Financing Houses

What Real Estate Lenders Look For

Lenders control many programs -- some make use of over 200! Generally, lenders look for the following typical standards, with many exceptions:

1. Absolutely no late mortgage payments
2. Credit score above 580
3. If bankruptcy, no charge-offs or collection accounts afterwards
4. If bankruptcy, only 1 late payment afterwards
5. Two active revolving accounts in good standing
6. Good employment history or stated income
7. Three to six months reserves (covering mortgage payment, taxes & insurance) in savings
8. 55% income to debt ratio
9. Appropriate loan-to-value ratio on purchase property

Borrowers obtain a loan by bringing something of value to the table. One of the following assets ought to get you financing:

1. Good credit score
2. Good income
3. Good cash down payment and reserves

Seven Loan Types and Finance Terms

Understanding the variety of loan types and terms enables you to choose an effective lender. Here are seven important loan types and related terms:

1. "A" Loans
Borrowers with great credit, a good cash reserve, good employment, and a debt-to-income ratio of less than 33%, qualify for "A" loans. These loans typically cost less upfront for points and costs, charge no prepayment penalty, and offer lower interest rates.

2. Sub-Prime Loans
Credit reporting agency websites portray Americans as having great credit. These informational articles and graphs mislead and cause struggling home buyers to feel inadequate. In fact, my Countrywide lending contact told me that 60% of all applicants are considered "sub-prime" borrowers. Sub-prime borrowers usually are those with credit scores under 620 or those with other conditions such as undocumented stated income, poor employment history, or credit issues such as collections, charge offs, and late payments.

3. Stated Income Loans
Most applicants for a mortgage have a full-time job with income tax returns verifying income for the past two years. Other borrowers, like me, with multiple streams of income must get loans with stated income. Some lenders require two years of bank statements showing deposits equaling the required total income, proving the ability to make the mortgage payment.

4. Full-documented Loans
These loans require tax returns, employment verification, bank statements, and other individual lender demands. Other processing types, more flexible and easier for the borrower to gather information on, do not necessarily cost more. High credit scores, big down payments, and large cash reserves ease documentation requirements.

5. Conforming Loans & Jumbo Loans
According to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines, "conforming loans" are mortgages for less than the following allowable amounts at the time of this writing:

(Unit= dwelling or housing unit)
1 unit $333,700
2 units $413,100
3 units $499,300
4 units $625,000

Note: the amounts are higher in Hawaii and Alaska. Other states like California, New York, and Florida join the higher limits this year. The dollar amount of these loans changes periodically.

Conventional lenders also use the term conforming loans for loans which are not Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. Conforming loans simply refers to the dollar amount; it doesn't mean you get a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan.

6. "Jumbo loans" are for higher dollar amounts.
You need jumbo loans to finance properties requiring larger mortgages than the limited conventional loan amount. Jumbo loans usually charge higher interest rates than conforming loans.

7. Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
If you already own your own home, consider a Home Equity Line of Credit, with few fees and lower costs, for purchasing investment property. Use this line of credit for a large down payment on your investment properties over and over. With twenty percent or more down on an investment property, you get better financing plus save on loan costs.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.