Mortgage Programs

Conventional/Conforming loans are your standard mortgage loan. Loan amounts are allowed up to $417,000 unless the property is in a designated “high cost” area in which case you can go up to $729,750 depending on the area.
Down payments as low as 3% but anything less than 20% down will require monthly mortgage insurance. If you do have to pay mortgage insurance (PMI),then it will automatically come off once you have paid the mortgage down to 78% of its original balance. You can remove it sooner but you need to prove to the lender that you have more than 20% equity in the home.
The down payment can be gifted from family members.

FHA stands for “Federal Housing Administration” and is not really a loan program at all. It’s a federal insurance program. Basically FHA will guarantee to lenders that their principle loan amount will not be lost in the event of foreclosure. And they do that just like any other insurance company would…..by collecting “insurance premiums”.
FHA loans have several advantages and mainly only one disadvantage! PROS:They are easier to qualify for and have more liberal guidelines (lower credit scores and higher debt to income is allowed). Borrowers can buy a home with as little as 3.5% down. The down payment can be gifted from family. FHA loans are assumable (when you go to sell if rates are higher than now,your buyer can assume your low rate loan with no liability to you). You can streamline the rate at no cost if rates go down lower in the future. CONS: Currently there is an upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) of 1% of the loan amount. FHA loans require monthly mortgage insurance for a minimum of 5 years.
Must be an owner occupied home and you must live in the home for at least 1 year before you can rent it.
For more information please call me or visit www.fha.gov

VA loans were designed for war veterans or for active military employees. They are one of the best loans available today so if you are a vet or are in the military you will definitely want to take advantage.
Here are the pros and cons: PROS: They do not require a down payment. They do not have any monthly mortgage insurance. Like FHA,they are easier to qualify for with more liberal guidelines. CONS: VA loans have an upfront “VA Funding Fee” of 2.15% if it’s your first time using your VA benefit or 3.3% if it’s your second time. This fee is not required to be paid upfront but is just added to the loan balance.
REQUIREMENTS:Must be active duty for at least 181 days,OR active duty for 90 days during war,OR 6 years in the National Guard or Reserves. Must be an owner occupied home.
For more information please call me or visit www.va.gov

Investment property loans are just conventional loans that have a few additional requirements to qualify. See below for details.
In current market conditions a minimum of 20% down is required. (Certain programs will allow for less,for example:if you buy a Home Path home (Fannie Mae foreclosed home) then there are programs that will allow for less than 20%.
A minimum of 6 months of PITI (principle,interest,taxes,and insurance) will be required to show in your bank account per property.
Interest rates are usually a little higher on investment property as they are considered a higher risk loan to lenders.

The US department of agriculture has a loan program for people who live in rural areas. It’s a fantastic loan and if you qualify for it,you should definitely consider doing it VS a Conventional or FHA loan.
PROS:No down payment required. No monthly mortgage insurance required. Liberal guidelines for qualifying. CONS:An upfront fee of 2% is added to the loan balance. There are income limits in order to qualify. It depends on a few factors but the limit is usually in the $70,000 to $80,000 range.
For more information please call me or visit www.rurdev.usda.gov

Jumbo or “non-conforming” loans are conventional loans that exceed the maximum loan amount of a “conforming” loan which is currently $417,000 and up to $729,750 depending on where the property is located.
We can finance jumbo loans up to $2,000,000 with only 1 appraisal and with less down payment requirements than many lenders. Please call or email for more details.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have adopted changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and you may be eligible to take advantage of these changes.
If your mortgage is owned or guaranteed by either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae,you may be eligible to refinance your mortgage under the enhanced and expanded provisions of HARP. (Refinance up to 125% of the value of your home)

You can determine whether your mortgage is owned by either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae by checking the following websites:www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage or http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup
We can only refinance the 1st mortgage. If you have a 2nd mortgage it will need to either be paid off or “subordinated”(IE…the lien holder agrees to stay in 2nd position and let you refinance the 1st mortgage. Most 2nd mortgage lenders are willing to do this)
Your current loan must have closed before June 1st of 2009
If you pay mortgage insurance now,you will continue paying it at the same rate as before
If you do not pay mortgage insurance now,you will not be required to pay it on the new loan

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