The Loftium Low Down

One of the biggest surprises for first-time homebuyers is how long the homebuying process can take, especially in the Seattle area. Even if you’re thinking about buying a home 6 months from now, the reality is you should probably start the process now. Here’s an overview of how long the home buying process can take. Continue reading “Buying a Home Takes Longer Than You Think - See the Timeline to Buy”

When it comes to applying for a mortgage, most people focus on their income. But it turns out that the fastest route to getting approved for a bigger home loan is to pay off debt.

With Loftium, you can speed up this process: use Loftium for the down payment, and free up your own funds to get debt free.

Why does paying off debt matter?

Simply lowering your current debt level doesn’t help much if you still have monthly payments to make. Even if you only have $6000 remaining on your car loan, if your monthly car payment is $500, that’s $500 per month less you can put towards your mortgage. This can mean ~$100,000 less when it comes to your bank approved purchase price, all because of a $6,000 car loan.

If you have the savings to do it, totally paying off debt could be a smart move. You’ll get debt free (woo hoo!), potentially improve your credit score and likely get approved for a bigger home loan.

Think it’s impossible to pay off debt? Loftium can help.

Use Loftium’s down payment to offset the savings you put towards your debt payoff. Get debt free and get a down payment from Loftium, in one fell swoop.

What this actually looks like.

Here’s a typical example of how our homebuyers use Loftium’s down payment, pay off debt and boost their max home price:

Interested in paying off your debt and using Loftium to boost your max purchase price?

Send us your info to get a custom plan.

Affordability is at the top of every homebuyer’s mind. Depending on your income and savings, there are different reasons why you may need a boost from Loftium to afford a home. Let’s take a look at the top three scenarios why using Loftium can make a substantial impact on your affordability.

1) Your income and small savings are keeping you from getting pre-approved for a loan, period.

You want to get your foot in the door of homeownership but with little in savings, combined with a household income of less than $80K, it’s difficult to get pre-approved at a home price where you can actually buy something with in Seattle. Given 5% down is required up-front for a conventional loan, you need Loftium’s down payment to buy.

Here’s a very common Seattle homebuyer profile:

• Total household income: $75,000
• Down payment savings: $5,000
• Max home price without Loftium: $100,000
• Max Home Price with $50K boost from Loftium: $497,306

Loftium is the key to homeownership for you. If you’re in this scenario, you’ll likely need to budget a little more tightly for the monthly mortgage payments, but if that means the difference between owning a home or not, cutting back on some expenditures could be worth it. Plus, the Airbnb income you’ll receive each month with Loftium can help add room to your budget.

2) You’ve got high income but low down payment savings.

You can easily afford the monthly mortgage payments but your down payment savings are too low to qualify you for a home price at which you’d like to buy. Want another bedroom? A better neighborhood? Enter Loftium.

Check out the before and after:

• Total household income: $100,000
• Down payment savings: $20,000
• Max home price without Loftium: $400,000
• Max Home Price with $50K boost from Loftium: $659,742

Loftium’s down payment boost combined with your income means you can get pre-approved for a much higher home price. Don’t let your down payment savings keep you from buying when you can totally afford the monthly payments. Prices in Seattle are outpacing income growth - it may be the perfect time for you to buy with Loftium’s help.

3) You’re crashing up against the conventional loan limit.

You don’t want to or cannot qualify for a jumbo loan or secondary mortgage, but in Seattle, you can only borrow $667,00 on a conventional mortgage before you have to look for other options. Jumbo loans generally require months of backup cash in the bank, and a 10% down payment. Secondary mortgages come with fluctuating, high interest rates. Either way - it can be very costly & you may not qualify for either one. Use Loftium to keep your loan size under $667,00.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Total household income: $150,000
• Down payment savings: $60,000
• Max home price without Loftium: $727,000
• Max home price with $50K boost from Loftium: $777,000

Adding Loftium’s down payment can keep you in the conventional loan limit range so you can use one, clean conforming loan with a lower interest rate - saving you thousands over time.

You can afford to buy with Loftium.

From buying a home you love to owning one at all, our down payments can make a big difference in your personal affordability. See how much home you can afford with Loftium’s down payment.

In each case we assume 5% down payments and 43% debt to income ratio, the highest you can have and still get approved for a mortgage.

People often come to us thinking that even with down payment assistance from Loftium, they won’t be comfortable with their monthly mortgage payments based on their current income. But you might be surprised-the dream home for many Seattleites is within reach, it’s just a matter of looking in the right neighborhood.

To get you started, we’ve figured out the necessary annual income needed to purchase Loftium-eligible homes (2+ bedrooms, no HOA) in Seattle neighborhoods. Take a look:

Want to run your numbers with Loftium, personally? Schedule your sit-down to buy in a neighborhood that works for you.

And check out these great homes that sold in each neighborhood (Loftium’s down payment offers are in yellow):

South Park (sold October for $325,000)

Rainier Valley (sold October for $380,000)

Delridge (sold August for $425,000)

Beacon Hill (sold August for $389,000)

Bitter Lake (sold July for $461,100)

Lake City (sold September for $485,000)

Columbia City (sold July for $555,000)

Green Lake (sold September for $624,950)

Ballard (sold October for $580,000)

Madison Park (sold July for $680,000)

University District (sold August for $725,000)

Ravenna (sold July for $590,000)

Capitol Hill (sold August for $592,500)

Fremont (sold August for $555,000)

Queen Anne (sold August for $735,000)

*We sorted homes by price under $1,000,000 and selected the lowest 25% that sold in the last 3 months that met Loftium criteria. These numbers are based on a 5% down payment and we assumed 1.5% closing costs (but actual costs may vary). The monthly payment includes principle, interest, taxes, insurance and PMI. 43% is the max debt-to-income ratio you can have to get a conventional loan.

As a millennial, my formative experience with housing was the 2008 financial crisis. I didn’t know much, but I learned not to buy in the middle of a bubble! With rapidly rising housing prices in Seattle (and many other cities), you may be wondering - is it the right time to buy?

While no one knows the future and home buying is an individual choice, I can give a personal example.

Continue reading “Should I buy now or is it all a bubble?”