Underwater Streamline Refinance into a Conventional Loan
For upside down homeowners that have a FHA mortgage right now, the Streamline Refinance loan is one of the most effective tools available for taking advantage of today's historically low interest rates. FHA interest rates have been lower than conventional interest rates for quite some time now. This hasn't always been the case, and it may not always be the case, but for now it's a reality and something to take into consideration when exploring your payment reducing options. If you're underwater now,...
Community Access Loan is FHA Mortgage Insurance Alternative
With FHA Mortgage Insurance costs increasing in 2013, home buyers are desperately seeking out alternatives to increase buying power and reduce mortgage payments. The Broadview Mortgage Community Access loan is that alternative. This is a conventional loan program that does require private mortgage insurance (PMI) offered at a special discounted rate. The discounted PMI of the Community Access loan is about half of the monthly MIP required on all FHA loans. With FHA threatening to make mortgage insurance permanent, this program still...
2013 California Conforming and High Cost Loan Limits
Fannie Mae has announced that loan limits will remain unchanged for 2013. Unlike FHA loan limits, which vary based on the area median income for each County, conventional conforming loan limits are designated as either "standard" or "high cost". Standard conventional conforming loan limits apply to all home loans nationwide. 2013 Conventional Conforming Loan Limits 1 Unit: $417,000 2 Unit: $533,850 3 Unit: $645,300 4 Unit: $801,950 California Conventional High Cost Area Loan Limits Many counties in California attract a higher income demographic and therefore the cost of housing...
Buy a Home with 3% Down without Monthly Mortgage Insurance?
Mortgage insurance is required on all FHA insured home loans. FHA requires two mortgage insurance premiums, upfront mortgage insurance equal to 1.75% of the loan amount and annual mortgage insurance added to your monthly payment. Currently, the annual mortgage insurance premium is 1.25% if you have less than a 5% down payment available, 1.20% of the loan amount if you have a 5% down payment. FHA has announce that they will increase the annual premium another .10% in the first quarter of...
Money Saving Mortgage Insurance Options
Mortgage insurance is something that most first time home buyers are going to have to deal with. If you're coming to the table with anything less than a 20% down payment, you might be surprised at how many options other than FHA are available to you. Almost 18 months ago I wrote an article called Private Mortgage Insurance - FHA Alternative. There have been many changes to both FHA mortgage insurance and private mortgage insurance since this article was published. Some changes...
Using Seller Concessions When You Buy Your Home
Seller concessions, third party contributions, or interested party contributions occur when an interested third party like a seller, real estate agent or lender contribute proceeds from the sale of a home to help pay for a buyer's closing costs. This is actually quite common and a great tool for helping home buyers reduce the burden of high closing costs. Asking for Seller Concessions Typically, in a buyer's market you are far more likely to receive seller concessions than in a market where there...
Conventional Low Down Payment is Cheaper than FHA Alternative
Conventional financing with a 3% down payment is, for certain home buyers, a far better option than FHA financing. Most people think they need a 20% down payment to use conventional financing, that's simply not true. FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums Mortgage insurance is required anytime the first mortgage exceeds 80% of the value of the home. FHA financing has mortgage insurance built in. What this basically means is that if you qualify for FHA financing, you qualify for FHA mortgage insurance, which adds two...
Why Does H.R. 3765 Increases Home Loan Fees?
What does H.R. 3765 - The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 have to do with mortgages getting more expensive? H.R. 3630 is being paid for by raising home loan guarantee fees! This includes the fees charged to lenders to deliver loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as another increase in FHA MIP Under both House and Senate versions of the bill, home loans will be more expensive, and you'll see this increase in different ways. How H.R. 3765 will...
Mortgage Insurance Premiums Tax Deduction Expires 2011
Don’t feel like reading? Listen to this article instead! Mortgage insurance premiums have been tax deductible for many homeowners since 2007 as part of an early incentive bill that aimed to encourage buyers to get into the stumbling real estate market at that time. In December 2006 the 109th Congress passed, as part of a broader tax break renewal deal, a mortgage insurance premiums tax deduction that is now due to expire at the end of 2011. Originally, the tax deduction would cover...
FHA Loan Limits Increase – Fannie Mae says No Way?
Don't feel like reading? Listen to this article instead! FHA loan limits were raised back up to $729,750 in high cost areas of California late last week. On October 1st, Fannie Mae and FHA loan limits were reduced to the new permanent high balance limit of $625,500. This move to reduce the maximum allowed loan limit was a pretty big blow to Californians in high cost, mostly coastal areas. Although national averages in regards to median home prices show that the reduced limits are...
