For Mortgages When Purchasing Your Home, WHAT ARE SELLER CONTRIBUTIONS?" - 03/26/08 11:35 PM
In today's real estate market, buyers typically have the upper hand over sellers. In this situation buyers can ask for a number of concessions including what is called "Seller Contributions".
But, what are seller contributions? What can seller contributions are used for? What happens to any seller contributions not used?Seller ContributionsWhat … (10 comments)
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Regulatory Changes Allow Freddie and Fannie to Buy More Loans!!!! - 03/20/08 09:48 AM
Federal regulators have relaxed the GSE's (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) capital requirements. How will this help us? First, Fannie and Freddie provide liquidity to the secondary market for loans in two ways: by buying and holding mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) as investments, and by securitizing and guaranteeing large pools … (1 comments)
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Mortgage Dynamics: Why the 10 Yr Treasury Fails as Benchmark to Track Rates - 03/19/08 01:29 PM
The Treasury has long been the benchmark for tracking mortgage rate movement, i.e. 30 year fixed vs. 10 year Treasury. Based on the market over the last couple of months, that has not happened. The folloing graph will give you perspective on why the models are not following the traditional pattern.
30Y … (4 comments)
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Fannie Mae's Guidelines for Jumbo-Conforming Mortgages - 03/15/08 08:06 PM
There is no guarantee that the rates on jumbo-conforming loans will be low enough to attract borrowers. Rates will be set by the market; not the government, not the banks. I believe the most likely outcome will be premium price add-on to jumbo-conforming mortgage rates so rates end up somewhere between … (0 comments)
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Lamorinda: Green Drinks Event, March 17th Moraga Barn - 03/15/08 03:28 PM
Lamorinda'sGreen Drinks:A 'Sustainable' Event
March 17, 2008At theMoraga Barn925 Country Club Drive6:00 PM - 8:30 PMRefreshments will be served (Donations requested)Beer, Wine and soft drinks availableBring your business card for our door prize drawings!Sponsored by Moraga Hardware & Lumber and The Olsen Team
The towns of Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda are sponsoring the … (1 comments)
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Dear Mr. Borrower Applying for a Mortgage - 03/15/08 03:05 PM
Mr. Borrower, Applying for a mortgage is stressful under the best of circumstances. Even experienced borrowers feel a little twinge of anxiety at the thought of taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt. The mortgage approval process is forgiving of many things; there are certain actions or non-actions that can … (4 comments)
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Finding a Mortgage: Ten Tips for First Time Homebuyers - 03/14/08 11:29 PM
What You Should Know in Finding a Mortgage Before Buying a Home
Before you start looking for a home, you should get pre-qualified for a loan. Banks, credit unions and mortgage bankers make home loans. The lenders like myself will take an application, process the loan documents, and see the loan through to … (2 comments)
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FHA and the Nehemiah Down Payment Assistance Program! - 03/13/08 01:34 AM
Nehemiah Program
The Nehemiah Corporation is "a community development corporation specializing in homeownership, affordable housing and community development." The Nehemiah Program, founded in 1997, is the largest privately funded down payment assistance program (DPA) in the country and has helped a quarter of a million families buy homes.
Nehemiah provides gift funds for … (1 comments)
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Mortgage Programs for First Time Home Buyers - 03/12/08 11:00 AM
Everyone likes a bargain. Even First-Time Home Buyers! The simple definition of a first-time home buyer is someone who has not taken a mortgage interest deduction in the last 3 years. It's not surprising that first-time home buyers are beginning to take notice of current housing prices.
