Here is an interesting story we though we would share

How to get a mortgage with less than 20 percent down

By Jennifer Berry | Yahoo Homes 

Don’t have the money on hand for a 20 percent down payment? Don’t let that stop you – you can still get a mortgage with a low down payment.

If you don’t have 20 percent to put down on a new home, that doesn’t mean you can’t buy one. Does that surprise you? Then listen to this: there are all kinds of strategies for prospective home buyers who can’t get the cash together for the traditional 20 percent down.

In fact, homebuyers could get a loan with as little as 3.5 percent down through the Federal Housing Administration, says Joe Parsons, senior loan officer with PFS Funding in Dublin, CA and author of “Growing Equity: A Guide for the Hopeful Investor.”

If you’re interested in hearing more, you’re in the right place. Let’s take a deeper look into ways you can get a mortgage with a low down payment.

Strategy #1 – Get Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Wondering how you could avoid living with Mom and Dad until you’ve saved up that 20 percent down payment for a home? Private mortgage insurance (PMI), might be the answer you’re looking for. PMI is basically an insurance premium you pay each month when you put down less than 20 percent on your mortgage.

“The cost of PMI will depend on the loan to value ratio (LTV) and on the borrower’s credit score,” Parsons says. The LTV is the ratio between the amount you want to borrow and your home’s value. The larger that ratio is, and the worse your credit score is, the more you might have to pay for PMI.

That means that if you put 10 percent down and you have a credit score of 760, you could be paying $99 a month for PMI, Parsons says. But if you put down 3 percent and had a credit score of 760, you could be paying $279 for the same loan. Have a credit score of 700? That premium could jump to $330 a month, he says.

But there is some good news: “Sometimes these [insurance] premiums will disappear altogether once you hit the 20 percent equity mark on your home,” says Howard Dvorkin, CPA, founder of ConsolidatedCredit.org, and author of “Power Up: Taking charge of your financial destiny.”

That could happen if you pay down the principal on your loan to 80 percent, or if the value of your home goes up and you have 20 percent equity in your home as a result. Be sure to check with your lender on their policies surrounding eliminating private mortgage insurance.

Strategy #2 – Get a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loan

Since the Federal Housing Administration insures the loan – meaning they take on the risk associated with you possibly defaulting on the loan – you’re generally allowed a lower down payment. That can be as low as 3.5 percent of the loan, Parsons says.

Plus, it’s typically easier to qualify for an FHA loan than a conventional loan – meaning you can have a lower credit score, for example. Sound too good to be true? Well, an FHA loan does come with some drawbacks.

As a matter of fact, your sexual health also Swathe the deterrence & treatment of sexually passed diseases & the evaluation of male infertility. cialis prescription One http://greyandgrey.com/workers-compensation/sdfsfdf/ generic cialis online can have the medicine with or without food as per the guidance of your respective physician. When the foods are loaded with the spices, these tadalafil cost can put the body getting closer to hypertension and heart disease. Effectiveness: Effectiveness buy cialis on line http://greyandgrey.com/media/capture3/ is the most important factor considered by every patient. “The disadvantages are that the mortgage insurance is comparatively expensive and will be there for the life of the loan,” Parsons says. That’s in contrast to a conventional loan, where as we discussed, you could get rid of PMI after you have 20 percent equity in your home.

Now let’s look at the cost. There are two components to the insurance on an FHA loan. The first is called Up Front Mortgage Insurance (or UFMIP). It equals 1.75 percent of the loan amount, and it’s paid once, usually by adding it to the loan amount.

The second is the Monthly Mortgage Insurance Premium (or MIP), which is an annual premium paid monthly (like you’d pay for your car insurance, for example). MIP can vary from 1.30 to 1.35 percent depending on your loan-to-value ratio (your loan amount compared with the value of your home), paid monthly.

Strategy #3 – Get a “Piggyback Loan”

Have you ever heard of a “piggyback loan” when it comes to mortgage financing? This used to be very common, according to Parsons. It basically means a homeowner would get one loan for 80 percent of the value of the house, and then a line of credit on top of that up to the remaining 20 percent of the value of the house.

Because of this, many people got into homes without any down payment at all. But the problem is that not all of them could afford the monthly payments on those loans.

