Phil Caulfield Jumbo Loan California DRE #01030082

As a mortgage originator, I have always equated floating the mortgage rate like peeing at the golf course - you just hope you don't get caught with your pants down! When you are floating your client's mortgage rate, you figuratively have your pants down. You are exposed to the whims of the mortgage backed securities market. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I don't know about you, but I lose this proposition more than I win. When you float the rate, urine for trouble! (Hee Hee). So as a mortgage pro, what is the best strategy to get the rate your client wants?Personally, I try to use lenders that have a good rate re-negotiation policy. Wells Fargo has a good policy. You can float down to a lower rate by adding .375% to the fee. Citimortgage also renegotiates (I'm not sure exactly what their policy is, but I have re-negotiated with them). Met Life and Suntrust, I have found, are pretty stingy. Are there any other lenders out there that will let you leak (another bad joke) down to a lower rate or fee?

Remember the scene in Animal House when the girl fell out of the sky onto the young boy's bed while he's reading Playboy and he says "Thank you God"?

I feel this way right now! We just got approved to market the Citimortgage jumbo mortgage loan program. We have had to survive without many jumbo programs for at least a year. Starting tomorrow, we are allowed to send them new loan applications.

I wanted to let you know about the guidelines and programs. The maximum loan amount is $1,500,000. They will allow an 80% LTV and a 90% CLTV. The minimum FICO score is 720.

They are offering a 30 year fixed, a 10/1 LIBOR, and a 5/1 LIBOR.

Cash-out is not allowed. Second homes, investment properties, and 4 unit properties are ineligible.

I will report back tomorrow on the pricing.

Finally, we have a jumbo mortgage loan we can sell here in California!

 

 

 

It's amazing how much power the media has. I have many homeowners say to me "I heard on the news jumbo mortgage rates are not even available."

Jumbo mortgage rates are available. However, there are fewer lenders offering jumbo mortgages with attractive rates.

Lenders that are in the jumbo mortgage market have tightened guidelines. Stated income is not offered by any of our lenders. Debt-to-Income requirements are more stringent. More equity is generally required.

If you are well-qualified, there are attractive jumbo mortgage rates available for you in the high 3% range to the low 5% range, depending on how long the fixed rate term of the loan is.

I recently completed a loan modification for one of my clients. Many people wonder what kind of terms homeowners receive when their loan gets modified. I would like to share with you what they had prior to the modification, and what they received from their lender.

My clients had a 30 year loan that was fixed for two years at 9.5%, with a payment of $3745 per month. Like many homeowners, they were struggling to make the payments. They were unable to refinance due to the loss of equity from the general reduction in home prices in their neighborhood.

They asked me if there was anything they could do. I suggested trying for a loan modification. They asked me what terms they would get. I told them that I did not know. I told them that the modification would be based on their income and expenses.

After a long waiting period, my clients received a modification package in the mail from their lender. The lender changed the terms to a fixed rate for the remaining term of the loan. They reduced the rate to 6.875%. My clients' payment was reduced by $715 per month to $3030.

I think this modification turned out to be a win-win situation for both the lender and my clients. The lender is still getting a good interest rate. They also are avoiding having to go through another foreclosure.

My clients will be able to make their payments and keep the house they love!

Jumbo loan lenders are hard to find these days. Sure, many lenders have jumbo programs on their rate sheets, but most of these programs are priced very unattractively.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we need jumbo lenders. On the retail side, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Union Bank, and First Republic Bank offer attractive terms.

On the wholesale side (the channel I work through), we don't have very many choices any more. ING, First Federal Bank, and US Bank are the only lenders that we work with that have attractive programs at this point in time. I understand that LIME Financial will be offering some competitive jumbo terms shortly.

Are there any suggestions out there for jumbo lenders with attractive programs?