Purchase Money Mortgage Guide – Apply for Your First Home Loan

Buying a new home is a special experience and part of the American Dream and applying for a purchase money mortgage as a first time home buyer can be challenging. It also is a huge personal and financial step for most of us, and it is common to experience stress. But there are some simple steps to follow to make your first purchase money mortgage loan experience less stressful. New home buyers ask us all the time about purchase money mortgages, so we published this article.

What Is a Purchase Money Mortgage Loan?

A Purchase Money Mortgage, also known as a home purchase loan or seller or owner financing, is a unique and creative arrangement in the realm of home financing. In a traditional mortgage, a buyer borrows money from a lender or bank to purchase a house, while in a purchase money mortgage, the seller of the property essentially becomes the mortgage lender.

This arrangement occurs when the buyer lacks the necessary funds to cover the entire purchase price and, rather than relying on a third-party lender, the seller offers to finance the deal.

The key element of a purchase money mortgage is that the property’s seller extends a loan to the buyer, allowing them to complete the purchase. This home loan typically covers the difference between the down payment made by the buyer and the total purchase price.

The buyer then commits to repaying the seller in agreed-upon installments, including interest, over an agreed-upon period. The terms of the purchase loan, such as mortgage rates, duration, and monthly payments, are typically negotiated between the buyer and the seller and are included in a legally binding promissory note.

The home purchase mortgage can be mutually beneficial for both parties involved. Buyers who may have difficulty qualifying for traditional mortgages due to credit issues, insufficient down payments, or unconventional financial situations can benefit from purchase money mortgages.

Sellers, on the other hand, may attract a larger pool of potential buyers by offering this alternative financing method. Additionally, they can often secure a higher selling price and potentially negotiate favorable terms, including mortgage rates and the length of the home loan.

It’s essential to emphasize that while purchase mortgages offer advantages for many buyers and sellers, they come with risks and complexities. Both parties should exercise due diligence, potentially consult real estate professionals, and seek legal advice to ensure that the purchase-money mortgage agreement aligns with applicable regulations and safeguards their interests.

The purchase money mortgages are a popular financing method that allows real estate buyers to obtain funding directly from the property seller, circumventing traditional lenders. It provides an alternative for those who may not qualify for conventional home loans and offers flexibility in terms and conditions.

However, it is vital for all involved parties to fully understand and adhere to the legal and financial implications of this unique financing arrangement.

Understand the 1st Time Home Loan Process

For a first-time buyer, it is common to feel stress because you do not understand how the loan process works.

The good news for people seeking their first mortgage, the credit rules have been eased, income guidelines loosened and the down-payment requirements are minimal.

If this is your first time getting a home loan, here are the basic steps of getting a mortgage without pulling your hair out:

1. Financial self-assessment and preparing for application. This step includes making a budget, assessing your debts, credit, savings and preparing the documents you will need for the application. Do this before talking to a broker or mortgage lender.
2. Applying for the home loan. You will submit the application to the lender and hopefully get pre-qualified; this is where you get a rough idea of what you can afford to buy, but your financial information has not yet been verified so this is a rough estimate only.
3. Mortgage origination and processing. Loan file is created by assembling all financial data and documents. This is where the lender reviews your financial data and documents and states how much of a purchase money mortgage you qualify for, which is called a loan pre-approval.
4. Underwriting: Your loan application is reviewed by a mortgage underwriter who will judge repayment risk after looking at credit, debt to income ratio and income.
5. Satisfying all conditions for home loan: This step may require you to meet certain conditions before loan approval, such as provide more documents, clear a debt, etc.
6. Closing: This is the final step in the purchase money loan process where the loan is funded, and title is transferred to you.

Understanding the mortgage process is very important to lower your stress level and getting the first time mortgage approved and funded smoothly.

Plan Early

Being under a crunch for time can create much stress in the home loan process. Prepare for your mortgage process months in advance. You will need to have a lot of documents to be approved for a loan and these can take time to pull together.

Work on Your Credit

One of the reasons you want to work on the mortgage prep process well ahead of time is to ensure your credit is in good shape. You should get a copy of your credit report and find out what your credit score is. It is important to know if there are any black marks on your credit rating, especially in the last two years. If you have anything on your credit report that is incorrect, you have time to contest it with the credit bureaus and get it removed. Learn more about first-time home buyer credit. There are non-traditional mortgage lenders that offer hard money loan programs but the interest rates and closing costs are higher.

If you want a conventional mortgage, ideally you should have a credit score over 700. If your score is well under that, you can still get a home loan, but may need to consider a FHA mortgage.

