We Get These Questions a Lot

Loan servicing

Typical response time from our Servicing customer service team is 48 business hours.

Loan servicing

For assistance with your existing loan, please contact loan servicing at 866-913-2954. If you are prompted to leave a message, you can expect a response within 48 hours.

Loan Types

Refinancing a mortgage note means paying off an existing mortgage with proceeds from a new mortgage loan obtained by the same borrower for the same property. Borrowers usually refinance in order to receive a lower interest rate or reduce their monthly payment. Some refinance programs also include the ability to refinance the current mortgage and add to the balance to receive cash back from the equity in the property in order to pay off other debts, finance home improvements or education, or any number of other uses for the equity.

Loan Types

A jumbo mortgage loan, also referred to as a non-conforming loan, exceeds the loan limits set annually by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as to the maximum loan amount that can be made under their guidelines.

Loan Types

An FHA loan is a mortgage that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These loans typically allow for a lower down payment than most other loan programs. Please contact an SWBC Mortgage loan originator for more details.

Loan Types

Yes. Visit our jumbo loans page to learn more.

Loan Types

Loan Types

A VA loan is a mortgage loan that is available to qualified veterans and active duty service personnel as part of their VA benefits. VA issues guaranty on a portion of the principal balance of the loan and allows for zero down payment in many situations. Click here to learn more about VA loans.

Loan Types

Yes. Visit our VA Loans page to learn more.

Loan Types

Visit our Loan Options page to view our available loan programs.

Home financing process

Many things influence the time it takes to close a loan but at SWBC, we will work with you to streamline the process and keep things moving. We are generally able to close loans in less than 3 weeks.

Home financing process

We have several loan options that require varying percentages of down payment. Talk to a loan officer today to discuss the down payment options you qualify for!

Home financing process

Contact one of our loan originators, and they can review your credit history. They may even be able to provide guidance on how to possibly improve your score.

Home financing process

Underwriting is a detailed process of evaluating a borrower’s loan application and documentation regarding the borrower and the property to make a risk assessment for the lender and a determination that all requirements of the loan program are met.

Home financing process

Property taxes are based on the assessed value of the home as determined by the taxing authority. Property tax revenue is used for community services such as schools, public works, and other governmental costs. Property taxes are either paid by the homeowner directly to the taxing authority or paid by the borrower as part of the monthly mortgage payment that is set aside for the lender to pay to the taxing authority on the borrower’s behalf.

Home financing process

Loan-to-value is a ratio calculated by dividing the loan amount by the lower of the sales price or appraised value of the home. The LTV ratio is one of the risk factors evaluated in loan underwriting with a lower LTV ratio providing a lower risk. The maximum LTV ratio for a loan program is dependent on the loan type, loan purpose, and other risk factors that make up the loan underwriting criteria.

Loan servicing

Within a couple of weeks of the loan closing, you will receive a monthly statement that will outline all of the options you have to make a payment. There will be options for phone pay, web pay, ACH, and mailing in your payments.

Loan Types

An ARM is a type of loan with an interest rate that can change periodically. This means the payment can go up or down. Generally, these changes are determined by a margin and an index so that changes in the interest rate are based on current market conditions. Most often these interest rate charges are limited by periodic and lifetime rate change caps, which are defined in the ARM Program Disclosure SWBC Mortgage Corporation is required to provide.

About SWBC Mortgage

At SWBC Mortgage, we know how important the home financing process is to you. We strive to make the process as seamless and transparent as possible by giving our borrowers access to a fast, streamlined application process and superior, one-on-one customer service from a dedicated loan officer. We offer the ease of a digital experience in many areas of the process while at the same time providing the peace of mind you desire by having a professional loan officer there to assist you throughout the journey.

About SWBC Mortgage

SWBC Mortgage is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and has branch locations across the U.S. Click here to find a branch or loan officer near you.

Loan Types

A fixed-rate mortgage is when the monthly principal and interest payments remain the same throughout the life of the loan, typically available in terms of 15 and 30 years. With a 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly principal and interest payments are lower than they would be on a 15-year fixed-rate loan. But, a 15-year loan allows you to repay your loan twice as fast as a 30-year loan term and have significant interest savings.

Home financing process

A home inspection can be obtained from a qualified home inspector at the borrower’s request. A home inspector typically conducts a detailed inspection of basic structural and mechanical components of the property and provides a detailed inspection report including recommendation for repairs based on their observation of the conditions they find in the property. A home inspection does not include a value determination.

An appraisal is an evaluation made by a licensed or certified residential appraisal that is made at the request of the lender for the purpose of determining the dollar value of the property that is to be used as collateral for the loan.

Home financing process

An escrow account is established when the lender will be responsible for remitting payments to third parties on behalf of the borrower during the term of the loan. The escrow account can include funds used to pay property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, flood insurance, mortgage insurance, etc. The escrow account is initially funded at the time of closing in accordance with governing state and federal requirements and continues to be funded by an amount that is added to the monthly mortgage payment specifically to cover the escrowed items so the lender can pay these items as they become due. Sometimes the terms “impounds” and “escrows” are used interchangeably.

Home financing process

Earnest money is an agreed up amount of funds a buyer places on deposit for benefit of the seller prior to the closing to show that the buyer is committed to the home purchase they have under contract. Earnest money is credited at the closing to the money due from the buyer. The purchase contract should detail how the earnest money will be handled if the transaction doesn’t close.

Home financing process

Monthly mortgage payments include principal and interest on the loan amount and also monthly mortgage insurance if it is called for by the loan product. Some loan products or loan terms also require an amount be collected in the monthly payment to cover the annual taxes and homeowner's insurance. If the property is in a flood zone that requires flood insurance, an amount will also be included in the monthly payment to cover the flood insurance premium.

Home financing process

SWBC works to streamline the process of providing you a loan as much as possible. However, here are some of the documents that are typically needed to underwrite and close your loan:

Photo identification, income documentation, asset account documentation, and employment documentation. Depending on the source of income and assets used for qualifying, we will typically need some combination of documents such as paystubs, W-2’s, tax returns, bank or investment account statements. Your SWBC loan team always strives to limit the request for documents to the minimum possible to satisfy the requirements of the loan type you are seeking.