“There were huge losses in the wake of the meltdown, so banks are very reluctant to make these kinds of loans today,” says Parsons. “Most lines of credit are capped at a total loan to value of 80 percent, so they will be of little or no help to a buyer with a small down payment.”

That’s not to say these loans no longer exist, and that there aren’t exceptions. But before you go looking for one of these, you might want to speak with a mortgage professional who can examine your particular situation and talk through the pros and cons with you.

Dvorkin warns that while this strategy might get you into a home, the interest rate on a home equity line of credit is usually higher than that of a mortgage, and often increases throughout the course of the loan. “In the end, the final payment is considerably larger than the normal payments. So, while this is a viable solution, it can add up in the long run,” he says.

Strategy #4 – First-Time Home Buyer Programs

If you’re thinking about buying your first home, you’re probably feeling both excited and nervous. And chances are you might not have saved up 20 percent to put down on that first home either. Well, here are some resources for first-time home buyers that could help make the process a little less frightening.

“Different states and communities have different programs to help first-time home buyers,” says Parsons. One example he cites is the California Housing Finance Agency (CAlHFA), which has a number of programs for first-timers including the California Home Down Payment Assistance Program.

“With CHDAP, the buyer receives a loan of 3 percent of the purchase price. This loan can be used for a down payment or closing costs, and doesn’t have to be repaid until the first mortgage is paid off through refinance or sale.” It could benefit you to check into whether your state has a similar program.

“This could be right for anyone who is a first-time home buyer who doesn’t have a large down payment,” Parsons adds.

By Jennifer Berry | Yahoo Homes 

http://homes.yahoo.com/news/make-a-low-down-payment-225034571.html

Here is an informative article we thought we would share.

Bad Credit? Getting an FHA Loan Just Got Easier

By Christine DiGangi | Credit.com – Tue, Sep 17, 2013 3:03 PM EDT

Homebuyers who lost their homes because of recession-induced employment cuts may be able to return to the housing market sooner than they previously thought.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently added economic events to its list of extenuating circumstances and reduced the waiting period between foreclosure and loan qualification from 36 months to 12 months.

“This will help consumers who went through housing hell — a foreclosure or short sale — to become homeowners again and take advantage of low interest rates and decent home prices in many parts of the country,” said Gerri Detweiler, Credit.com’s director of consumer education.

How FHA Loans Work

The FHA, part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), insures mortgages to allow lenders to give borrowers affordable loans, by way of easy credit qualifications, reduced down payments or lower closing costs.

To apply for an FHA loan under the shortened timeline, borrowers must meet certain criteria: The borrower must have experienced a period of six months or longer during which household income was reduced by at least a 20%, as a result of job loss or pay cuts beyond the borrower’s control; re-established his or her credit for at least a year; and completed housing counseling.

The letter outlines the requirements in greater detail. The adjustments to the loan program were effective immediately, through September 2016.

For men the cialis cheap rebellion means most erection concerns can be right with little medical involvement. This is because generic manufacturers don’t incur the same costs in manufacturing like research and development, getting best price for cialis the drug FDA approved and conducting clinical trials. The interaction session focuses on personal development from a sexual perspective opinion in front of spe buy viagra pilltsconcerning situations, experience and sensations.2. This herb is also commander viagra originated in China and can decrease high blood pressure and heart problems. “The purpose is to assist those who faced an economic event as a result of the Great Recession,” said Lemar Wooley, a HUD public affairs officer. “The period of time was selected because we believe it appropriately captures the population of those impacted by the recession and gives sufficient time for them to rebuild their credit.”

[Thinking about applying for an FHA loan? Click to compare mortgage interest rates from different lenders now.]

How to Qualify for an FHA Loan

Eddie Hilliard, branch manager of Integrity Home Loan of Central Florida, said he is already starting to work with homebuyers who may qualify. For the past three months, Florida has had the highest foreclosure rate in the country.

“I can’t tell you right now how many people I had to turn away over the last year, year-and-a-half, two years,” Hilliard said. “‘Sorry, you had a foreclosure in the last 36 months, can’t do it.’ Now I’m going to be making all these calls saying, ‘Hey Mr. and Mrs. Jones, guess what — the guidelines have changed.'”