You also should know what your debt to income ratios are. The front-end ratio is the total proposed monthly mortgage payment, including taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance if needed, compared to your gross monthly income. The back-end ratio is your total monthly debt load, compared to your gross monthly income. Generally, a debt to income ratio of 36% is ideal, but some mortgage lenders will allow you to go up to 41% or even 43%.

Plan a Budget

Having a good, clear budget will reduce your stress by a lot! Do this early. Your home budget should lay out what you can really afford, including the price of the home, taxes, fees, and all insurance costs.

Get started by mapping out your finances for each month. Write down what your gross monthly income is and monthly debts. When you get your budget figured out, be sure that you can comfortably afford your mortgage payment.

Spending too much can really create stress. You can often be approved for more home than you can really afford. You should have a sizable safety cushion left over each month for savings, repairs and the extra costs of life that always happen. Planning is prudent when considering a new purchase money mortgage.

Understand Documents

There are many financial documents you will need to get a first purchase money mortgage loan. Common documents that you will need during the purchase mortgage process include:

• Credit report
• Mortgage application
• Pay stubs for last month
• W-2s from the last 2 years
• Bank statements for last three months
• Tax returns for last two years, especially if you are self employed
• Documents for any long-term loans, such as student loans and car loans

Emerging Home Loan Programs for First Time Buyers in 2024

Are you considering your first home purchase mortgage this year or next? Many first time buyers ask, “What is a purchase money loan?” There are so many new terms being asked, it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the mortgage choices. But there are some really good options to consider, and you do not have to have the best credit score out there to qualify, either. Here are some of the best current financing choices for first time home buyers:

HomeReady Mortgage from Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae has been on a mission in the last several years to make it easier to buy a home. With the HomeReady mortgage, it is easier than ever for the first-time buyer to stop renting and get a purchase money mortgage. Some of the best features of this purchase money loan are:

• 3% down payment is possible if you want to conserve how much cash you put into the deal
• Lower rates for private mortgage insurance; this is required on any mortgage with less than 20% equity in the property
• Down payments may come from gifts and down payment assistance programs
• Income from people not on the mortgage can be used to qualify
• Income from people not on the mortgage but in the house can be used to qualify for income purposes
• Boarder income, as in from a roommate, can help you to qualify
• Rental income from a mother in law suite also can be used to qualify

As noted above, this program is very flexible with down payments. For most Americans, coming up with the down payment is the most challenging part of buying a home. These purchase money mortgages only requires a 3% down payment, but where you get the money is very flexible.

Fannie Mae Home Loan Programs

This is another popular financing option for first time home buyers that have solid credentials. Fannie Mae products have always had a reputation for low closing costs and competitive interest rates. Ask about the Homepath loan when you speak with a loan officer. There are several purchase money loan programs backed by Fannie Mae, so do your homework to determine, which is the best. The RefiGuide will help you shop prime interest rates from traditional mortgage lenders.

Mortgage Rates for First Time Home Buyers Remains Attractive and Lenders Are Slashing Closing Costs and Lender Fees!

Many other first-time buyer programs require you to have a certain amount of the down payment to come from you. Only after you have taken care of the minimum contribution can you get help from a gift or another source. But with HomeReady, all of the down payment can come from other sources than your personal finances. You also can get financial help from a down payment assistance program.

Another big plus of the down payment feature of the HomeReady program is that you can use cash on hand to make your down payment. If you prefer to keep your cash on hand rather than in a bank, you may have difficulty making a down payment with other programs. Other purchase-money mortgage programs will require you to have the funds sitting in a savings account for 60 days. But you can with this program get a loan with the cash you have in your home.

This Fannie Mae program also allows you to use a variety of income sources to qualify. You can of course use your regular income, which is your salary, commissions, bonuses and tips. But you also can use income of people in the home who are not even on the loan.

This feature of the program is a good fit for a multiple generational family under one roof, or where parents live with children in the same home. The non-borrower’s income has to be used as a compensating factor and not for qualification. This means that the lender will not add that person’s income to your personal income to approve the mortgage. Instead, the non-borrower income is considered as a possible reason to approve you even if your debt to income ratio is too high. The maximum DTI for this program is 45%, but if you have additional income from other sources in the home, this can be used to lower the DTI and get the loan approved.

There are income limits for the HomeReady program, however. For this program, the limits are set per the geographic area. In an area that is underserved, there is not any income limit at all. But in areas that are wealthier, there is a limit to how much you can make. This ensures that the HomeReady program is used by people who most need it.

You can talk to your realtor and your mortgage broker about what the income limit is for this program in your geographic area.

You do not have to have a perfect credit score to qualify for HomeReady. The minimum score is only 620, so people with average to poor credit can qualify. A credit score of 680 or higher will get the best results. You will have more lenders to consider and a lower interest rate.

Note that all buyers who use this program have to complete a home buyer education course.

