Good Morning!
If you are planning on purchasing a house, and will be putting 5% down or less - this post is for you!
I made a short video to show you how to have a lower house payment, and pay off your house quicker
That's it for today!
Have a good day!
Brett
Good Morning!
We want to be able to use your bonus income to help you get a mortgage.
However, here are three big guidelines to be aware of for us to be able to count your bonus income:
1) We can’t use bonus income or overtime income unless you can prove you have been receiving this income for 2 years.
2) The employer has to indicate that the bonus or overtime income will likely continue.
3) We will use a two year average of bonus and/or overtime income. So, if you got alot this year, but not last year then we will have to use an average of both years.
Be aware of this as you apply for a mortgage.
That’s it for today!
I hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading!
Brett
Good Morning!
VA loan: No down payment necessary. No monthly MI. This is the best loan going if you can qualify for it.
USDA: No down payment necessary. Low monthly MI. Mainly for rural areas or outlying suburbs. Has geographic and income restrictions.
FHA: The minimum down payment is 3.5%. Great rates, has upfront and monthly mortgage insurance.
Conventional: There are 3% down and 5% down loan options on Conventional. No up front MI.
Good Morning!
There is a little known rule Fannie Mae has regarding self employment income.
I see it being enforced more and more, and if you are self employed you should be aware of it.
It’s regarding the borrower’s proportionate share of income or loss. Here is the actual guideline…
“The Borrowers proportionate share of income or loss is based on the borrowers percentage of capital ownership in the business as of the end of the year as shown on IRS Form 1065, Schedule K-1. The Lender can only consider the borrowers proportionate share of the business income or loss after making the adjustments to the business cash flow analysis discussed below. Business income may only be used to qualify the borrower to the extent it is supported by a documented, stable history of distributions. “
The reader's digest interpretation is this… If your reported K-1 income is not proportionate to your share ownership of the business, that income is at jeopardy and may not be allowed.
Something to keep in mind when you file your taxes.
I hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading!
Brett
Good Morning!
You may not be aware of it, but last week rates increased.
This comes from a surprise announcement from conventional mortgage regulators (Fannie and Freddie or, collectively, the "GSEs") that they will collect a new fee on all refinances. Any loan that's not already very close to the closing table will be affected.
The new fee is one half of one percent of the loan amount.
The GSEs have justified this increase due to the fact that they will be paying out claims to mortgage investors on a significant number of loans in forbearance. In most cases, it was the mortgage servicers who'd been making those payments (certain loans require investors to be paid even if the homeowner is not paying).
There are a lot of people that are unhappy about this. Ultimately it hurts everyone that might be interested in refinancing. It also hurts our country. We are trying to work through a recovery, and we need as much economic activity as we can get. This will significantly damage the refinance push.
That's it for today!
Have a good day!
Brett
Good Morning!
There are a few reasons people refinance their homes...
- Get cash out.
- Lower rate, or lower the number of years remaining on their mortgage.
- Debt consolidation.
I want to talk about this last one for a moment. When rates are as low as they are now it can make a lot of sense to consolidate your debt if you are carrying a lot of revolving (credit card), or installment debt.
Often the interest rates on these types of accounts are in the double digits. Sometimes high double digits. If you can take that debt and refinance it at a very low interest rate - it can save you hundreds of dollars every month.
If this is something you want to take a look at for yourself, just shoot us an email or give us a call.
We will take a look at it for you.
That's it for today!
Have a great day!
Brett
Good Morning!
If you are getting a divorce, and you have to pay your spouse their share of the equity of your home don’t use a traditional Texas Home Equity loan to do it.
Use an Owelty loan to get the cash out of your home instead.
The advantage of using an Owelty Loan over a Texas Home Equity loan is that we treat them as a regular rate and term refinance (not cash out rates – which are higher).
You can also get above 80% of the value of your home with an Owelty Loan, and you can’t go above 80% with a Texas Home Equity loan.
So, if you are in this situation, or you know someone who is – and your loan officer has told you that you don’t have enough equity to cash out the ex-spouse, just tell them that you need an Owelty loan.
…or, better yet – just give us a call and we can help you!
That’s it for today!
Have a good day today! …and thanks for reading.
Brett
Good Morning!
We have many people apply for mortgages that have recently changed jobs.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if you or someone you know is about to change jobs and apply for a mortgage…
1) If you are getting transferred from one location to another, but with the same company you don't need to do anything. This is fine because you have the same employer.
2) Generally, the underwriter will want to see your first paycheck at the new job at a minimum, and often they will want to see your first 30 days of paychecks. However, we have also been able to use a Verification of Employment to establish the new terms on occasion.
3) Sometimes it can create a "catch-22" if you are moving here from elsewhere and starting a new job at a new company. You can't get the loan until you get some paystubs at the new job, but you have to move here and live here to work here. Sometimes temporary housing is required in these circumstances.
That's it for today!
Thanks for reading!
Brett
Good Morning!
Here’s an easy way to put down only 3%, pay no up front Mortgage Insurance, and get a very competitive rate…
It's a conventional 3% down loan product for first time home buyers.
Here are some of the important features of this product…
1) Owner-occupied primary residence only, for first time home buyers.
2) Minimum 620 FICO score.
3) Seller contributions up to 3% of sales price.
4) 1-unit attached and detached single family residence, attached and detached PUDs.
5) Purchase and rate/term transactions.
6) Maximum DTI determined by Automated Underwriting.
7) 15, 20, 25, and 30-year loan terms.
8) No up front MI (like you would have on FHA).
9) Loan amounts up to conforming limits (510,400k in Texas).
This is a great product.
If you meet the credit criteria listed above, and you only want to put 3% down on a house – then call us and we can help you with this.
