Getting a Home Loan in Charleston, SC

Since we’ve gotten a lot of questions about mortgages recently, we wanted to get you all of the info you’ll need to finance buying a home in Charleston, SC. Over the past few weeks, interest rates have fluctuated between 3.25% and 3.65%. Right now for a 30 year fixed rate conventional loan, rates are running about 3.375%. I’ve included below the contact info for our in-house loan officer. Whether you’re ready to buy and lock in these low rates – or if you simply need to figure out what price range of homes you should be browsing – feel free to contact Joel. In the 10 years of real estate we’ve had, Joel has by far been the best loan officer we’ve worked with.

Joel Greer with Carolina One Mortgage

Office phone: 843-414-2489

Whether you choose to work with Joel or another lender, it’s important to work with a local lender here in the Charleston area. We work with a lot of buyers who relocate from all over the United States, and they sometimes want to work with their own lender that they’ve used before. However, a lender in New York or California, for example, is not going to be familiar with the South Carolina laws and guidelines. In the past, we’ve had a lot of issues come up right before closing when buyers try to use a remote lender. Now, after enough experience, we generally recommend these buyers get pre-approved with a local lender in addition to their own simply so that if theirs falls through right before closing, they don’t miss out getting the home they really want.

Here is a list of all the information and documents you’ll need when you apply for a home loan. These are pretty standard requirements, so most lenders will need this information in order to get you pre-qualified:

• pay stubs for your most recent 30 day period
• W-2 forms and tax returns for the past 2 years
• copies of your bank statements for the past 2 months (this is for all accounts including checking, savings, 401K, etc.)
• addresses for all of the places you’ve lived in the past 2 years (if you’ve rented, you will need to include the landlord’s name, address, and phone number)
• your employer contact info for the past 2 years (name, address, and phone number)
• if you are self-employed or if your pay is commission-based, you will need to provide the past 2 years of personal as well as business tax returns; you will also need a current year-to-date Profit and Loss Statement
• Social Security Card and Driver’s License

Once you figure out what price range of homes you should be considering, let us know so that we can set up a time to see these homes in person! We’d also be happy to recommend neighborhoods or areas, since price is one of the biggest factors in Charleston real estate.