Okay, the main difference between a conforming home loan and a jumbo loan is simply the loan amount. Conforming loans are labeled conforming because they conform to guidelines set by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For most parts of the country the maximum loan amount to still be considered a conforming loan is $484,350. Anything […]
Qualifying for a private loan, sometimes referred to as a “hard money loan” might be easier than you think. Private loans are a critical part of the real estate industry. Without private lenders, many profitable opportunities would fall by the wayside as conventional lenders determine a particular project falls out of their lending guidelines. Private lenders […]
Impound accounts, also called escrow accounts in some parts of the country, are set-aside accounts used to pay property tax bills and insurance premiums when due. Each month when someone makes a mortgage payment and there is an impound account set up, 1/12th of the annual tax bill and 1/12th of the insurance premium are […]
Have you heard the term “guaranteed loan?” It’s possible, but it’s mortgage industry parlance that describes a specific feature of a mortgage program. There are three such programs and they’re all guaranteed loans to some degree by the government. It’s a government-guaranteed loan and there are three of them. The three are the VA, FHA […]
Let’s face it, there are some very real advantages of renting instead of owning. Most of those advantages are related to a change of scenery. When paying rent, you have a choice of where you want to live, how much you want to pay each month for rent and how long you want your lease […]
More than a year ago when interest rates began to slowly move up after recent Federal Reserve comments indicated we can anticipate three and maybe four rate increases for 2018. That was based upon economic projections that indicated our economy was awakening from its extended slumber as job creation and the unemployment rate showed signs […]
HUD, FHFA, FNMA, FHA, FHLMC: Who Are These People? Well, they’re not really people. People certainly work there but in reality, HUD along with the others all government agencies that have some major connection with the mortgage industry. Some are relatively new and some not so much. The mortgage industry has so many acronyms it […]
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees a home loan program designed to finance properties located in rural and semi-rural areas. These areas are so designated by the United States Census Bureau and identified after the general census is taken every 10 years. This program was originally introduced in 1935 with the introduction of […]
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs oversees the VA home loan program. First introduced as part of the larger Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the VA loan was designed to help those returning from WWII more easily assimilate back into civilian life with various benefits such as paying for college, starting a business and buying a […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) oversees the FHA home loan program and issues guidelines lenders use for the FHA approval process. The FHA does not approve loans or otherwise handle them in any way. The program was introduced in 1934 as an integral part of the National Housing Act of 1934 as just one of the […]
