The Mortgage Files

Nationally syndicated mortgage news and advice from Senior Loan Officer Scott Sheldon.

"A person standing in front of a 'For Sale' sign outside a suburban house, holding a clipboard and looking uncertain, reflecting hesitation about buying a home. The house has a well-kept lawn and a clear blue sky in the background, symbolizing the decision-making process in home ownership."

4 Signs You’re Not Ready to Buy a House

By Scott Sheldon / September 23, 2024

4 signs you’re not ready to buy a house when it comes to purchasing a home. It’s probably one of the highest-ticket purchases you’ll ever make in life, if not the most high-ticket purchase. You want to, of course, make sure that affordability is number one. This is primary, above all else. However, just because…

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Buying a home can be a puzzling process

Why Renting May Delay Your Home Buying Efforts

By Scott Sheldon / October 22, 2015

Renters everywhere are feeling the constraints of rising rents. Rising rents erodes your ability to save for the cash needed to buy a home. It becomes a catch 22 because the longer you rent the more you need to save in order to offset rent increases while maintaining the rate at which you are saving.…

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Scott Sheldon's The Mortgage FIles Blog

What are the initials steps I should take when deciding to get pre-approved to buy a home?

By Scott Sheldon / July 25, 2015

Great question and one that should be handled with the utmost care and integrity. First you need to get prequalified. You need to have a conversation with a mortgage professional about your credit, debt, income and assets. After determining you qualify to purchase a home, the lender would ask you to submit a loan application…

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Scott Sheldon's The Mortgage FIles Blog

What? Another pre-approval?

By Scott Sheldon / October 31, 2010

If you are thinking about purchasing a home in Sonoma County be prepared to play the game for another pre-approval. The Sonoma County real estate market is dominated by REO otherwise commonly referred to as bank owned property. These unsold homes sitting on the market are oftentimes controlled by the big banks like Chase, Bofa…

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