Loan Information RSS Feed

What Loan Options are Available... The basics.

By: Jackie Schmidt, DC Realtor


So you have made the decision to enter into the real estate market - you want to buy a home. This opens a flood gate of questions.  One of the first that needs to be addressed is, “How will I pay for this investment?”  Many people lock themselves out of the real estate market because they do not think they can afford to buy, but there are many loan options for buyers.  


The most common loan is a conventional loan.  The conventional loan uses Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines for conforming loans.  As of right now these guidelines look like the following:  The minimum down payment for a loan up to $417,000 is 5%.  From $417,001 up to $625,000 the minimum down payment is 10% and from $625,001 or more - a jumbo loan - requires a minimum down payment of 20%. If the loan amount is between $3-4M the accepted minimum deposit is variable, but respectively higher as well.  


As of right now you may be thinking ‘awesome I can get a loan for $200,000 and all I have to get together for a down payment is $10,000 - Maybe I can swing this!’  There are secondary fees to consider and those include PMI, private mortgage insurance, and bank fees.  In short PMI is an insurance paid for the bank taking the risk on a homeowner to make good on the loan payments.   It insures the bank for up to 80% of the home’s value if the homeowner defaults on the loan if the loan if for the full value of the home..  PMI can be between 0.3 - 1.15% of the original loan amount per year.  


Using the same example as above that would be $200,000- $10,000= Loan amount of $180,000

$180,000 * avg 0.725% PMI = $1,305 per year. /12 months=$108.75 per month.

Tack that onto your $890.77  mortgage payment and you have your monthly payment.


Once the loan amount is less than 80% of the value of the home the PMI can be eliminated.


A popular loan for first time home buyers is the FHA. This is a popular loan for 1st time home buyers because generally speaking 1st time home buyers have less saved funds,  have not built as much credit and this program has a lower credit score requirement, less money down, and more lenient debt to income requirements.  However FHA loans have some drawbacks to protect the lenders. Foremost, there is a 1.75% upfront fee at closing along with a 0.5% annual renewal premium paid annually over the life of the loan that will not be suspended if the loan-to-value changes as the PMI does. The home also must appraise for the cost of the loan and must meet basic condition requirements.  Back to the benefits though!  The minimum down payment is only 3.5%, so back to the earlier example that is only a $7,000 down payment on a $200,000 loan!  Some people that use this option do so as a way of entry into the market.  After some time of making good payments and building good credit, you can refinance for a conventional loan and if your loan-to-value has risen you may not even need to pay the PMI, as well as the renewal premium you will be rid of.


There are many other loan types out there, but having knowledge of the two most common will help you on your way to getting your new home and a great investment.

Found 32 blog entries about Loan Information.

search va approved condos

If you meet one or more of their requirements, you may be eligible for a home-buying loan from Veterans Affairs (VA). If so, there are two factors that can help get you closer to financing your new home with a VA loan.

  • The VA recently increased loan limits and removed state- and county-specific restrictions.
  • The Capital Park Team website features an advanced search filter for ‘VA Approved Condos Only.’

Some VA approved condos you should definitely know about are Chase Point in Friendship HeightsResidences at CityCenter in Chinatown, and Union Row in U Street. Because VA home loans are often easier to acquire for veterans and/or their families than conventional loans, the VA takes extra care to ensure the viability of the homes they…

6,469 Views, 0 Comments

VA Loan DC, VA, MD

Starting January 2020, the maximum loan limit will be $1,500,000 across the country (no longer State or County specific). *Borrowers with partial VA Eligibility will want to review the amount they can purchase with no money down with a licensed lender*

What does this mean? The Funding Fee amounts for VA Purchase and Refinance transactions will increase for loans closing on or after January 1, 2020. The table below outlines these changes:

This is a great opportunity for our Veterans to purchase with no money down without county to county loan amount caps!

Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC have considerably high veteran populations, both in terms of percentage and sheer number. That said, condominium boards and HOAs are wise to seek…

1,396 Views, 0 Comments

1.  How much can I borrow to buy a home?
When determining how much you can borrow, lenders may consider your income level compared with debt, your employment status and your credit history. Talk to a lender about getting prequalified for a mortgage before you start shopping for your new home. This can make the whole experience go more smoothly.
Military veterans and first-time homebuyers may be eligible for special government-sponsored mortgage programs. Ask your lender what you might qualify for.

