Alt-A Loans Get New Respect

As a mortgage broker specializing in complex jumbo loans in California, I read with interest the article from the  Wall Street Journal on “Alt-A” loans (Remember ‘Liar Loans’? Wall Street Pushes a Twist on the Crisis-Era Mortgage, February 2, 2016). I took this as a sign of encouragement for the many self-employed borrowers with sporadic income, or less than perfect credit.

These borrowers have had little success obtaining financing from large banks, even when putting down payments of over 40%! Today’s “non-qualified mortgages” do not resemble the “liar loans” of the past. These days, both borrowers and lenders must invest more effort analyzing complicated loan terms that are structured to compensate for factors such as unpredictable income, or lower credit scores.

We at Insignia Mortgage have built strong relationships with regional California-based lenders who will underwrite these types of loans, often offering very favorable interest rates (example: 5-year fixed 3.218% to 3.718% APR). This WSJ article reinforces the ideas that investors are starting to realize these loans are not all bad. Wall Street certainly seems to be warming up to these loans.