Our office is a mortgage broker, set up with many wholesale lenders who are ready and available to do business with us and our clients. As a result, we can offer you a wide variety of loan programs with very competitive rates and pricing to best meet your needs based on your unique file data. In many cases, what one lender may not approve, we do have access to shop around with a wide network of lenders who can and will, approve your loan.
Do you have an "Out of the Box" loan scenario? Feel free to run it by me and see if I can help you.
Conventional Financing, Government Financing, Home Equity Financing and Down Payment Assistance are some types of loan programs that we can help you with.
These programs will have loan products which can be either a Fixed Rate Mortgage OR an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). Fixed Rate products can range from the standard 30 or 15 Yr Fixed loans or anywhere in between. ARM products can range from a 1 yr ARM to a 10 yr ARM.
When trying to determine which product is best for you, it is advisable to consult with a seasoned loan officer who will explain the terms of the loan in detail for you so that you are well aware of what to expect before committing to the loan.
A Fixed-rate mortgage offers a straightforward monthly payment. With a Fixed rate mortgage, your interest rate - and your total monthly payment of principal and interest, will stay the same for the entire term of the loan. That predictability makes it easier to set your budget and there will not be any surprises in the future.
Adjustable Rate Loansor mortgages that do not have a fixed interest rate throughout the life of the loan. The rate can start to change after the initial fixed rate period and usually adjusts annually during the remaining life of the loan.
The minimum down payment for conventional financing is 3%. Effective Nov. 16, 2013, Fannie Mae will be adjusting the minimum down payment to 5%. Conforming loans are loan products which are underwritten according to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac underwriting guidelines and almost all mortgage bankers, and mortgage brokers offer conforming loans. Underwriting to these Agency guidelines will allow the bank to be able to sell or transfer the mortgage to another bank or investor after the loan is funded, and allow the initial bank to replenish their available funds to loan to another borrower.
Government loans are loans backed or insured by the federal government. If a mortgage lender or bank forecloses on a government loan, they can recover any losses from the sale of the property from the applicable government agencies. FHA loans are backed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). VA loans are insured by the Dept of Veteran Affairs. Both of these Agencies require a borrower to meet a list of requirements in order to be eligible for this type of financing.
Jumbo loans are mortgages higher than the conforming loan amount of $417,000. Jumbo loans are generally higher in interest rate than conventional loans and also require larger down payment for a purchase or more equity for a refinance. The minimum down payment is usually at least 10% on these loans due to the higher risk, limited mortgage insurance availability, and lenders of these products like to see higher credit scores and a more reserves in the borrowers' asset accounts.
These loans are mortgages retained by a particular bank that is handling the initial lending. Portfolio products can be more lenient with lending guidelines because the bank funding the loan will not need to adhere to another bank's guidelines. This way, they have the ability to make exceptions to get a loan approved more easily.
Many down payment assistance programs are designed for a specific locality and borrowers become eligible for DP assistance only if they meet specific income, credit and property related requirements.
Home equity loans or equity lines are typically 2nd mortgages and can be a fixed rate OR variable rate loan. An equity loan is a loan with a fixed interest rate over a certain amount of time, and an equity line is a loan with an adjustable rate that is calculated from prime rate. Borrowers can usually draw against equity lines similar to a revolving credit card for a specific amount of time as dictated by the bank (usually 10 yrs), then after that time has passed, the borrower is required to start paying down the balance of the loan and can no longer draw against it anymore.
