COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Ryland Group Inc., a large homebuilder, is offering mortgages with no down payment through its Ryland Mortgage Co. unit.
The company said the oneyear adjustable-rate mortgage was available only to Ryland homebuyers. The program includes a 95% loan-to-value ratio for the first mortgage and an interest-free second mortgage for the other 5%.
Under the program, there are no income restrictions, the borrowers need not be first-time homebuyers, and loans may be for up to $150,000 ($200,000 in California).
Ryland is the second major builder in recent weeks to offer mortgages with no money down. Earlier this month, Kaufman & Broad based in Los Angeles, offered such loans on designated properties.
It set a limit on the number of loans it would make and had a ceiling of $250,000.
The Kaufman program, however, was aimed at first-time buyers with low incomes. The company had prearranged to sell the loans to an investor.
A Kaufman spokesman said at the time that it considered the program a pilot that could lead to an expansion of bargain mort
