Guild Mortgage and FirstREX are lifting the curtain on a down payment investment program.
Through the REX HomeBuyer program, FirstREX contributes half of a 20% down payment in combination with a Guild Mortgage loan. The program is being introduced in California, Oregon and Washington.
"With FirstREX contributing up to half of the down payment required on a home purchase, buyers who only had a 10% down payment can now achieve 20%," David Battany, Guild's executive vice president of capital markets, said in a news release Monday.
"That means they qualify for a larger loan, enjoy a lower monthly payment and have no need for mortgage insurance or a second mortgage, with its own principal and interest payments."
The agreement between the two companies to roll out the program was made in July.
FirstREX does not charge a monthly payment to borrowers who participate in the program. Instead, the company aims to earn a return on its investment when the homeowner sells via price appreciation. Homeowners also have the option to buy out FirstREX's investment after three years.
In 2013, FirstREX
