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Every week, RealtorMag Online's Web review editor surfs the Internet to find sites essential to your business and off-hours lives.
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| | Private MI
Helping Buyers Afford More
A compact site takes walks users through the basics of private home mortgage insurance.
BY CHRIS LEPORINI
As an real estate professional, you want to get clients into the best home possible, as soon as possible. For buyers that can't afford the traditional 20 percent downpayment, this might mean recommending private mortgage insurance. PrivateMI.com, a site sponsored by the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, is a convenient tool to introduce clients to this financing option.
Private mortgage insurance can provide homebuyers with an accessible financing option and allow them to qualify for loans more easily. It protects a lender or investor against loss in the event that borrowers are unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. This adds a layer of security for the lender and opens the door for buyers to purchase a home with as little as a 3-to-5 percent downpayment.
PrivateMI contains the usual background materials you might expect from this kind of site, including a FAQ and glossary. These sections bring clients up to speed on how private mortgages and the homebuying industry works. Note: practitioners might find these sections almost too elementary. One entry, for example, defines “downpayment.” For a first-time homebuyer trying to decipher what seems like an arcane language, however, this information could prove invaluable.
Probably the site’s most practical feature is its online calculators. Fill in variables, such as the sale price of the home you are considering, current gross household income, and expected income increases, to automatically compute the answers to the following questions:
· “How can I grow my wealth with PrivateMI?” This calculator estimates how much income you could generate from your remaining capital if you spent only part of your savings on a down payment instead of putting down a full 20 percent.
· “How much sooner can I buy a home using PrivateMI with little or no money down versus 20 percent?” You can calculate how long it will take you to save a 20 percent down payment at your current rates savings rate, versus how long to save the 5-percent down generally required with mortgage insurance.
· “How much more house can I afford with PrivateMI?” This section lets you determine the top price home you can afford if you use private mortgage insurance to reduce your down payment requirements.
· “How long will it take before can cancel my PrivateMI?” You can pinpoint the life span of your private mortgage insurance--for most loans originated on or after July 29, 1999, it will terminate once the mortgage has amortized to 78 percent.
· “Private MI or Piggyback Loan: Which is better for me?” This calculator compares the pluses and minuses of a piggyback loan--a high-rate, second mortgage taken out to fund your down payment, with the option of a single, first mortgage payment coupled with private mortgage insurance premiums.
Private mortgage insurance might not be the best solution for every homebuyer.In fact, if the site has a drawback, it’s that it omits discussing other options open to those without the funds for a 20-percent down payment. (This is hardly surprising for a trade association site.) But by referring customers to PrivateMI, you can at least give them a head start on planning their future and getting them into their dream home as soon as possible.
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Suggest a Site For Review
Every week, REALTOR® Magazine Online's Web review editor surfs the Internet to find sites useful to your business and off-hours lives. Have a favorite real estate Web site that you would like to see reviewed? Send your suggestions to Chris Leporini at mediatech@realtors.org. All decisions on which sites will be reviewed are completely at the discretion of REALTOR® Magazine Online's editorial staff. Please note: this column does not review individual practitioner or brokerage sites.
The column's focus includes free sites, as well as sites that charge for goods and services, but which still offer a free component of practical, sustained value to real estate practitioners, such as a free newsletter or regular news information.
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REALTOR® Magazine Online's "Web Review" summarizes the content of Web sites that may be of interest to members. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online are not responsible for, and nothing in the Web site profile shall constitute NAR's or REALTOR® Magazine Online's endorsement of, the web site, its content, products and services, or its provider. NAR and REALTOR® Magazine Online believe the information contained in this profile was correct and accurate as of the time it was prepared, but do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information and are not responsible for changes in the Web site. Members should conduct their own independent review of the Web site prior to any use of Web site, its content, products, or services to determine their suitability for the member's intended purpose. | |
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