sacramento mortgage: 1/2% Down Payment Option Now Available for First-Time Homebuyers!
- 03/07/12 01:15 PM
If you are considering buying your first home, you may be able to do so with only a ½% down payment! FHA requires a 3.5% investment of your own funds when using FHA financing for a home purchase. But, beginning March 1, 2012, the California Homebuyer's Downpayment Assistance Program (CHDAP) is offering downpayment assistance of up to 3% of the purchase price or appraised value, whichever is lower. That means you would only need ½% of your own funds to purchase a home! Are you eligible for 100% financing through VA? Searching for properties in an area eligible for 100% USDA … (3 comments)
I recently got a call from a local REALTOR, asking me to contact a family member in Sacramento who needed to refinance. I called him and was delighted to discover he was veteran, just like me. I met him at his home later that week. This gentleman had served over 20 years in the Army, serving six tours in the Middle East, the last of which left him badly wounded. I was humbled to hear his stories; my service was peace time. The Major was already in process with another lender for his refinance. … (11 comments)
A Sacramento home purchase is literally a team sport since there are so many tasks, important timelines, documents and responsibilities that all need special care and attention. It's important that every Sacramento first-time home buyer have a team they can trust and that the individual players have the ability to effectively communicate and execute important tasks together.
Real Estate Agent
A Realtor® is a licensed agent that belongs to the National Association of Realtors®, which means they are pledged to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.
Many Sacramento home buyers and owners automatically think of banks when they need a purchase or refinance residential home loan. Mortgage Brokers, however, can often provide a wider variety of loan options at a better cost. So, how does a Sacramento mortgage broker do this?
It helps to understand that there are two main channels for Sacramento mortgage financing today. Retail, the lenders the public can access directly (like banks and credit unions), and wholesale lenders, those lenders available via a third party (a mortgage broker). Retail lenders usually offer only their own loan programs; a … (0 comments)
sacramento mortgage: Buyer Beware: The Underwriter May Be Googling You!
- 08/18/11 10:22 AM
Buyer Beware: The Underwriter May Be Googling You! I just attended a refresher training on mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud is very high here in California and, as a Sacramento Mortgage Broker, I have to keep up on the latest ploys. I have had three fraud attempts cross my desk this year. Underwriters are keeping up on the ploys, too. When your loan package is submitted to a lender, assume that the Underwriter is going to use Google to confirm information on your application. For example, Does your employer really exist? Does your employer’s address match your application? Does your employer have a physical … (4 comments)
sacramento mortgage: Remember that Kid in Your Class that Kept You from Recess?
- 07/05/11 07:27 PM
I'm guessing that nearly everyone has some elementary school memory of a trouble making kid in their class. At some point during a school day, this kid's behavior got so bad that the teacher announced that the entire class would not have recess. And so it was that 29 kids who behaved fine were punished for one that didn't. (Perhaps the angry classmates were supposed to exert some peer pressure on the wayward classmate? I never did quite understand that part!) Fast forward to 2011 and we find that those who don't behave can still make headaches for people who do. … (18 comments)
sacramento mortgage: 99% Financing through CalHFA
- 07/02/11 08:36 AM
99% Financing through CalHFA The California Housing Finance Agency's California Homebuyer's Downpayment Assistance Program (CHDAP) provides a deferred-payment, simple interest junior mortgage loan - up to 3% of the purchase price or appraised value, whichever is less -- to be used for down payment and/or closing costs. This program, when combined with a standard FHA first mortgage, requires a minimum contribution of only 1% of the sales price or $1,000, whichever is greater, of your own funds. You do not have to make a payment on the junior loan until your home is sold, refinanced or paid in full. Here are … (6 comments)
sacramento mortgage: Cash Out Mortgage Financing for Cash Buyers
- 06/30/11 05:18 PM
Cash Out Mortgage Financing for Sacramento Cash Buyers Many Sacramento home buyers are taking advantage of the great buys available in the current market, paying cash for Owner and Non-Owner Occupied homes. Until June 28, 2011, however, these buyers had to wait six months before they could get a mortgage on their purchased homes to recover some of their initial cash investment. Now, no more waiting! You can now get cash-out financing with no waiting period after a no-financing purchase transaction under the following parameters (no exceptions will be granted): The new loan amount is not more than the actual documented … (11 comments)
sacramento mortgage: Waiting to Buy a Home May Not $ave You Any $
- 02/05/11 04:47 PM
Waiting to Buy a Home May Not $ave You Any $ Are you holding off on buying Sacramento real estate because you believe that property prices will continue to drop? Think the payment will be lower the longer you wait? Let's look at an example. While I can provide financing on homes throughout California, I am located in the Sacramento area and will use this area as my example. Say you buy right now, getting a $200,000,t 4.75%, 30-year fixed, Sacramento mortgage. Your monthly principal and interest payment would look like this:
Interest rates have been extremely low lately. Many industry experts, however, believe that the low rates we … (12 comments)
sacramento mortgage: How Much Down Payment Money Do I Need for a Mortgage?
