Mortgage news, tips & tools
The Pennymac Mortgage Blog is where you'll find unbiased, useful info to help save you money, time and peace of mind during the mortgage process. If you have a mortgage or are about to get one, we think you'll find info here you can't always get elsewhere.
09.27.22
When you’ve decided you want to move or buy a home, you might be wondering how important timing is. For some things in life, timing is everything. But for buying a house, timing is only part of the equation. Still, timing does play an important role in your homebuying experience and ultimately how much you might end up paying for your new house, so it’s important to consider when it’s a good time to buy a house.
09.26.22
Autumn is a good time (and potentially your last chance) to review, repair and remediate any home issues that could end up breaking the bank account once winter arrives. Below we’ve listed some expensive mistakes homeowners will want to avoid making every fall. Set yourself up for success by putting some time (and a little cash) aside to clean up your household act before the harsh weather sets in.
Read more about Nine Expensive Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make This Fall
09.20.22
When you’ve decided you want to move or buy a home, you might be wondering how important timing is. For some things in life, timing is everything. But for buying a house, timing is only part of the equation. Still, timing does play an important role in your homebuying experience and ultimately how much you might end up paying for your new house, so it’s important to consider when it’s a good time to buy a house.
09.12.22
So you have your eye on a new home, but the loan you need is bigger than the conforming loan limit—what are your options?
Read more about Big Possibilities: The Homebuyer’s Guide to Jumbo Loans
09.12.22
A Jumbo loan exceeds the limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to help you finance a home in a higher price range. Is it right for you?
09.12.22
A conventional loan is a type of mortgage that is not part of a specific government program, such as Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) loan programs. However, conventional loans are commonly interchangeable with "conforming loans", since they are required to conform to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s underwriting requirements and loan limits.
09.07.22
Before they can feel confident extending you a loan, lenders first need to understand your financial situation. This means collecting and analyzing some of your personal information. Your credit score, credit history, debt-to-income ratio (DTI), and assets are all relevant, and all play roles in informing the underwriting process. But one factor that borrowers sometimes overlook is the verification of employment.
Read more about Verification of Employment for Mortgage: How Does It Work
09.06.22
Buying your own home has many benefits: you can gain equity, have access to potential tax savings, and on top of it all, gain a sense of security and freedom that comes from homeownership. Owning a single-family home also comes with responsibilities that you would occasionally need to set time aside for, such as landscaping and home repair projects. However, if you are looking for the benefits of homeownership in a lower-maintenance package, then buying a condo might be the right choice for you.
Read more about Guide to Getting a Condo Mortgage: What You Need to Know
08.10.22
If you are like many American homeowners, your first mortgage may have been a loan with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Loans backed by the FHA are attractive to first-time homebuyers because FHA loans are easier to obtain financing for and require only minimal down payments and fair-to-good credit scores.
