Your vanilla ice cream, a classic. These loans are held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and are frequently the best option for borrowers with good credit history and fairly typical financial profiles.

These loans are insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Because of the government insurance to the lender that reduces the lender’s risk, FHA loans have expanded qualifying criteria and are an excellent option for borrowers with lower credit scores, higher debt ratios, or slightly unusual features of their financial picture.

For eligible veterans- if you qualify, this is about as good as it gets without a fairy godmother. The department of Veterans Affairs guarantees these loans and like FHA, this guarantee allows lenders to offer expanded qualification criteria and lower interest rates with no down payment requirement.

The misunderstood cousin of the major loan products, this loan is not for farms! It is instead a 100% financing option for low to moderate income borrowers purchasing a residence in a qualifying rural area. This loan has a few “gotchas” to qualify, but is an excellent option for borrowers who meet the criteria.

The federal government sets an annual limit for loan amounts for conventional loans, and all loans above that limit are ineligible for sale to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These larger loans are held by individual investors who set their own rules and guidelines.

Building or renovating can be an exciting process, but it requires specialty financing. The builder or contractor is paid in installments for the construction period of the loan, and then once the home is complete, the financing is converted into a standard fully amortizing mortgage. These can be tricky, with a lot of moving parts, but clients love to be able to have the home of their dreams at the end of the road!

Government regulations have a list of features that make a loan a “qualified mortgage” such as limitations on fees and requirements on repayment structures, along with an obligation for the lender to document the borrower’s ability to repay the mortgage by complying with standard guidelines. Loans which do not follow these rules are held privately and can be an excellent option for borrowers who are looking for a mortgage but do not fit into the standard boxes. Examples of these loans include bank statement mortgages, DSCR or debt service coverage mortgages for investment properties, asset based loans, and hard money.