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 government-owned or -affiliated lender that makes home loans directly to consumers. With minor exceptions, government in the U.S. has never loaned directly to consumers, but housing banks ...
The sum of all interest payments to date or over the life of the loan. This is not a good measure of the cost of credit to the borrower because it does not include upfront cash payments and ...
A documentation rule where the borrower discloses income and its source but the lender does not verify the amount. ...
Wondering who is this Fannie Mae person that your real estate agent always mentions when the subject about mortgage is brought up? Fannie Mae is not a person, nor a Woody Allen female ...
The method of financing used when a borrower contracts to have a house built, as opposed to purchasing a completed house. Construction can be financed in two ways. One way is to use two ...
A mortgage on which all settlement costs except per diem interest and escrows are paid by the lender and/or the home seller. A no-cost mortgage should be distinguished from a ...
The house in which the borrower will live most of the time, as distinct from a second home or an investor property that will be rented. ...
A revers mortgage program administered by Fannie Mae. ...
Also called variable or flexible rate mortgage, an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) is a mortgage where the interest rate is not constant, but changes over time by the mortgage lender. ...
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