We cherish all of our customers, but for certain professions, it makes sense to take an extra step toward giving back, and for that reason, MasonMac created the Affinity-Heroes program.

With the Heroes program, MasonMac branches offer financial incentive to first responders (Firefighters, EMS, Law Enforcement), Teachers, Military, and Healthcare professionals as a way to say ‘thank you’ for also putting in so much effort to make our communities better places to live.

How does the Heroes loan program work?

When buying a home or refinancing, MasonMac will provide .5% of the loan amount (up to $3,500) as a lender credit that can be applied toward closing costs or to discount points to buy down an interest rate.  The credit will always be .5% of the loan amount (so for a $200,000 loan, it would be $1,000, and for a $500,000 loan it would be $2,500) up to the max $3,500 credit.  This can bring significant savings to qualifying borrowers and can help make home ownership more affordable for those buying a home.  For those who already own a home, the Heroes program can help borrowers achieve a reduced interest rate by applying the credit toward discount points, exponentially increasing the long term savings available.

Who Qualifies

Local heroes employed in the following fields qualify for the MasonMac Heroes program:  Firefighters, EMS, Healthcare professionals, Military (active duty, reserve, and veterans), Law Enforcement, and Teachers.  Qualifying applicants must work with a MasonMac branch/LO that participates in the heroes program, and qualifying applicant must be on the loan as a borrower or coborrower.

Are you a hero in your local community?  If so, take advantage of our Heroes loan program to help you achieve the dream of home ownership with substantial savings on your next mortgage loan!  If you have any questions, you can get in touch for a quick answer by clicking here.

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Benefits of Non-QM Mortgages

Non-QM mortgages can provide many benefits to borrowers who don’t qualify for traditional mortgages due to various reasons such as self-employment, foreign nationality, or other unique financial situations. Some of the key benefits of Non-QM mortgages include:

1. Flexibility in Documentation: Unlike conventional mortgages that require very specific documentation of income and employment, Non-QM mortgages offer flexibility in documenting income. This is beneficial for self-employed borrowers who may not have traditional pay stubs or W-2 forms to verify their income. Non-QM mortgages allow self-employed borrowers to provide alternative forms of documentation such as bank statements, business financials, or even CPA letters to verify their income.
2. Expanded Credit Criteria: Non-QM mortgages may have more lenient credit requirements compared to traditional mortgages. This can be beneficial for borrowers with less-than-perfect credit histories or unique credit profiles. Non-QM mortgages may consider factors such as payment history, reserves, and other compensating factors to assess the borrower’s creditworthiness, rather than relying solely on credit scores.
3. Customized Loan Terms: Non-QM mortgages offer flexibility in loan terms, allowing borrowers to customize their loans to suit their unique needs. Borrowers can choose from options such as interest-only payments, adjustable rates, or longer loan terms, which may not be available with traditional mortgages. This flexibility can help borrowers tailor their mortgage to their financial situation and achieve their homeownership goals.

Use Cases and Examples of Non-QM scenarios

Non-QM mortgages are used by a wide range of borrowers who may not qualify for traditional mortgages due to their financial situation. Some common examples of borrowers who can benefit from Non-QM mortgages include:

1. Self-Employed Borrowers: Self-employed borrowers often face challenges in obtaining traditional mortgages due to the nature of their income. They may have irregular income streams or may write off a significant portion of their income on their tax returns, which can affect their ability to qualify for a conventional mortgage. Non-QM mortgages can provide self-employed borrowers with flexible income documentation options, making it easier for them to qualify for a mortgage.
2. Foreign National Borrowers: Foreign national borrowers, who do not have U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, may face hurdles in obtaining a traditional mortgage. Non-QM mortgages can offer financing options for foreign national borrowers, allowing them to purchase a home in the U.S. without the need for a Social Security number or credit history.
3. Investors:  Investors who have large property portfolios or are in need of financing based on potential rental income can benefit from a DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loan, which uses current or potential rental income on a property to qualify, rather than traditional income and employment documentation.
4. Borrowers with Unique Financial Situations: Non-QM mortgages can also benefit borrowers with unique financial situations such as those with significant assets but limited income, retirees with unconventional income sources, or borrowers with previous credit events such as bankruptcies or foreclosures. Non-QM mortgages provide these borrowers with alternative financing options that may not be available with traditional mortgages.

Cons of Non-QM Mortgages

While Non-QM mortgages offer many benefits, they also come with some potential downsides that borrowers should be aware of. Some of the negative aspects of Non-QM mortgages include:

1. Higher Interest Rates and Fees: Non-QM mortgages may have higher interest rates and fees due to the perceived increase in risk to these non-traditional products.
2. Complex underwriting:  Since Non-QM loans offer more flexibility in guidelines and documentation, the underwriting process can also be more tedious        with borrowers being asked to provide more documents and explanations throughout the loan process.  For this reason, it’s a good idea if using Non-QM financing to give a few extra days for the underwriting process.  MasonMac underwriters Non-QM products in-house with MasonMac underwriters, so the process is more streamlined than working with wholesale/mortgage broker options.
3. Non-QM mortgage funds come from a smaller pool of investors with a smaller pool of overall funds than conventional loans which have oversight from FHFA.  For this reason, the Non-QM mortgage market can be more volatile and subject to frequent changes to product availability.  This is a pro and a con, because this also leads to a more nimble market, with new products frequently coming to market.

