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How the Heck did it Appraise at that Value? Appraiser Guide Points Here! - 07/31/08 06:57 PM
With so many questions coming from my clients and Realtors about how these appraisers are coming up with the values they are, I gathered the details! This is only the policy of my appraisal administrating company. Seeing that we are the biggest, I'm sure this is a decent rule of thumb guide.
I'll start off a little off-topic. We are in a market that is experiencing an influx of short sales and foreclosure (bank owned property) sales. Many of these properties are in , well, less than perfect condition. But how much is too much to get the loan closed? There is much gray area … (4 comments)
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Little Known Facts to Maintain Great Credit - 07/28/08 03:25 PM
Now, more than ever, maintaining healthy credit is a key factor in getting the loans and credit you may want or need. We all know the basics, for example to pay the bills on time, but here are some other tricks you might not know to keep your scores up!
-NEVER UTILIZE MORE THAN ABOUT 25% OF YOUR TOTAL AVAILABLE CREDIT FOR ANY ONE ACCOUNT
This is a big one that many are in the dark about. Whether your credit limit is $100,000 or $100, using more than 45% of it can begin to hinder your scores. If you have any account … (3 comments)
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Senate Approves Housing Bill-Bush expected to sign Immediately - 07/26/08 01:12 PM
Today in a rush to get the new bill into Bush's hands for final approval, senate held a rare Saturday session and approved the new housing bill. George Bush has already stated that he will be approving the new stimulus bill, as immediate stimulus is imperative for the best interests of the global economy.
-New conforming/conventional loan limit of $625,000 or the median price for the area plus 15%, whichever is lower.
The previous loan limit for most areas was $417,000.Many have already asked me how they will define an "area". Will it be based on county, census tract, … (1 comments)
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Fannie Mae Changes Key Policies for Conventional Products Effective 8/1/08 - 07/21/08 06:19 PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac drive the underwriting policies for our conventional type loans. These changes will apply to most conventional loans locked on or after 8/1/08. For a copy of the full announcement from Fannie Mae, please feel free to contact me.
Here are the key changes that are being made to most conventional underwriting standards in a few weeks...
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5 years must have elapsed since the discharge of a chapter 7 or 13.
**Old policy allowed for 4 years from the file date on Chapter 13, 4 years from discharge for a Chapter 7
5 years must have … (8 comments)
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Fannie/Freddie and Market Update-Week ending 7/17/08 - 07/18/08 05:20 PM
The week was just full of action! The DOW sank early in the week amid the speculation that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needed to raise capital to avoid a government bailout. These concerns are a major contributor to Freddie's stock being down 64% over last month, and Fannies 56% over last month. It was so bad that a regulation had to be set in place at one point limiting the amount of stock any single investor could short. When you short stock you make money when the stock loses value).
Statements from The Office of Federal Housing Oversight (Fannie and … (3 comments)
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FHA Financing on Condos-You really can do it...I Swear! - 07/17/08 06:57 PM
Due to many, many new regulations in the industry , FHA has recently become one of the only ways to purchase a condo with less than a 5% down payment. This has been particularly frustrating for my Chicagoland area with such a booming condo market.
FHA loans for the past decade on average have funded roughly 5% of total real estate transactions. Many projections for 2009 suggest that FHA will finance one in three mortgages. FHA only requires a 3% down payment, which can even be covered by use of down payment assistance, resulting in a no down payment loan.
In the … (0 comments)
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Rate and Market Update for Week of 7/7/08 - 07/10/08 06:26 PM
While the past week has yielded almost nothing in the arena of good news economically, the rates have eased off the annual highs we saw about a week ago.
The 2 largest purchasers of mortgages from banks, Fannie and Freddie Mac, surged fears of liquidity issues into the marketplace as rumors erupted that they needed to raise capital to the tune of 75 billion to cover losses on bad mortgage related investments. The federal government stepped up and immediately offered assurance that they would not let these two major investors fail. This is good news, but government bailout will essentially be … (2 comments)
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FHA's COOLEST Niches! - 07/08/08 06:40 PM
While the industry has pushed out all sorts of creative financing options for first time homebuyers due to the current credit situation in the USA, FHA steps up to the plate! Check out this list of some of the very unique things that an FHA loan can do to help not only first time homebuyers, but homeowners in need of a refinance of their property.
-NO credit score requirements at all
**Many other mortgage companies will state that there is a credit score requirement, but this is false. Because of the current credit situation, many brokers have been given minimum credit score requirements. If you go … (9 comments)
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Bank of America aquires Countrywide as of July 1st! - 07/07/08 06:38 PM
Effective July 1st, Countrywide is a subsidiary of Bank of America. Over the next 6 months or so, our branding will change to Bank of America and you will no longer see the Countrywide name. This is an exciting change, as it is the merger of the most powerful bank in the world (BofA) and the largest mortgage company in the world (Countrywide).
Unfortunately, because Countrywide was the biggest mortgage lender in the world we carried the brunt of the lashback in the media. I am sure many of you have seen it. When you carry one in three mortgages … (2 comments)
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