HomeLoan options
Loan options
More options than a single lender can show you.
As a mortgage broker, we work with many lenders and programs. These are the ones we can look at for you in Georgia and Florida. Availability depends on your situation and the property. Where a program's limits or rules change, we point you to the agency's own page.
Buying and refinancing
The programs most home loans come from.
Conventional
For buyers and owners with steady credit and income. Conventional mortgage insurance, when there is any, can come off once enough equity has been built.
FHA
Insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Generally more flexible on credit history, and allows gift funds and, in some cases, a family member as a co-borrower who doesn't live in the home. For a home the borrower will live in. FHA isn't only for first-time buyers. FHA's mortgage insurance usually stays for the life of the loan, unless the down payment was large enough at the start.
VA
For eligible veterans, service members and some surviving spouses. For a home the borrower will live in. No monthly mortgage insurance; instead there's a one-time funding fee, and some veterans are exempt from it. VA's funding fee page lists who.
USDA
Both the address and the household's income have to meet USDA's tests. Plenty of ordinary addresses outside the big cities qualify, and USDA's eligibility map is the answer, not a guess. For a home the borrower will live in.
Jumbo
For loan amounts above the conforming limit. The limit is set each year and is higher in some counties. Jumbo standards vary more from lender to lender than any agency program's, and reserves and credit standards are generally tighter.
Fixed and adjustable rates
A rate that stays the same for the life of the loan, or one that can change after an initial period.
Temporary buydowns
Money set aside at closing, often from the seller, covers part of the monthly payment in the early part of the loan. The borrower is generally qualified at the full payment, not the reduced one. Whether a buydown is available depends on the loan and the lender.
Non-warrantable condos
For condos that don't meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's project rules, for example because of the building's mix of owners and renters, its rental activity, or needed repairs. Condo rules differ from lender to lender.
Refinancing
Replacing the loan you have, for a different loan, or to take cash out.
Cash-out refinance
A new mortgage, larger than what you owe now, that pays off the loan you have; what's left after the payoff and closing costs comes to you in cash. Available on conventional, FHA and VA loans, depending on the loan and the property. FHA and VA cash-out are for the home you live in.
FHA Streamline
A refinance from an existing FHA loan into a new FHA loan, often with less documentation than a full refinance.
VA IRRRL
The VA's streamline refinance, from an existing VA loan into a new VA loan.
RefiNow and Refi Possible
Refinance programs from Fannie Mae (RefiNow) and Freddie Mac (Refi Possible), for homeowners whose current loan on the home they live in is owned by one of them, and whose income used to qualify is at or below a limit for their area, among other requirements.
Help getting in
Assistance that can sit alongside a first mortgage.
FHA with down-payment assistance
In Georgia and Florida, an FHA loan can be paired with down-payment assistance for buyers who meet the program's rules. In Florida that includes Florida Housing's programs, which come with Florida Housing's own first mortgage. Some assistance is forgiven over time and some is repaid. Program rules and funding change, sometimes within the year; ask which programs are open.
Self-employed and investors
When tax returns don't tell the whole story, or the property does the qualifying.
Non-QM
Programs outside the standard agency guidelines, for situations they don't fit. These aren't "no-doc" loans. For a home you live in, the lender still has to verify you can repay; the documentation is different, not absent.
Bank-statement loans
For self-employed borrowers whose tax returns, after business write-offs, understate the cash the business actually brings in. Income is generally documented with bank statements instead of tax returns.
Profit-and-loss loans
For business owners who document income with a profit-and-loss statement. Who prepares the statement, and what else is asked for, varies by lender.
DSCR
Investment property only, not a home you'll live in. That includes short-term rentals, depending on the lender. It qualifies mainly on the property's rent measured against its debt, instead of on your personal income. The loan can be made to an LLC, generally with the owners' personal guarantee.
DSCR second mortgages
Investment property only, not a home you'll live in. A second mortgage that keeps the first in place. Like DSCR first mortgages, it can include short-term rentals, depending on the lender, and can be made to an LLC, generally with the owners' personal guarantee. It qualifies mainly on the property's rent measured against its debt, instead of on your personal income.
Self-employed second mortgages
A second mortgage for business owners, keeping the first in place.
Equity
Borrowing against the home you live in, keeping your first mortgage in place.
HELOCs
A line of credit against the equity in the home you live in, usually behind your first mortgage. You draw on it as you need it, then pay it back.
Home-equity loans and second mortgages
A lump sum borrowed against the equity in the home you live in, keeping your first mortgage in place.
Build and improve
Financing the work as well as the home.
Renovation loans
Buy or refinance and fund the improvements in one loan, depending on the program and the lender. Options include FHA 203(k) and VA Renovation, both for a home the borrower will live in, and Fannie Mae HomeStyle Renovation. The loan can count the home's expected value after the work, not only its value today, though on a purchase the cost of the home and the work generally limits it too. The lender generally reviews the contractor, the money is usually paid out in stages as the work is done, and it generally takes longer than a standard loan.
Construction-to-permanent
Finance the build and the finished home with one approval and one closing, instead of a construction loan and then a separate mortgage. Includes VA construction-to-permanent. Land you already own can count toward the deal, depending on the lender and the loan.
Not sure which fits?
Talk it through with Joe.
Every situation is different. That's what the first conversation is for.
Talk to Joe