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Common Loans Used To Buy Real Estate
For most home buyers, especially first time home buyers, shopping for a home can be stressful and confusing. Many times the most confusing part of the home buying process is understanding the different types of loan options that are available. Here is an overview of the most common loans buyers use to purchase real estate.
Conventional Loans
Conventional loans are loans that use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines in order to make the loans conform with respect to Loan to Value (LTV), borrower credit scores, borrower income requirements and minimum down payment amount. Conventional loans allow a minimum down payment of 5% and are generally utilized by home buyers with excellent credit. Mortgage origination fees with conventional loans are less than government insured loans like FHA and VA loans. Conventional loans allow the home buyer to receive a sellers assist ranging from 3% -6% of the purchase price depending on down payment amount.
FHA Loans
FHA Loans are loans backed by The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA does not lend money but rather insures the loan against default by the borrower. Since the disappearance of the no money down loans FHA loans have become increasingly popular because their 3.5% down payment requirement is the lowest of all loans currently available to most home buyers. FHA loans are generally utilized by home buyers who cannot qualify for conventional mortgages because FHA loans offer more flexibility with respect to down payment amount, credit score, debt to income (DTI) ratio and other important loan qualification variables. FHA loans charge an upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) which makes FHA loans origination fees significantly greater than conventional loans.
VA loans
VA Loans are available to borrowers who are serving or served in a branch of the US Military. VA home loans are overseen by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and allow the home buyer the opportunity to purchase a home with no money down (100% financing!) provided 1) the home appraises and 2) the seller pays all closing costs. There is no PMI on VA loans but the VA charges an upfront VA funding fee which can be rolled into the closing costs. Veterans seeking to purchase a home with a VA loan must still prove sufficient income, credit and cash reserves.
ARM
An adjustable rate mortgage or ARM, also called variable rate mortgages, is a loan where the interest rate is not fixed but instead varies periodically. Interest rates on ARMs are usually linked to an index, like the LIBOR, and rates vary to reflect to the cost to the lender of borrowing money in the current credit market.
Home Equity Loan
A home equity loan is a loan where the borrower uses the equity in their home as collateral for repayment of the loan. Home equity loans are often used to finance major expenses like home renovations, unforeseen medical bills or childrens college education. A home equity loan creates a lien against the borrower’s house, and reduces the homeowners equity in the home.
Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC)
A home equity line of credit, also called a HELOC, is a loan for a set amount that is secured by the borrowers existing equity in the home. HELOCs differ from home equity loans in that the borrower does not necessarily receive the entire loan amount up front but instead uses a line of credit to borrow amounts that do not exceed the set credit limit. Money can be borrowed using HELOCs during the draw period which can be anywhere from 5 to 25 years and the monthly repayment minimum is usually a small, interest only payment. The full principal amount of the loan, sometimes called a balloon payment, is due at the end of the draw period.
Apply Obama Mortgage Plan -How Do You Qualify?
If you are searching the internet looking for more information on the Barack Obama Home Mortgage Plan or the Obama Loan Modification Plan, this article should help you understand how it works.
With Americans losing their homes left and right, streets are now filled with dead lawns, weeds and “Bank Owned” signs. To combat this foreclosure epidemic, Obama released his Mortgage Plan. Their are many critics out there saying that this plan is not working, but it has helped many homeowners to lower their monthly payments. The trick is filling out the paperwork correctly.
People tend to lie. Simple as that. They think they need to “fudge” their applications and make themselves look dirt poor. Nothing will get you denied faster than that! The bank wants to see that you are still making money, but have suffered a financial hardship – not a financial disaster. You have to be able to show that you could afford your lowered payments – even with the Obama plan. It is still the banks discretion on who they choose to accept.
You might want to seek the advice of experts on this one, because the Obama mortgage plan will drastically lower your monthly payments if you do get qualified.
How low? Not greater than 31% of your total monthly pre tax income. That is a huge monthly savings for most people, especially if they are in a high interest rate loan, which is who this plan was made for. There are a few different ways that your lender will get your payments this low and it always starts in the following order.
The first way your lender will try to get your payments within the 31% threshhold is by lowering your interest rate. This will go down all the way to 2% if necessary. If this doesn’t get your payment low enough, they will move on to the next step…
The second step is to extend your terms. This lowers your payment even more. If you currently have a 30 year loan and extend that into a 40 year loan, you are spreading out your payments over 10 more years. If this doens’t work, they will try step 3.
The final step would be a principal reduction. They could choose to knock some money off of your loan balance to get you under the 31%. This is pretty rare, but I have heard of it. Usually, getting a super low 2% interest rate and extending the terms to 40 years is going to do the trick. Some people want to get a loan modification just to try and knock money off of their principal, but this doesn’t usually happen. The goal is to get your payment low enough so you can afford to stay in your house, not to take money off of a balance that you agreed to pay. But think of it this way, your interest rate will be lower than almost everyones and that has the same effect as lowering your balance in terms of your monthly payments.
If you would like assistance with the Obama Mortgage Plan, you can visit the links below. They have helped people get qualified who were originally denied by their lenders.