Check out the latest version of the Guaranty Trust Mortgage Guide Magazine!

Check out the latest version of the Guaranty Trust Mortgage Guide Magazine!

Lenders use the term debt-to-income ratio (DTI) to determine if your income is within program guidelines when compared to your current monthly debt and the proposed new monthly mortgage payment, which includes principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance (PITI). 

There are two different types of ratios that your lender will look at when going through the underwriting process to determine if your income meets the guidelines for the type of loan you are trying to acquire. 

1. Housing or Front End Ratio
• This is calculated by dividing the proposed PITI by the gross monthly income for all borrowers on the mortgage
• The ratio should fall between 28% and 31% for most loan programs

2. Total Debt or Back End Ratio
• This is calculated by dividing the proposed PITI and all monthly consumer debts reported on the credit report by the gross monthly income for all borrowers on the mortgage
• Most loan programs require that the ratio fall at or below 45%

When going through the qualification and underwriting process, calculating and verifying your income is one of the most important things a lender will look at before fully approving your loan.  Having sufficient income to qualify for the loan is the backbone for insuring that you will be able to make the payments on the new loan.

Lenders use the term debt-to-income ratio (DTI) to determine if your income is within program guidelines when compared to your current monthly debt and the proposed new monthly mortgage payment, which includes principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance (PITI). 

There are two different types of ratios that your lender will look at when going through the underwriting process to determine if your income meets the guidelines for the type of loan you are trying to acquire. 

1. Housing or Front End Ratio
• This is calculated by dividing the proposed PITI by the gross monthly income for all borrowers on the mortgage
• The ratio should fall between 28% and 31% for most loan programs

2. Total Debt or Back End Ratio
• This is calculated by dividing the proposed PITI and all monthly consumer debts reported on the credit report by the gross monthly income for all borrowers on the mortgage
• Most loan programs require that the ratio fall at or below 45%

Calculating your income will be done by the underwriter through the W2’s, tax returns, and paycheck stubs that you provide your mortgage lender.  Keep in mind that lenders are looking at your gross income before taxes, not your net or “take home” pay.

For self-employed borrowers, the underwriter will be looking at your adjusted gross income and adding certain deductions to the adjusted gross income that are acceptable per lending guidelines.  This process of calculating the income used for self-employed borrowers can be very complicated, so make sure to check with your qualified loan originator when any questions come up.  Also, Fannie Mae has an income worksheet that can help when attempting to determine the income used in the debt-to-income ratio.

Thursday May 3rd 9AM-11AM. Location: Guaranty Trust Company

This training course is best for those who already have a Facebook fan page for your business OR attended the Facebook 1 training two weeks ago.

- We will be taking questions and doing a refresher from Facebook 1.
- Applications to add to your Facebook fan page, how to do it, and how to customize the way the apps appear on your timeline.
- Content Ideas: we’ll give you some ideas of sites to watch and show you how to actually post content. We’ll also refresh on hootsuite and how to use it.
- Timeline Cover design- we’ll introduce a free tool at timelinecoverbanner.com that will help you design your own customer cover image for free.
- Facebook Advertising- you’ll learn about the different types of Facebook advertising and how to launch your first affordable ad campaign.

Space is limited so, register now below.

Realtors, register now for this FREE Facebook Training through the G.R.E.A.T. program.

Thursday May 3rd 9AM-11AM. Location: Guaranty Trust Company

This training course is best for those who already have a Facebook fan page for your business OR attended the Facebook 1 training two weeks ago.

- We will be taking questions and doing a refresher from Facebook 1.
- Applications to add to your Facebook fan page, how to do it, and how to customize the way the apps appear on your timeline.
- Content Ideas: we’ll give you some ideas of sites to watch and show you how to actually post content. We’ll also refresh on hootsuite and how to use it.
- Timeline Cover design- we’ll introduce a free tool at timelinecoverbanner.com that will help you design your own customer cover image for free.
- Facebook Advertising- you’ll learn about the different types of Facebook advertising and how to launch your first affordable ad campaign.

Space is limited so, register now below.

Don’t miss out on the incredible opportunities for Real Estate Agents like yourself through GTC’s GREAT program. GREAT provides free training sessions that include various social media topics such as Facebook, Google Places, etc. as well as topics related to your use of our E-Properties solution for helping you sell more and earn more! To learn more about being a part of this program, just click this link and fill out the quick online form. One of our loan officers will contact you.

Need to fulfill your Code of Ethics training requirement? National Association of Realtors has some online training courses if you’re a member.

Photo from HGTV.com

15 Secrets to Home Staging- great photo slideshow and article to pass along to your sellers from HGTV.com

GREAT Training Program, Ethics Training, Staging Tips, and Facebook Customer Timeline Cover tool!

Don’t miss out on the incredible opportunities for Real Estate Agents like yourself through GTC’s GREAT program. GREAT provides free training sessions that include various social media topics such as Facebook, Google Places, etc. as well as topics related to your use of our E-Properties solution for helping you sell more and earn more! To learn more about being a part of this program, just click this link and fill out the quick online form. One of our loan officers will contact you.

Need to fulfill your Code of Ethics training requirement? National Association of Realtors has some online training courses if you’re a member.

Photo from HGTV.com

15 Secrets to Home Staging- great photo slideshow and article to pass along to your sellers from HGTV.com

FACEBOOK: As you know, all Facebook profile and fan pages have been reformatted to the Timeline design. Here is a website with a free Timeline cover maker! You can pull in a free background or browse for your own image and add text and graphics to customize your cover. Then, just save the image to your computer to upload to Facebook!

Here is an instructional video on how to use this free tool!

Floating house in the desert preserves the original landscape beneath. The environmentally friendly home is definitely unique, check out the video.

