We have licensed Mortgage Advisors that can help with just about any mortgage program; however, they each have areas they specialize in. When you sign up for a consultation and fill out our brief survey we will use the answers you give to match you with the Mortgage Advisor we have for your specific situation. Areas of specialties include:  

First Time Homebuyers

Self Employed

Military Veterans

Buyers looking to buy and sell at the same time

Move-up buyers

Buyers downsizing / Investors

Vacation property buyers / Luxury buyers

Doctors and Medical Professionals

Teachers

Buyers with RSU Income

Freelancers

Independent Contractors

Low down payment buyers

Buyers using gift funds for a down payment

Young buyers getting help from their parents or a close relative

Tech savvy buyers

On the call we’ll do four things:

1. Discovery: We learn about you, your finances and your financial goals. This gives us the foundation to provide a customized strategy.

2. Strategy: Based on your current finances, your financial goals and the current market we provide a custom mortgage strategy focused getting you the perfect home and long-term wealth creation with real estate.

3. Execution: We review the most effective practices and steps moving forward to give you a competitive advantage and save money when buying a home whether it’s a buyers or sellers’ market.

4. Long-term plan: We show you how you can use your home to help you generate long-term wealth and achieve your financial goals through by having your mortgage under management.

We do not charge any upfront fees and we do not make any money unless you complete the purchase of your new home and we handle your mortgage financing and close your loan. Additionally we do not get paid by collecting any lender fees. We do not charge any of the industry standard origination fees such as Underwriting, Processing, Admin or anything else you want to call them. The only fees you pay are third-party fees such as appraisal, title insurance, country recording, etc. as well as property taxes and homeowners insurance.  

Obviously we don’t work for free so we get paid after we close your loan. As a mortgage bank we will fund your loan ourselves, and then transfer the servicing after closing to a mortgage servicer, who collects your mortgage payments going forward. The servicer will pay us a Service Release Premium which isn’t a fee you pay. The only time you will pay any lender fees is if you choose to pay discount points which are upfront fees used to get a lower rate. These are certainly not required and in most situations not recommended.  

A way to determine what you can qualify for is to talk to one of our Mortgage Advisors so they can walk you through the preapproval process. They will walk you through the steps to get preapproved and determine not only what you could qualify for, but also what your personal budget should be so that you align your new purchase with your short and long term financial goals and spending habits.       

• You can also use our online mortgage calculator to get an approximate idea of what you could qualify for if you’re not ready to talk to an advisor.

• When you get to the point where you want to actively look at properties it is highly recommended that you take the step to go through the full preapproval process.

  A preapproval is a thorough review of your application, credit and supporting documentation. Many lenders offer pre-qualification which can be done very quickly with little effort as they don’t review documentation like an underwriter would. SM urges our clients to go through the full pre-approval process to avoid unexpected surprises later in the loan process after you have a home under contract. Realtors are also much less likely to accept an offer with a pre-qualification letter. Agents and sellers can be confident that our clients are qualified to purchase homes they make offers on.

  If you are serious about buying a home getting preapproved early in the process is advisable.

Sammamish Mortgage can offer low rates and fees because our Loan Officers are not paid based on sales. While most mortgage companies compensate Loan Officers with a percentage of the loan amount to bring in business, Sammamish Mortgage generates its own business by going directly to the consumer. Our Loan Officers are paid to educate and advise consumers, with their pay determined based on the quality of service they provide.

Sammamish Mortgage combines great advice with a great price. Unlike most online lenders and big banks we have experienced Mortgage Advisors who focus on educating and advising our clients beyond just the standard do you qualify. We take a look at your current and future financial goals and put together a mortgage plan that will help you get the minimal overall cost while maximizing your wealth through real estate. With our consultative approach many expect our rates to be high like many other full service mortgage lenders; however, our company structure allows us to offer great rates.

Avoid the call center mortgage experience and get low rates and fees.

Even a great Loan Officer can’t do everything. A normal Loan Officer’s job requires that they handle their own market, meet and develop relationships with referral partners like Realtors, talk to borrowers, gather loan documents and communicate to everyone involved in the transaction throughout the loan process. While there may be a few unicorn Loan Officers out there that can perform all of these job functions at a high level, most drop the ball somewhere and availability to the borrower will always be an issue. Our team model allows our experienced Loan Officers to focus only on advising borrowers at the beginning of the loan process to ensure the client gets the right loan specific to their situation. They can also be much more responsive and thorough in application review and pre-approvals. During the loan process our team will guide you through the loan process ensuring everything goes smoothly through closing.

If your Loan Officer goes on vacation or is sick another Loan Officer from our team steps up and seamlessly helps you when you need it most. Our team is available 7 days a week which is important given buying and selling Real Estate doesn’t take weekends off.

1. Closing Costs: In order to compare apples to apples it helps to either compare the same rate to see what the difference in closing costs is or compare similar closing costs to see what the difference in rate is. For purposes of this explanation we will assume that you are comparing two quotes with the same rate.

   The first thing to compare is lender fees. These can be called Admin, Processing, Underwriting, Discount Points and origination fees. Regardless of the name they are fees you are paying to the lender and not third party service providers. On an official Loan Estimate these will show up in section A.

   Next you want to see if there are any lender credits as your net lender fees will be the previously mentioned fees less any lender credits. Lender credits will show up in Section J of your Loan Estimate. If you are receiving a lender credit this will show as a negative number and reduce your total closing costs.

   Comparing net lender fees at the same interest rate is the easiest way to see which offer is the most affordable one. You can compare total closing costs but you have to be sure both lenders are quoting accurately. Ultimately there will be very little variance in third-party closing costs from lender to lender. Small differences in appraisal and credit report fees are common but big variances usually mean something was missed. Additionally fees like title insurance and escrow closing fees will usually be similar regardless of the lender you choose.

   On purchase transactions the title and escrow companies are determined by the buyer and seller and will not change regardless of what the lender quotes. Prepaid items such as property taxes, homeowners insurance and daily interest will also be the same regardless of which lender you choose. This is an area lenders often under quote as there is no tolerance requirements like there is on some of the other lender and third-party fees.

2. Lock periods: You have a quote but is the lock tied to that rate long enough to close? Some lenders will quote lock periods that are unrealistic to close within in most circumstances. It’s true that some loans can close quickly when everything goes smoothly, but what happens if an unexpected delay arises that’s beyond your control? Many lenders will push the cost of any delay on to the borrower.

3. Can you lock the quoted rate upfront? Many lenders quote great rates but don’t allow you to lock the rate prior to receiving loan approval. This could often mean waiting 1-2 weeks or longer before you’re in position to lock a rate. During this time rates can move and you potentially could end up with a rate higher than you could have locked upfront for a longer lock period. There are times where this is a decent strategy if the rate is substantially lower that what you can lock upfront but in most situations securing your rate upfront makes the most sense.