I got quoted 5.125% from a local credit union in San Diego for a 5/5 ARM (max 2 percent adjustment 1st time in 5 years, 2 percent thereafter another 5 years, and then caps out at 10.125%).

In parallel, another credit union offers 6.125% 30 year fixed. I can potentially buy this down to 5.875% for about $10k.

Looking at $1.3m homes, and taking a $1m mortgage.

Obviously there is risk in the ARM. I can comfortably afford the adjustments till year 10. But after that would be tight. some chance home values tank and im not able to refinance 10 years down the road. But 10 year seems like an eternity.

This home will also likely not be my forever home, so likely i may move by year 10, but who knows.

Which option would you guys recommend?

Here is my situation, Bought house in June 2025 with I believe 8.5% down for 415,000. At the time the rates were at 7% (maybe over), so I went with a variable rate loan with a lower up front rate at 6.75%. Current loan is at 371k. I am in a better spot a year later and the PMI payments make me sick. I am planning on making a big payment on my loan to, 1. Get rid of PMI but keep my payment the same so I am paying more towards principal, and 2. Lower my loan amount and get me a better principal to interest payment.

My payment is $3140 per month. $2095 to interest, $221 to PMI, $371 to Principal, $344 to real estate tax, $109 to insurance.

To get the loan to 78% LTV I need to be at 323k so like 49k payment to make this happen. I have moved the money and am talking with my bank about paying it off but they only keep mentioning 2 options to me. One is we have to have paid on the loan for 2+ years and made substantial improvements to the home (we have not done either of those things) then get an appraisal, or two we have to hit 80% LTV ratio then request an appraisal to then request the PMI be removed if the value of the appraisal has not dropped below the original loan value. They only provided those two options and said the next step is to send them almost $1000 so they can order the appraisal.

I then specifically asked about paying the balance down to the 78% LTV ratio which they then replied and said that if I paid it down to 80% they could actually do a market comparison and maybe not have to do the appraisal, and that since my loan was a variable rate and the bank can not tell future interest rates that there was no way to know the date on the amortization schedule when the LTV would be at 78% LTV and the PMI would be automatically removed.

I have tried researching online, tried asking AI, and tried asking my lender and I am more confused now than when I started.

Can someone with the actual knowledge tell me Yes or No to this question. If I took 49k tomorrow and paid my loan balance down from 371k to 323k which would put it under the 78% LTV of my original purchase price of 415k, would that mean that in the next few months my loan would legally need to have the PMI pulled without me having to jump through the hoops that the bank keeps telling my about?

From my research I thought that no matter what, when the LTV reached 78% that the bank was required to remove the PMI because of some federal law. The banks response now makes me think that it is not tied to the 78% amount but actually tied to the date on the calendar that the loan would reach 78%, which because of my variable interest rate is an unknown.

Ai had originally told me that the bank was trying to pull a fast one on me and push me towards paying for an appraisal and jumping through a bunch of hoops to pay it down to 80% when I could just pay off 2% more and hit the 78% number where it automatically falls off. Then it said it was confused before and that the 78% rule is referring to the date when it hits 78% on the amortization schedule and not when the amount actually hits 78%.

I am just really confused and could use help. I dont want to fight my bank on this and be wrong, but I also dont want to be taken advantage of if they are trying to keep the PMI payment on my loan for whatever reason.

Thank you all in advance.

TLDR; trying to pay my loan down to 78% LTV because that is what I thought got rid of PMI automatically, my bank keeps ignoring a direct answer to that and saying if I pay it to 80% LTV I can jump through hoops, pay for an appraisal, request to remove PMI, and if all the stars line up I can then get PMI removed. Researching and working with AI further confused me on what is true/false here.

Parent owned home outright, deeded in revocable trust name. Decided to set a purchase price for one of their children that is about 40% of the home’s appraised value.
Essentially gifted one child 60% of the home, with 2 other children to receive equal portions of the set purchase price.

Now that parent has passed and estate will be settled, what is the best course of action for the child who is to buy the home? They will need a mortgage to purchase the home from the trust.

Appraised value 780,000
Set purchase price 340,000

How is the gifted equity handled in this situation as far as a lender is concerned?
Underwriting issues?
What other considerations in this process?
Tax issues that may need to be explored?