Kaye Fought Clark, Vice President, Branch Manager, Jeff Byrd, Senior Loan Officer, and Kara Bennett, Senior Processor for the retail division of GTC will be located upstairs in the new bank building. They have been with GTC for 7 years. Also, Melanie Majority, Senior Underwriter for GTC Wholesale division and Stacy Eubank, Loan Account Manager for GTC Wholesale will be moving into the new bank building upstairs….

In the month of May, Guaranty Trust Company, a mortgage company owned by Volunteer State Bank, will be moving to a new location. GTC has currently been at the Winston Hills Retail Center for the past 5 years and is moving into the new location of the recently built Volunteer State Bank in Hendersonville at 323 East Main Street to better serve our customers and have better parking facilities. Guaranty Trust staff will be located on the 2nd floor of the new bank location on the corner of Maple and East Main – across from the City Hall of Hendersonville.

Kaye Fought Clark, Vice President, Branch Manager, Jeff Byrd, Senior Loan Officer, and Kara Bennett, Senior Processor for the retail division of GTC will be located upstairs in the new bank building. They have been with GTC for 7 years. Also, Melanie Majority, Senior Underwriter for GTC Wholesale division and Stacy Eubank, Loan Account Manager for GTC Wholesale will be moving into the new bank building upstairs.

Tant Dowell, Senior Loan Officer, will be moving into the Volunteer State Bank branch located at 2920 Hwy 31W, in Whitehouse, TN.  Tant has been with GTC for 17 years. He is looking forward to being in the Whitehouse branch to help customers with their mortgage needs and answer any questions they may have.

“We are all looking forward to a wonderful new home inside the new bank location”, quotes Kaye Clark from GTC.  Guaranty Trust was listed in the top 60 “Best Mortgage Companies in America for 2011” in the Mastermind 2012 Magazine printed in February.

“All the employees at Volunteer State Bank are like family to us, so it is going to be a great fit for us to be located with them in the bank itself,” says Kaye Clark, “Hopefully we will be able to service our customers better. The new location of Volunteer State Bank is just beautiful inside and out.”

Guaranty Trust Company is a full service lender offering FHA, VA, Rural Housing and many different types of Conventional loans and is one of the top leaders in the state of Tennessee for THDA (Tennessee Housing Development Association) loans as we as being listed as the number one lender for RD (Rural Development) loans. Kaye says, “We look forward to seeing several of our old customers along with some new customers in our new location.”

NEW ADDRESS: 323 E. Main Street, Hendersonville, TN
PHONE: 615-824-7354

Well, this is definitely a unique property on the market! The village of District 12 from The Hunger Games is for sale!

As a Real Estate Agent, you can be certain you’ll receive calls from panicked homeowners who want to sell their home because they owe too much, or falsely believe it is better to rent than to experience their home’s value decline in a soft market. Fearing the worst, some homeowners want to just get out from under their mortgage…right now!

For homeowners that owe more than the value of their home, selling may not be an option right now.  Guaranty Trust is offering the HARP2 refinance program. As a Realtor, you may be in the first position to recognize and recommend this solution to your clients.  The HARP product allows a homeowner to refinance into a better rate, and at higher loan to value than any current conventional or government loan does now. 

Right now, you may be asking, “what does that do for me?”  Well, it is all about the care and feeding of our clients….good advice goes a long way to protect that relationship for future business.  There are some guidelines to qualify…here’s the primary list;

Sell or Refinance….HARP*4* REALTORS

As a Real Estate Agent, you can be certain you’ll receive calls from panicked homeowners who want to sell their home because they owe too much, or falsely believe it is better to rent than to experience their home’s value decline in a soft market. Fearing the worst, some homeowners want to just get out from under their mortgage…right now!

For homeowners that owe more than the value of their home, selling may not be an option right now.  Guaranty Trust is offering the HARP2 refinance program. As a Realtor, you may be in the first position to recognize and recommend this solution to your clients.  The HARP product allows a homeowner to refinance into a better rate, and at higher loan to value than any current conventional or government loan does now. 

Right now, you may be asking, “what does that do for me?”  Well, it is all about the care and feeding of our clients….good advice goes a long way to protect that relationship for future business.  There are some guidelines to qualify…here’s the primary list;

1. Current loan must be owned by Fannie Mae and have been in place before 5/31/09;
2. Loan must be current with no 30 day lates within the past year, & a min credit score of 720;
3. Homeowner must have the demonstrated financial ability to continue making payments;
4. The current loan to value must be between 81-105%;
5. The current mortgage insurance (not homeowners) must be with an approved & transferable provider;
6. The new Harp loan must be shown to help the affordability and or stability of the loan for the homeowner;
7. Application for the HARP loan must be made prior to 12/31/2013.

When you have time and want to know more, visit the helpful videos HERE or HERE

…Or contact us…we are accepting applications now!
Sherry.Carney@guarantytrust.com

I’m asked this question all the time. “How much can I shorten my mortgage by making bi-weekly payments?”  (Not to be confused with bi-monthly payments, as the savings are not the same.).
Bi-Weekly payments by definition means you are paying ½ of your payment every TWO weeks, so you’re paying part of your principal early, AND you’re making two extra payments a year, which can reduce your 30 year term by years.  Bi-weekly payments can also take your principal balance down faster, even if you don’t plan to stay in your home for 30 years.
See for yourself with this quick calculator I found…Just plug in your numbers and see how much you can save!

Bi-weekly Mortgage Payment Calculator

Reclaimed wood, pieces of junkyard cars, and an old shipping container all went into building this super eco-friendly California home.

If you were building a house right now, would using recycled materials be important to you? Why?

Reclaimed wood, pieces of junkyard cars, and an old shipping container all went into building this super eco-friendly California home.

If you were building a house right now, would using recycled materials be important to you? Why?