When buyers get pre-qualified for a mortgage, one of the first questions they ask is “how much can I get?” And that’s a fair question — knowing your maximum qualification is useful. But we always follow that answer with a different question, one we think matters more: “How much house do you actually need?” At…
A foreclosed home at a below-market price sounds like a dream deal. And sometimes it is. But foreclosure purchases come with a unique set of risks and complexities that every buyer should understand before they pursue one. In Texas, the foreclosure process has its own specific rules — and the buying process can look very…
If you’ve been tracking the Austin real estate market over the past several years, you’ve watched home prices climb in ways that seemed almost unbelievable a decade ago. Homes that sold for $280,000 in 2015 now list at $500,000 or more. For buyers watching from the sidelines, it can feel paralyzing — like the goalpost…
Buying your first home in Austin is exciting — and more than a little overwhelming. The Austin real estate market has its own personality: competitive at times, expensive compared to a decade ago, but still full of opportunity for buyers who go in prepared. The difference between a smooth first purchase and a stressful one…
One of the most common surprises in the home-buying process isn’t the price of the home or even the mortgage rate — it’s closing costs. Many buyers focus almost entirely on saving for a down payment and then find themselves scrambling when they see the final number due at closing. At Mortgage Austin, transparency is…
Whether you’re planning to buy in the next few months or sometime later this year, there’s one thing that almost always determines how smooth (or stressful) the process will be: how financially prepared you are going in. At Mortgage Austin, we work with buyers at every stage of readiness — and the ones who have…
Here’s a question we hear all the time from people just starting their home-buying journey: “Should I call a real estate agent first, or do I need to talk to a mortgage lender first?” It’s a great question — and the answer matters more than most buyers realize. At Mortgage Austin, we believe the single…
The rent vs. buy debate gets a lot of airtime, and with good reason. It is a major financial decision that affects your monthly budget, your long-term wealth, and frankly your quality of life. There are situations where renting is the right move. But for most people in Austin who are financially stable and planning…
One of the most common surprises for first-time homebuyers is discovering that their mortgage payment is just one part of what it actually costs to own a home. There is a cluster of additional expenses that come with the territory, and if you are not budgeting for them, you can find yourself financially stretched even…
If you’ve been saving for a home in Austin, chances are someone along the way told you that 20% down is the “right” way to buy. Maybe it was a parent, a coworker, or a well-meaning article from 2009. Here’s the thing: that advice isn’t wrong, exactly. It’s just incomplete. And for a lot of…