Homeowners

Explore home loans in Roseville, CA, and see how a Reverse 4 Purchase loan can help. Check mortgage rates today and contact Big Valley Mortgage today!

Discover the hottest 2023 home décor trends from a mortgage company in Roseville, CA. Get inspired and refresh your space—read the latest trends today!

Discover expert tips for affordable home repairs. Work with the best mortgage lender in Roseville, CA, for smart home loans and savings. Start planning today!

Secure your rate with Big Valley Mortgage, a mortgage company in Roseville, CA, helping you lock in mortgage rates today for a stress-free homebuying journey.

Uncover tax breaks for homeowners that save you money. Work with a trusted mortgage lender in Roseville, CA. Big Valley Mortgage—your go-to mortgage company!

Increase your home’s value with the right upgrades. Get expert tips today with the best mortgage company in Roseville, CA, Big Valley Mortgage!

If you’re looking for ways to increase your investment portfolio or earn some passive income, take a look at your home equity . Home equity is often underutilized. It grows as monthly mortgage payments are made or as the market value of your home increases. If you are allowing your equity to sit by idly, you may be making a mistake. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to obtain a cash-out refinance and utilize the proceeds in a way that earns additional income to put towards a new investment or eliminating other debts. What Is a Cash-Out Refinance? A cash-out refinance replaces your existing home loan, possibly at a lower interest rate. Your new loan will have a higher balance than you currently owe on the home, and the difference between the balance owed on the old mortgage and the new, higher balance is the amount you are able to “cash out.” How Does a Cash-Out Refinance Work? Typically, the maximum amount that you can obtain from your cash-out refinance is 80% of the home’s current market value. 20% equity is usually required to be left in the refinanced loan. There are loans that will go higher such as FHA and VA loans. For example, if you have a current mortgage balance of $200,000 and your home’s value is $320,000, then you can obtain a new mortgage for $256,000 (80% of $320,000). The difference of $56,000 is the amount you will receive in cash, less closing costs. Cash-out refinance rates vary, but are currently between 3 and 5% depending on factors such as the borrowers credit, the LTV, the type of the loan, and whether the borrower lives in the property or it is an investment property. Ways to Maximize the Value There are several ways to make the most out of your home’s equity. These include: 1. Cash-Out Refinance to buy an Investment Property One great way to expand your financial portfolio is to buy an investment property. Purchasing a second property can allow you to quickly expand your wealth. In many cases, homeowners will purchase another property and rent it out, then obtain another loan to purchase a third property. This gives the owner a strong portfolio of real estate assets that they are able to rent out, giving them the income needed to repay their loans. Real estate has a strong tendency to increase in value over time, which improves the overall value of a financial portfolio. 2. Pay Off Credit Card Debt Paying off credit card debt with high interest rates increases monthly cash flow, allowing the borrower to enjoy greater financial flexibility and eliminate wasteful interest payments. 3. Complete Home Improvement Projects Utilizing cash-out refinancing money towards home improvement projects can improve the long-term market value of your home. These projects can include landscaping, remodeling of the interior, or upgrading the roof, which are all great ways to protect the value of a home. 4. Add to Existing Investments You can utilize a cash-out refinance to invest in items that also reduce your taxes, such as College 529 Savings Plans or IRAs. 5. Purchase a Second Home If you’re interested in owning a second home to use as a vacation home or to support a family member, a cash-out refinance is a great way to obtain the down payment needed to purchase one. 6. Protect Against Cash Flow Emergencies Having a nest egg available can help in the event of a crisis in which immediate funds are needed.  Want to Learn More? Submit a quote request and we’ll reach out to you to discuss your options!

