
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
1-707-217-4000
Email Us!

Copyright 2019 SonomaCountyMortgages.com · About Us · Sonoma County Loans · Privacy Policy · Terms Of Use · Legal · Site Map

NMLS Consumer Access © New American Funding. All rights Reserved. NMLS ID#6606.
Corporate Office 14511 Myford Road, Suite 100, Tustin, CA 92780. We at New American Funding take great pride in our customer service and make it our number one priority. We encourage you to contact us for complaint resolution or any post-closing questions you may have regarding the servicing of your loan. We strive to have your experience with New American Funding a stellar one. In the rare case that our service did not meet your expectations, please call our customer care hotline at 1-800- 450-2010, ext. 7100 or you may contact us by email customerservice@nafinc.com. Please leave a detailed message and we will follow up with you no later than the end of the next business day. If you are using a screen reader or other auxiliary aid and are having problems using this website, please call 800-450-2010 Ext. 7100 for assistance.

State Licensing | Privacy | Terms of Use | Electronic Consent Agreement

Connect With Scott In Your Inbox

Looking for a home? Real estate insider? Get connected with Senior Loan Officer Scott Sheldon. Scott stays updated on the latest in the mortgage industry, so you can stay updated with him!