Posts Tagged ‘mortgage companies’

The Super Jumbo Loan

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Super Jumbo loans are an investment tool they’re not for the average borrower. Or so we thought. Today, however, thanks to the boom in real estate prices, and the ever declining value of the dollar, more and more average consumers are applying for these jumbo loans, and using them to finance a home purchase.
The most typical area to see the home prices rising to a level that makes a super jumbo loan necessary is in your resort area housing. Many of these homes have escalated tremendously in price over the last couple of years, and the loan needs have risen to all time highs. The super jumbo loan has now become a real mortgage product, not just an investing tool.

Before we get too deep into the real estate market, and the use of the super jumbo loan, perhaps we’d better define this type of loan and the consequences of financing your mortgage in this manner.

The super jumbo loan is a loan amount that exceeds $650,000 but not more than $10,000,000.00. In fact, this is the defining characteristic of the super jumbo loan. The other “baggage”, if you will, that often accompanies these loans, is the large amount of paper work, higher private mortgage insurance, and the higher interest rate. It might also be interesting to know, that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two largest mortgage buyers in existence today, usually establish these limits, and dictate to many lending companies exactly what they will buy, and how. It should not need to be mentioned that these loans present a bigger risk than the other, traditional loan needs, and therefore must meet some rigorous requirements.

Now, having explained the definition of the super jumbo loan, it deserves to be said that there are alternatives to avoid this type of loan, and still secure the funding you need to purchase a home, without using all your life’s savings to do so.

The mortgage loan can be broken down into first and second notes, negating the need for a super jumbo loan, and cutting through all the extra paperwork and interest expense. But, that’s another discussion. Another option homeowners have for avoiding the super jumbo loan trap is to simply put enough down on the home to keep the amount financed below a certain level.

To further explain the role Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae play in the determination of the super jumbo loan limits and expense, you need to understand how the mortgage market actually works, and the role these two companies play in that process. Today, if a mortgage company loans you money to purchase a home, you sign a waiver that states that you understand that your loan may be sold to another servicer. They hould simply have you sign a form that says you know your loan is going to be sold; who is it?

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The mortgage companies find it necessary to resell your mortgage, in order to make another mortgage loan possible. So, quite naturally, they must abide by the rules established by the mortgage purchasing companies. Super jumbo loans can prove quite risky, so Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae don’t even purchase these types of mortgages. For the mortgage companies that do, there are set limits, and they require more information, larger proven income levels and adequate private mortgage insurance to assure that the home won’t go into foreclosure and auction.

In some areas of the country, there have been increases in the super jumbo loan limits, simply because the housing market and home prices are so high, every home purchased would be a jumbo or super jumbo loan, if the limits weren’t extended. Most of these areas are resort homes, vacation homes, and property is scarce.
What is happening today, however, is the growing segment of the population that really needs the super jumbo loan financing in order to buy their home; not make a business investment. What does this say about ur real estate market, and the value of the property?

Our real estate prices are increasing at an astonishing rate, and right along with that, is the increase in products being offered by the mortgage lenders, therefore, it only stands to reason that we would see an increase in the jumbo and super jumbo loan market. The current estimate for the jumbo and super jumbo loan market is generally around 15%; that is still a pretty large hunk of the mortgage market.

Mortgage Companies

Monday, January 19th, 2009

Let’s talk about the specialty guys, the mortgage interest companies. Why do they exist in what do they do for the average consumer? Actually a lot. Mortgage interest companies exist for the pure and simple reason of originating mortgage loans. If mortgage loans are your specialty then quite naturally you would assume you’re very good at what you do. And most of the mortgage companies are very good at what they do. So much so, that real estate prices and mortgage loan products have seen a threefold increase. What does this mean for the consumer and what does this say about our mortgage companies?

What this means for the consumer is that now there are being offered a wide range of the affordable, and quite accommodating loan products. What does this say about our mortgage companies? That today more than ever mortgage companies are creative with their efforts to accommodate a growing and varied range of customers. Mortgage companies offer mortgage loans that range from interest only, 1% interest only, to the standard fixed rate mortgage loan product. This article will take a moment to examine the mortgage companies and the mortgage products offered by these mortgage companies.

If you need to apply for a mortgage today, you only have to go online to find your nearest mortgage company and a detailed list of the mortgage products they provide. Even if you don’t want to complete the application online, you are supplied with all the necessary information to make an informed and educated mortgage decision without ever leaving the comfort of your home. Almost all of the mortgage companies in existence today make use of the online environment to advertise their business and their business roducts. But, this is not the only avenue for advertising the mortgage companies will use.

Many of the mortgage companies today use advertising venues via the newspaper billboards and radio. By far the largest vehicle of advertising used by the mortgage companies today is through the use of the television; it is via the television that you will most often hear about mortgage-company’s and the mortgage products offered.

