Do you want to buy a home and don’t know where to start?

Deciding to buy a property is a step that can arouse conflicting emotions: from the greatest enthusiasm to the greatest fear, but it is a natural energy for such an important process, both on a personal and economic level.

There are a thousand questions and a thousand other answers could be provided, but what is important is that there are realistic answers that target the needs of every consumer, as every purchase of a property, whether the main or secondary property, is a different reality, because financial affairs are a completely individual aspect.

Given the lack of knowledge with which many people begin the buying process, a mortgage advisor Milly Serrano This Saturday, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, he will present a virtual workshop or “webinar”, called “The Mortgage Road”, during which the basic steps of applying for a mortgage will be taught, which are the things Which should not be what to do in the process, how to qualify, how much money should be available for the closing process and other essential details to get approved for the mortgage loan that leads to the desired purchase.

“The basic approach is to be able to provide the tools necessary for the client to be able to self-assess without having to turn to an institution.”“But you can prepare little by little and be guided on things not to do before, during and perhaps even after the mortgage process,” explained Millie Serrano, a mortgage loan counselor, licensed by the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). .

Over the course of 23 years of practice in the mortgage sector, customers’ doubts continue to recur, according to the executive official, especially since they let themselves be guided by the experiences of family members, friends or acquaintances, instead of seeking guidance from specialists in this field. area. “People don’t really know how the mortgage process works and they get carried away with a lot of things Positive wordfrom the experience of someone else who has gone through this process, and it should not be, because each individual’s financial reality is unique. “No matter how much you have the idea that we work at the same thing and get the same salary, our financial reality is never the same, because we don’t have the same expenses, the same credit, and the same savings,” Serrano explained. .

The first thing a person should do before going out to fill his eyes with real estate is financial qualification, which is nothing more than an x-ray of income and expenses to know the cost of the houses or apartments that he can aspire to. “A lot of people get carried away saying, ‘Well, if so-and-so qualifies for $150,000, why didn’t he?’ “Pre-qualification is a mistake. The biggest thing they make is that they jump into buying and selecting a property without following due process,” he noted.

Another situation that often occurs in these operations is that some real estate brokers refer clients to banks without conducting a thorough analysis of their funds and when they reach the bank, they are not qualified.

“It happens to me often, when I’m interviewing them for pre-qualification, I realize they’ve never done this before.” For example, with student loans, there is a huge lack of knowledge where people think that since a student loan is not and will not be repaid because it is deferred, it should not be considered a debt, which is a huge mistake. “A lot of people are getting hurt there,” Serrano explained.

The most important thing is how the client can do a financial

–Millie Serrano, Mortgage Consultant

Currently in Puerto Rico the average buyer belongs to the upper middle class, aged 28 to 45 years. “Most of them have never bought property before, and this is their first time, and this is what I see a lot of students who are finishing their residency or majors, who are trying to buy from now on to start their families, and stabilize.”

At first glance, the inventory of real estate on the island may seem abundant, but many of them are uninhabitable, or are new luxury projects, whose costs exceed $600,000, “which is not the economic or financial reality for the majority.” “Puerto Rican,” warned the mortgage advisor.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot of inventory that you can see with the naked eye in many places, but the properties are not in habitable condition. Added to that, they are asking for contractors that we know are in short supply, and that also represents a high cost because construction has increased a lot as well.” “So buying a property that is currently uninhabitable and having to put down $203,000 (a loan for $203,000 on the purchase and improvements) is incurring a lot of expenses that the client wouldn’t necessarily be able to qualify for, because they would probably fall outside of the maximum budget,” Serrano said. “For his qualifications.”

The Mortgage Road costs $67, which will provide access to the live online workshop, plus it includes a downloadable guide that will be sent out once the workshop is over with all the information provided.

The last 30 to 45 minutes of the workshop will be devoted to a question and answer session.

To log in to the portal: millieserrano.com/rutahipotecaria