Frequently Asked Questions

Please visit our Mortgage page for a detailed description of closing costs.

Please visit our Mortgage page for a detailed description of title insurance.

Mortgage insurance should not be confused with mortgage life insurance, which is designed to pay off a mortgage in the event of a borrower's death. Mortgage insurance protects the lender against the additional risk associated with low down payment lending and may not be required on certain mortgage types. The mortgage insurance premium is based on loan-to-value ratio, type of loan, and amount of coverage required by the lender. Usually, the premium is included in your monthly payment. It may be possible to cancel private mortgage insurance at some point, such as when your loan balance is reduced to a certain amount - below 75% to 80% of the property value. Federal legislation requires automatic termination of mortgage insurance for many borrowers when their loan balance has been amortized down to 78% of the original property value. If you have any questions about when your mortgage insurance could be cancelled, please call 800-342-3086 and ask to speak with a Mortgage Servicing Representative.

Discount points are considered a form of interest. Each point is equal to one percent of the loan amount. You pay them up front at your loan closing in exchange for a lower interest rate over the life of your loan. This means more money will be required at closing; however, you will have lower monthly payments over the term of your loan. To determine whether it makes sense for you to pay discount points, you should compare the cost of the discount points to the monthly payments savings created by the lower interest rate. Divide the total cost of the discount points by the savings in each monthly payment. This calculation provides the number of payments you'll make before you actually begin to save money by paying discount points. If the number of months it will take to recoup the discount points is longer than you plan on having this mortgage, you should consider the loan program option that doesn't require discount points to be paid.

That depends on the purpose of your loan, how you use the property, and the loan type you choose. The best way to determine what loan amount we can offer is to complete our online application. You may also call 800-342-3086 and make an appointment with a Mortgage Loan Originator.

A credit score is one of the pieces of information that we'll use to evaluate your application. Credit scores are based on information collected by credit bureaus and information reported each month by your creditors about the balances you owe and the timing of your payments.

A credit score is a compilation of all this information converted into a number that helps a lender to determine the likelihood that you will repay the loan on schedule. The credit score is calculated by the credit bureau, not by the lender. Credit scores are calculated by comparing your credit history with millions of other consumers. They have proven to be a very effective way of determining credit worthiness. Some of the things that affect your credit score include your payment history, your outstanding obligations, the length of time you have had outstanding credit, the types of credit you use, and the number of inquiries that have been made about your credit history in the recent past.

Credit scores used for mortgage loan decisions range from approximately 300 to 900. Generally, the higher your credit score, the lower the risk that your payments won't be paid as agreed. Using credit scores to evaluate your credit history allows us to quickly and objectively evaluate your credit history when reviewing your loan application. However, there are many other factors when making a loan decision, and we never evaluate an application without looking at the total financial picture of a member.