Meeting the borrower criteria requires many steps of documenting your income and credit history. Hilliard recommends potential homebuyers reach out to lenders with experience in FHA loans so the process goes as smoothly as possible. For instance, a borrower must complete the mandatory housing counseling at least 30 days and no more than six months in advance of applying for a loan. That’s something to consider before the house hunt commences — timing is important.

It’s also crucial for consumers to check their progress in repairing their damaged credit. Re-established credit, according to the FHA letter, means a history clear of late housing payments, debt payments or issues on revolving accounts, and any current mortgages must show a year of timely payments. Potential homebuyers can use the free Credit Report Card to see how they’re recovering and make plans to improve their credit. You can also pull your credit report once a year for free from each of the major credit reporting bureaus.

The timing of this program may be a huge opportunity for some who thought they couldn’t buy a home for a few more years.

“Now’s the time for those who really can afford to own a home to do so, before we see interest rates and housing prices climb,” Detweiler said. “These loans can help turn renters into homeowners, which in turn helps stabilize neighborhoods and communities.”

Yesterday the commentary noted, “Every FHA lender in the nation knows that the monthly Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) for FHA will be increasing with all case numbers pulled after April 1, 2013. What perhaps fewer know is when borrowers are able to stop paying MIP. Currently if a borrower has a loan with a term greater than 15 years and the loan to value is greater than 78%, then they will have MIP for 5 years and must pay the loan down to 78% LTV based on the original sales price (unlike a conventional loan which will use current market value to determine LTV). After today, not only is the MIP going up, the amount of time the borrower has MIP is changing too. For loans with an LTV greater than 78% up to 90% LTV they will be living with MIP for 11 years. You pop over to this drugstore probe cialis should take the cheapest 5 to 10 quotes and try to play them off each other. There are also other treatments that are available in exciting flavours such as Strawberry and Pineapple cialis super viagra in addition to Mint and Lemon. There are some products on the market that promise to give you a bigger penis, the manufacturers of Vigrx Plus are more honest. discount cialis Presence of boswellic acid in shallaki prevents indigestion, cures constipation, improves the vision tadalafil 20mg cipla of eyes and relieves stomach disorders. If the LTV is greater than 90% they are in for life of the loan (ouch). Bailing out of MIP using LTV is out – it will become strictly a function of time.” The MIP duration issue actually takes effect in June. So effective with case #’s starting June 3, 2013 is when FHA MI is no longer cancelled:HUDDocument. The annual MIP assessment period will not change until case numbers ordered on or after June 3^rd, per Mortgagee Letter 13-04.  Also effective with case numbers ordered that day, 15-year loans with a 78% or less LTV will also begin to carry annual MIP.  The rest of the MIP factor changes occurred yesterday, but we have a bit of a reprieve on the drop off periods.

The Home Affordable Refinance Program, also known as HARP, is a federal program of the United States, set up by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in March 2009 to help underwater and near-underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages. Unlike the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which aims to assist homeowners who are in danger of foreclosure, this program targets homeowners who are current on their monthly mortgage payments but are unable to refinance due to dropping home prices in the wake of the U.S. housing market correction.

It takes only a few minutes to see if your home qualifies.

You can check your property at either of these two websites:

For Fannie Mae: https://desktoporiginator.fanniemae.com/

For Freddie Mac: https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

So, it is very acquisition de viagra much effective and completely secure for the health. This pill has proven to be particularly effective in relief of lower back pain, nerve compression pain, hip, knee and ankle joint pain, neck joint pain, or general stiff joint pain from conditions viagra generic sale such as osteoarthritis. Although there are several medicines available viagra sales in the market but there are also many people who are fed up of trying using these medicines and they have a lot of good effects to remove the erectile dysfunction problem of the users. Dosage: Take this pill as required 20-60 viagra soft tab prior minutes participating in sexual action. If your home qualifies we can find you the best loan and lowest rate for your refinance needs.

We have closed hundreds of these loans last year. We know how to make this process as stress free as possible.

We work with many lenders – we have heard many times that someone believes they do not qualify only to find that they do. We do the foot work to find the best loan fit for your situation.

We have refinanced people that were over 200% LTV – we have refinanced investment properties and manufactured homes. We often get appraisal waivers and this program is more forgiving of credit scores and debt to income ratios then conventional loans.

I am your Home Loan Answer Man. Call my office toll free at 855-562-6705. Rates are great, now is the time.