Archive for 'Raleigh NC Mortgages'
FHA Loan limits and MIP Fees changed October 1st!
Posted on November 17, 2011, by jhester, under Benson NC Mortgages, Buyers, Fayetteville NC Mortgages, FHA, First Time Home Buyer, Interest Rates, Jacksonville NC Mortgages, Main Section, Raleigh NC Mortgages, Refinance, Sellers, Wilmington NC Mortgages.
I thought it might be helpful to show the reduced loan limits and recent changes to FHA’s mortgage insurance program. Effective October 1st, 2011, the loan limit for Wake county (Raleigh, Garner, Zebulon, Knightdale), Durham, Johnston (Clayton, Willow Spring, Fuquay Varina), Brunswick, Pender and most North Carolina counties have been reduced by HUD to $271,050 for a one unit property.
Pasquotank, Perquimans, and Camden county FHA loan limits are set at $625,500 and Dare county is the next highest at $391,000. If anyone would like a detailed list by county please send me a request and I’ll be happy to send you the FHA loan limit chart.
The FHA upfront MIP fee is the same for all loans at 1%. This fee is financed into the loan amount. There is also an annual mortgage insurance premium charged which is financed into the monthly payment and is dependent on the loan-to-value and loan term. Effective April 18th, 2011 they are as follows:
Terms greater than 15 years:
- LTV > 95% 115 BPS (equal to 1.15% annually)
- LTV < 95% 110 BPS (equal to 1.10% annually)
Terms 15 years or less:
- LTV > 90%: 50 BPS
- LTV > 78.01 to < 90%: 25 BPS
- LTV < 78% 0.00 BPS (No charge)
As you can see, the annual insurance is much cheaper if you can afford to go with a 15 year mortgage over the 30 year.
Our current guidelines allow us to offer FHA loans with credit scores as low as 600. With scores above 640 we are able to offer improved pricing. There are four programs to chose using FHA:
- 30 year fixed rate
- 15 year fixed rate
- 3/1 treasury ARM; 30 year amortization
- 5/1 treasury ARM; 30 year amortization
FHA still requires a 3.5% down payment for purchase transactions and will refinances up to 97.75% of the appraised value allowing you to add closing costs and prepaids. They will also allow a borrower to do a cash-out refinance up to 85% of the appraised value. NC Housing is able to assist borrowers with an $8,000 down payment on FHA loans if they are first time home buyer (haven’t owned a home for past three years) and meet their income and credit quidelines.
As always, these figures and guidelines can change at any time. If you should have questions about an FHA loan, please give me a call or send me an email. Take care and God bless!
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Market Update on Interest Rates – New Lows
Posted on October 7, 2010, by jhester, under Benson NC Mortgages, Buyers, Fayetteville NC Mortgages, FHA, First Time Home Buyer, HomePath, Interest Rates, Jacksonville NC Mortgages, Main Section, Raleigh NC Mortgages, Refinance, USDA Home Loans, VA Loans, Wilmington NC Mortgages.
Here’s an update on what is happening in the securities market which affects interest rates for mortgage loans in Wilmington, Jacksonville, Fayetteville, Benson and Raleigh, North Carolina as well as the rest of the nation. The market affects interest rates for FHA, VA, Conventional, USDA, HomePath Loans, and NC Housing loans for first time home buyers and those wanting to purchases or refinance as well.
5 year treasuries set a new record low, yielding 1.122%. The old low was set in December 2008 at 1.18%. 10 year notes traded as low as 2.36% before giving up some ground to finish at 2.39%. Real money accounts stepped up to buy, especially once the ADP report showed continuing pain in the employment sector. Rumor also had it that a West Coast Hedge Fund (Pimco?) was in the market buying 2 billion 10 year notes as their position was believed to be underweight that duration. Mortgage backs performed like dogs, widening out to treasuries while closing up 10/32’s on the day. Since we priced plus 8/32’s today, the market is a little rich to our pricing which should help you with overnight expectations. We see traders and money managers taking a neutral bias, waiting for pullbacks (consolidation) in the market to buy. We like the range on the 10 year between 2.34% and 2.42% so on balance, you’re close to the top and the best mortgage pricing we’ve seen. Keep in mind that tomorrow will be “square up day” where trading is typically quiet before a big release like Friday’s Employment Report.
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Changes to FHA and USDA Mortgages
Posted on September 28, 2010, by jhester, under Buyers, Fayetteville NC Mortgages, FHA, Jacksonville NC Mortgages, Main Section, Raleigh NC Mortgages, Refinance, Sellers, USDA Home Loans, Wilmington NC Mortgages.
Here are some new changes getting ready to take effect very soon. The Mortgage Industry can definitely make a luddite go crazy!
New FHA MIP Fee Changes will take effect October 4th for FHA loans throughout North Carolina, including Raleigh, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Jacksonville, and Benson! These changes will affact buyers as well as those wanting to refinance.
• Up Front MIP will decrease from 2.25% to 1%
• Annual MIP will increase from .50/.55 to .85/.90 for terms greater than 15 years.
• FHA will make the premium fee changes for all new case numbers effective October 4, 2010. (In order to avoid the Annual MIP increase, buyers will need a new FHA case number assigned before October 4th.)
The negative effect will be borrowers will not be able to qualify for as much of a loan with these changes. Even though the Up Front Premium (MIP) is going down, the payments will increase for a same size loan due to the rise in the annual premiums. This is par for the course with government trying to help the economy while the housing market is suffering so greatly.
We are still waiting to hear if the maximum seller credit will be reduced to 3% from the current 6% limit. If this happens, FHA borrowers will also have to bring more money to the closing table to cover some of their closing costs. Currently a borrower with the 6% limit can purchase a house with just their 3.5% down payment (was 3%) while having the seller pay all their closing costs.
