Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is one of the few large US mortgage lenders to remain profitable and relatively unscathed by the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 and 2008. The company offers competitive rates on conforming fixed rate mortgage terms of 15, 20, 30 or 40 years, and also on a 5 year ARM, or Jumbo fixed rate or ARMs. Their rates can be viewed at:

https://www.wellsfargo.com/mortgage/rates

Wells Fargo also writes 30 year fixed rate FHA mortgages for amounts that vary according to the location of the property. The website advertises free prequalification for first time homebuyers, and also offers mortgage refinancing, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit at good rates.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage does offer a number of “creative financing” options, and it did make quite a number of subprime loans during the housing boom. However most of those mortgages are retained in Wells Fargo’s own portfolio and managed by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage itself.

Because Wells Fargo Home Mortgage does not immediately sell off most of the mortgages it makes, its underwriting tends to be more responsible than some of the more opportunistic lenders that are now struggling with foreclosures, defaults, and other huge mortgage-related losses.

One of the creative financing options offered is a mortgage that starts with a preset interest-only payment period, and then resets to a payment that makes up the lost principal amount. This mortgage is advertised with a disclosure that the reset payment can be much higher than the initial interest-only payment, and the interest rate itself may be higher, depending on the specific loan.

It’s hard to know whether they make a lot off these loans, especially after so many of them failed after the feeding frenzy the preceded the subprime crash, but to the lender’s credit they disclose the dangers in plain English up front.

They also advertise Blended Jumbo mortgages, or what some lenders call “Piggyback loans”; which means a conforming fixed rate first mortgage is written with an adjustable-rate second mortgage tacked on in order to cover the amount that needs to be financed. Another blended financing option is a first mortgage written with a home equity line of credit that is immediately tapped for the down payment on the first mortgage.

Stated income mortgages are advertised on Wells Fargo Home Mortgage’s website. These are mortgages made to people who do not work in ways that can be tracked with a regular paycheck. Retired persons, freelancers, and small businesspersons often fall into this category.

Bridge loans are also an option. Bridge loans are mortgages that cover both a property that is up for sale and a new property so the buyer can move even though the old property is still on the market. Once the old property is sold, bridge loans typically are redone in conventional terms on the new property only.

For buyers who may need some creative options and have a good credit history, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a good place to start. Wells Fargo Bank, the parent of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, is a regional Western and Midwestern full service bank with over 3200 location and 6800 ATMs. To see their full line of products and services, or locate a nearby Wells Fargo Bank or Wells Fargo Mortgage office, visit the website at: https://www.wellsfargo.com/per/more/banking