Allied Mortgage

Call Amy at Golden Rule Mortgage... she'll do a much better job.
800-991-9922. Or you can PM me and I'll help you.

We used Allied Mortgage for our initial purchase in 2002 and for a refinance in 2005. Denis Schwab was easy to work with and responded promptly to e-mails and phone calls. I checked with 4 or 5 mortgage companies and banks when selecting a mortgage company in 2002 and at that time, Allied and one other company had much better rates than the others, but all had rates higher than stateside. We did everything from the states on both and they both went smoothly with no unexpected or questionable fees.

I wouldent use allied mortgage for anything... they are a franchise.

How much higher are rates on STX compared to states?

USVI interest rates for a conventional 30 year mortgage seem to average about 1.5 to 2.25 points above rates offered on the mainland for people who have excellent credit ratings. We locked in a rate of 6 7/8% here when eLoan and other large mainland lenders were offering rates of 5% - 5.25% for a 30 year mortgage.

Am not sure what the difference is for other types of mortgages.

Thought it might also be worth mentioning that to my knowledge, there is only one nationally known mainland mortgage lender, Flagstar Bank, who also offers mortgages in the USVI.

--HC

In 2002, I believe that the rates were about 1% or so higher than comparable 30 year fixed rate loans being offered in Virginia at that time. When I refinanced in 2005, the rates were just slightly higher than what was being offered in Virginia. I do not know how they compare now.

Rates and costs are two different things. The rate is the interest rate the loan will be for the term of the loan... often 30 years. Rates change daily... sometimes more than once a day, and are quoted at "par" or before any adjustments are made in pricing. Higher rates than par also have yield spread. It is a fee paid to the originator (usually the broker) as compensation for delivering a higher-than-market (par) interest rate. It is usually a percentage of the loan amount.

The pricing/cost is what it costs to get that rate after all the adjustments such as: loan purpose, loan size, occupancy, LTV, number of units, loan program, etc., are made. On top of that, borrowers will have program adjustments based on their credit, etc. These adjustments are the same all over the states with different states grouped into different adjustment tiers. I have nine pages of program and adjustment changes every day.

For example the single tier adjustment for an "owner occupied" VI property location for a 30 year fixed rate loan (with good credit) is 0.15% for a $150,000.00 loan amount. Not much, right? Make it an "investment property" with an LTV of 80-90% and you will add 2.5% of the loan amount to the cost just for that feature.

The rates you hear about that are so low are usually BEFORE any adjustments are made. You can get these tantalizing low rates IF you pay all the pricing adjustment costs up front in addition to your closing costs, origination fee and prepaids. Usually the borrower will elect to have a higher rate, and have these adjustments absorbed by the yield spread. For example, the if the rate for an owner occupied home was 6% at par, to get the yield spread to cover the adjustment as an investment property, the rate may be 6.625% before any other adjustments.

Bottom line: The VI rates and pricing are not that much different than the mainland. Just beware of those that say "Every ting costs more on the islands, mon!" and hit you over the head with an extra point on your origination or something.