Types of Loans

Refinance

If you currently own a home and are looking to lower your payment, take cash out to pay off debt, do home improvement or to remove mortgage insurance.

Purchase

If you are looking to purchase a home or condo/townhome to live in, or you already own a home and want to purchase an additional property to vacation at, rent out or flip (fix up and sell).

VA Loan

If you are currently in the military, are former military or reserves, then a VA loan allows you to purchase or refinance with up to 100% of the value of the property with no down payment and no mortgage insurance.

FHA Loan

Commonly thought of as a first-time buyer loan, which it is not, this loan is for all people that need a low down payment of 3.5%, as well as can have credit issues that a conventional loan won’t allow and can go down to a low credit score of 500. FHA loans have mortgage insurance monthly and an upfront mortgage insurance premium that is financed.

Conventional Loan

This loan is the most common loan and has limits on how large your loan size can be. There is a conforming loan amount, which is based on the County you live in as well as a high balance limit, also based on your county. You can put down as little as 3% (depending on several factors), 5% or more. Anything less than a 20% down payment will have mortgage insurance. There is a minimum credit score of 620 for these loans. For up-to-date information on loan limits, visit www.loanlimits.org/california/.

Reverse Mortgage

For borrower’s over age 62, this loan can be used to either purchase a new home or refinance an existing home. These loans have no monthly mortgage payment and the interest due on the mortgage is added monthly to the loan balance. The equity is yours but if the mortgage ever exceeds the value of the home, you are not responsible to pay that back.

First time buyer programs

First time buyer is a person that has not owned a property in the last 3 years. These programs are meant to help with down payment assistance for borrowers that meet a certain criteria of credit score, income limits and debt to income ratio’s. Some of these programs fall under the CALHFA program (www.calhfa.ca.gov/homebuyer/) and can be either an FHA loan or a Conventional loan.