Military service comes with perks in the form of VA loans. No down payment No private mortgage insurance No prepayment penalty 1.5% to 3.3% of the total borrowed as VA one-time funding fee If your salary can support home ownership without saving up for a down payment, then a VA Read more…
Generally, mortgage lenders will require 2-years of self employment income records to qualify for a loan. However, a No-Doc or Low-Doc loan is available to borrowers who can provide other supporting documentation when income documentation is not available. A No-Doc loan is designed for self-employed individuals with hard-to-verify incomes, and Read more…
Tax deductions are not as straight forward as single family houses or condos. Your best bet is to get guidance from the co-op management company on how to much maintenance you can deduct. Generally the portion that covers the building’s real estate taxes are deductible. Flip tax is guided by Read more…
A mortgage is a commitment for you, and a risk for the lender. If you stop making payments on your mortgage after the home value drops from the original purchase price, the lender can sell the house in a foreclosure sale. If the foreclosure sale does not cover the remainder Read more…
PITI is principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. Principal is the amount you borrow and you repay to the lender on a monthly schedule. Interest is the percentage that the lender is charging for your loan and you repay to the lender each month. Interest is tax deductible at year end Read more…
After you signed the purchase contract, now is the time to get your mortgage or complete the pre-approved mortgage. The purchase contract will generally include a contingency rider that gives you time to get a mortgage loan. In addition to all the financial documents that a lender will require from Read more…
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) provides insurances to lenders who offer mortgages to borrowers making low down payments of 3.5% of the sale price. Features of FHA loans: Low down payment with a minimum 3.5% of the sale price Easier to qualify than a conventional loan. Low credit score is Read more…
A prequalification loan letter is not as good as a preapproval loan letter because the information provided by you to the lender is not verified. You basically let them know your income and debts allowing the lender to come up with a quick estimate of how much you can borrow. Read more…
Paying points (for a lower interest percentage) upfront on a mortgage can lower the total cost of the life of the loan. The points could be a few thousand dollars upfront. As an added bonus, points are tax deductible. Add up the monthly payments plus the cost of the points Read more…
If it is not too much trouble, some real estate professionals recommend requesting a lender for multiple pre-approval letters with different price ranges. The goal is to use it for negotiating with the seller where your pre-approval letter amount matches your bid amount to make it difficult for the seller Read more…