When buying a home in San Diego, it's important to know how you are going to pay for it. Most homebuyers need a loan but are confused by the different options. Keith Bryan with the Whissel Realty Group explains the pros & cons of the 3 most popular home loans.

Keith Bryan with the Whissel Realty Group is not a lender, but he does get these questions often. What are the pros and cons of lending? So today, we're going to look at the pros and cons of the top three loans.

PROS

1. FHA loan. It's often touted as the go-to loan for first-time homebuyers. The pros are you can put down as little as 3.5% and they often have lower interest rates compared to the other loans.

2. VA loan. These loans have wonderful terms and options that open up homeownership for retired and active military personnel. The pros are no down payment and no mortgage insurance.

3. Conventional loan. These loans are often referred to as conforming loans and are ideal for people who have excellent credit scores and a lot of money to put down. There's flexibility in the terms when it comes to loosened appraisal and inspection standards. And they're ideal when looking to buy that next vacation home, investment property or that fix or flip.

CONS

1. The FHA loan con is that there's an upfront mortgage insurance fee that spans the entire life of the loan and the only way to get it removed is to refinance the loan once you've paid down 20% of the balance.

2. The VA loan con. It, too, also charges an upfront fee, called a funding fee that 1% to 3% of the purchase price and the only way that it can be waived is if you have a VA disability.

3. The conventional loan con. These loans have higher borrowing standards with finances, employment, and income verification.

So here's the good news. You don't have to figure out all this on your own. Call Keith at 760-456-9471 and we'll have one of our preferred lenders take out all the guesswork for you.

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