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mortgages: Why Recommending A DIRECT LENDER Could Make You Choke on Your Coffee - 08/21/09 06:17 PM
This is an excellent point of view regarding the differences in the types of mortgage shops you have available to them. I work for a mortgage banker that also brokers loans. You will get the BEST rates by working with someone who can shop for you!
Via Janet Guilbault California Mortgage Banker/Broker:
Why do Realtors like to recommend DIRECT LENDERS?
Could it be that somehow the lenders who are dumping foreclosures have brainwashed Realtors by insisting that anyone making an offer must be approved with a DIRECT LENDER?
Or is it because you believe that an approval from one of those BIG … (2 comments)
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mortgages: USDA Home Loan Underwriting Updates - 07/15/09 09:54 AM
USDA is quickly becoming one of the Country's most popular mortgage loan programs, and with that, the USDA Rural Development Offices are getting backlogged!
USDA Home Loans are 100% (plus) mortgages - for more information about the program click here.
Because of this increase in volume, there have been several recent AN (Adminsitrative Announcements) from them regarding documentation types, and clarification of guidelines.
Gift funds are allowed with USDA Home Loans, however gift funds are not considered as cash reserves, or as a compensating factor. Gift Funds may be used for closings costs, voluntary downpayment, and to cover the guarantee fees, however … (3 comments)
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mortgages: It's EASIER To Qualify For a USDA Mortgage Today! 5/1/09 - 05/01/09 09:32 AM
USDA Home Loans have "special" qualifying guidelines that prohibit folks from purchasing if you make "too much" money!
In the past, that means that if you make more than the median income for your area - you might not qualify... but some recent "tweaks" to the system will allow more folks to qualify!!
Effective Immediately, USDA is looking at income "brackets." This means that if there are 1-4 people in the household, the maximum household income for Wake County, Johnston County is $88,400! To find out more about income rquirements for YOUR area, click here.
It's important to remember that USDA … (9 comments)
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mortgages: New Opportunity for Investors? - 03/16/09 02:16 PM
The Obama administration is due to release details for the "Troubled Assets" on the Bank's books later this week. Those would be the "Mortgage Loans" that went on the bank books in 2006 before all of this mess happened.
It appears to me that the plan fall along the lines of this... If the assets have been sitting on the bank books for an extended period of time, and maybe they have had a few lates on the mortgages, then the government is going to loan money to Private Investors to purchase them. If the loans have been made under the … (9 comments)
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mortgages: Why Credit Scores are Getting Tighter in NC - 02/23/09 10:33 AM
Since the beginning of the year, subtle but significant changes made their way into the underwriting guidelines in NC, and credit score requirements have been changing! As we are all learning, each market seems to be somewhat "dis jointed" when it comes to home values, and jobs - therefore we've seen some underwriting guidelines "tailored" to a geographic area.
Credit Score requirements are getting tighter, and this could be triggered by appraisal problems. There are "guidelines" and then there are the "Golden Rule" guidelines. FHA, VA and USDA do not make mortgage loans, they INSURE them (just like a PMI company) … (2 comments)
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mortgages: If Your Score is Less than 620 - Interest Rates Are Going UP! - 01/09/09 01:44 PM
Just received an update from a MAJOR investor that credit scores less than 620 are going to be priced SIGNIFICANTLY higher beginning Monday, January 12, 2009.
This is significant for folks who are purchasing, and using USDA or FHA/VA financing tools. The "hits" for scores between 600 and 620 today are .25. Meaning that it costs us almost a quarter of a discount point more to do a loan with those scores. In most cases, this means we can still get a rate of 5% for these folks.
According to the news bulletin, the new cost for doing a government loan … (12 comments)
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mortgages: NAR's "Baghdad Bob" Confesses - 12/29/08 09:22 PM
This is just too good to be missed!
Via Matt Heaton (Timu Corp - CEO, ActiveRain - Co-founder):
You remember "Baghdad Bob" from the Iraq War, right? Iraq's information minister who repeatedly claimed no American troops in Baghdad as US tanks patrolled only hundreds of yards from his studio. Well the NAR's very own Baghdad Bob, former Chief Economist, David Lereah was notorious for his bullish optimism during the peak of the housing bubble now admits in a Money Magazine article it was just spin.
As chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, David Lereah was famously optimistic. Now … (7 comments)
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mortgages: My Customer Was Interviewed by the WSJ! - 12/16/08 08:11 AM
There's an article regarding the USDA program in today's Wall Street Journal. It's a POSITIVE program, with low default rates, no money down, and no mortgage insurance! Rates (as I write this) are below 5.5%...
and the USDA Mortgage Program is so popular, it's about to run out of money...
I've contacted my Senator to ask him to read the article, which highlights our customer Erick Moore (who has a beautiful wife and one of the smartest 3 year olds on the planet!)! Erick learned about the program from a post I wrote on AR.
I urge you to read the WSJ … (10 comments)
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mortgages: Problems Refinancing from Conventional Loan to a Government Loan - 12/09/08 11:47 AM
For fun an giggles, let's say you bought a property in Feb. of 2008. You got a Heck of a Deal - and you purchased the home for $237,000. The appraisal in February was for $245,000 (and the appraiser thinks it's worth more now). The loan in February was a conventional 100% Community Reinvestment loan (those are no longer available). Your credit is good, you qualify, and since your rate is currently 6.875% - you'd like to refinance.
BAD NEWS! If you are in North Carolina, and you want to refinance you must wait until February of 2009, because there are no … (1 comments)
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mortgages: How to Get Your 4.5% Mortgage! - 12/03/08 04:08 PM
I can not tell you how many people have told me TODAY that they heard rates are going to 4.5%!!!
From your mouth to God's Ears!
As I write this, rates are close to 5.0%... but it's still quite a stretch to get to 4 ANYTHING... so should you just wait?
The reality is that the mortgage business has gotten pretty L-E-A-N on the "back" side... what I'm saying is that the layoffs (it's estimated that more than 200,000 jobs have been lost in the mortgage business) affected closers and UNDERWRITERS... underwriting times are already over 2 weeks in some places.
… (12 comments)
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mortgages: The Different Kinds of Mortgage Insurance - 12/01/08 04:03 PM
Most folks want to avoid PMI... but they don't realize that they are happily paying a "kind" of mortgage insurance no matter what kind of loan they are getting!
Mortgage Insurance is not the insurance that covers you if you die, or are disabled and can not pay the mortgage... it's the insurance that protects the BANK in the event you go into foreclosure.
Given the recent UP TICK in foreclosures, you can see why banks are requiring higher coverage amounts! If you are applying for a Conventional mortgage, and you are putting more then 20% on a property you plan … (4 comments)
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mortgages: Rates Started Moving South... Will it last? - 11/25/08 07:52 AM
Those of us in the mortgage business have been watching mortgage interest rates with one eye on our list of past customers, hoping rates will finally mirror the lowering bond market.
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (more commonly known as the Wall Street Bailout Plan) was passed under the presumption that $700B was needed to buy up troubled assets such as mortgage backed securities (which is why the program was originally called TARP - for Troubled Asset Relief Program). The program was supposed to work by taking the troubled assets off the market and off bank balance sheets thereby enabling … (1 comments)
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mortgages: Change in Business Plans - Take out Fear of Financing (ASAP!) - 11/12/08 09:11 AM
This is one of those NO BRAINER wake up calls we all need. I just finished Accountability Coaching - and they reminded me that I need 12 to 20 Exposures every day... not to my real estate partners, but to the PUBLIC. Writing notes, sending personal emails - reminding folks what I do.
Then I should have 3 presentations to Real Estate Partners A DAY... reminding them what I do, and helping them with their marketing!
Well, if you're a real estate partner that I meet in the next few weeks - this is going to be part of what we … (10 comments)
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mortgages: USDA Home Loans in Holly Springs, NC - 11/11/08 04:29 PM
Here's a map from USDA showing where you can have a 100% loan, and where you can't use USDA financing. The shaded area in the top right portion of the map does NOT qualify... the rest of it definately does!