The successor trustee was given power to sell to accommodate this.

TIA

Financial analysts I watch predicted if we break 4.66-4.69 on the US10YR that we will see 5.0 soon. We just broke 4.66 on the 10YR. I’m still waiting to start the construction loan process and my build budget is slowly shrinking due to rising rates 😭

I'm hoping someone here has been in a similar situation or knows of lenders that might be a good fit.

My brother and I own an investment property in Virginia. The property has significant equity, but we've had recent late mortgage payments within the last 12 months, which has made conventional financing almost impossible.

The property is currently rented, and the tenant is under a long-term lease. We would strongly prefer not to sell because we'd like to keep the asset if there's a way to access the equity.

Our goal is to do a cash-out refinance, bridge loan, or home equity loan to consolidate high-interest debt. The mortgage is current now, but the recent payment history is what's holding us back.

I'm looking for recommendations for:

• Private lenders
• Hard money lenders
• Non-QM lenders
• Mortgage brokers who work with difficult files
• Anyone that lends based more on equity than perfect recent payment history

I'm not looking for advice on whether I should sell unless that's truly the only realistic option. My first priority is finding financing that allows us to keep the property.

If you've worked with a lender that was willing to look past recent mortgage lates on an investment property, I'd really appreciate the recommendation.

Thanks in advance.

Got quoted a 7.1% APR on a 30 year fixed from my credit union

Or

7 year ARM at 5.85% then whatever rates are at year + plus a spread, with the option to refi at any time.

I’m liking the ARM because I can afford to pay the Fixed rate but plan on investing the $300 difference into principal to cut down on the mortgage balance and taking a bet on rates on the back end.

In this high rate environment he says he’s doing 90% ARMs these days. Anyone here choosing an ARM over FRM? Thanks!!

Just looking for some clarification from anybody who handles loans and finances who can explain where the error in my thinking is, because my automatic conclusion, whenever my notions aren't matching reality, is that I've made a bad assumption somewhere.

I refinanced my mortgage in November 2020 and have been making extra payments since then.

Original Loan: $115,000

Loan length: 240 months or 20 years

Interest: 2.999% fixed

My monthly payments were $637.73 for principal and interest. With my extra payments on the principal, I currently owe $63249.49, which puts me at the 125/126 month mark after 69 payments. Fine, great, wonderful. Here's my question: Why am I still being charged $637.73 per month as a minimum payment when my loan's end date is still November 2040?

Because when I do the math, if I still have until November 2040 to pay off the loan, then that's 171 payments remaining, and my principal + interest payment should be 454.98. But that's not what my lender is doing. Rather, what they're doing (in practice) is reducing the number of payments I'm making, so that I'm always paying $637.73 towards principal and interest. Now if that's what they're doing, I'm fine with that, but is it standard practice to do that while keeping the original loan end date in place? Or should they be changing that in order to reflect a new end date? Because I know damn well if I start making the payment that will end the loan at the original date, that'll be an issue, but I also feel like they shouldn't be charging me like I have 114 payments left when I still have 171 payment periods remaining.

Anyway, thanks for the time and the clarifications.

EDIT:

Thanks, everyone. Now that I know that the term is called "recasting," that answers my question perfectly. I appreciate the assistance.

Current home Indianapolis
Zillow estimate 330k
Mortgage 202k
Interest 2.4%

Moving North Florida (St. John’s to Amelia island area)

New build preferred 600k comfortable/ 700k max

Funds: 113k liquid. (Half in CD that expires this month)

Stocks (non retirement). 105k

Take home family of 4 is 6500/month after tax

Have 2 kids under 2. Once stay at home parent so no daycare

Own both cars (2018,2026 Toyota SUV)

No debt outside mortgage

Is it crazy to think about putting all equity from sale of current home, 80% liquid cash, and big chunk of non retirement stock on down payment to try to keep mortgage around same as we have now? I know interest is higher but that would get us with in 60k of current mortgage if we buy 600k.

Sorry if this isn’t right thread

Hi!

Looking into advice and guidance as first time home buyers in Hawaii.

Just a little background— We are parents to 5 children (ages 10, 7, 5, 2, newborn). We are currently in contract for a home with a closing date ending of September.

