Harpeth Mortgage was founded in 2004 in Franklin, Tennessee.  Headquartered on Bridge Street in Historic Downtown Franklin, Harpeth soon became a leading Mortgage Broker for all types of residential financing to include: purchases, refinances, FHA, VA, farm loans, and vacant land throughout the state of Tennessee. Harpeth Mortgage has grown throughout the years from new business, to repeat business and referrals. Our reputation has allowed us to remain at the top of the mortgage industry by providing all new innovative products as they become available with unmatched quality customer service.  We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau as well as all designations and appointments from all State and Federal Government Agencies available.

As our business continued to grow, we felt that it was time to expand and have a presence in additional areas of Middle Tennessee. We have recently relocated and opened our new headquarters in Madison, Tennessee.  Our location, directly across from Rivergate Mall, leaves us centrally located between Nashville and Hendersonville, yet convenient to surrounding areas such as Robertson and Sumner counties.

Whether you are in need of a new loan to purchase a home, or looking for a lower monthly payment on your existing mortgage, our team of qualified loan specialists are here to provide mortgage and home loan advice, and offer helpful solutions for your particular real estate situation.

Testimonials

Most home buyers and borrowers looking to refinance do not shop effectively for mortgages. During their busy everyday lives, searching for a mortgage is often something that doesn't take precedence. Their search is sometimes scattered, even unfocused. We want to take the leg work out of it and to help you focus on what is the biggest investment most people will ever make. Often, home buyers are unduly influenced by one easily measured key factor: interest rate, monthly payment, settlement cost, etc. The result: Most home buyers and borrowers looking the refinance spend more than they should and get less than they deserve. Why is this important? For example, a mortgage has different effects over different time periods. Thus, a fixed rate mortgage might be the best choice over a long time period, but an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) might be best over a short time period. To find the right mortgage, you need to consider several variables:

How long you will be making payments on the loan?  If you are refinancing, are you interested in any cash out for home improvements or debt consolidation?  Would you like to shorten the overall term of your loan?  Do you need your monthly payment to be lowered from your current monthly payment?  If purchasing a home, what do your monthly payments need to be to fit your budget?

Our goal is to help you in this decision and make the mortgage process YOUR mortgage process. Our loan specialists will work with you and help you answer these and other questions to determine which scenario best fits YOUR situation.  

Types of Loans

Conventional Loans:

Conventional loans are mortgage loans offered by non-government sponsored lenders. These loan types include:

• Fixed Rate Loans
• Adjustable Rate Loans (ARMs)
• Jumbo / Construction Loans

A conventional loan is a lender agreement that's not guaranteed or insured by the federal government under the Veterans Administration (VA) or the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), or the Rural Housing Service (RHS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A conventional loan can, however, follow the guidelines of government sponsored enterprises (GSE's) like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are stockholder-owned corporations and are not part of the federal government.

At one point in our history, conventional loans were the only mortgage loans available and they were all made by local lenders such as banks, savings and loans, and credit unions. They kept and serviced these loans in their own portfolio until they were either paid in full or foreclosed on.

In the late 1930's, a secondary market was created which allowed these local lenders to sell their loans, getting the full payment much more quickly. Then the organizations that purchased the loans owned the agreement and collected payments from the borrower. Today it is very common for lenders to sell their loans to the secondary market.

Conventional loans may be "conforming" and "non-conforming". Conforming loans follow the terms and conditions set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Nonconforming loans don't meet Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac qualifications, but are also considered conventional. 

FHA Loan:

FHA mortgage loans are issued by federally qualified lenders and insured by the U.S. Federal Housing Authority, a division of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

FHA loans are an attractive option, especially for first-time homeowners:

• Generally easier to qualify for than conventional loans.
• Lower down payment requirements.
• Cannot exceed statutory loan limits.

These include: Adjustable Rate Mortgages, Fixed rate mortgages, and Reverse Mortgages

Learn more about FHA loans at hud.gov. (Department of Housing and Urban Development)

VA Loan:

Designed to offer long-term financing to American veterans, VA mortgage loans are issued by federally qualified lenders and are guaranteed by the U.S. Veterans Administration. The VA determines eligibility and issues a certificate to qualifying applicants to submit to their mortgage lender of choice. It is generally easier to qualify for a VA loan than conventional loans.

Here's how it works:

• 100% financing without private mortgage insurance or 20% second mortgage.
• A VA funding fee of 0 to 3.3% (this fee may be financed) of the loan amount is paid to the VA.
• When purchasing a home, veterans may borrow up to 100% of the sales price or reasonable value of the home, whichever is less.
• When refinancing a home, veterans may borrow up to 90% of reasonable value in order to refinance where state law allows.

Apply for a VA Loan with a VA Qualified Lender. 

Fixed Rate Mortgage:

With a fixed rate mortgage, the interest rate does not change for the term of the loan, so the monthly payment is always the same. Typically, the shorter the loan period, the more attractive the interest rate will be.

Payments on fixed-rate fully amortizing loans are calculated so that the loan is paid in full at the end of the term. In the early amortization period of the mortgage, a large percentage of the monthly payment pays the interest on the loan. As the mortgage is paid down, more of the monthly payment is applied toward the principal.

A 30 year fixed rate mortgage is the most popular type of loan when borrowers are able to lock into a low rate.

Benefits:

• Lower monthly payments than a 15 year fixed rate mortgage
• Interest rate does not go up if interest rates go up
• Payment does not go up, it stays the same for 30 years

Drawbacks:

• Higher interest rate than a 15 year fixed rate mortgage
• Interest rate stays the same even if interest rates go down

A 15 year fixed rate mortgage allows you to pay off your loan quicker and lock into an attractive lower interest rate.