This will affect lower income borrowers more so than those buying higher priced homes. Most of the time, a 3% allowance for closing costs will not cover all the closing costs and prepaids for the lower loan amounts.
USDA changes: The USDA Funding Fee for refinances will increase from .5% to 2.25% on October 1st.
These changes will also affect loans in Virginia, including Fairfax, Woodbridge, Dale City, Lake Ridge, King George, and Fredericksburg. For the latest in updates or questions on recent changes, please contact me at jhester@primelending.com.
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Looking for No Money Down Financing in Raleigh, Wilmington or Jacksonville NC?
Posted on September 21, 2010, by admin, under Fayetteville NC Mortgages, FHA, Jacksonville NC Mortgages, Raleigh NC Mortgages, Refinance, USDA Home Loans, VA Loans, Wilmington NC Mortgages.
Looking for No Money Down Financing???
For those looking to purchase a home with little to no money out of their pocket, PrimeLending offers financing programs to make it happen. If you are a Veteran, the choice is simple with a VA Guaranteed loan. Veterans in the Wilmington, Jacksonville, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, and Raleigh markets are able to finance 100% of the purchase price up to $417,000.
In addition to no money down, VA allows the seller to pay all the purchaser’s closing costs and even debts to help qualify. Plus, with NO monthly mortgage insurance, the payments are lower than going with a conventional or FHA loan, which normally require a down payment and monthly mortgage insurance. VA will also allow energy improvements which will lower utility bills to be financed into the loan as well.
In order to guarantee the loan, VA charges a fee which is called a VA Funding Fee. Disabled Veterans are exempt from this fee. For those not exempt, the fee is financed into the loan amount. The fee changes based on whether or not the guarantee has been used before, and what the loan to value will be for the loan. A veteran can use their VA entitlement over and over as many times as they like.
Non-Veterans that do not own a home have another choice which is very similar to VA financing. It’s called a USDA loan. USDA loans have a few more limitations, as they are limited to rural areas and have income caps based on family size limited to 115% of the median income for the area. There are also loan limits based on the area as well. But for those fitting in these limits, it is a super program!
USDA will finance 100% of the sales price plus their guarantee fee just like a VA loan. Plus, just like VA loans, there is no monthly mortgage insurance.
If you would like to see if a home is in an eligible area, you can visit their website at: http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do
To view income limits for an area in any state you can view USDA’s income limit page here: http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do?pageAction=pageLoad&requestInfo=GuaranteedProgramInfo&NavKey=loan@21
USDA counts all the income for a household in qualifying, even though an income producer may not be on the loan. To help more households qualify, they allow deductions from a household’s income for child care, children under the age of 12, and elderly occupants over the age of 62.
State Housing programs are another great way to finance a home with very little out of pocket money for first time home buyers, or those who haven’t owned a home in the past three years. In the state of North Carolina the program is called NC Housing. Much like the USDA program, there are income limits based on family size and area. These programs are similar to 100% financing in the fact they loan the money for a down payment at 0% interest for 30 years with no monthly payments owed. In North Carolina, these down payment assistance programs can help borrowers with either a $4,000 or $8,000 down payment, dependant on credit score and household income.
I will cover a lot more on state housing programs such as NC Housing in a later blog. In the meantime, if anyone should have any questions about financing a home with little or no money out of their pocket, please contact me, John Hester, at PrimeLending directly. My email is jhester@primelending.com. God bless!
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Welcome to my New Web Site Blog for Wilmington NC Mortgages, Raleigh NC Mortgages & Jacksonville NC Mortgages
Posted on September 16, 2010, by jhester, under FHA, Jacksonville NC Mortgages, Raleigh NC Mortgages, Refinance, USDA Home Loans, VA Loans, Wilmington NC Mortgages.
Welcome to my blog post. My name is John Hester and I am a Senior Loan Officer with PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital Company. I currently have over 18 years of experience in mortgage lending. I am happy to answer any questions you may have regarding FHA, VA, USDA, Conventional, Jumbo, NC Housing, HomePath, FHA 203-k, $100 Down Program, Teacher, Fireman and Policeman loans, Escrow Holdback, first time homebuyer, Investor, Refinancing, Cash-out, and just about any loan program currently in existence.
PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital Company, is the lending division for PlainsCapital Bank which is currently the 8th largest private bank in the country, and the 15th largest producer of residential loans in the country. We are also the 5th largest USDA lender in the country. And we are very proud to live up to our motto “Mortgage without Obstacles”!
With In-House processing, underwriting, and closing departments, the lending process cannot be smoother. I frequently close loans in less than two weeks! I don’t know of any other lender able to offer this level of service.
Plus, PrimeLending has a unique FREE Float Down Program! With this program, we can at no charge lower your locked-in rate to a lower rate if the interest rate market improves! A borrower no longer has to worry about when to lock their rate in while worrying about rates going up. I love it when my clients get a lower rate than they originally locked. And I know you will, too, if the market should improve during your loan process.
Please call or write me if you have any need for a mortgage loan in North Carolina, Virginia, or throughout the country! I specialize in lending in the Raleigh, Wilmington, Jacksonville, and Fayetteville markets. But I have also closed many loans in the Woodbridge, Fairfax, and Fredericksburg, Virginia markets where I originally started my career in the mortgage industry.
In 1995 I started First American Mortgage Services, Inc. in Woodbridge, VA. I was very happy to run this company till 2008 with offices in Virginia and North Carolina.
I look forward to offering valuable information on mortgage lending and I hope I can help you. Take care and God bless!
John
