Home    Loan Center    Products    About Us    FAQ    Resources  
my account
get started
contact us

Lending Specialist, LLC offers a variety of loan programs to meet your needs. We work with the leading lenders in the industry to provide:Loan Programs

FHA and VA 
Government insured/guaranteed long-term, fixed-rate and adjustable loans

Fixed Rate Mortgages

The Most common type of mortage program where your monthly payments for Interest and principal never change

Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM)

These loans generally begin with an interest rate that is lower than a comparable fixed rate mortgage,.  However, the interest rate changes at specified intervals (for example, every year) depending on changing market conditions; if interest rates go up, your monthly mortgage payment will go up, too. However, if rates go down, your mortgage payment will drop also.

Reverse Annuity Mortgage
Allows borrowers to retain ownership of their property and receive a monthly check representing a portion of the equity in the property. No money is due until the property is sold, the owner dies, or an agreed upon date is reached. Government insured.

Introductory Rate ARM's

Most adjustable rate loans (ARMs) have a low introductory rate or start rate, some times as much as 5.0% below the current market rate of a fixed loan. This start rate is usually good from 1 month to as long as 10 years. As a rule the lower the start rate the shorter the time before the loan makes its first adjustment.

Index - The index of an ARM is the financial instrument that the loan is "tied" to, or adjusted to. The most common indices, or, indexes are the 1-Year Treasury Security, LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate), Prime, 6-Month Certificate of Deposit (CD) and the 11th District Cost of Funds (COFI). Each of these indices move up or down based on conditions of the financial markets.

Margin - The margin is one of the most important aspects of ARMs because it is added to the index to determine the interest rate that you pay. The margin added to the index is known as the fully indexed rate. As an example if the current index value is 5.50% and your loan has a margin of 2.5%, your fully indexed rate is 8.00%. Margins on loans range from 1.75% to 3.5% depending on the index and the amount financed in relation to the property value.

Interim Caps - All adjustable rate loans carry interim caps. Many ARMs have interest rate caps of six-months or a year. There are loans that have interest rate caps of three years. Interest rate caps are beneficial in rising interest rate markets, but can also keep your interest rate higher than the fully indexed rate if rates are falling rapidly.

Payment Caps - Some loans have payment caps instead of interest rate caps. These loans reduce payment shock in a rising interest rate market, but can also lead to deferred interest or "negative amortization". These loans generally cap your annual payment increases to 7.5% of the previous payment.

Lifetime Caps - Almost all ARMs have a maximum interest rate or lifetime interest rate cap. The lifetime cap varies from company to company and loan to loan. Loans with low lifetime caps usually have higher margins, and the reverse is also true. Those loans that carry low margins often have higher lifetime caps.

 Interest rate buydowns - The buyer would pay points above current market points in order to pay a below market interest rate during the first two years of the loan. At the end of the two years they would then pay the old market rate for the remaining term.

Cost of funds Index (COFI) - The ratio of the dollar amount paid in interest during the month to the average dollar amount of the funds for that month constitutes the weighted average cost of funds ratio for that month.

Choosing the right  program - The right type of mortgage for you depends on many different factors

 

 



Unless otherwise indicated, these APR calculations are based on the following: Conforming loans (whose maximum loan amount is below $484,350 for the contiguous states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico or below $636,150 for Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands) are calculated based on a loan amount of $417,000 with closing costs of $0. Jumbo Loans (whose maximum loan amount exceed $484,350 for the contiguous states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico or exceed $636,150 for Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands) are calculated based on a loan amount of $417,100 with closing costs of $0. Your actual APR may be different depending upon these factors.