Selling your home can be a challenging, involved process that leaves you overwhelmed with bitter and sweet emotions. Your home holds a unique and special place in your heart because you have made many memories that will forever stay with you and that home. And letting go of so many memories can be a challenge in of itself. So, to help you navigate through the process and relieve some of the burden, we have created a list of steps you can take to make the home selling process easier. Tips for Selling your Home Do Your Research Determine When to Sell When preparing to sell your home, it is best to first determine if it is a good time to put it on the market. With market conditions always fluctuating, you want to be sure that they are in a good state to get the most benefit out of selling. Research Comparable Houses and Median Home Prices To get a better idea of what your home will sell for, research similar homes in your area and determine their value. You want to avoid pricing your house to high or too low and knowing the market value is a great step toward avoiding such a costly mistake. Compare the Current Value to Amount Owed Once you have taken the steps to determine what similar homes are selling for and the median sale prices in your area, it is time to see if selling your home will really benefit you. If the timing is not right, the market value of your home may very well be less than the remaining balance you owe. So do your homework, run the math, and avoid selling at a bad time. So, say you’ve taken these steps and now are ready to in fact put your home on the market. Now what? Let’s take a look at the steps to take from there. Prepare to Sell Your Home Take Care of any Necessary Updates and Repairs When putting your house on the market, the last thing you want to do is have potential homebuyers walk in to see leaky faucets, cracked windows, or other potential issues. So, it is recommended that you repair as many known issues as you can when seriously preparing to sell your home. Having inspections to uncover other potential issues such as mold and infestations can also avoid some major turnoffs for prospective buyers. Make the Inside and Outside Look Appealing There are several ways in which potential buyers will see your house such as flyers, websites, and of course in person visits. And you want to be sure that they get a good impression that will leave them wanting to buy. Keep the outside looking good with a nice, mowed lawn, trimmed hedges, appealing landscaping, and only leave outdoor furniture where necessary. You want to avoid an unkept or cluttered yard, placing the excess lawn furniture in storage. You will want to do similar with the inside of the home. Leaving some furniture to help sell the space, while putting the rest of the items in storage is recommended. You want to show furniture for scale and appeal, while avoiding the appearance of clutter. Leaving the interior and exterior of the house partially set up and decorated will help potential buyers to imagine themselves living there. Get Professional Photos of the Home Once you have put in all the excellent work of doing repairs and making your house look appealing to buyers, have a professional photographer come out and capture captivating images. Having professional photos of your home will help capture the attention of potential buyers on platforms such as Zillow and increase the likelihood that they schedule a tour. Now that you have taken steps to prep your house and capture some professional photos, it’s time to get the listings out there and start those open houses. So, let us go over the next steps you can take with your real estate agent. Get the Realtor Involved Open Houses and Tours So, you have gotten your house all prepped, photos taken, and now are ready to start getting prospective buyers lined up. This is the time when you want to get your Real Estate agent involved with listing the property online, booking tours, scheduling open houses. Getting people to come physically look at the house helps give them the chance to really immerse themselves sin the idea of it being their home. All the prep and photos are merely steps toward enticing them to physically have a look, which is much more impactful of an experience than any photo can provide. Leave the Rest to the Agent and a Loan Officer Now is the time when you can leave the rest to the Real Estate agent and Loan Officer. The Realtor can now list the home online, share flyers, send out emails, and really push your house out there to the market. By partnering with a Loan Officer, the Realtor can then hand off the prospective buyers to somebody capable of accepting applications and getting the home buying process started. Many of the Loan Officers here at Big Valley Mortgage have developed strong relationships with trusted Realtors just for this purpose and work together with their real estate partners to match clients to their dream homes. Ways to Buy a New Home When Selling Another Buy Before You Sell If you buy your next home before selling, it can help make the buying process much more relaxed. With less urgency to get moved in, you won’t have to feel as rushed as if you were to buy after selling your current home. You’ll also have a place to settle into before selling your home, avoiding the need to rent a storage unit or be stuck in limbo. It also helps avoid issues if a deal falls through and you don’t get a home as quickly as you’d hoped. However, there are also some negative aspects to buying your new home before selling your current one. With a more relaxed buying process, comes the potential of a more rushed selling process which can cause you to possibly accept a lower offer on your former home than if you’d sold it first. You could also wind up stuck with your former home for longer than you expected, which can leave you with paying two sets of taxes and possibly even having to rent the house out until it sells. You may also find it harder to put a good-sized down payment on your new home or even get qualified while still stuck with the other house in your possession. Sell Before You Buy If you sell your home before buying another, you avoid having to pay on two mortgages at the same time, getting stuck trying to sell longer than you anticipated, and reduce your chances being denied when applying for a new loan. Another benefit of selling your home before purchasing another is that it will provide you with more money to apply to your down payment. The negative aspects that come with this option are of course that you will need to find a temporary place to stay between homes, will need to move multiple times, may wind up needing to pay for storage, and you could potentially make a poor buying decision due to feeling rushed. So whichever of these options you go with, be sure to really think it through, weight out your options, and do your homework. Not every situation is the same and you will want to make sure to choose the option that is best for you. Conclusion Understanding the methods and strategies of selling a home can lead to better decision-making. Many homeowners make mistakes when they are unfamiliar with the proper steps to follow. By applying the tips above, sellers can navigate the process more smoothly and successfully sell their homes. For those seeking guidance, Big Valley Mortgage, a trusted mortgage company in Roseville, CA , can connect clients with experienced loan officers and real estate agents who are ready to provide expert support throughout the home-selling journey.

Here is a useful guide for helping you choose a trusted Loan Officer and the right mortgage lender. While several parts of the mortgage process are similar across all lenders, specific differences can affect the services you receive. The two most common services Homeowners may be looking for are either a mortgage for purchasing a home or refinancing an existing home loan. However, borrowers may not find the best advice according to their needs if they work with inexperienced or poorly trained Loan Officers. Important Questions to Ask When selecting a Loan Officer , it is suggested that you inquire whether they are working as a licensed mortgage Officer. It might be helpful for borrowers to inquire about their NMLS number to look Officers up on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and verify their records. This can also help you find out the number of years of service they have in the industry. Asking about the average processing time for your type of mortgage is also crucial. Besides that, here is a rundown of the questions you should ask a potential Loan Officer: Will someone else take over the loan process when it goes to underwriting? Or, will the Loan Officer be the primary contact throughout the process? What is the best form of contact to stay in touch with the Loan Officer throughout the process? What is the recommended rate lock duration? Which steps of the process will occur in person, and which steps will take place online? (Consider closing and appraisals) Of course, one of the best ways is to ask your family members and friends for a recommendation…they will surely either give you someone who treated them great…or for sure warn you about someone they had a bad experience with! Important Values When choosing a reliable Loan Officer, here are the most important values to look for in a trusted Loan Officer and mortgage lender.

While most of us know about typical mortgages, what about reverse mortgages? Reverse mortgage loan options are available to individuals later in life, giving them an opportunity to save their limited income or retirement funds.

Win and woo your next-door friends with a little neighborly know-how. If you want good neighbors, you’ll first have to become one yourself. Master these seven techniques, and even you (yes, you!) can win the approval of your entire neighborhood.