Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I was shocked & confused to JUST learn that BofA Home Loans actually have Guarantors for their Home Loans when I thought that THEY THEMSELVES were the Guarantors.

Now mind you, I don't mean "Mr. Freddie" or "Ms. Fannie", but private, individual ones. My question IS: what are they some of the names of BofA's "Guarantors", or is this "private" info, as well??


Asked on 6/21/12, 11:12 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

I answered this question yesterday. Asking it again is going to change the law or get you a different answer.

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Answered on 6/22/12, 9:18 am
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

There are (at least) three kinds of programs that might be considered home-loan guaranty programs (other than Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). In the first kind, the lender simply requires a friend or relative of the borrower to, in effect, co-sign. Actually, "co-sign" kinda understates the obligation of the guarantor in such a deal, because the lender often has full recourse to the guarantor in the event of a default.

The other two kinds are more properly known as mortgage insurance, but they are also known as mortgage guarantees, and are frequently required when the loan exceeds 80% of the value of the property and/or the borrower's income and other resources are on the weak side. In one kind of mortgage insurance, the borrower pays the premium, sometimes up-front, sometines as an addition to the interest rate or to the monthly payment. In the other kind, the lender obtains and pays for the insurance, but the cost is probably built in to the interest rate or loan origination fees.

As to the lender being its own guarantor, this is literally impossible, just like being your own best friend is literally impossible. A guarantor, like a friend, has to be separate.

There is a lot of information available on Google (see Wikipedia, for example) on home mortgage insurance programs and home mortgage guarantor requirements. As to the names of firms providing home mortgage insurance, sometimes also known as home mortgage guarantees, try using "mortgage insurance company ratings" in a Google search; that'll give you leads to a bunch of the better-known companies in this field.

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Answered on 6/22/12, 9:23 am


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