SYLMAR : Workshop on Home Loans Is Offered
San Fernando Valley residents hoping to become homeowners can gain some insight on home financing strategies Saturday at a workshop sponsored by Mission College in Sylmar.
“Beat the Lender: How to Get the Best Home Loan” is a four-hour college extension course seeking to simplify the sometimes intimidating chore of fielding options available to prospective borrowers.
While the real estate market’s continually fluctuating interest rates are currently on the rise, says course instructor Art Lieberman, it’s a good time to look into new property.
“Today is a hell of a good time to buy because people are anxious to sell their homes,” Lieberman said. “Higher interest rates make for a lousy selling market, which means people have been holding on to homes they’ve wanted to sell for some time.
“Though you might pay a little more in financing (today), you’re likely to get a better buy.”
In his course, Lieberman, who is both a mortgage broker and a real estate investor, primarily teaches students to ask appropriate questions of their loan officers.
Good questions, he says, can solicit favorable responses.
“There are a ton of things to ask and find out about,” Lieberman said. “Before discussing the particulars, I tell my students to find out about general terms and conditions laid out by the lending institution.”
Lieberman said prospective borrowers who finish his class will be able to walk into lending offices ready to investigate matters such as the benefits that loans with adjustable rates have over those whose rates are fixed.
Additionally, prospective homeowners can find out in the class about government-financed “easy qualifier” loans for the poor.
“A lot of these basic terms are pretty confusing when a person is first confronted with them,” Lieberman said. “My goal is to simplify it all.”
The “Beat the Lender: How to Get the Best Home Loan” workshop will be held in Room L8 at Granada Hills High School on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $19. To enroll, call (818) 364-7387.
