Lender Terms - Boston

[Dan Weber]

Has anyone in the Boston area gotten pre-approved in the last 3 weeks? My friends spoke with their bank and the terms that they were offered seemed a bit steep. They have plenty of cash to put down, perfect credit, ideal buyers. They were looking at a 2 family in the $800k-$1m range. They were told that, even for an owner occupied loan, 10% downpayment was not enough and they needed to put down 20%. Given the amount of 3.5%-5% down owner occupied loans given out the last decade, this was the first time I've heard of a lender requiring 20% down for owner occ. Is this the new norm because of COVID? Any other lender suggestions would be great.

[Lien Vuong]

Hey, assuming all the terms you stated were correct I think that the lender is likely a private bank that has really tightened their lending guidelines. Those terms are definitely NOT the norm and the requirements for 20% down for 2 family is really outrageous in my opinion. My clients are still able to exercise 3.5-5% down paying PMI and getting rates in the low 3%. You and your friends are 100% correct in questioning those terms.

To speak further and more intimate about this matter I'd refer @Philip Ganz who can best advise you on the terms. He's been in the business for 20 years and has experience quite a few market changes.