Non-QM mortgage loans aren’t a solution for everyone, but there is no doubt they have a place in today’s market for borrowers who cannot qualify for traditional mortgage products.  Understanding Non-QM loans and working with a lender that specializes in them not only presents more loan options but can make the process of getting financing easy even for those who don’t qualify for conventional or government-backed mortgage loans.

Curious about Non-QM loans, or have any questions about specific products?  Feel free to ask an expert by clicking here for a quick response!

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Residents in the Hoosier State now have access to MasonMac’s full suite of products, including conventional mortgage loans, FHA loans, first time buyer products, nonQM loans, VA mortgage loans, and Jumbo mortgage loans.

MasonMac has several Indiana loan officers ready to serve the state’s borrowers, and is focused on customers financing residential real estate.  With products for every demographic from first time home buyers to seasoned investors, MasonMac offers Indiana residents purchase money, refinance, renovation, and equity loan products to meet all of their mortgage needs.
Indiana will now have access to an industry leading customer experience, and as a platform for experienced loan officers, can service consumers and the real estate industry with competitive rates, a wide variety of loan products, and lightning fast closings with the QuickMortgage digital loan process.
With so many loan options, the team at MasonMac is excited for the opportunity to serve Indiana home owners, home buyers, and real estate agents in the state!

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Enter, MasonMac’s Lock & Shop loan program.  With our Lock & Shop product, home buyers can lock in their interest rate for an extended period of time prior to identifying a property.  This is a great benefit to buyers because they can take the time to find the right home without the pressure of a rising rate environment weighing on the decision making process.

So buyers are protected from volatile rate increased while shopping for a home, but what if rates improve while they look for a home?  Wouldn’t the locked rate then be a bad thing?  MasonMac has you covered!  Our Lock & Shop product features a 1 time float down option, so if the market improves, our customers are able to take advantage by choosing to exercise the float down option within 30 days of their settlement to take advantage of the improved market.

With the float down function, MasonMac customers get the benefit of both protection from rising rates and the ability to take advantage of an improving market, offering some peace of mind to what can be an otherwise stressful home buying process.

When considering buying a home, we think you’ll love the options we present – with long term locks, this Lock & Shop program, and our Buyer’s Advantage process, we put our customers in the best place for a stress-free house hunting and home buying process.  Add to that our highly experienced team of loan officers ready to assist with in depth product knowledge and armed with the technology to streamline the loan process, and home buyers are in the best of hands when working with the team at MasonMac!  

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With Buyer’s Advantage, MasonMac not only preapproves customers through a fully documented vetting process, they actually submit a preapproval file to an underwriter for review.  This means underwriting approves the buyer for a predetermined purchase price, issuing an approval (read that again – not a PREapproval, but an APPROVAL) to purchase a home!  This is extremely important for sellers because with financed offers, many fall out due to a failure in the financing.  This is why ‘cash’ is often a preference amongst sellers, even though cash buyers often come with lower offer prices or a boatload of contingencies of their own.  With MasonMac’s Buyer’s Advantage program, buyers relying on financing are as strong as cash, since the only things not yet approved are property related.

Yes, that means that with an appraisal (unless there’s a MasonMac appraisal waiver!), title work, insurance, and any other property-related documents (HOA documents, for example), it’s on to the closing table with minimal processing times.  This allows our buyers to move faster, and give sellers the assurance that not only are they a serious buyer, but they’re a buyer that has very slim chances of not making it to the closing table, and making it there on time.

For our real estate partners and the agents of our customers, this also adds a layer of assurance when it comes to crafting a competitive offer!  Need a fast closing?  Well, with Buyer’s Advantage, the time from signing a contract to closing is drastically reduced.  Need to offer without a financing contingency to be more competitive?  While we never recommend waiving protective contingencies, where it’s needed, there isn’t much a buyer can do to be more assured than to have our Buyer’s Advantage approval certificate.  This gives our buyer customers and their agents additional layers of assurance that when it comes to the financing, the job will get done and get done fast!

“2 weeks?!?”, the agent on the other end of phone proclaimed.  Yes, as long as we can get the appraisal and title work back with a few days to spare – our buyer’s advantage program is making lives easier for buyers agents and adding additional assurance to sellers and listing agents that with our offers, the financing is as good as it gets in terms of getting done and done on time.

How does Buyer’s Advantage work?

As with a normal pre-approval, buyers need to apply with their MasonMac loan officer, and from there, the loan officer and their team will request any and all documentation needed for buyer’s advantage, then pass the loan to an actual underwriter for approval, before a property is even located!.  This does mean that the earlier in the process your loan officer is involved, the better!  Our underwriters are working hard to keep turn times FAST, but reviewing a complete file takes time, so requesting Buyer’s Advantage the same day an offer is being made doesn’t do anyone much good – but when you (of if you’re an agent, your clients) know you’ll be buying a home in the near future, getting in touch early will allow us to give you a Buyer’s Advantage certificate to submit with your offer.

Of course, other contract terms are important – price, the timing of closing, contingencies, and other aspects of your offer are all important considerations for a seller, but all other things being equal, Buyer’s Advantage offers a sure thing amongst other offers that may just have standard preapprovals or (worse) prequalifications, and will certainly stand out from those buyers who have chosen to make offers without a preapproval.

Want an advantage in today’s market?  Talk with your MasonMac loan officer about MasonMac’s Buyer’s Advantage program today!

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