Mortgage Products

The Trinity Advantage: Superior Product Selection

Trinity Financial Services maintains close working relationships with major wholesale lending sources, as well as smaller boutique mortgage bankers. We offer many loan products to match unique property types and financial situations. We can also arrange private investor loans for certain circumstances.

Following is some basic information on the most commonly used loan types:

Conventional Conforming:

For Santa Barbara County (other counties vary), the maximum loan amount for “Regular Conforming” is $726,200. Loan amounts above $726,200 and up to $805,000 is referred to as “High Balance Conforming”. There are many loan programs available under conforming loan types, which follow the standard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac underwriting guidelines. The interest rates and some guidelines vary between “regular” conforming and “high balance” conforming. Some lenders have “overlays” which will limit certain guidelines allowed by Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac – we search for lenders who limit such “overlays” to allow the maximum amount of flexibility within the Fannie/Freddie guidelines.

FHA

Many consumers have the mistaken understanding that FHA is only for first-time homebuyers. This is not the case. For Santa Barbara County, FHA will allow for a maximum base loan amount of $805,000 with as little as 3.5% down, allowing for a purchase price of $834,200 with only $29,200 down. FHA loan types require both “upfront” and “monthly” mortgage insurance, regardless of the loan-to-value. The “upfront” mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% is usually financed into the “base” loan amount. FHA guidelines can allow for higher debt-to-income ratios and more flexible credit history standards than conventional loan types.

VA

VA loan programs are available for Veterans who have available eligibility, with zero downpayment required. Unless a Veteran is “exempt”, there is a VA Funding Fee which is required, the amount of which varies based on Veteran’s status and former use of the program. The VA Funding Fee is usually financed into the “base” loan amount.

Jumbo

For Santa Barbara County, loan amounts above $805,000 mentioned above are considered “jumbo”. Jumbo investors have varying guidelines and requirements, including but not limited to credit standards, property stipulations and reserve requirements. In most cases, jumbo interest rates are higher than conventional interest rate types.