Lending standards are getting stricter … (1 comments)
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FHA Loans: The First-Time Home Buyers Loan of Choice! - 03/12/08 10:59 AM
FHA (Federal Housing Authority) Loans. Remember the New Temporary Mortgage Limits:
The number of FHA borrowers has grown substantially in the last year. FHA only requires a 3% down payment. The down payment can be a gift from friends or family or can be seller credits through several down-payment-assistance programs for first-time home buyers like the Nehemiah Down Payment Assistance Program. … (1 comments)
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CalHFA: A California First TIME Home Buyer's Prgram With Up to 100% Financing - 03/12/08 10:59 AM
CalHFA: California Housing Finance Agency
The California Housing Finance Agency's goal is to provide affordable housing opportunities to low and moderate income first-time homebuyers. This is accomplished by offering low, fixed interest rate mortgage products, along with down payment and closing cost assistance. Combining CalHFA's programs with some of the Down Payment … (3 comments)
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The ACORN Program - Not Just for Fisrt-Time Home Buyers - 03/12/08 10:58 AM
ACORN is a National non-profit Housing program with goals to provide free housing counseling directed toward achieving homeownership for low to moderate income homebuyers. ACORN accomplishes their goal by providing one-on-one mortgage loan counseling, first-time homebuyer classes, and works with lending partnerships to obtain affordable mortgages for their clients. The mortgages … (1 comments)
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Wheelchair Foundation and Interanational Orphan Relief Foundation Fund Raiser: The Mayorsâ€TM Charity Ball - 03/09/08 01:53 PM
The Wheelchair Foundation and the International Orphan Relief Foundation have joined together to provide mobility and relief to the orphan children of Kenya. In partnership, we are organizing a special evening of dining, dancing and fellowship to benefit the International Orphan Relief Foundation and to raise funds to help mentor and provide mobility … (3 comments)
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Know Your Facts About California Cellular Phone Law Starting July 1, 2008 - 03/05/08 07:07 PM
Drivers 18 Years and OlderQ: When do the new cellular phone laws take effect?A: The new laws take effect July 1, 2008.
Q: What if I need to use my phone during an emergency and I do not have a hands-free device?A: The law allows a driver using a wireless telephone to … (5 comments)
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New 1031 Exchange Rules Help Property Owners with 2nd Homes! - 03/05/08 11:06 AM
New Limited Personal Use Verbiage now Allows Homes to Qualify 1031 ExchangeThis Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announce a change in their enforcement of the Section 1031 tax-free exchange rules that now allows investors and second-home owners the ability to swap the property for new investment property a even though they … (2 comments)
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Volunteerism! The Back Bone of a Great Community. Here is an Opportunity. - 03/05/08 10:19 AM
Meaningful WorkAnna's Program, a specialized program of Hospice of the East Bay (formerly Hospice and Palliative Care of Contra Costa), is seeking dedicated, caring volunteers to provide companionship and practical support for women with recurrent breast cancer. Women served reside in Central or East Contra Costa, and all services are provided … (0 comments)
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A Plan for Your Old Business Equipment in Lafayette California!!!!!! - 03/05/08 09:44 AM
Do you want to put your post 2003 gently used computers, fax machines and printers to good use in a third world country? Lafayette Pediatrician Dr. Dan Robbins is the Chairman of The J.F. Kapnek Trust Pediatric Aids Fund . Founded in 1981, the Trust has played an innovative and leading … (1 comments)
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New Appraisal Standards? What was Wrong with the Old Ones? - 03/04/08 10:10 AM
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) Adopts new Appraisal StandardsIt looks like there is a new sheriff coming to town and he plans to clean up the street. As a direct result from New York's suit against First American Corp. and its subsidiary eAppraiseIT, where New York accused the companies of bending over backwards from … (5 comments)
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Are The Fed's Able To Keep Mortgage Rates Down? - 03/01/08 03:01 PM
Rising Mortgage Rates
The Federal Reserve (Fed's) in trying to bail out the credit crisis have run into a problem: mortgage rates have gone up!
Since September, the Feds have reduced its target for short-term interest rates by 2.25 percentage points to 3%. But mortgage rates are actually rising. I realize that mortgage … (4 comments)
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"Green" Is the New Fad in Housing - 03/01/08 01:53 PM
Buying greenGreen is the new "HOT" fade. Manufacturers have notice this phenomenon sweeping across America. Manufactures are now refining their home products raw materials, energy use, etc so they can label their products "Green". To make a home "Green" which includes reducing your carbon footprint, a small incremental change can have … (1 comments)
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BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $250,000 IN ADDITIONAL GRANTS TO CALIFORNIA HOUSING NONPROFITS HELPING FAMILIES STAY IN HOMES - 03/01/08 12:30 PM
Aid to Nonprofits in Stockton, Sacramento, Inland Empire and Bakersfield part of $750,000 ongoing foreclosure prevention effort in California
Bank of America is doing some very important work in California, as part of our ongoing efforts to address the mortgage crisis, keep people in their homes, and help working families achieve financial … (0 comments)
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Why Do You Want To Talk to Your Mortgage Loan Officer About Rate Locks? - 03/01/08 11:38 AM
The BorrowerWhen a borrower needs a mortgage to either purchase or refinance a home, they typically shop for both a mortgage loan officer as well as a favorable interest rate and points in combination with other up-front charges (charges vary between lenders and brokers). I personally believe a borrower must trust … (1 comments)
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