Sub Prime Loans

Sub-Prime serves those clients who could not qualify for a loan under conventional bank guidelines. Our Sub-Prime division expands the scope of our mortgage company and increases the number of clients we can help.

Conventional Loans

Conventional loans include:

• Fixed Rate Mortgages
  
  
• Conventional Loans
  
  
• Jumbo Mortgages
  
  
• Balloon Mortgages

"Conventional loan" is a term that encompasses all mortgages not insured by thenot insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Conventional loans cover a wide variety of mortgage types that fall into three major categories: conforming, jumbo, and non-conforming.

Conforming loans are mortgages that meet the approval guidelines of the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA, or Fannie Mae) or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC or Freddie Mac), the Nation's two largest purchasers of home loans.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set the standards for conventional mortgage loans. These agencies do not make mortgage loans. Instead, they create a market for mortgage lenders to sell loans, thus freeing up the capital to lend to other borrowers.

In order to take out a conforming loan, an applicant must fulfill the basic eligibility model for approval, which includes the following criteria:

• Credit History
  
  
• Employment Stability & Income
  
  
• Adequacy of Funds to Close
  
  
• Purchasing or Refinancing
  
  
• Type of Loan Requested

Not all conventional loans are sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Jumbo mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages ( ARM 's) are two of the more popular variations on conventional loans.

Most ARM 's use agency credit guidelines to approve prospective borrowers. However, many ARM 's have features, like higher loan amounts or loan-to-values, that do not fulfill Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac criteria.

Jumbo loans are loans that are too large to meet the requirements of either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Currently, any loan more than $333,700 is considered a "jumbo loan" (as of December 2003). In general, jumbo loans have the same eligibility requirements as conventional loans.

Non-conforming loans do not fulfill the approval guidelines set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For more information on non-conforming loans, please visit our Sub-Prime and FHA Loan information.

When shopping for a new mortgage, the type of conventional loan will have an impact on the interest rate that is quoted. Be sure you get enough information to accurately determine the mortgage that is best for you

FHA Loans

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loans are insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, so your lender can offer you a better deal. There are a number of advantages in taking out an FHA Loan including:

• Low down payments
  
  
• Low closing costs
  
  
• Easy credit qualifying

For more information on FHA Loans from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, please visit the FHA Loan Resource Center.