Conforming Mortgage
A loan eligible for purchase by the two major federal agencies that buy mortgages, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Conforming mortgages cannot exceed a legal maximum amount, which was $322,700 in 2003; it is raised every year. They must also meet the agencies' underwriting requirements regarding credit, documentation, property features, and other factors. A mortgage in excess of the conforming maximum, which is identical in other respects, will have an interest rate about 3/8% higher. Borrowers who need an amount larger than the maximum will often do better taking a conforming loan for the maximum and a second mortgage for the excess.
Popular Mortgage Terms
A Web site of an individual lender offering loans to consumers. Most Internet shoppers want a list of lenders in whom they can have confidence, who will provide them with the information ...
An independent contractor who offers the loan products of multiple lenders, called wholesalers. Mortgage brokers do not lend. They counsel borrowers on any problems involved in qualifying ...
A reduction in the mortgage payment made by a homebuyer in the early years of the loan in exchange for an upfront cash deposit provided by the buyer, the seller, or both. How Temporary ...
On an ARM, the assumption that the interest rate rises to the maximum extent permitted by the loan contract. ...
A particular combination of loan, borrower, property, and transaction characteristics that lenders use in setting prices and underwriting requirements. ...
An ARM on which the lender has the right to change the interest rate at any time, for any reason, by any amount, subject only to a requirement that the borrower be notified in advance. The ...
An option attached to a mortgage, which allows the borrower to pay only the interest for some period. A mortgage is 'interest only' if the monthly mortgage payment does not include any ...
The period over which the borrower is obliged to make payments. On most mortgages, the payment period is a month but on some it is biweekly. It is not necessarily the same as the Interest ...
Proliferation in the number of loan, borrower, property, and transaction characteristics used by lenders to set mortgage prices and underwriting requirements. Nichification is unique to ...
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