Every year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets a dollar cap on conventional mortgages that Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae are allowed, commonly referred to as a conforming loan limit. In 2020, the conforming loan limit for a single-family home was $510,400. This year, the conforming loan limit for a single-family home increased to $548,250, nearly 7.6% higher!
This means Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae can purchase conventional loans valued at or under the conforming loan limit from mortgage lenders. In most areas, the maximum conforming loan limits are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: loan amount, loan amounts, loan limit, loan limits, maximum mortgage, mortgage limits
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When you qualify for a mortgage loan, it may not be for the amount you want. Outstanding debts can affect how much you are able to borrow. But in some instances, you may be able to pay off the debt in order to qualify for a larger loan.
If you reduce the number of installment payments to 10 or fewer, the loan may not be included in your debt-to-income ratios. However, if the debt requires a large monthly payment, an underwriter may consider it a risk in your debt-to-income ratio. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: debt paydown, debt payoff, debts, mortgage approval
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What is a community property state?
In the U.S., nine states have tried to alleviate the pressure of divorce by passing community property laws.
In Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, community property laws require divorcing couples to split assets acquired during a marriage equally. Marital property includes earnings, all property bought with those earnings, and all debts accrued during the marriage.
When getting a mortgage in a Community Property State, a spouse might not be on the new mortgage but their credit report will still be pulled and their debts will be added to the debt-to-income ratios of the mortgage borrower. However, this only applies to FHA & VA mortgages taken in the above states, not on Conventional loans. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: community property, divorce, FHA loans, VA loans
Posted in FHA, Home Buying Process, Loan Process, Underwriting Rules, VA Mortgage | No Comments »
Forbearance, only do it if you absolutely have to. Some people are taking a Forbearance on their mortgage as a way to take a break on their mortgage payment when they really do not need to.
But forbearance does not mean you can skip mortgage payments and never pay them back. You have to repay any missed or reduced payments in the future. So, if you’re able to keep up with your payments, keep making them.
Taking a forbearance will also impede your ability to refinance. Having a forbearance on your credit report means you cannot get a new mortgage. You would have to bring the loan current. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Forbearance, mortgage forbearance
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Newly revised mortgage guidelines for self-employed people due to the Covid-19 pandemic: There are temporary requirements for assessing income derived from self-employment. The additional due diligence is due to the disruption from the pandemic. Mortgage lenders now need to consider if and how a business has been impacted and the likelihood of income continuance.
There is additional income documentation required and you may need an audited Profit & Loss statement with supporting documentation for the Profit & Loss statement. The continuity and stability of income is what will be considered. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: covid, mortgage guidelines, self employment
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Forbearance – you should only do it if you absolutely have to. Some people are taking a forbearance on their mortgage as a way to take a break on their mortgage payment when they really do not need to.
Forbearance does not mean you can skip mortgage payments and never pay them back. You have to repay any missed or reduced payments in the future. So, if you’re able to keep up with your payments, keep making them.
Taking a forbearance will also impede your ability to refinance. Having a forbearance on your credit report means you cannot get a new mortgage. You have to bring the loan current to do so. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Forbearance, mortgage forbearance
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When you buy a new home, you need a mortgage to purchase it. And before you get a mortgage, you need to determine how much mortgage you qualify for. Different sources may qualify you for different mortgage amounts. And how much you qualify for does not necessarily equate to how much you can afford.
How much you can afford is based on your personal budget. When a mortgage lender tells you how much you can qualify for, that is the highest mortgage amount they’ll approve you for. But this may not be the mortgage size you end up closing on. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: affordable, mortgage, preapproval, prequalification
Posted in Home Buying Process, Lifestyle, Loan Process, mortgage, Underwriting Rules | No Comments »
People spend a lot of time looking for the perfect home. There are the countless hours spent poring over real estate listings, the weekend trips to open houses, and the days of driving with your realtor from showing to showing. However, choosing a mortgage lender or broker is often treated as an afterthought—many buyers simply go with their own bank or a broker/lender recommended by their realtor without researching competitive rates and looking for lenders who will also educate them.
This is a critical mistake. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: choosing a lender, mortgage broker, mortgage lender, mortgage loan officer
Posted in Home Buying Process, interest rates, Loan Process, Loan Types, mortgage, Refinance | No Comments »
Prior to 2020, veterans could borrow more than the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Loan Limits capped amount, but had to have a down payment of 25% of the difference between the maximum loan limit and the sales price. As of January 1, 2020, the VA has started to allow $0 down loans that exceed the county loan limits.
So now, if a veteran wants to buy a home for $1,000,000 with no money down, they can. $2,000,000? Sure thing. $3,000,000? No problem! However, there are rules and guidelines that come with this new change. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: VA down payment, VA mortgage, VA mortgages
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Mortgage rates did indeed go down after the Coronavirus spread and financial markets started to panic. But the Coronavirus and mortgage rates aren’t directly connected.
People considering a refinance continue to contact me for low rates, but now that rates have spiked it may no longer makes sense.
The recent mortgage rate reductions we saw may be gone for a period of time, but the rate changes are not as drastic as the media made it sound. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: home buying, interest rates, mortgage rates, rates increasing, refinancing
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