The stock market is up and many are enjoying an increase in their portfolios as well as their 401k. We are seeing more and more buyers now wanting to keep their money in the market and finance the second home purchase. Financing a second home for lenders is what they do and most of the time the interest rates are competitive to a primary home purchase with the required down payment requested by the lender.
However in the past 10 days and happen again yesterday I have been asked about the availability of 100% financing of a second home three different times. They share with me they have either heard or they tell me they know someone who has done this type of mortgage recently. While I know a little bit about financing and how it relates to a sale of property, I respond to them - you should always seek out your options with a proficient lending expert who can provide assistance with structuring your mortgage for the purchase.
But I did make some calls yesterday to local mortgage lenders and banks to see if any new loan products have come to the area allowing for a one loan 100% second home purchase. (answer was no) however they all shared with me about the three ways of doing this that we have seen buyers employ in the past.
1. Use the equity line of credit on another property you already own as the down payment – this is the most common method we see used to purchase second homes when a buyer is looking to have minimum to no money down at the time of purchase. Equity in a current home is considered an asset you already own, normally all that is needed from you by the lender is to provide terms and conditions of the loan so when qualifying they can add this to the debt ratio.
2. The Pledged Asset Mortgage (mostly offered by your brokerage house) - this feature allows you to increase the size of the loan on your home up to 100% of the value of the real estate, by pledging the additional assets in the form of a securities account in lieu of the normal down payment. The Home Loan will be secured by both the home and the Pledge Account. A Pledged Asset Mortgage involves pledging securities as collateral for a home loan in lieu of making a cash down payment. By using the Pledged Asset Mortgage feature, you are subjecting the investment in a home to the fluctuations of the securities market. The Pledge Amount varies based upon your effective Loan-to-Value determined during the application process of a first mortgage loan. Normally the value of the securities held in the Pledge Account must be maintained at the Pledge Amount. If the value of the securities in the Pledge Account falls below the agreed-upon Floor Amount, the owner of the Pledge Account must deposit into the Pledge Account acceptable securities or other collateral to stay in compliance with the terms of the home loan. Many of these type loans allow you to continue to trade the securities in the Pledge Account.
3. Cross-collateralisation Mortgage
Cross-collateralisation occurs when more than one property is used to secure a loan. For example, a person owns Property A and wants to purchase Property B without using any of their own funds. The bank can use both properties as collateral for the new loan. Cross-collateralisation may often seem to be an appealing option to a buyer, but I have been told it puts banks in a stronger position as it provides them with greater control over the properties. One lender said it has a benefit initially, in that he or she has not had to use their own cash to acquire the second property; however this strategy does have the potential to negatively impact future opportunities.
1. LOSS OF FLEXIBILITY
If a property is cross-collateralised it can limit severely the way in which sale proceeds may be used if sold.
2. INCREASED COMPLEXITY
It is often the case that every property in a cross-collateralised portfolio needs to be re-valued whenever one property is released.
3. LIMITED PRODUCT CHOICE
Regardless of one’s asset position, many banks will want to control the type of loan that they will make available to a buyer when his or her aggregate debt with them is high. The lender said if can often be a better strategy for a buyer to use multiple lenders and therefore gain access to the most suitable loan products.
4. CHANGING LENDERS CAN BE DIFFICULT AND COSTLY
When a loan(s) is secured by multiple properties, the establishment fees are usually higher as they include charges for ‘additional’ security. (both properties) This cost can be compounded when an owner wishes to move those cross-collateralised properties from one lender to another.
5. EQUITY ACCESS
If the equity in the property increased value over time is inaccessible.
Hope this was helpful! If your looking to purchase a second home call me, I would be happy to help you with finding your dream home.