How Does the Fed Rate Affect Mortgage Rates?

Over the last few years, the Federal Reserve significantly raised the federal funds rate to curb economic growth and bring inflation under control. While inflation has since slowed, it remains slightly above the Fed’s 2% target.

Although purchase money mortgage rates aren’t directly tied to changes in the federal funds rate, they often move up or down in anticipation of Fed policy changes. This is because mortgage rates fluctuate based on investor demand for mortgage-backed securities, which is influenced by expectations of how Fed policies will impact the broader economy.

Federal Reserve officials have signaled that additional rate cuts may be on the horizon, which could lead to a lower mortgage interest rate in the coming months.

Currently, average 30-year mortgage rates are hovering around 5.70%, according to Zillow data. Interest rates have been gradually declining, as they averaged 6.05% in August. Similarly, average 15-year mortgage rates are now below 5%, down from an average of 5.38% in August, and continue to trend lower. (9/23/24)

FHA Home Financing from the Federal Housing Administration

FHA mortgages are another very popular program for first time home buyers. This program is backed by the Federal Housing Administration so that people with average or poor credit can buy their own home. While FHA purchase money loans are not perfect, they are very good fits for many buyers as the FHA interest rates are usually pretty competitive. Here are some of the benefits:

• You only need to put down 3.5%, and you need just a 580-credit score to qualify for this down payment. Of course, if you can, you should try to put down more as this will save you money on interest payments. You can use other people’s money to make your down payment, such as a gift from a family member.
• You can get an FHA mortgage after a foreclosure or bankruptcy, if the event was two or three years ago.
• There are no income ceilings, so you do not have to worry about making too much money to qualify.
• Debt to income ratios are reasonable, with a 43% back end DTI being common. This means all of your debt payments each month cannot be more than 43% of your gross monthly income.

However, the FHA program is not for everyone. If you need to borrow more than the maximum allowed FHA-insured loan for your area, you cannot get an FHA mortgage. Also, FHA still requires mortgage insurance requirements that are not cheap. But this is a great purchase money loan program and is the program of choice for first time buyers with past credit problems. Do your homework before completing a FHA loan application online.

Military Home loans Backed by the VA

One of the great things our government has done for the military is guarantee the best home loan product. The VA offers first time home buyer loans with zero down required. The interest rate quotes are great and there is no down-payment required with VA home loans. There is also no mortgage insurance and minimal closing costs with VA purchase-money loans. Talk to an approved lender to see if you are eligible for VA purchase money loans as a 1st-time home buyer.

Home Financing for Borrowers in Rural America

One of the most popular purchase money mortgages is the USDA home loan that provides 100% financing for people that live in rural areas of the country. That means you could be eligible for a no money down home loan if you mee the USDA eligibility requirements.

What is a Purchase Money Second Mortgage?

A purchase money second mortgage, AKA PM2, is an equity loan that helps borrowers meet the down payment required or supplement the funds needed for a home purchase. In some cases, it can also be used to finance home improvement projects, such as buying appliances or furniture.

The key advantage of a purchase money second mortgage is that it helps homeowners avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI), which is typically required when the down payment is less than 20%.

Can I Get Purchase Money Mortgages with Bad Credit?

Yes, there are several purchase money mortgage programs for people with lower credit scores. The RefiGuide will help you find private money lenders that offer affordable home buyer loans for all types of credit. Seller financing is another option for people who cant qualify for traditional purchase money mortgage programs.

• Non QM Home Loans
• Hard Money Loans
• Portfolio Loans

How to Purchase Land with No Money Down

It is very difficult to purchase land with zero down-payment, but it is possible if you speak with the right traditional mortgage lender and meet the eligibility requirements.

Seller Financing: AKA owner financing, this option involves the seller managing the mortgage instead of a traditional financial institution.

USDA: This 100% financing program requires no down payment, with the same interest rate and fees regardless of the down payment amount.

VA: This government backed program is very popular with military borrowers looking to buy land and build a house in a rural area.

Conforming vs. FHA Loan Limits

If you’re considering a buying a higher-priced property, you might want to opt for a conforming loan rather than an FHA loan. This is because FHA loan limits tend to be lower than those of conforming loans. For instance, in most areas of the U.S., the maximum FHA loan limit for a single-family home is $498,257, while the conforming loan limit for one-unit properties in many counties is $766,550.

Know All Home Purchase Loan Options

The entire mortgage loan process is rife with big decisions. You have to know your budget, credit score, home you want to buy, which lender, and the type of loan you want – 30 year fixed, 15 year, adjustable, etc. Just remember to have all of the above information figured out before you go to a purchase money mortgage lender. And, have a loan pre-approval in hand before you even START looking at houses. If you do these things, your mortgage process will be a lot less stressful!

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us