2.  How much money do I need to put down?
To get the best rate and terms for your loan, try to put down at least 20 percent of the purchase price. Although a lower down payment won’t necessarily disqualify you, there is a chance that a monthly private mortgage…

436 Views, 0 Comments

This tool assists buyers looking for condos where the Veterans Administration loan is accepted in the District of Columbia, Arlington, Alexandria, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, and Silver Spring.

In addition to the VA Approved Condo filter, condo search results can be narrowed even further by using any combination of the other 10 filter options in Capital Park Realty's Advanced Search Tool. For example, if a veteran is looking for a condo where the VA loan is accepted in either Chevy Chase, Capitol Hill, or Georgetown, now there’s a place to go and find condos matching their exact criteria with a few clicks of a button.

466 Views, 0 Comments

Early drafts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act slashed many of the tax incentives for homeownership. For generations of American families, owning a home has been a cornerstone of economic stability and wealth creation. During the tax bill revision process, the key question the National Association of Realtors lobbyists pushed lawmakers on was, “Do we want a country of renters or a do we want a country where people own their own home?”

Most of the changes to the tax law changes relating to DMV real estate market were either very incremental or left unchanged. The mortgage interest deduction is still allowed, except the new cap is $750K instead of $1 million. Real estate investors still retain investment deductions. The capital gains tax exclusion remains…

2,357 Views, 0 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Capital Park Realty is the first and only DC Area brokerage to release a VA Approved Condo search filter for active MLS listings. This new tool assists buyers looking for condos where the Veterans Administration loan is accepted in the District of Columbia, Arlington, Alexandria, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, and Silver Spring.

Nate Ward, co-founder of Capital Park Realty was the driving force behind the exciting project. The VA loan is a great benefit to veterans, but finding a condo where they can use the loan is often a very challenging process.  Ward explained, “We truly want to serve the veteran community. As many veterans can attest to, finding a VA approved condo building can be very time-consuming. This tool eliminates…

1,890 Views, 0 Comments

Buyers in DC's competitive real estate market will likely find themselves in a multiple offer scenario. It's a stress-inducing situation...you've finally found the perfect listing, and now lots of other buyers want it too! What's the best way forward? First off, it's important to understand how most multiple-offer-scenarios play out.

Often times, when the listing agent feels confident there will be more than one offer, they will set an offer deadline. The deadline gives potential buyers a chance to huddle with their agent and lender to make their best possible offer, which is oftentimes referred to as "highest and best" in the real estate industry. Writing a winner offer is simple...offer more than the asking price, all cash, with no contingencies,…

1,532 Views, 0 Comments

An overview of title insurance when it comes to owning a home.

When you buy your home, you receive a deed, which shows that the seller transferred their legal ownership to you. Legal ownership is called the “title.” Title insurance protects you in case there is any legal trouble down the line.

Title insurance is crucial when it comes to completing your home purchase. It protects you and the lender from the possibility that your seller (or previous sellers) don’t have total ownership of the house and/or property. If they don’t, they may not be able to transfer full ownership over—but title insurance prevents that from happening.

A couple of questions to ask about title insurance include “is the seller pushing a specific title company?” or “who do…

15,414 Views, 0 Comments


One thing that ultimately influences your mortgage rate is your credit score.

For first time home buyers, many aspects of home buying can seem daunting. We’re here to explain how your credit affects what mortgage rate you may be given once you decide to buy a home.

One thing that ultimately influences your mortgage rate is your credit score. Basically, the easiest thing to remember is: the higher your credit score, the lower interest rate on your mortgage.

A high credit score not only guarantees a lower mortgage rate, but sometimes it depends on whether you can get a home loan at all. Buyers below a FICO score of 620 have a miniscule chance of securing a mortgage, so step one to getting a home loan and low mortgage rate is working on that credit…

1,355 Views, 0 Comments


If you're starting to save on a down payment for your home, you’ll want to build credit in the meantime. To get your credit report 100 percent ready to go, here are simple tips and tricks.

It's important to remember your credit report and credit score aren’t the same—but they’re definitely similar. Your credit report is your history of all the borrowing you’ve done but your credit score is the number that represents it.

To get your credit report in tip-top shape before home buying, here are some ideas for you to consider:

  • Spread out time between other big loans and a mortgage. If you’ve recently taken out a car loan, student loans or anything similar, you’ll want to hold off on those applications.

  • Building credit isn’t hard.…

1,344 Views, 0 Comments