Arizona mixes natural beauty, its deserts that stretch out under seemingly endless skies, with urban delights, like outstanding international restaurants, sports facilities and unequaled shopping spaces – it is natural that many Americans dream of living well in this alluring state.
But buying the home that you loved the moment it came into view, that embraced you as you walked across its artistic stone path into a foyer of space and serenity, can be expensive.
If you have found the home that you have always imagined living in, surrounded by views of a desert expanse or sitting in the La Hacienda neighborhood of Phoenix, but you are wrestling with your bank’s mortgage office and losing, you could consider taking advantage of jumbo mortgage loans in Phoenix AZ.
What is a jumbo mortgage?
Jumbo slurpy. Sure. Jumbo hotdog. Please. But jumbo mortgage? Yes!
You have heard of Fannie May and Freddie Mac – the government run mortgage companies? Well, Fannie and Freddie buy mortgages from other firms, but they will not buy a mortgage that is higher than the limit that they have placed on the price of a mortgage.
So, if a mortgage is at or under the maximum price that Fannie and Fred have set for buying mortgages, it is considered to be a non-conforming mortgage, as all jumbo mortgage loans in Phoenix Az are.
In Arizona, the conforming limit for a mortgage is 417,000 USD.
If your dream house requires that you get a mortgage of, say, 713,000 USD, you might be able to take out a jumbo mortgage at reasonable, even low, rates.
But you need to meet strict borrower requirements:
- You will need to establish that you have an income that is high enough to meet your mortgage payments, providing documentation like W2 tax forms and pay stubs.
- You will need to prove that you do not owe a lot of money in relation to your income: If you owe more than 43% of the amount of your income, you will likely be disqualified.
- You may have heard that you will have to come up with a high down payment, 20% or 30%, to qualify for a jumbo mortgage, but this is no longer the case: A standard 10% is widely acceptable.
The Wall Street Journal writes that banks love giving out jumbo mortgages to customers with strong credit because, simply put, there is a lot of money in it for them. As a customer, it is a good time to negotiate top-drawer terms for your jumbo mortgage.
Remember, there are several big players in the jumbo mortgage game and they fiercely compete withe each other: We have two words for you; Shop around.
If you have an outstanding credit score, a relatively high income and are carrying a low level of debt, there is a bank out there that wants to give you a jumbo mortgage – which means that you could be waking up in your dream home sooner than you think.