I see first and foremost, focus on your credit quality

There’s all kinds of tools out there that can help you understand your credit and then focus on improving that credit

So what does that mean? That means that some folks are going to have to start paying back their mortgage consistently. And they may now be in a different place than they were before from a financial standpoint. And so they may be one looking to refinance, but two, now sell their home. So that can really turn the scale pretty quickly on home values that it … right now it’s a very low inventory and high demand. That means home values are the highest that they’ve been in quite a long time. So what that means is that they’ll likely be more folks that are going to sell their home and when they sell their home and add inventory to the marketplace, that means home values are going to come down. So the recommendation would be to really anticipate that home values may come down and therefore, if someone wants to sell their home, really now would be the time to do it before the inventory sort of elevate as a result of that behavior, especially since today’s rates and the demand is high.

Dr. Ajagbe: Oh, that is definitely some great insights. I think if any of us had the question about where the market is going, we’d probably be making a lot more money than we are now but thank you. And one other question that I had, especially as it relates to physician mortgages is-I think it’s a common topic of conversation-that you really have to have like a perfect or near perfect credit score in order to qualify for one. Do you happen to have any insights on that specific aspects of things?

If you have great credit, keep the great credit growing and be responsible with your use of credit

Derks: Yeah. So for the physician mortgage, we’re literally looking at a FICO score of 720 or above. For other conventional products that we offer you could be at 680 or above.

Dr. Ajagbe: Okay, great. That is good to know. Good to have those numbers as we’re kind of starting out.

Eileen, thank you so much for all the information that you have really provided all of us with today. I think it’s been really great to hear more about Laurel Road and also the relationship with the AMA and how AMA members can really benefit, as we are really at this kind of big changing point in life, which is starting residency and doing a lot of the things that of us have been looking forward to doing for quite a while. As we’re ending out our time together, I was just wanting to ask if you had any last minute, just pieces of advice for residents who are looking to start this process and go through this.

Derks: Great question. Here’s what I would say. So FICO score is a driver in every credit decision when you get a credit card or an auto loan or mortgage, and we’ve had AMA members come that haven’t had the best of credit yet because they were young and not sure, you know, what priorities and focused on getting their education. And so one that’s okay, you can repair your credit. So don’t feel like it’s impossible but get familiar with your credit score. The second is really sit back and think about goals and objectives, and that really will help you make that decision about, Hey, what do I want to save for? How much do I need if I want to get a mortgage and purchase a home. So, it’s really sort of that life planning. And when we sit back and do that, sort of have a plan, sometimes it doesn’t go as planned. But with that plan, then we can be diligent about our credit, about our savings and really being in a great place to get the credit that you deserve and earned when it comes to buying https://getbadcreditloan.com/payday-loans-oh/eaton/ a home or anything else using a credit tool.