Mortgage companies compete for your business by offering lower then standard interest rates, and extremely unusual by traditional lending standards, mortgage products. The increase in the number of interest-only loan products is a testament to the use of non- traditional products in order to increase customer base. However, the consumer is a winner as far as the interest rate expense because many of the specialized mortgage companies can offer a lower interest rate than your local and traditional lending companies, such as banks. Due to the specialty of the mortgage company and the mortgage product interest rates are sometimes a full 2 to 3% lower then the rate offered through the traditional lending institution.

Factor in the advent of the online mortgage companies, such as Quicken Loans, and you have an even lower interest rate offering due to a lower overhead expense. What role has the online mortgage company played in lowering interest rates, and pulling from the traditional and physical-existence mortgage companies? The influence has been quite great; many consumers have shopped the online environment in order to obtain the low interest rates offered. Companies such as Quicken and Ditech have experienced phenomenal growth thanks to the online mortgage company existence and television advertising.

The government has greatly encouraged the growth and competitive nature of the mortgage company industry through the use of government programs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and has empowered the mortgage companies with a means to sell existing mortgages in order to originate new ones. Apparently, the government wishes to encourage the success of the specialty companies with the specialty rates!

I believe the existence of mortgage companies, the ever-increasing range of mortgage products and a continued increase a real estate prices has helped to contribute to the stabilization of an extremely low interest rate, which in turn has fueled the growth of the mortgage companies and the range of products offered. As you can see, this is a market of interconnected affectation and the consumer seems to be the greatest benefactor. So carry on specialty guy!

Is the 20% Down Requirement Still Alive

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Today more than ever, a generation of homeowners will increase their debt to equity ratio by more than 30%; what has happened to increase the debt and decrease the equity? Many of the mortgage loan products available today do not require a down payment. Until recently, if you were interested in buying a home, you were required to put 20% percent down and finance the balance. Now, prospective homeowners are allowed to borrow up to 125% of the home value! This equates to a negative investment. How did we get here?

Imagine this scenario: as you graduate and are ready to exit the college campus, you get married, and now you’re ready to move into that first home. Do you have any money to put down on the home? No. Are you required to have any money to put down the home? No. At this point, brake lights should come on at the mortgage company; today however many mortgage companies are accelerating not stopping. Never before has there been a time when a consumer could walk a mortgage company, declare they have no money put down, and walk away with a huge mortgage.

The interest only loan options and the 125 loan options are encouraging consumers to spend way beyond their financial limitations. And there is responsible for the creation and promotion of these types of loans? The mortgage companies are the creators and promoters. The increase in the popularity of the interest only loan, and the fact that it can be tied to so many different loan products, make it one of the more popular options in today’s market; so popular, that it has grown to a huge one quarter, or 25 percent, of the entire market.

Are these mortgage companies requiring a smaller down payment, maybe 5% or 10%? No, they aren’t requiring any down payment. What message does this send to the young consumer? Not a very good one. You don’t need to be a financial analyst in order to determine that 0% down equates to 0% equity, in most situations. What does this mean to the young homeowner? If there’s no equity in a home, there’s no security in the home; there’s no encouragement to save, there’s no encouragement to plan.

If you begin to check with local lenders, and traditional lending institutions you will find a 20% down payment requirement is alive and well. Many traditional lending institutions realize what many mortgage companies seem to overlook: a homeowner with no investment is a very risky proposition. Something as important as your home, should be worthy of personal investment.

So why are there huge gaps between mortgage companies and traditional lending institutions? Traditional lending institutions aren’t as interested in the profit to be had for mortgages, as the mortgage companies. Traditional lending institutions offer a range of products to accommodate the consumer: banking, commercial loans, and savings provide other avenues of income for the traditional lender. Mortgage companies, on the other hand, exist to serve only the mortgage market. For that reason, mortgage companies are willing to extend credit without the required traditional down payment. The mortgage companies have been very creative, and we now have mortgage products to fit every type of consumer. Many of these products are very appealing to the young consumer, with very little savings.

Most of these new mortgage products are designed to appeal to the young borrower, but to date, they are also appealing to older consumers. What are some of the mortgage products available that require zero down? The 1% interest loan, the interest only loan, the 125 loan, and many of the balloon note mortgage products require no money down. The standard fixed rate mortgages and the adjustable rate mortgages still were best if there is a down payment of some amount, and very few are sold without a down payment. Many of the standard loan products still require a 510 or 20% down payment and still offer a better interest rate. In requiring a down payment, a mortgage lender accomplishes two things: a cash security against the value of the home and it requires the borrower to put effort into acquiring the mortgage.