After 14 years as a FL mortgage professional, I have experienced countless changes in our industry.   Mortgage programs were created such as interest only fixed rate loans, or the notorious pay option ARM.  Stated income mortgages, meant for self employed borrowers, became available for salaried home buyers.  And no document type mortgages were everywhere so anyone could buy a home; which really screwed things up.   And lest we forget today’s magnitude of mortgage underwriting  makeovers.   However, one thing remains the same.  Home buyers are still focused on interest rate.  What about the mortgage making sense?

 Interest rate shopping is very important after you have spoken to a FL mortgage professional regarding which mortgage program best suits your financial future.  A few years ago if someone wanted simply the lowest available interest rate, the answer was usually the pay option ARM rate of 1%.  Can’t beat that one.  However, many home buyers were not made aware of the pitfalls that came that low payment rate.  The pitfalls were huge!

It pays to speak with an experience FL mortgage professional who will assist in detailing the advantages and disadvantages of any specific mortgage program scenario.  Just because a FL home owners calls to refinance and lower their fixed interest rate; doesn’t mean it is in their best interest to refinance.  This includes FL FHA loans, FL VA home loans, FL Jumbo loans and conventional mortgages.  The mortgage must make sense. 

What about recovery period considerations when refinancing?  Or what is the long term interest savings when deciding between a new 25 year fixed rate, 20 year fixed rate or a 15 year fixed rate mortgage? 

Once you have found your seasoned FL mortgage professional who knows what he or she is talking about – then move onto interest rate.  Be wary of mortgage originators that talk only about rate.  It’s usually because it’s  whole lot easier to quote an interest rate than to know how to truly qualify and educate a home owner when seeking their first FL mortgage.  The mortgage must make sense.

And making mortgage sense starts with an experienced FL mortgage professional.  Have a question your current mortgage or know someone else who may?  Contact us anytime.

In today’s ever tighter mortgage guideline environment, many home buyers are are learning that yesterday’s adage or question “What’s your interest rate?” has been replaced with “Can you close my loan?”  Rate is out and getting the job done is in.

FL mortgage underwriting of credit histories and scores; income evaluations or calculations; and appraisals have made buying a home less fun for many.  The truth is that FL home buyers should make sure they work with experienced FL mortgage professionals.  It no longer matters who has the lowest interest rate for a FL fixed rate VA, or FHA mortgage,  or even a conventional Fannie Mae loan.  A fixed rate of 3.5% sounds like a great FL 30 year fixed rate mortgage.  But if the lender or  bank cannot close the loan; the interest rate doesn’t matter.

I am not saying to toss rate shopping out the window.  Of course a competitive interest rate is important when buying your new FL home.  Always compare a quoted fixed interest rate against the costs for that rate.  With today’s new good faith estimate, this can be done easily.  Compare the lender or banks fees; now called the origination fee, and the interest rate quoted against other estimates.  But if you want to ensure that you are going to close; work with a seasoned, experienced, knowledgeable FL mortgage professional.  I would take a real interest rate with reasonable costs and an experienced mortgage professional; over a slightly lower interest rate and never get to closing; anytime.

Ask your licensed FL Realtor how long they have been working with their local mortgage professional.  And then do some research.  Ask for referrals, ask about length of time as a FL loan originator.  By talking to several loan officers, you can actually hear the difference between the newbies, the crooks (most of them are gone now – hopefully) and the true Fl mortgage professional.  Got a question about your next home buyer or know someone searching for true mortgage answers?  Have them contact me or call anytime at 407-733-6425.

Our great state of Florida offers many military benefits for Veterans seeking to purchase their new FL home while using their VA Entitlement for a FL VA mortgage.  I want to share the following FL VA specific benefit information for qualified Veterans seeking a FL VA home loan.  There are specific FL VA benefits regarding homestead tax exemptions which may reduce or even eliminate FL taxes on residential homes.

• According to FS 196.081(1); any real estate owned and occupied (homesteded) by a US Veteran who has a service-connected, permanent and total disability and has been honorably discharged; is exempt from FL property tax.  The Veteran home owner must be a permanent resident of FL on January 1st of the year in which the exemption is being claimed. 
• FL Veteran home buyers or current Veteran home owners are eligible with a VA service-connected disability of 10% or greater shall be entitled to a $5,000 property tax exemption.
• The exemption of taxation carries over to the spouse in the event event the Veteran is deceased; at least until the spouse remarries, sells or otherwise disposes of the property.

For more information regarding additional FL Veteran benefits with respect to homestead tax exemption; please visit the FL Senate website. And if you or someone you know is a US Veteran requiring more anwswers to their FL VA mortgage questions; please have them  contact me anytime.

One of the most popular FL mortgage programs happens to be one of the best ways to buy a FL home with the least amount of down payments and less hassle.  Whether you are a FL first time home buyer; searching for a second home or vacation home; or want to pick up a great investment or FL rental home – Fannie Mae’s HomePath Mortgage has it’s advantages.   

• Imagine being able to finance your next FL home without having to have an appraisal!  With the HomePath mortgage, not only are appraisals not required; there are no declining market policy restrictions.  Keep in mind, you can obtain your own, independent appraisal – just for piece of mind.
• Down payments can be as low as 3% for primary residences and 10% for second homes / investment properties.
• All this and nomonthly, PMI, private mortgage insurance!  Sort of like getting a FL VA home loan without being a Veteran.
• Sellers can contribute up to 6% towards closing costs for primary and second homes; and up to 2% for investment properties.

For more information on the HomePath Program visit www.homepath.com.  While there, search for the home of your dreams and then contact or call me directly at 407-733-6425.  Let’s  make sure you are qualified for this very popular FL mortgage  loan.

Successful FL Realtors depend on  FL Mortgage Professionals to stay informed of current mortgage related guideline changes.   Last week we were speaking with the top producing Realtor team in West Volusia County.  We learned that many home buyers were asking for low down payment options; so we broke it down from one question that must be asked:

• Are you a United States Veteran? 

If the answer is yes; then we can discuss the advantages of obtaining a guaranteed FL VA home loan.  With loan amounts under $417K, there is no down payment requirement, no PMI (private mortgage insurance) and of course no down payment.  And sellers can contribute up to 4% towards the buyers closing costs.  What a great program!

The savvy  FL Realtors, however, bring up the cost factor of the VA Funding Fee.  This is usually rolled into the loan amount and costs 2.15% of the mortgage amount borrowed.  If the Veteran has used his Entitlement on a previously owned home; the VA Funding Fee can jump to 3.3%.  That can be over $10k for FL home purchases over $300k.  But there is a VA solution.

Have the Veteran put down 5% and the VA Funding Fee drops to 1.5% for subsequent Entitlement users.  A 5% down payment VA home loan still has no PMI which can save the Veteran thousands over the life of the loan.  Compare that with any, if available, conventional loan with PMI.

I am getting carried away – but I truly love sharing specific VA home loan information.  Remember, if down payments are an issue, ask if your buyer is a Veteran.  If not, lets look at USDA Rural Housing or an FHA home loan.

So much more to talk about.  Call me if you have any questions regarding pre-qualifying your next home buyer.  My name is Stephen Thaggard and I can be reached at 407-733-6425.