Posts

How To Minimize Your Down Payment

/in , ,
As of June 2020, a 20% down payment on a median-priced home in the Bay Area would cost a homebuyer around $228,205. You could minimize your down payment with these simple tips. Homebuyers don’t have to use a 20% down payment when purchasing a home. However, many choose to do so because a 20% down […]Read More

The Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio: A Guide for Borrowers in California

/in ,
The Loan-to-Value Ratio (LTV) is a mortgage term homebuyer and homeowners should become familiar with if they plan to apply for a home loan. Mortgage lenders will mention LTV often while explaining the mortgage qualification process and different loan products. Today we’re giving a crash course in LTV and explaining the impact LTV has on […]Read More

3 Ways to Avoid PMI When LTV Is Over 80%

/in ,
There are 3 ways to avoid monthly Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) when a down payment is less than 20%: (1) Combo Loans; (2) Lump Sum or Single Payment PMI; and (3) Lender Paid PMI. Combo Loans employ 2nd mortgages to cover the loan-to-value portion that is over 80% (eliminating the need for PMI). We can […]Read More

High Loan-To-Value Financing for Well-Healed Borrowers In Hot Markets

/in ,
We often discuss high loan-to-value (LTV) financing (90% to 96.5%) with borrowers who would otherwise put down 20% or more. This is b/c they are making offers in very hot markets where there are simply not enough comparable sales to support the expected contract price. High LTV financing allows borrowers to put less money down […]Read More

Eliminating Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI

/in ,
Here are three options for eliminating the private mortgage insurance (PMI) obligation associated with a conventional loan (FHA MI is permanent). Option #1 – Refinancing: If your property appreciates to the point where we can garner a new appraisal to support a value high enough to reduce your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio to 80% or less, […]Read More

Appraised Value Higher than Contract Price? Irrelevant

/in ,
We are financing a condo purchase in Newport Beach and the appraisal came in $13,000 over the contract price. This was a big surprise, given the strength of the current market. The buyer, of course, wanted to know if he could use the higher appraised value to push his loan-to-value ratio down to 75% and […]Read More

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) Explained – Terms

/in
Home Equity Lines of Credit (H.E.L.O.C.s) are popular once again b/c borrowers now have more equity in their homes and b/c HELOCs are the “10” in our “80/10/10” financing. 80/10/10 financing allows borrowers to only put 10% down and avoid PMI with an 80% first mortgage, and a 10% HELOC/2nd mortgage. Our HELOCs have the […]Read More