Mortgage Team

Yes. Homeowner’s Insurance covers fire, theft, certain natural disasters and personal liability (if someone is injured on your property). It protects you and us against the loss of the property that secures your mortgage. You’ll need to show that you have adequate homeowners coverage as a condition of obtaining a mortgage:

• Mailing address: Stanford FCU, PO Box 10690, Palo Alto, CA 94303
• 24/7 Contact Center: 650.723.2509 (local) or 888.723.7328 (toll free)
• Loan Administration message line: 650.842.6115
• Email: [email protected] (do not email any confidential information like account numbers)
• Secure Message: You can upload the information through secure Message in Digital Banking.

The HMDA data about our residential mortgage lending are available online for review. The data show geographic distribution of loans and applications; ethnicity, race, sex, age, and income of applicants and borrowers; and information about loan approvals and denials. These data are available online at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Web site, HMDA data for many other financial institutions are also available at this Web site. 

At Stanford Federal Credit Union, we offer purchase loan programs with as little as a 3% down payment (maximum loan amounts apply) depending on your individual financial needs. You’ll also want to consider additional funds needed for closing costs, as well as any lender reserve requirements. Example: If you’re purchasing a $700,000 home, you would need $21,000 for a 3% down payment.

Getting your funds together for a down payment is probably the biggest hurdle for many first-time home buyers. You may already be worth more than you realize. When calculating your available assets, be sure to consider ALL of the following sources:

• All checking and savings accounts
• Stocks, bonds, brokerage, and retirement accounts
• 401K loan (if offered by your current employer)
• Gift options from immediate family members

What if it doesn’t add up to the right amount? Don’t give up hope. There are ways to make it work:

1. Look for a loan option that requires a smaller down payment
2. Consider getting a loan with Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
   • Allows for a lower down payment
   • Lenders (like us!) like it because it protects us in case you default on the loan
   • You can pay for it on a monthly basis
   • You can request to have it cancelled once you reach 20% equity
3. Talk to one of our Mortgage Consultants for other available loan options like our 80/10/10 to avoid paying mortgage insurance (MI) - CA only.

Gifts from immediate family members are also an acceptable source of down payment. We’ll ask you for the contact information of the gift giver, as well as the donor’s relationship to you. Prior to closing your loan, we’ll verify receipt and deposit of the gift funds.

If you’ll be withdrawing funds from a 401(K) or retirement account to fund your down payment, we’ll probably ask you to show evidence that you have the funds available by providing a recent statement. We may also need to verify whether or not repayment is required. If repayment is required, it’s not a problem. We’ll just consider that monthly payment when making your loan decision.

Apply online or contact one of our Mortgage Consultants to get started with your Stanford FCU loan today!

We do not charge pre-payment penalties on any of our home loans, because we’re a not-for-profit credit union owned by our members!

We encourage you to speak with a Mortgage Consultants about your specific needs.

Check out all our great online tools!

• Details about our mortgage loan options
• Educational resources
• Sample mortgage rates
• Custom Rate Quote (including monthly payments and fees)
• Choose an experienced Mortgage Consultants to answer your questions
• Apply now!

All loans have two parts: The “principal”, which is the amount of money that you’re borrowing, and the “interest”, which is the amount of money charged by the lender. Interest-only loans are most commonly used for mortgages. For example, if you borrow $400,000 at a rate of 6% for 30 years, your monthly interest payment would be $1,919.50 and your monthly principal payment would be $478.70. Mortgage payments are normally principal plus interest; in this case $2,398.20.

An interest-only loan allows you to make monthly payments of only the interest for a specific period of time without the principal (although you can always make extra principal payments). The advantage of an interest-only loan is a lower payment. The disadvantage is your loan amount will not go down with each payment, since the principal amount remains unpaid.

Once the interest-only payments end, you will have higher payments for the interest plus principal. You can also refinance the loan or pay it off in full. However, since home prices fluctuate there is a risk that you might owe more on your loan than your house is worth.

Many people with higher income prefer the lower payments because they can use the money that they would normally pay toward principal for investments or other purposes. People with fluctuating income also like interest-only loans because they can make the interest-only payment when they’re short of funds, and pay down the principal when they have more money like a bonus or commission payment.

Interest-only mortgages are not for everyone, so you should carefully consider if it’s right for you. Contact a mortgage expert to determine the right mortgage for your specific needs.

You can also get an instant Custom Rate Quote for your specific purchase, refinance, investment or home equity need! Our Rate Quote includes details such as fees and monthly payments.

Need financial advice? Buying a home is one of the most important financial commitments you’ll ever make. Getting your loan from someone you trust is equally important. Stanford FCU has over 100 years of combined real estate lending knowledge and experience. Our in-house home loan experts are among the best in the industry. So, whatever your situation, chances are we’ve helped someone with a very similar situation before.

Contact a Mortgage Consultants or apply online with no obligation to get started today!