Find The Right Home Loan Program

Whether it’s to purchase a new home or refinance your current home, there are an assortment of loan programs you have to chose from, based on a combination of your objectives and your eligibility.

Conventional Loans: Conforming Loans and Jumbo Loans

The conventional loan is the most common kind of loan, available to most people who have at least 3% of the requested loan amount available to pay as a down payment. The two most common types of conventional loan are conforming loans and jumbo loans.

Conforming loans are a type of conventional loan that are secured by Freddie Mac (FHLMC), Fannie Mae (FNMA)  and other GSEs, or Government Sponsored Entities. These GSEs do not directly lend the money to borrowers but rather work with various lenders country-wide to provide loans that meet the average homebuyer’s needs. These entities also buy mortgage loans from lenders in order to re-package them as securities available for sale to investors on the secondary market.

For loan amounts that are higher than the loan limits set each year by the GSEs, private investors offer jumbo loans. The trade-off of going to a private investor to borrow a larger amount of money is that the interest rate on such loans is also usually higher.

Special Circumstances: Loans for

First-Time Homebuyers, Low-Income Households, and People with Poor Credit

Government entities from a local to a federal level and private entities alike have worked to develop loan programs that make home ownership a reality for many people considered under-qualified for traditional mortgages. These include loans for first-time homebuyers and people with a low-to-moderate income that are insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) via the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

HUD and the FHA do not make loans directly, rather they insure loans, meaning that the lender still gets paid back even if you default on the home loan. Often, FHA insured loans are available with down payments lower than 3% of the total loan amount. There is a limit to how high of a loan the FHA will insure, but the limit is at least high enough to allow people in qualifying circumstances to buy reasonably priced homes pretty much anywhere in the country.

A different type of loan was also created to assist people with poor credit in buying a home. These are called Subprime Loans. A subprime loan may come in various forms depending on the loan amount, loan terms, and loan-to-value ratio. Your risk is still determined by grading your credit, but in the case of a subprime loan it is to determine the type of loan and interest rate offered you rather than whether or not to give you a loan at all.