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mortgage: Until Mortgage Bonds Get More Press, You Must Find An Advisor You Trust - 10/29/08 12:32 AM

Unlike the stock market, it's hard for the average person to know when the mortgage bond market is getting turned upside-down. 
Looking at the past few weeks, mortgage rates have been very volatile, going up, down, and then up again. Usually the mortgage bond market moves in the opposite direction of the stock market, but sometimes it has moved in the same direction. A lot of people have been surprised and some even have been burned with the sudden changes in mortgage rates especially if they have been looking to the stock market as an indicator of how mortgage rates … (5 comments)

mortgage: Sell More Homes with Government Loans--Why FHA is a great Alternative in today's Market: Upcoming Clock-Hour Class (3 Hrs.) for Puget Sound Realtors - 10/01/08 04:26 PM
Why are FHA Loans back in business after so many years of being on the back burner?
Bottom Line:  It's one of the most flexible mortgage loan programs still standing amongst the smoke of the Mortgage/Banking/Financial Meltdown.
Besides 3 hours of state approved continuing education, from this Clock-Hour Class you will glean the following nuggets:
 Life after Down Payment Assistance:  Is it 3% or 3.5% minimum down payment? Is there down payment assistance still available?  
22 Ways that Buyers can get their funds to close on a FHA loan  
Seller contributions to closing costs:  3% or 6% maximum?  
… (7 comments)

mortgage: Private Mortgage Insurance vs. Homeowner's Insurance: What's the Difference? - 09/30/08 08:50 AM
Private mortgage insurance (PMI) protects the mortgage lender if a homeowner defaults. 
PMI allows the lender recover some of its costs and losses after foreclosing and selling a repossessed home.
PMI rates vary by loan type, loan size, and loan characteristics.  The higher the risk to the bank, the higher the cost of PMI.
Following are two types of PMI:
Borrower-paid mortgage insurance Lender-paid mortgage insurance Borrower-paid mortgage insurance is the more common version of PMI.  It may be payable up front, payable monthly, or both.  However, once the mortgage balance is reduced to 80% of the home's value, PMI may no longer be required … (10 comments)

mortgage: Glad to Help a Realtor and Buyer in Distress - 09/19/08 10:37 AM
A few weeks ago, I came across an Active Rain post from a very nice Realtor named Debra Brooks from Huntsville, TX who was very upset with the lender on a purchase transaction. Yes, it was another one of those infamous 11th hour loans blowing up again as I mentioned in one of my previous posts titled "5 Reasons Why Loans go Awry at the 11th Hour."
What had happened to the deal? Well, the buyer, who was currently living in Houston, was purchasing a manufactured home on a 20 acre property in Huntsville about 90 miles north of Houston. It … (3 comments)

mortgage: Reprieve on Down Payment Assistance? HUD Reportedly Supports Compromise Bill - 09/10/08 01:40 PM
Let's not be too quick to schedule the funeral for Down Payment Assistance (DPA) programs such as Nehemiah yet.
HR 6694, the last-ditch effort to resurrect DPA programs before the October 1st deadline after which these programs will no longer be allowed by FHA, appears to have the support of HUD according to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.
This piece of legislation is a compromise between HUD's aversion for down payment assistance and its love for risk based pricing on upfront mortgage insurance. If passed by the House, which appears likely, and the Senate, which might be achievable, then changes could occur … (3 comments)

mortgage: 5 Actions to Avoid While Awaiting Your Mortgage Closing - 09/06/08 12:37 AM
"Yes! We were finally approved for our loan and we are on our way to realizing the American Dream of homeownership. Let's celebrate by going to Las Vegas before we close on our loan. Remember: 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.'"
Whoa! Let's slow down, here. If you want to make sure that your home loan is "in the bag," then don't be so quick to pack that bag for the trip to Vegas.
I remember a couple that had been approved for a loan and were waiting for it to fund; however, a pre-funding employment verification revealed that the wife … (17 comments)

mortgage: 5 Reasons Why Loans Go Awry at the 11th Hour - 09/02/08 03:07 AM
I am sure many of us have seen scenarios where buyers and sellers have moving trucks packed and people literally sleeping on couches or even on the floor waiting for a loan to fund and then for everything to blow up at the last minute?....AAARRGGGGGHHH!!!!
Often times, I have had deals brought to me after being submitted to several other lenders where supposedly either the borrower didn't qualify or something was wrong with the property and, of course, the parties involved didn't find out about the problems until the 11th hour.
One recent instance happened to a buyer whose file was … (69 comments)

 


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