Baltimore HUD Homes Blog

Buying a home has never been as simple as it is these days and one of the easiest way to make it happen is the 80-20 Piggy Back Loan. A variety of lenders offer this sort of loan, take for example Sierra Pacific Home Loans who report at their website sphl.biz that the advantages of using their company’s 80-20 Piggy Back Home Loan program is to reduce out of pocket expenses, avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and possible tax deductions.

Basically, this piggy back loan means that you finance 80% on the first mortgage and 20% on the second mortgage resulting in the 100% financing needed to buy your new home. You can borrow both loans at the same time and refinance both loans when your home value goes up.

For the most part PMI is only required on loans over 80% meaning that with this sort of lending option there is no PMI since the second mortgage takes care of the last 20%. However, determining if this loan is a good idea means taking a few things into consideration. The lower the interest rate the better when trying to obtain a Piggy Back loan. The better your credit the better chance you have of being eligible for this loan and Sierra Pacific Home Loans does point out that, “the PMI protects the lender in case of default, they may be willing to give a larger first mortgage when it is covered by PMI.” So while PMI can add more to your monthly payment some borrowers don’t have a choice.

Florida Mortgage Rate says at their website floridamortgagerates.cc that in general terms, “An 80-20 loan program…, is a fixed rate program designed to help borrower’s purchase a home with as little as 0% down while avoiding mortgage insurance. Not only does it save you money, it also maximizes your tax benefits.” Zero percent down isn’t such a bad idea either and, for many borrowers, it’s all they can afford. Finally, another great benefit when considering the 80-20 Piggy Back Loan is that the second mortgage is usually paid off in five to 15 years leaving you with only one payment and more money to put in your bank account. So the goal is to pay off the equity loan quick or refinance it into a new loan with one low rate mortgage.