This is great news for folks who are looking for homes with NO PMI, and rates that are very close to FHA! The maximum income in Wake County for a single person is $60,250 and the maximum income for a family of four is $86,100.
These are fairly straightforward loans, they allow for gifts to cover closing costs, or the seller … (2 comments)
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mortgages: FHA Loan Limits Change in the Triangle 1/1/09 - 11/10/08 12:44 PM
EDIT! These loan limits CHANGED AGAIN on 2/24/2009. FHA limits as of THAT date in Wake County are now back to $295,000
According to the calculations done by HUD, and released in their recent Mortgagee Letter, the maximum FHA loan limits in Wake County will be $271,050 effective January 1, 2009.
If you are considering a purchase, you need to act soon, so that you can CLOSE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
Not only will the FHA loan limits be going DOWN from the current $295,000 - the amount of money needed for downpayment is going UP!
ALSO effective January 1st - the FHA … (11 comments)
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mortgages: Financing Options For Purchasing Foreclosure Property - 11/06/08 11:32 AM
THIS IS AN UPDATED POST... See $100 Downpayment Change!!!
There are tons of people who know that we are at or near the bottom of the real estate market, and they are ready to purchase a home. Many of the folks we are talking to are looking at foreclosed property, because they believe they can get the best deals.
There are some special points you should remember:
Many Banks will not finance manufactured housing. We have Investors that do - however, there are restrictions. If you are considering a mobile home, foreclosure, please tell your mortgage lender about the … (10 comments)
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mortgages: Veteran's Benefits Changed with New Law October 10, 2008 - 10/28/08 11:15 AM
The VA made a significant change on October 10, 2008 in an effort to help Veteran's who might be caught up in a subprime mortgage. The Veteran's Administration never made any subprime loans, and even the adjustable rate mortgages offered through the VA are considered to be some of the safest, most conservative products offered... here's what they did:
The increased the amount of cash a veteran can pull out of their primary residence on a refinance to equal 100% of the maximum loan amount for the area... and they changed the maximum loan amounts offered through the VA to more … (3 comments)
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mortgages: FHA Mortgage Program is AWFUL! - 10/20/08 03:11 PM
Use to be, I could get all the business I wanted just concentrating on my referral partners in Cary. With business such as it is, I now find myself heading further out to hook up with borrowers and referral partners. I've been listening to CNBC as the market works it's way up and down.
Maybe you've listened to XM too and heard the fella' who says, "It's the Biggest No Brainer In the History of Earth!"
The guy on XM now has a newer ad out about the Mortgage Bailout Bill. Click here and see if you think he might be … (17 comments)
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mortgages: A Year Later - How ActiveRain Changed My Life - 10/07/08 07:54 AM
Last weekend marked my one year anniversary on Activerain. I can honestly say...it's changed my life, and the way I look at things. It's affected my confidence, and my "self talk." I was introduced to it during an all day conference last September on "Using the Internet to Market Your Business."
I've always been skeptical about marketing plans that did not start with "networking," and up until then, I thought that meant looking someone in the eye. In our industry, tons of people make money by dialing for dollars or sending out postcards to people they've never met - but that's not the way I built my business...So … (30 comments)
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mortgages: Latest And Greatest Underwriting Changes for October, 2008 - 10/03/08 12:37 PM
We could think of this as the latest effort to make Main Street feel more comfortable about the "assets" we are holding in Fannie and Freddie (and I guess that extra 700 Billion too)... but anyway you look at it, mortgage lending rules are getting tighter. See that guy balancing on one foot, on a tightrope while playing the fiddle at night? He's got it E-A-S-Y!
Effective October 10, 2008 Mortgage Insurance on Investment Property is no longer available. Period, End of Story - better have 25% to put down.
MI Companies are also tightening the Debt to Income (DTI)requirements - meaning that … (6 comments)
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Eleanor Thorne 919-649-5057 Cary Mortgage Loans
Cary,
NC
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Steve Thorne NC Mortgage Experts
Address: 111 Corning Road, Suite 230, Cary, NC, 27518
Office Phone: (919) 649-5058
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