Benefits:

• Lower interest rate
• Build equity faster
• If interest rates go up, yours is fixed

Drawbacks:

• Higher monthly payment stays the same if interest rates go down
• Interest rate stays the same even if interest rates go down 

Reverse Mortgage

Although there are no cold hard figures to support it, the common belief regarding is that many of America's retired seniors are NOT financially liquid but they DO have great equity. By definition, it does not mean that they are financially needy. It only means that the mortgage on their homes has been totally paid, but they do not have money to pay the bills. Luckily for seniors who are at least 62 years old, they can convert the equity of their homes into cash through a reverse mortgage loan. This is a reverse mortgage defined: it is new type of mortgage that you can apply against your home. By definition, it is a non-recourse loan, which means the cash value of your home is the only financial instrument that can be used to repay the loan.

If you go ahead with an ordinary mortgage, you need to repay it in monthly installments. With a reverse mortgage, the reverse of payment is true. You don't need to pay anything so long as you are still breathing and are living inside your home. The reverse mortgage loan is only repaid when the house is sold or refinanced. This is normally when you are already dead or are ready to permanently move out of your house.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM):

An ARM is a mortgage with an interest rate that may vary over the term of the loan -- usually in response to changes in the prime rate or Treasury Bill rate. The purpose of the interest rate adjustment is primarily to bring the interest rate on the mortgage in line with market rates.

Mortgage holders are protected by a ceiling, or maximum interest rate, which can be reset annually. ARMs typically begin with more attractive rates than fixed rate mortgages -- compensating the borrower for the risk of future interest rate fluctuations.

Choosing an ARM is a good idea when:

• Interest rates are going down
• You intend to keep your home less than 5 years

ARMs have the following distinguishing features:

• Index
• Margin
• Adjustment Frequency
• Initial Interest Rate
• Interest Rate Caps
• Convertibility

Index

An adjustable rate mortgage's interest rate increases and decreases based on publicly published indexes. ARMS are based on different indexes including:

• United States Treasury Bills (T-bills)
• The 11th District Cost of Funds Index (COFI)
• London Interbank Offering Rate Index (LIBOR)
• Certificate of Deposit Indexes (CODI)
• 12-Month Treasury Average (MTA or MAT)
• Cost of Savings Index (COSI)
• Bank Prime Loan (Prime Rate)

Margin

Margin is a fixed percentage amount that is pointed added to the index - accounting for the profit the lender makes on the loan. Margins are fixed for the term of the loan.

interest rate = index + margin

Adjustment Frequency

Adjustment frequency reflects how often the interest rate changes - also known as the reset date. Most ARMs adjust yearly, but some ARMs adjust as often as once a month or as infrequently as every five years.

Initial Interest Rate

The initial interest rate is the interest rate paid until the first reset date. The initial interest rate determines your initial monthly payment, which the lender may use to qualify you for a loan. Often the initial interest rate is less than the sum of the current index plus margin so your interest rate and monthly payment will probably go up on the first reset date.

Interest Rate Caps

Interest rate caps put limits on interest rates and monthly payments.

Common caps:

Initial Adjustment Cap

Example:

If your ARM has a 1% initial adjustment cap, your interest rate may only increase or decrease by a maximum of 1% at the first adjustment period.

Periodic Adjustment Cap

A periodic adjustment cap limits how much your interest rate can change from one adjustment period to the next. Usually a six-month adjustable rate mortgage will have a one percent periodic adjustment cap while a one-year adjustable rate mortgage will have a two percent periodic adjustment cap.

Example:

If your loan has a 2% periodic adjustment cap, your interest rate may only increase or decrease by a maximum of 2% per adjustment period.

Lifetime Cap

A lifetime cap sets the maximum and minimum interest rate that you may be charged for the life of the loan. Most ARMs have caps of 5% or 6% above the initial interest rate.

Example:

If your loan has a 6% lifetime cap, your interest rate may only increase or decrease by a maximum of 6% for the life of the loan.

Initial adjustment caps, periodic adjustment caps, and lifetime caps make up an adjustable rate mortgage's cap structure, and are usually represented as three numbers:

Example:

1/2/6 -- Initial adjustment cap is 1 %/ periodic cap is 2% / lifetime cap is 6%. 

Improve your Credit Score and Improve your Life!  Credit Scores directly affect whether you qualify for a better interest rate on home loan or can even obtain a loan at all.

We will go over your credit report with you and discuss some basic tips to help get your credit score up to fit your mortgage needs.

The Loan Process: 

Whether you are buying your very first home or refinancing for the 3rd time, knowing the loan process is of great comfort to most borrowers.  We want to make sure that you are aware throughout the process of the status of your loan.  Setting expectations and keeping the lines of communication open are key factors to a successful relationship and loan process.

1. Discuss your needs and goals with a loan specialist. Determine which program best suits your needs.


2. All income documentation and mortgage disclosures are gathered and signed. 


3. A credit report will be obtained.  The loan specialist will make you aware of any derogatory items on the credit that may need to be addressed.


4. Once the credit has been analyzed and the application, disclosures, and income documents have been received, your loan will be submitted to a processor to prepare for underwriting.


5. Once your loan has reached this point, a processor will order any employment or asset verifications needed, as well as a title search and appraisal.


6. Once in underwriting, your loan will be analyzed and a decision rendered based on several key factors to include: appraised value, clear title, credit score, income, and assets.


7. After the underwriter has cleared the file and the title search and appraisal have all been reviewed and are acceptable, a closing can be scheduled.