For our third Zoom Series episode, Alex spoke with Deian Stankov of Prime Lending, about the state of the mortgage industry in the wake of COVID. With interest rates dipping under 3% and guidelines changing almost daily, Deian gives us the quick update on what loans are available to buyers now. Listen along to hear more, or read the transcript posted below.
ALEX: Hello guys! This is Alex Pachedzhiev with the KW Beltway Homes Team, and I wanted to shoot this quick 3 minute video to ask my friend and reputable loan officer Deian Stankov with Prime Lending what is the state of the mortgage industry and what kind of loan products they’re still offering or they’re offering without any other banks offering. I hope that this will deliver a lot of value to you in case you need more options. Hi Deian, how are you?
DEIAN: Hey Alex, good to see you.
ALEX: Good to see you. Thank you so much for jumping in on this quick call. We appreciate your time. Let’s start with the question: how is the overall state of the mortgage industry at the moment?
DEIAN: Overall everything is still functioning. Some lenders have become more conservative, and they have increased the requirements for credit scores and other qualifying restrictions. Overall at Pirme Lending we still continue to offer the same products that we’ve been offering so far. And this pandemic is actually giving opportunity to people to lock in very low mortgage rates with the current environment. That helps people to qualify for more home, or keep a lower monthly payment.
ALEX: Excellent, this is good news for sure. My second question would be, do you do investment loans? I have investors that had difficulties accessing money to purchase investment properties.
DEIAN: Yes, at Prime Lending we’re still offering investment loans, and it can be done with as little as 15% down payment.
ALEX: Oh wow, that’s excellent.
DEIAN: Yes.
ALEX: My next question is, what about the folks that don’t have much for down payment? Do you have any products? I know that FHA and HUD had a lot of restrictions, including increasing credit scores, limiting funds for those folks. Do you have any products that can help people with zero down payment or just a little bit of down payment available.
DEIAN: Yes we participate with all of the finance agencies in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area, and we still offer a lot of down payment assistance programs to homebuyers who don’t have enough funds for down payment.
ALEX: Excellent, and is this just for Montgomery County or it could be done for DC and Virginia?
DEIAN: It can be done for DC and Virginia as well.
ALEX: Excellent. And, my final question, the million dollar question is, what about the jumbo loans? This market seems to be competely frozen. Do you have any available products for those folks that are purchasing properties with higher than $765,000 loan amount?
DEIAN: Yes jumbo loans are available with 20% down payment, and also it can be structured with two mortgages. You can do a Fannie Mae first mortgage up to $765K and then a second mortgage for the remaining 10-15%.
ALEX: And what is the minimum requirements for those jumbo loans? I mean for credit score.
DEIAN: It’s going to be a 720 credit score, and you have to have some reserves. Usually six months reserves.
ALEX: Thank you so much. I appreciate all of this information. And guys, if you need to get in touch with Deian Stankov and you’re having problems accessing loan products, please reach out to me and I’ll be more than happy to share with you his contact information. Deian thank you so much for jumping in on this call. Again, stay safe, and hope to see you soon.
DEIAN: My pleasure.