FHA Commissioner Carol Galante announced the HAWK (Homeowners Armed With Knowledge) pilot counseling program that will reward FHA borrowers with reduced mortgage insurance premiums. The HAWK for New Homebuyers is a HUD approved home ownership counseling program that will reward qualified first time home buyer particpants with reduced Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premiums (UFMIP) as […]
Deferred Student Loan Debt and Mortgage Qualifying: What You Need to Know
Deferred student loan debt can have a very large impact on a buyer when applying for a mortgage. Unfortunately, there is a lot of outdated or misinformation on the Internet by ‘financial experts’ and even from mortgage loan officers about how various home loan programs factor or calculate student loans that are forbearance or deferred […]
California Teacher Home Loan & Assistance Programs
California’s School Teachers, Educators, Administrators, and School District Employees have several mortgage and home buyer assistance program options besides the suspended CalSTRS Teacher home loan. Below is a brief summary and complete list of Teacher home loan and home buyer down payment assistance programs in California. CalHFA School Teacher and Employee Assistance Program The […]
CalHFA Increases Maximum DTI Ratio Limit to 45%
Good news! The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) just announced they will increase the maximum DTI ratio limit from 43% to 45% when using a CalHFA, CalPLUS first lien and combining it with the CHDAP down payment assistance silent second mortgage program. See CalHFA Bulletin 2014-06 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently put into […]
The MyCommunity Mortgage (MCM) Program
What is a MyCommunity Mortgage? The MyCommunity Mortgage® is a Fannie Mae 3% down payment affordable lending program that gives borrowers access to flexible underwriting guidelines and reduced private mortgage insurance (PMI) coverage for moderate income home buyers in California. The MyCommunity loan program has some subtle differences in qualifying criteria between the 3% down (97% […]
CityLIFT Down Payment Assistance for the Inland Empire
The CityLIFT Down Payment Assistance (DPA) program provides $15,000 to eligible home buyers for Inland Empire’s Riverside County cities of Corona, Riverside, Moreno Valley, and San Bernadino County cities of Fontana and San Bernardino. The $15,000 CityLIFT funds are actually a ‘soft second’ mortgage which are then forgiven (free money) after the borrower has occupied […]
How to Refinance an Exploding CalSTRS Teachers Loan
Teachers who purchased using the CalSTRS 80/17 Teacher Home Loan can now use the new CalHERO Teacher Loan program to refinance and consolidate their soon to be exploding CalSTRS mortgage and avoid a train wreck waiting to happen. The CalSTRS 80/17 home buying program was discontinued in September of 2011, as mentioned in this announcement, […]