East Bay Mortgage News

I have been hearing for the last couple of years that the days of the McMansion are limited.  Is this a response to the overall economy or a long term trend?  After doing the Broker Tours over the past couple of weeks we have seen everything from a 700 square foot tear down to an 11,000+ square f...

We recently wrote about the Fannie Mae HomePath program.  Yesterday Fannie announced some additional incentives to an already excellent program. "Fannie Mae is offering a 3.5% incentive for buyers who purchase and close on a Fannie Mae-owned home between January 28 and April 30, 2010. Buyers purc...

The FED has made the decision to keep the funds rate at its current level.  There was one dissenting vote regarding the rate stance.  The full article can be found here.  Highlights are listed below. The consensus is to keep the rate near zero for the next several months The FED will continue to ...

Most loan professionals have a standard checklist they give to their clients either before their initial meeting or at the meeting detailing specific financial documents they need to put together an initial loan file. In the past we've had many clients who simply cannot find last year's W2 or eve...

Great information regarding the recent changes taken by HUD...Directly from the Assistant Housing Commissioner Himself! I wanted to take a moment to make sure you are familiar with events surrounding a sweeping set of policy changes for FHA announced earlier this week. The announcement details t...

Excellent information regarding the fuzzy world of improving your credit profile.  Credit Repair - Is it the right thing to do? Absolutely! If you have been turned down as a result of bad credit, have a higher interest rate on any Line of Credit, or if you are paying more for insurance than you s...

The real estate industry is abuzz regarding the recent FHA announcement suspending the dreaded FHA 90 Day Property Flipping Rule. In 2009 FHA relaxed its initial guidelines to exempt bank-owned properties from this rule. If the lender could show that the property was recently acquired by mortgage...

Great information regarding the value of a home warranty and to understand whats covered.  Take the time to compare the benefits, coverage & exclusions different companies policies offer. If you are planning the purchase of a resale home, you may be considering the purchase of a home warranty. Wh...

Recently HUD has proposed several changes to protect its insurance fund reserves. As a result of the currently tightened credit market, FHA loans continue to play a large part in housing recovery. For this reason HUD has outlined the following changes as being integral to FHA's stability: Increa...

For many years I have kept two large plastic file boxes in my linen closet that hold any and all paperwork pertinent to my family's life. I have hanging file folders neatly labeled for each category and yes, they are alphabetized. But as organized and accessible as these items are I am still nagg...