Fannie Mae is scheduled to update their automated underwriting system (aus) Desktop Underwriter (DU) to DU Version 9.1 on November 16, 2013. In their release notes from August 20, 2013, Fannie Mae reveals that for they will increase the minimum down payment from 3% to 5% for Fannie Mae conventional loans.
Home Buyer Education Class on July 20, 2013
June 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Do you or someone you know want to learn more about the home buying process?
Jim Reppond from Coldwell Banker Danforth and I will be instructing a free home buyers class on Saturday, July 20, 2013 at the Green Lake Library.
Home Advantage Mortgage with Down Payment Assistance
April 11, 2013 by 4 Comments
Home Advantage is a program that is offered through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Home Advantage is typically combined with a Home Advantage second mortgage that can finance closing cost and the down payment. Unlike the House Key program (state bond), this program has unlimited funds available for qualified Washington home buyers.
Heads up! HUD issues Press Release with upcoming changes to FHA Mortgages
January 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Today HUD issued a press release confirming pending changes to help bolster FHA’s capital reserves.
“These are essential and appropriate measures to manage and protect FHA’s single-family insurance programs” said Galante. “In addition to protecting the MMI Fund, these changes will encourage the return of private capital to the housing market, and make sure FHA remains a vital source of affordable and sustainable mortgage financing for future generations of American homebuyers.”
Some of the changes to take place with HUD have already been announced. Here are a few points from today’s press release
- FHA annual mortgage insurance will remain on the mortgage for the life of the loan. This is the mortgage insurance that is paid monthly. Once this goes into effect, home owners will need to either refinance to a non-FHA loan or pay it off to no longer have mortgage insurance.
- Mortgage insurance is set to increase. The annual mortgage insurance (remember, this is the one that is paid monthly) is set to increase by 0.10 basis points. FHA Jumbos will see an increase in the mortgage insurance by 0.05%.
- FHA Jumbo’s will have a larger down payment requirement. Currently a home buyer can do as little as 3.5% down on all FHA insured mortgages. Once this goes into effect, the minimum down payment for an FHA jumbo will be 5%. In the greater Seattle area, loan amounts over $417,000 and up to $567,500 are currently considered “FHA Jumbos”.
- Manual underwrites for credit scores below 620 with debt to income ratios over 43%. Currently, I believe the lowest credit score our company can do for an FHA insured mortgage is 640.
We are waiting for HUD to issue Mortgagee Letters before this goes into effect.
Stay tuned!
How much home do I qualify for with a $70,000 down payment?
January 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I’m working with a couple in Seattle who would like to buy a home. They have excellent credit (scores of 740 or higher) and are planning on using $70,000 for their down payment and closing cost. They want to know how much home they can buy based on their down payment.
The following rate quotes are effective as of January 24, 2013 at 12:20 pm. Rates change constantly, for your personal rate quote for a home located in Washington state, click here.
Conforming High Balance allows them to buy a home priced at $576,000.
The conforming loan limit in Seattle/King-County is currently $506,000. Using a conventional mortgage, they could buy a home priced at $576,000.
Current mortgage rates for a 30 year fixed conforming high balance ($417,001 – $506,000) based on this scenario is 3.750% (apr 4.094).
3.750% is priced as close to “par” as possible meaning there is as little rebate credit or discount points priced with the interest rate. We could adjust the rate slightly higher to create more rebate credit to help pay for closing cost or we could reduce the rate by paying more in discount points.
The loan to value based on a sales price of $576,000 and loan amount of $506,000 is 87.874% which means the Seattle home buyers will have private mortgage insurance (pmi). For this client, we’re opting to include the pmi in their mortgage payment instead of paying it as an upfront additional closing cost or doing “split premium” mortgage insurance.
The principal and interest payment is $2,343.36 plus private mortgage insurance of $282.52 gives us a “PIMI” payment of $2,625.88. Property taxes and home owners insurance are additional.
The Seattle home buyers will negotiate the seller paying for remaining closing cost and prepaids/reserves estimated at $7900, leaving their amount due at closing very close to $70,000. If the sellers opt to not pay for closing cost and prepaids, the buyers can use rebate pricing (slightly increasing the mortgage rate) to offset the cost.
FHA allows them to buy a home priced up to $637,500.
FHA mortgages in the Seattle/King County area have a loan limit of $567,500. With a down payment of $70,000 they could buy a home priced up to $637,500. The big difference between FHA and conventional financing is the mortgage insurance. FHA has both upfront and monthly mortgage insurance.
The current mortgage rate I’m quoting for their FHA scenario is 3.375% (apr 4.059%).
This rate is priced with a little more rebate to help reduce closing cost. If the Seattle home buyers want a lower rate with less rebate credit, they certainly can opt for that. Mortgage rates are not locked until we have a bona fide contract and the rates will be “floating” while they shop for a home.
The principal and interest on this rate and loan amount is $2,552.80 with mortgage insurance at $562.43 providing a PIMI payment of $3,115.23. Property taxes and home owners insurance are additional.
After the rebate credit, if the buyers negotiate the seller paying the remaining balance of their closing cost, prepaids and reserves in the amount of $4,000, the buyers will need around $70,000 for funds due at closing.
VA loans allow them to purchase up to $780,000 with a “VA Jumbo” loan.
The VA zero down loan limit in Seattle is $500,000. When a loan amount exceeds the limit, eligible Veterans can have a down payment based 25% off the difference between the sales price and loan amount.
For example, a sales price of $780,000 less $500,000 loan limit = $280,000. $280,000 x 25% = $70,000 down payment.
The current rate I’m quoting for this VA Jumbo 30 year fixed loan is 3.250% (apr 3.379).
The principal and interest payment on this loan is $3,136.31. There is no mortgage insurance on a VA loan. Property taxes and home owners insurance are additional.
If the seller pays for $4500 of the Veteran’s closing cost and prepaids, then the amount due at closing will be around $70,000.
USDA loans are not eligible in the Seattle area because it’s not a rural area.
If you are interested in buying a refinancing a home located anywhere in Washington state, I’m happy to help you. I’ve been originating residential mortgages at Mortgage Master Service Corporation since April 2000.
The ABC’s of Preparing to Buy Your First Home
December 13, 2012 by 1 Comment
Borrowers getting ready to buy their first home are often surprised…for different reasons. I find that some are surprised to learn that they do qualify for a home in their price range and some are disappointed to learn that they have a little work to do before they can buy a home. Getting preapproved with a mortgage professional helps take some of the “surprise” out of the process.
How can a preapproval change?
September 14, 2012 by 2 Comments
When someone becomes “preapproved” for a mortgage, it boils down to they qualify for a certain mortgage payment based on their income and debts (DTI aka debt to income ratio). A home buyer qualifies for the loan amount of the new mortgage and their funds available for down payment and closing cost determine the sales price.
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