- 01/01/11 03:05 PM
How Much Down Payment Money Do I Need for a Mortgage? As a Sacramento mortgage broker, I get asked this question a lot during the prequalification process. First, what is a down payment? It's a percentage of the purchase price which is paid at the time the home is purchased. Here is a helpful list of how much you can finance with each of these loan products: Veteran's Administration (VA) loans: up to 100% financing* U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans: up to 100% financing* Specific rural areas; a list is also available Income restrictions on eligibility Federal Housing Administration (FHA) … (4 comments)
sacramento mortgage: Don’t Make Vacation Plans When Buying a Home!
- 10/26/10 11:37 AM
Don’t Make Vacation Plans When Buying a Home! It seems straightforward enough. Your sales contract says that your home purchase must close by (date) so you should be moved and ready for a vacation about a week later. After the stress of a move, a long, relaxing vacation sounds wonderful, right? As a Roseville Mortgage Broker, I've seen many home purchase transactions not close on time. The close of escrow may end up being during your scheduled vacation, leaving you to lose money by changing your vacation plans, beg the seller for an extension to close after you return or try to … (3 comments)
sacramento mortgage: The Myth of Separate Credit on FHA Loans
- 10/18/10 02:38 PM
The Myth of Separate Credit on FHA Loans Some married couples here in Sacramento elect to maintain completely separate bank accounts, assets and debts. Unfortunately, some think this means that when one spouse wants to buy a home that the other spouse's credit is not considered. On a Sacramento FHA loan, this is often not the case. A credit report is run on the non-borrowing spouse and the spouse's debts are included with the borrower's debts. This is no big deal if your spouse has clean credit and not much debt. But what if they don't? Some couples maintain separate finances specifically because … (1 comments)
sacramento mortgage: The Interest Rate on Your Roseville Mortgage Is the Least of Your Concerns!
- 05/18/10 02:14 PM
The Interest Rate on Your Roseville Mortgage Is the Least of Your Concerns! Perhaps it is all of those car commercials advertising 0% financing. Or perhaps it is the mortgage crooks on the radio touting mortgage rates under 4%. Whatever the reason, I'll get Roseville mortgage clients whose main concern is getting a low interest rate on their home loan. Little do they know how unimportant that is in the current market! First off, slight increases in interest rate often translate to very small increases in your monthly payment. But that's not the main issue. The issue before we talk about rate is: … (1 comments)
As a El Dorado Hills mortgage broker, I am sometimes asked by clients, “What is your rate?” Little do they know that I have scores of different rates offered by more than 50 lenders! Interest rates are a very interesting subject to most people when financing a home.
Everybody seems to want the “best rate”. When I hear that, I sometimes ask, “What is more important to you a lower cost loan or a lower interest rate loan?” Many buyers are solely focused on interest rates without considering the closing … (0 comments)
sacramento mortgage: Do you really need all this personal information for my mortgage?
- 10/16/09 08:54 AM
As a Roseville mortgage broker, I get this question a lot from home buyers, especially ones who have applied for mortgages in the past. I coach buyers (new and experienced) that the current lending environment and process is much different today. Lenders/investors are requiring much more information from borrowers than in times past. This is very frustrating to many buyers. It doesn't make sense, especially to the ones that tell me they pay all their bills on time.
Pay stubs, two months of bank statements with all of the pages (even if they’re blank?), Federal taxes, divorce papers, copies of Driver’s … (6 comments)
sacramento mortgage: Considering Working with a Part-Time Sacramento Real Estate Agent?
- 10/07/09 04:44 PM
As a Sacramento mortgage broker, my experience working with my clients’ part-time real estate agents has been very frustrating. Communication is usually sparse because they are trying to cover a day job. Often, they lack essential industry knowledge (especially RESPA), perhaps because they don’t have time to keep up on industry changes. It seems that they simply do not have adequate time to provide an acceptable level of service to their client. If I get a referral and they are working with a part-time realtor, I want to suggest they find a "part-time" loan officer, too! Just kidding of course; but, as a rule, I … (2 comments)
sacramento mortgage: Truth in Lending Works Both Ways
- 02/28/09 05:36 AM
There's a form I have to give to every person who gives me an application for a mortgage. In my business lingo it's called a "TIL" for Truth in Lending. It provides detailed information on a loan quote so the customer can be well informed. But there is another kind of "Truth in Lending" and it involves the applicant's responsibility to provide truthful information on their application. I recently received an application from a customer for a home purchase. There were a few items on it that didn't seem quite right, however. I began to do some research. The borrower's stated … (0 comments)
If you are considering buying your first home, you may be able to do so with only a ½% down payment!
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