Morning Briefing: United Wholesale offering interest-only mortgages

United Wholesale offering interest-only mortgages… This city is the worst for first-time buyers… Freddie Mac event to help veterans…

United Wholesale offering interest-only mortgages
United Wholesale Mortgage of Michigan announced Monday that it is now offering interest-only home loans through brokers. Although interest-only mortgages were considered toxic by federal regulators and vilified in the aftermath of the housing crash United says these loans are different. To qualify, borrowers must have a minimum downpayment of 20 per cent, a FICO score of at least 720, and be able to afford the full-rate payment rather than a discounted starting payment. The mortgages are held by investors rather than United itself and CEO Matt Ishbia told CNBC that he’s confident in the product: “These people can afford these mortgages. They're savvy homeowners. We're giving them the choice. It is no more risk to us. We actually think it's less risk."
 
This city is the worst for first-time buyers
Compton, CA is the worst city for first-time home buyers according to a new report from WalletHub. The study found that California ranks poorly for new entrants to the housing market but Texas and Colorado rate well. Californian cities Richmond, Inglewood, El Monte, South Gate, Berkeley join Compton in the bottom 10 along with Miami Beach, FL; New Bedford, MA; Paterson, NJ; and Lansing, MI. WalletHub examined 300 cities across the US and ranked them on 18 metrics including housing costs, real-estate taxes and property crime rates. The top ten best cities for first-time buyers has Overland Park in Kansas at the top followed by: Allen, TX; Centennial, CO; Broken Arrow, OK; Frisco, TX; Plano, TX; Carrollton, TX; McKinney, TX; Longmont, CO; and Thornton, CO. You can find the full list at wallethub.com
 
Freddie Mac event to help veterans
The REO sales division of Freddie Mac will be holding an event next month to help US veterans and others buy homes. HomeSteps has teamed with St. Joseph Homeownership for the Second Annual American Heroes Housing Fair and Open House at the Firefighters Hall in Jacksonville, Florida on August 8. As well as services veterans and active personnel the event is open to educators, firefighters, police, first responders, city service workers and their families.