Purchase Loans

Purchasing a Home

Whether you’re a fist-time homebuyer or a seasoned veteran, finding a great mortgage is traditionally stressful and time-consuming. We have a unique revolutionary system that makes purchasing your home quick, simple, and as hassle-free as possible. Our programs make buying your dream home a reality.

The days of waiting a month or more to close escrows are over. Real estate agents and escrow officers love us (and you will too).

Down Payment Requirements

From $0 down, whatever your budget, we have a program and solution for you. Our ‘no lender fee’ policy coupled with some of the lowest rates available makes purchasing your dream home a very affordable reality.

  • Conventional Loan = 5% Down Payment
  • HomeReady = 3% Down Payment*
  • FHA Loan = 3.5% Down Payment
  • VA Loan = $0 Down Payment

*On approved homes: try the HomeReady lookup tool or learn more here.

Credit Criteria

Life happens. At 365 Home Lending, Inc., we get that. Your past doesn't have to dictate your future. You can still get financed even with derogatory marks on your credit history. Check out the waiting-time requirements below. If you still have questions, one of our dedicated Home Loan Experts will be happy to assist you, judgement-free.

Bankruptcy Ch. 7 & 11: Four years
Bankruptcy Ch. 13: Two years
Short sale: Four Years
Foreclosure: Seven years

Bankruptcy Ch. 7, 11 & 13: Two years
Short sale: Three years
Foreclosure: Three years

Dependent upon automated underwriting systems "DU" or "LP" when it comes to bankruptcies, short sales, and foreclosures. Speak with a licensed representative to help determine your eligibility.

The Loan Process For Buying a Home

Buying a home is an exciting yet stressful time, especially if you’re a first time homeowner. Many buyers don’t realize that there’s a lot of prep work to do before you even start looking at homes.

The following are some additional tips on home loans and what to expect when buying a home.

Step 1: How much can you comfortably afford

Once you’ve decided that you want to buy a home, you should determine what home loan payments you can comfortably afford. There are many tools available such as an affordability calculator that give you a general idea of what your payments would be. Quickly see how much interest you could pay and your estimated principal balances. You can even determine the impact of any mortgage principal prepayments for a full yearly or monthly amortization schedule.

Step 2: Determine which home loan best suits your needs

There are many home loan options available from first-time buyer programs to traditional conventional, jumbo, and FHA loans. There are 30 year and 15 year fixed loans as well as adjustable and hybrid loans such as a 5/1 ARM or 3/1 ARM. If you’re interested in lower payments, an interest-only loan may be a good option for you. With all the options available, you need expert advice to help you choose the right home loan for your situation. Be sure to visit our home loan options page to learn about all the options that are available and if you have more questions, you can call one of our home buying experts at +1(949)683-0310.

Step 3: Contact a real estate agent and start shopping

This is the fun part. Once you’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage and have an idea of what price range you qualify for, you can work with a real estate agent to view homes for sale in the areas you’d like to live. Once you find a home you like, you can work with the real estate agent to draw up an offer and complete a purchase agreement. The seller has the option to submit a counter-offer and you may go through several rounds of counters. Once you and the seller agree to the price and terms, escrow will be opened. Typical escrow periods are 30 days but 45 and 60 day escrows are not uncommon.

Step 4: Review your home loan application and update your file

Depending on how much time has passed since we issued your mortgage pre-approval, we may need to collect some updated information and updated documents from you. We probably have everything we need, but it is a good idea to go over the home purchase document checklist to ensure we have everything we need. Once we have updated your file, your home buying specialist will go over the details of your loan program, confirm the rate that you want, and go over your closing fees. We’ll make sure that you understand every detail of your home loan program and answer any questions you have before moving forward.

Step 5: Lock your mortgage rate

At this point, if you’d like to secure your interest rate, your home buying specialist will send you a lock agreement to confirm the terms of the home loan and rate. Once you review and approve the lock agreement, your home buying specialist will collect a lock deposit fee to lock in your rate. The lock deposit will be credited towards your closing fees at the end of the transaction. For more information about the lock deposit, please view our “What is a lock deposit” video. Once we receive the signed lock agreement and lock deposit, we will send you some preliminary disclosures such as the good faith estimate and truth-in-lending disclosure to review and sign which detail the terms of your rate and loan.

Step 6: Home inspection and appraisal

Shortly after escrow is opened, it is advisable to schedule a home inspection with a professional who will walk you through the property to look for any red flags such as structural damages or appliances that may not be working properly and other items that may need to be fixed. It is a small investment for some peace of mind. Any major issues would need to be addressed before the close of escrow date. While your loan is being reviewed and processed, we will schedule an appraisal appointment with the seller’s agent to confirm the value of the home. Unlike a home inspection, that appraisal is a requirement to determine that the home is worth what you are paying for it.

Step 7: Mortgage approval, signing, and closing

Once we have everything we need, your account manager will submit your complete file to the underwriting department for approval. Once approved, we will prepare home loan documents for you to sign. Generally, you will sign your loan documents at the escrow or title office and it will generally take between an hour and an hour and a half. After we receive the signed loan documents back, we will review your loan file one more time to make sure we have everything we need. If everything looks good, your loan will fund 2 to 3 days after your signing, and you will get the keys to your new home!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Our home loan experts can arm you with helpful mortgage information plus other valuable resources to help make buying your home quick and easy!

Traditional conventional financing requires a down payment of 10 to 20% of the purchase price of the home; however, there are other home loan programs available such as our FHA program that allows you to buy a home with as little as 3.5% down. In addition to the down payment, you should be aware that there are other fees associated with purchasing a home. For example, there are closing fees, pre-paid interest, and prorated items such as property taxes and homeowner's insurance. Call and speak with one of our home buying specialists to get a better idea of what you can expect.

Although a home inspection is not required, it is a good idea to obtain the services of a professional qualified inspector to help you determine the condition of the home you are looking to purchase. A professional inspector will look for any structural issues as well as mechanical problems that may exist in the home that could cause problems in the future. In addition to a structural review, an inspector will also check faucets, toilets, appliances, and other items in the home to make sure everything is in working order. If something needs to be addressed, you can address them with the seller prior to closing.

Standard documentation collected for a purchase transaction includes information regarding your income such as paystubs covering the most recent 30 days and W-2s for the last two years, asset information such as bank or mutual fund stock statements covering the last 60 days showing source of funds for your down payment, closing fees, points, pre-paid items, and other funds needed to close your home loan. For a more detailed list of items, please call us to speak directly to a loan specialist.

A typical escrow period is 30, 45, or 60 days. The escrow period, defined on the purchase contract and agreed upon by both buyer and seller, is usually what dictates when your loan closes. If you have already entered escrow and are closing in less than 30 days, we can still close your loan on time if we are brought into the loop as soon as possible. We have closed home loans in as little as 7 days!

Typically, you will sign your loan documents at a designated settlement office such as an escrow office or attorney's office. In the presence of the signing authority, you will review and sign all your loan documents and then present a certified or cashier's check to pay the remaining down payment, closing fees and other applicable closing funds. You may also wire your funds directly into escrow. Your loan processor will guide you through the process and will advise you on what needs to be done when. Once the loan documents are signed and delivered back to us, your home loan will close in 2 to 3 days and you will get the keys to your brand new home!