Mortgage rates have reached a 10-month low in recent days. Is this enough of an incentive to get a loan and buy that dream home?
To find out, I spoke with mortgage startup Loansnap’s CEO Karl Jacob to understand how your finances can determine the best time to buy a home.
“Buying or refinancing a home is one of the most important financial transactions you make in life” said Jacob, a 6x serial entrepreneur. “We are on a mission to help families enjoy peace of mind and financial stability. We achieve this by delivering a technology that can see and analyze your entire financial picture in real time then offer simple options that fit your family’s needs today and into the future.” he continued
Take a look at your entire finances
With a mortgage being such a big commitment, it pays to look at your entire financial picture which includes not only your income but other debt obligations you might have such as credit card debt.
Loansnap estimates that Americans overpay upwards of $58B in credit card debt every year, which instead could have been rolled over into a mortgage product.
Plan for the future
If you are nearing retirement or have a kid going to college, you could take advantage of HELOCs (home equity lines of credit) to unlock money from your home and pay for those big expenses.
Loansnap recently closed another round of financing led by Thomvest Ventures and Sir Richard Branson, totaling their fundraising efforts to over $17M. Loansnap’s technology analyzes “thousands of scenarios” and comes up with a smart loan that fit your current needs and grows with you as your needs evolve.
“We are excited to work with Karl Jacob, Allan Carroll and the entire LoanSnap team on their journey to improve housing finance. As part of this investment, we plan to explore further ways to partner across the broader Thomvest platform, including via our real estate and credit funds.” mentioned Nima Wedlake from Thomvest Ventures.
If you are refinancing, do the math
Just because rates are low, that doesn’t mean that you will end up saving money. Hidden closing costs could end up costing you more than your estimated savings.
“I love to invest in companies that make people’s lives better and LoanSnap is exactly that” said Branson. “LoanSnap is not a mortgage company, but a product and technology company that is transforming the mortgage experience while making life easier for their customers.”
