90% financing

I hope your planning to buy a condo because very few co-op boards allow 90% financing. FHA only requires 3.5% down.

Smooshie I actually have this same question and we don't want to do FHA either.

Thanks for your response. This board will allow it. It's getting the financing that I'm worried about.

Plenty of banks are offering 90% financing if you qualify for PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). Qualifying for PMI has gotten considerably harder over the past two years though, but far from impossible. A lot of the coops in Brooklyn and Queens actually will allow for 90% financing so it really comes down to getting the PMI approved. Feel free to email me at nycmortgage@gmail.com if you want to check your eligibility.

Yes, you can still get 90% financing - we just did it in January. There are only about 6 PMI companies (they are separate from the banks), and for most of last year and part of 2008, most of those PMI companies were refusing to insure any mortgage of more than 85% in "declining market areas". Sometime last year, they got smarter and came up with "tier one" and "tier two" declining market areas. In tier one, they'll typically go to 90% if your credit score is over 720 - New York is a tier one market for most of the companies now.

Not all banks work with all 6 PMI companies (most only work with one or two), so shop around. I know for a fact that Wells Fargo can still close a 90% loan.

Didn't finish that thought . . . I know for a fact that Wells Fargo can still close a 90% loan below a certain amount (I believe $500k). Anything more than that will prob be 85% on a condo.

Thanks so much shockster and NYMortgage. Last year I was close to contract on a place and heard the rumors about PMI being near impossible to get (nothing to do with my financials, just the general rumor) thanks for clarifying that they are (strategically) loosening up a bit.