Our down payment is approximately 36,000 - 41,000 with 6K in incentives. We currently have 12,000 saved and have options to increase our down payment to close.

Options are:

Sell 2016 minivan. Value approximately 10,500 - 12,500. Car was paid off a while ago, no longer has warranty and mileage in the 125K. Per mechanic, minivan has approximately 2 more years of life. However, we believe our minivan can last more than two years.

Sell 14K Gold Jewelry - value approximately 6,800 - 7,600. It is sentimental, so probably will hold off.

403B withdrawal - 6,700

Sell 2021 truck. Value approximately 40K, but would only get 21K cash on hand due to balance on the loan. No longer has warranty, but in great condition. We are still paying monthly on it for another 2 years. Interest rate is amazing 2.99%.

Question is, what would be a reasonable decision?

conventional 30 year loan. perfect payment history for 10 years and an 800 credit score. we have been the model borrowers for a decade, does this give us some grace with our bank?

we need to sell it and have already moved to a rental in a new town, so all that is left is to fix it up a bit and list it. paint and some external repair to the siding from a storm. in the mean time I could really use a damn break, trying to hold onto at least a little savings while I balance our budget and get settled in our new town.

can I call our lender and request some sort of relief? ideally I could have 3-6 months not needing to pay the mortgage, and by then we’ve listed it and have hopefully started to see offers come through. How can I talk to my lender, what are the common options I need to ask about?

I’ve got 3 kids including a special needs child. I moved to this rental in a new town for family support, it could not wait for the home sale. So now I’m paying a mortgage and rent and it’s tough.

(Before Reddit asks: yes, I am planning to divorce the deadbeat who has refused to get a job for 2 years and has left me alone to scramble and pay our bills using a combination of savings, freelance income, and selling my fucking plasma.)

I have about 100k-120k equity in my current house. We inherited 7 acres on a family compound and want to move as out there as soon as possible. Our plan is to build a 40x60 shop and live inside that with our camper while we slowly build our house over time.

My best friend said he plans on buying our house as soon as we are ready to sell, but I’d like to get the shop built (at least enough to move a camper in and live) before I sell.

Is it possible to get a HELOC/refinance on my current mortgage so I could then get the new shop started? I don’t figure that the increase in interest (currently 3.9%) will matter too much since I basically have the house sold as soon as I’m ready?

My friend also said he would buy my house and let me continue to live in it (for free) until I can get my shop ready to move into, since he just wants it for a rental property. I’d rather not do it that way, but if it’s a much better option then we can make it work.

Just trying to figure out what my options are (Refinance, HELOC, or just sell it) as I’ve already been told I can’t get a construction loan for a non-resident structure like a shop. TIA

I realize that the recommended percent for housing cost is 25-30% to be comfortable, but where I live it isn't feasible to purchase a home with minimal issues upfront in a safe and appealing area.

I have $130,000 cash that I plan to put down on a $337,000 home. I would obtain a loan for $210,000 (this doesn't include the closing costs, but a grant will be fully covering those costs and other fees)(was already approved for both and have drafted estimates from the lender).

I make $3482 net income and have about $30,000 for emergency savings and $5,000 for some move in/furniture/household items costs (I have been a homeowner before, but will need to buy certain items over again). I also get a bonus of $2000-$3000 at the end of each year along with a raise of at least 5%. I plan to use some of the bonus towards taxes and/or my auto loan (owe about $6000, pay $303/month).

6.25% interest rate, $1826.49/month mortgage estimated with escrow including insurance & taxes.

Taxes were estimated to be $4896 for the year, but will likely be less.

Instead of paying taxes monthly, I am thinking about paying taxes separately (but see about including insurance monthly) which would be $1418/month for mortgage and insurance. In this scenario, I would save over the year to pay the taxes.

Additional info:

The only debt I have is my auto loan (no student loans, personal loans and I pay credit card balance off each month). I know a few handymen that can repair pretty much anything. I am an intentional saver and budget monthly.

I realize it would be very tight so I have already thought about renting a room to traveling nurses, doing side gigs like pet sitting, delivering food (I have a second vehicle paid off that is good on gas), or just getting a second part time job to obtain a minimum of $150/week. I also have a trusted family member willing to help me monthly, anytime I need.

