Homebuying
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Buying Your First Home?
Why loanDepot?
We help make homeownership more achievable.
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Guidance from experienced loan professionals every step of the way.
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Low down payment options and programs designed to fit a variety of budgets.
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Conventional, FHA, VA, Jumbo and other solutions to help you buy with confidence.
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Estimated monthly payments include principal and interest and are not an offer to lend. Tax, insurance, and other fees and charges may apply. Default interest rate displayed is illustrative only. Interest rates, total cost of mortgage, and monthly mortgage payment are estimates based on information provided. Actual mortgage payment and interest rate may be higher or lower than those displayed and will depend on your mortgage product, collateral, and credit history.
Crunch your own numbers with our mortgage calculators for refinance or a purchase loan, and run as many different scenarios as you’d like.
Homebuying in 5 Easy Steps
1
Start with a Loan Officer
Share your goals, ask questions, and get guidance on your home financing options.
2
Get Pre-Approved
Submit your documents for a fully underwritten pre-approval so you can shop with confidence and understand how much you may be able to borrow.
3
Find the Right Home
Work with your real estate agent, tour homes, and make an offer when you find the one that’s right for you.
4
Complete Your Loan Application
Once your offer is accepted, we’ll finalize your application, collect any remaining documentation, and prepare your loan for closing.
5
Close and Move In
Review and sign your closing documents, get your keys, and start enjoying your new home.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is escrow?
Escrow is a third-party account that holds money or documents until the conditions of a transaction are met. In homebuying, you’ll encounter escrow in two places: at the purchase, where an escrow company holds your earnest money and the seller’s deed until closing; and after closing, where your mortgage lender uses an escrow account to collect and pay your property taxes and homeowners insurance for you, bundled into your monthly payment.
The purchase escrow opens when your offer is accepted and closes when the deal does. The ongoing escrow opens at closing and stays with your mortgage. Each month, in addition to principal and interest, you pay one-twelfth of your annual property taxes and one-twelfth of your homeowners insurance into the account, and your lender pays those bills on your behalf when they come due. Escrow accounts are optional on conventional loans with 20% or more down, required on FHA, VA, and most conventional loans with PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance).
What is an earnest money deposit?
Earnest money is a deposit you make when you submit an offer on a home to show the seller you’re committed to going through with the purchase. It typically runs 1% to 3% of the purchase price, though in competitive markets it can climb to 5% or higher. On a $400,000 home, a 2% deposit is $8,000. The deposit isn’t an extra cost on top of everything else. It gets credited toward your down payment and closing costs.
The deposit sits in a neutral escrow account, not in the seller’s pocket, until either the deal closes or the contract ends. If you back out for a reason listed in your purchase contract (a failed inspection, an appraisal that comes in low, financing falling through within the contingency window), you get the money back. If you back out for a reason not in the contract (cold feet, finding a different home), the seller can keep it. Knowing the contingencies in your contract is the difference between getting your money back and forfeiting it.
Do I need a real estate agent to buy a house?
You don’t legally need one, but many buyers use one. Agents handle the parts of the process that are hard to learn on the fly: pricing comparisons, contract negotiation, contingency strategy, paperwork, and coordination with the title company, inspector, and lender.
Cost is the other reason many buyers use an agent. The seller traditionally pays the buyer’s agent’s commission out of the sale proceeds, so the agent representing you doesn’t come out of your pocket in many transactions, though this is shifting and some markets now have buyers paying their own agent directly.
If you skip the agent (called buying “For Sale By Owner” when the seller also skips theirs), you take on the work yourself: writing offers, scheduling inspections, reading the title commitment, and negotiating with the seller. Some buyers do this comfortably; many find the agent’s experience pays for itself in negotiation, which is where deals are usually won or lost.
How much are closing costs?
Closing costs typically run 2% to 5% of your loan amount. On a $400,000 mortgage, that’s roughly $8,000 to $20,000 in fees due at closing, on top of your down payment. They cover a mix of lender fees (origination, underwriting, processing), third-party services (appraisal, title insurance, escrow, credit report), and prepaid items (property taxes, homeowners insurance, the first month of interest, mortgage insurance if applicable).
In many cases, the buyer pays closing costs directly, but there are options: negotiate seller credits to cover part of them, roll them into your loan amount on some loan types, or shop the third-party services for a better rate. Some loan types and first-time-buyer programs also include closing-cost assistance. You’ll see the exact numbers twice: a federally-required Loan Estimate within three business days of submitting your application that itemizes every cost line by line, and a Closing Disclosure at least three days before closing that confirms the final numbers.
What is PMI?
PMI, or private mortgage insurance, is a monthly fee added to your mortgage payment when your down payment on a conventional loan is less than 20%. It protects the lender if you stop making payments. Cost typically ranges from 0.3% to 1.5% of the original loan amount per year, depending on your credit score, down payment, and loan type. On a $400,000 loan, that’s roughly $100 to $500 a month added to your payment.
PMI doesn’t last forever. On most conventional loans, you can request to drop it once your equity reaches 20% of the home’s original value, and lenders are required to remove it automatically at 22%. You can avoid PMI altogether by putting 20% down, choosing a loan type that doesn’t require it (VA loans skip PMI entirely; FHA loans carry a different version called MIP that has its own removal rules), or pursuing a lender-paid PMI structure where the cost is built into your rate instead of your payment. VA loans require a VA funding fee that may be financed into the loan or paid out of pocket at closing.
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loanDepot Lifetime Guarantee is non-transferable and does not apply to loans obtained to purchase a new property, new loans that result in the creation of a separate lien on the current property (i.e., a “home equity loan”), renovation loans, bond loan programs, and down payment assistance programs. “Lender fee” does not include discount points associated with the loan transaction nor does it include fee associated with third-party closing costs. Terms and conditions apply. Please refer to the website: https://www.loandepot.com/lifetime-guarantee for the most current terms and conditions as they are subject to change without notice.