September 28, 2017
SecurityNational Mortgage has been awarded as one of the 50 best mortgage companies to work for by Mortgage executive Magazine. This is the second straight year SecurityNational has been included on the list. SNMC will be featured in the September/October issue of the magazine.
The award recognizes Security National in part for its company culture which extends a positive work-life balance for employees and loan officers. SNMC Leadership strives to provide world-class services to its clients, but also top-tier support, compensation, and benefits to its employees.
Each year, Mortgage Executive Magazine compiles a list of the nation’s top mortgage companies. The award is based on a survey conducted by Mortgage Executive Magazine. Over 200 mortgage companies and banks participated and more than 10,000 loan officers were surveyed. The online surveys are limited to licensed Mortgage Loan Officers who are presently employed by the companies they are rating. The survey is limited to companies with at least 30 eligible loan officers. Winners are selected based on a combination of total MLO votes and average rating score.
Learn more about how you could join our award-winning team.
Security National celebrated the completion of the first of six buildings that will make up the new corporate campus located in Murray, Utah. The development will be known as 53rd Center. Scott Quist, CEO of SNFC, help the honor of cutting the ribbon.
The center will be a key part of the development project marketing campaign as it is located right in the middle of the Salt Lake metro area. The center will feature six buildings with total leasable space exceeding 1 million square feet. While leasing demand continues to pick up for the first building at 53rd Center, SecurityNational Mortgage will be a major tenant.
Until now, production management and operations management have been scattered throughout the Salt Lake Valley. Bringing the Security National companies together under one roof will give us an opportunity to continue improving the speed and efficiency of our operations. We are all looking forward to the move, scheduled to be sometime in late fall of 2017.
SecurityNational Mortgage Company made a significant donation of $15,000 to the non-profit group Family Promise of Salt Lake.
Family Promise of Salt Lake is an interfaith alliance that helps homeless families achieve self-sufficiency. Family promise helps provide shelter and housing services for the homeless. In addition, Family Promise strives to facilitate lasting income and environmental stability for the families they serve.
Paul Christensen, Vice President of SecurityNational presented a check of $15,000 on Thursday to support the non-profit organization in their mission to serve and support the homeless and announced a corporate sponsorship with the non-profit organization.
“Family Promise is a great organization and it really gives back to the community. I think it will be great for [our] employees to have a hand in that and be able to do something for others in need,” said Christensen.
SNMC is looking forward to working with Family Promise on increasing their donations through employee participation.
Since 2015, Family Promise of Salt Lake has helped hundreds of families find safer and more habitable shelter and learn lasting, valuable life-skills to help them transition away from homelessness. The mission of Family Promise is achieved through thousands of hours from volunteers throughout the community and from various religious congregations, as well as generous donations from community supporters and organizations.
Learn more about how you can get involved with Family Promise of Salt Lake by visiting FPSL.ORG.
For first-time home buyers, the challenge of coming up with a 20% mortgage down payment is often difficult enough to keep them out of the market. But the fact is, the 20% down payment is all but dead — and has been for quite some time, especially for first-time buyers.
“It’s been my experience that about half of my clients know that there are loans and/or programs that require less than 20% down,” says Kris Lindahl, a real estate agent in Blaine, Minnesota. “The other half still think that they must have at least 20% down in order to qualify for a home mortgage.”
But most people don’t put 20% down on a home, even though it’s the benchmark most often quoted by lenders and mortgage experts. More than 70% of non-cash, first-time home buyers — and 54% of all buyers — made down payments of less than 20% over at least the past five years, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Michael Facchini of Chicago was 23 years old when he bought a multi-family building in 2003 as his primary residence. He put only 5% down, even back then.
“I own it still today and it has proven to be a fantastic investment, even through the crash of 2008,” says Facchini, now a branch manager at Fairway Mortgage.
The typical down payment for 60% of first-time home buyers is 6% or less, according to NAR’s latest data. But NAR’s research finds few adults 34 and younger (just 13%) realize they can buy a house with a down payment of 5% or less.
These low-down-payment programs aren’t new. The FHA has backed home loans with 5% down or less since the 1980s. Conventional loans, mortgages that aren’t directly backed by the government, have had them since the 1990s.
“Many financial advisors, including much of the popular media, speak of the ‘traditional conventional loan’ that assumes 20% down,” Lindahl says. “This type of loan is considered the gold standard and is most often used to quote mortgage rates. Another reason is simply that many banks and lending institutions only deal with 20% conventional loans, as they are considered ‘safer’ and less risky than other lower down-payment mortgages.”
Consider the typical down payments for different types of loans for the 12 months ending May 2017, according to mortgage lender systems provider Ellie Mae. This information represents an 80% sample of all of the mortgage applications the company processes — about 30% of total loan volume in the U.S. — and is for for all purchase loans, not just to first-time buyers.
Conventional loans, the mortgages lenders prefer to make, can have down payments as low as 3% for qualified buyers. Some lenders offer grants to allow even lower money down. But for the past 12 months, most buyers seeking conventional financing put down 20%, according to Ellie Mae.
FHA loans, often the go-to solution for first-time buyers of modest means, require a minimum of 3.5% down, and sure enough, loan-to-values for the period averaged 96%, probably due to rounding.
VA loans are famous for offering mortgages that require no down payment at all. Still, LTVs averaged 98% over the past year, likely due to borrowers financing their closing costs.
The fact is, 20% down payments aren’t strictly required, but they may be a good idea. Good reasons to put down at least 20% include:
One thing’s for sure: you don’t want to drain all of your savings account, regardless of how much you put down. You’ll want to have some money on hand for the variety of expenses, including closing costs, homeowners insurance and property taxes, that come up as you buy and move in.
And you should be prepared to spend even more on the water heater or other appliance that fails, a lawn mower for that new lawn, or furniture for that guest room you always wanted.
The “traditional” 20% down payment may become obsolete, even among big lenders. Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, told CNBC in May that lowering the down payment requirement from 20% to 10% “wouldn’t introduce that much risk but would help a lot of mortgages get done.”
There are strong arguments to be made for and against 20% down payments. It’s a decision that depends on your particular financial situation, how long you plan on being in a home, and the housing market in your area.
Fannie Mae and California State University-Fullerton research into what U.S. households know about qualifying for a mortgage came to this conclusion:
“Correcting consumer misconceptions may be a more efficient approach to expanding homeownership opportunities by encouraging households who may already be qualified to own homes.”
The article The 20% Mortgage Down Payment Is Dead originally appeared on NerdWallet.
Disclaimer: SecurityNational Mortgage Company, and its loan officers, unless individually licensed and specifically denoted in their credentials, are not qualified to, and are prohibited from representing themselves as accountants, attorneys, certified financial planners, estate planners, investment specialists or tax experts, and will not advise you in those matters. Always seek the advice of a licensed professional. By submitting your contact information you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. You also expressly consent to having SecurityNational Mortgage Company contact you about your inquiry. This is not a commitment to make a loan. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualifications. Contact loan officer listed for an accurate, personalized quote. Interest rates and program guidelines are subject to change without notice. SecurityNational Mortgage Company is an Equal Housing Lender. Company NMLS# 3116
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