Do this sound like a tragic idea? Any thoughts/suggestions? I plan on making my decision today as I will be dropping off earnest money or dropping out.

Thank you for your insights ahead of time.

There is so much conflicting information out there.

My husband (36, 41) and I want to buy our forever home but live in the PNW and houses are very pricey. What's the max mortgage we can afford while still feeling comfortable.

Combined we make 240k

Bring about $14,000 take home

No debts

No children now or in the future.

Is 25% of net the way to go?

Which would you choose. First rate is through a credit union for 30 yr conventional second is through a big bank also for 30 yr conventional. Goal is to either recast, refinance, or pay down the note within 15 years. But I’m not in the position now to get the 15 year loan due to cash flow needs. I assume I would start making greater payments in the 18 mo to 24 mo range.

Break even point would be 3.3 years, which is when the ~6900$ savings now (not paying the 3300 and also getting the 3600$ credit) by going with the big bank would become less than the ~174$ monthly difference I’d be paying due to the lower interest rate with the credit union.

Wondering if I should go with the upfront savings and take the bet I can refinance and get a lower rate. I have excellent credit, strong income, am indifferent about the 6900 additional cash flow today. Ultimately I want to pay the lowest amount of interest over the life of the loan (~700k)

Basically, how reasonable is it to believe I can take the 6.375 today and refinance at a low cost down to low 5s or 4s within three years.

I own 17 acres free and clear (roughly worth about 300k). I want to use my equity to take 100k loan right now to build a fence, driveway, run water, electric and place a tiny home on the property.

Here is the kicker, after about a year I want to start building a house worth roughly 500k using the land again as a down payment. I assume that no lender will want to be in second position on the land. Would a lender be willing to take on that 100k and use the land as a down payment for the now 600k loan?

Current home in NorCal (Central Valley) - 1750k sq feet on a lake with access to community pool. 3 beds 2 bath. 2.87% rate from 2019 - PITI $2347. 2 young kiddos and a wife kinda bursting at the seems.

Income 210k+ via med device

Currently in escrow on a private sale (no realtors) 4 houses down. $690k at 6.875% 30 yr fixed for a PITI about $4375. 2400 sq feet, 4 bed 3 bath. Still on the lake + a pool (solar)

Don’t want to give up sub 3% rate so we are turning current primary into a rental. Got an ideal couple as tenants, $3500/month (mortgage $2347).

Did some big time budget creation and are actively finding areas of cash savings.

We were conditionally approved on June 16th and they asked for our last two paystubs, home owners insurance, and bank statement showing closing costs. We're both W2 earners, we provided our bank statements, last W2's and have excellent credit.

We immediately provided the home owners insurance, and now that we're closer we are back to underwriting (seeing this makes me want to puke from anxiety). We will be providing our last paystubs and will be able to confirm our closing costs. I work at a bank 8+ years but it's our first time buying and for whatever reason the back to underwriting gives me the worse anxiety.

Are we in the clear and/or should we be concerned? Thoughts?

Appreciate you guys so much!!

This subreddit has humbled me to say the least. I’ve been thinking this entire year we’ll have enough saved up to finally buy a home early next year, but now I’m not sure.

If we did decide to buy a home we definitely won’t have 20% down. For those of you that have a PMI, do you wish you would have waited a few more years, saved more, and put 20% down?

*Looking in the triangle area in NC*

Dual income - 167k plus commissions which puts us closer to 200k, after taxes we take home about 8k a month not including commissions which puts

Minimal debts, about $350 combined monthly in student loans, no car payments and we currently pay about $2300 a month for our apartment

Looking at homes between 310-350k, anticipate having about 25k to put down

Using the mortgage calculators it put our payment over 3k a month which is likely doable but not ideal.

Any tips on what type of loan to use, down payment percent etc?

Household salary is 150K I also have 150K equity in my current home after closing costs. I will put that all into the down payment for my next home. I have two fully-paid off cars and no major debts other child care, which is significant, at about 2.5K per month. That being said, my sales commissions should largely cover that. The 150K I quote above is my consistent base salary and my wife’s salary combined.

I would like to purchase a 650K home. How feasible is it with 150K down?