Financing

[C Yeary]

I know this question depends on the lot, but what is the current interest rate on Mobile Homes? I have a credit score of 655. Does anyone know what kind of rate I can expect?

Thanks,
C. Yeary

[rmurray]

You are right..It depends on the type of finance you decide to do....

With home only finance..rates are dependent on scores..and downpayment...the larger the down..the lower the rate....Many lenders allow 5% down..but some penalize this with high rates...some home only lenders with this score and 5% down will be charging as high as 11.5%...The same lenders will be charging the same customer with 10% down something like 9.5%...20% down will earn you about 9% interest...Those folks with 100 pt higher credit scores can get as much as 2 1/2 % lower...These loans have no PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) and very little of no closing costs

Actual rates for mortgages involving land are not as much determined by credit scores and down...current rates are about 6 to 6 1/2% (actually closing a little less today..but smart loan originators are quoting a little higher now because they know mortgage rates vary daily and the process can take a while..there are upward pressures on rates now)...FHA rates will be quoted a little more 6 1/4 to 6 3/4%...

Most FHA lenders will offer a variable rate right now..a 1 yr arm is being quoted at about 4.5%...There are many different kinds of conventional mortgage with arms..some fixed for 10..7..5..or 3 years..then varible..All of these will be lower than the 30 year fixed rate..

All mortgages will have closing costs..generally about 5% on conventional..and 8% on FHA..Down payments will start about 5% on conventional..FHA allows 0% down with down payment assistance programs..All mortgages with less than 20% down will have PMI which costs about 1/2%...If you already own property..the equity in the property can be used for the down payment in most cases..

One note of caution...you seem to have a credit score...Some of the credit companies are selling "credit scores" online...In my case I just got my "PLUS score" score from Experian..Equifax is selling some similar junk...Thankfully I got mine free..and did not pay a fee...Mortgage companies only use FICO scores..In my case this PLUS SCORE was 40 pts higher than my FICO score..which makes it useless..If you are buying your scores be sure you are buying your FICO scores..

Another caution about credit scores..they are just a snapshot of 1 moment in your credit life..they could easily be much higher..or much lower within a few days if the info in a credit file changes..Mortgage companies check all 3 cb's and use the middle score...It is not unusual for them all to be different substantially..