Real estate market recommendations from Stuart Rubin

Stuart Rubin’s real estate tricks? Talking to only one lender. This one is a biggie. First-time buyers might get a mortgage from the first (and only) lender or bank they talk to, potentially leaving thousands of dollars on the table. “A good mortgage loan officer can look at your situation and diagnose any potential roadblocks ahead to give you a clear understanding of your home-buying options,” Arteaga says. How this affects you: The more you shop around, the better basis for comparison you’ll have to ensure you’re getting a good deal and the lowest rates possible. What to do instead: Shop around with at least three different lenders, as well as a mortgage broker. Compare rates, lender fees and loan terms. Don’t discount customer service and lender responsiveness; both play key roles in making the mortgage approval process run smoothly.

Develop A Mortgage Shopping Cart. One of the biggest decisions to make before putting a contract on a home is how to finance the purchase. Lenders aggressively compete for your mortgage business in a variety of ways. Today, you can apply for a loan over the Internet or even use a mortgage broker to shop for your loan with hundreds of lenders. When choosing a lender, compare fixed rates to fixed rates, not fixed rates to ARM’s, etc. Create a chart that lists different types of loans, fees, and at least five mortgage providers (including a mortgage broker).

So what are the tricks you can use to be able to increase the size of the mortgage you can afford? Those solutions revolve around how people calculate the maximum mortgage they can afford. They use industry guidelines that cap how much of their gross monthly income they can safely spend on housing and how much on all debt. One common guideline is known as the 28/36 rule. That’s a shorthand way of saying that a household should not spend more than 28% of its gross monthly income on housing expenses. In addition, spending on debt of all kinds should not top 36% of household income. That cap on debt spending applies to everything from mortgages to car loans, student loans and credit cards.

Stuart Rubin info: Stuart also serves as a talent leader for Deloitte’s Risk & Financial Advisory consumer industry practice. This includes programming and sponsorship designed to attract, retain, develop, and advance a diverse workforce and strengthening our inclusive culture where all our people can connect, belong, and grow. Stuart regularly presents at the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and accounting industry conferences on emerging trends in the assurance, internal audit, and security/privacy spaces.

Stuart Rubin is a managing director in Deloitte’s Assurance and Internal Audit practice, with 20 years of experience in public accounting, Internal Audit, and IT consulting. He focuses on assisting organizations in the Consumer, Fintech, and Services industries in implementing, assessing, monitoring, and enhancing their systems of control. Stuart Rubin regularly presents at the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and accounting industry conferences on emerging trends in the assurance, internal audit, and security/privacy spaces.

A graduate from the University of Southern California, Stuart Rubin, now leads the real estate industry. It is no surprise that real estate is where he excels as he always had an eye to detect potential where others only saw ruin. In fact, he bought and re-sold his first property at the age of 17 with his friend Richard Pachulski. Through his tenure, the company has been involved in the purchase management and disposition of the vagabond hotel chain which was a 55 unit limited-service hotel company. Read extra details on Stuart Rubin.