For 30 year mortgages, the upfront is moving down from 2.25% to 1% and the monthly is moving from .55% to .9% for those putting less than 5% down and .85% for those putting more than 5% down payment.  Here is a link to an article discussing the changes: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/05/AR2010080506663.html

 The question you might be asking is "is this a consumer benefit?" Here is one interpretation:

http://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/archive/1/52542/

On a separate note, doing a short refi with an FHA loan MAY be possible if the servicer agrees.  Here is the FHA rule:

http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/letters/mortgagee/files/10-23ml.pdf

So, here we go again.  Life is about change and adapting to it.  Hopefully this does what it is intended to do.  Time will tell. 

Lessons from a Young Entrepreneur

By Rob Minton & John Mazzara

I recently found an article online that was a question-and-answer interview with an entrepreneur. That in and of itself isn't that remarkable; you can find interviews with entrepreneurial types all over the media.

But what made this particular entrepreneur stand out was the fact that at the young age of 25, he was starting on a second business, after recognizing that his first one wasn't good enough and not what he wanted it to be.

Think about that for a moment. It's safe to say that quite a few entrepreneurs succeed with a business that comes after a previous one fails. But for someone at such a young age to recognize his first business's shortcomings, shut it down and launch a better one ... well, it's not something you hear about every day.

The reporter's interview with the young man, whose name is Mario Jurcic, is great stuff. In it, he talks about how he learned from his mistakes in his first business and how that is helping him in his current business. We all talk about learning from our mistakes, but it's not always easy to do. It's certainly not easy to shut down your own business and chalk the entire thing up to a "learning experience," as this young man has.   Here is the hyperlink to the article- http://news-herald.com/articles/2010/08/01/news/nh2837361.txt

One of the best lines Mario had when describing his old business was that he "was trying to sell oranges to people who want to eat apples." It is great that he was able to recognize this. So many entrepreneurs are so passionate about what they do that they are not able to objectively see why everyone else might not be as passionate. They keep trying to force oranges down people's throats, no matter how badly those people really want apples.

Even greater than merely being able to recognize the product-market disconnect he had was Mario's courage to do something about it. While "unwinding" the old company, as he puts it, he planned the new company's launch. Instead of throwing his hands up in the air, or blaming the bad economy, he re-grouped, took what he had learned, and did something different.

Here's the part from the interview that was maybe the most powerful thing he had to say about launching the new venture.

"I think I was so uncertain of what the future was to hold for what I was doing that it almost scared me from giving a full commitment. That was back in the days when I didn't really have a laser-guided vision of what I wanted to do, where I wanted to be, where I wanted the company to go. As the owner and founder of the company, I wasn't a very strong driving force without much of a mission. That sort of fell through in the last year and a half, two years. I started getting this vision and things started coming to. Instead of waking up at 7:30 in the morning, I'm up at 5:30 in the morning now. It's exciting to wake up every day once you have something to go after. It makes it all worthwhile."

Hopefully, you caught the key words in there: laser-guided vision.

Without "laser-guided" vision, without a focus of exactly what you want to accomplish and where you want to be, it's nearly impossible to get there. This goes for all aspects in life. You need laser-guided focus to succeed in a business, as an investor, in your career, as a parent, etc.

This is definitely a commonality among the world's most successful people. Whether it's Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Kobe Bryant - the people who are the best at what they do all have this kind of focus.

In this day and age, we have many distractions. So many things threaten to occupy our time, and we are all multi-taskers because, well, we are forced to be. In that environment, it is easy to feel like you're spinning your wheels - activity does not necessarily mean achievement. To accomplish any one thing while you're busy doing a number of things, it takes focus. Laser-like focus.

For a man of just 25 years to learn this lesson so early in his entrepreneurial journey is huge. I don't know if his new company will be successful -I have a feeling it will - but I DO know that learning such valuable lessons so early in life, combined with his clearer vision of what he wants to achieve and how he will achieve it, will make him successful at SOMETHING.

So, what does a broker do?  Have you ever wondered?  Well for starter-we find loan programs, match lenders with buyers, work through underwriting obstacles, and get everyone to the finish line (also known as the "closing"). Well, the NAMB has put out a great video explaining how we work.  I thought it did a pretty good job explaining my work.  I hope you like it. There's a lot more involved to getting a loan today to close.  I try and make it as easy as possible for everyone.  Call me next time you or a client  need mortgage financing in Minnesota.

Have you read the Wallstreet Journal Article on 7-10-10 entitled Borrowers Hit New Home-Loan Hurdles?  if you haven't-you should.  It highlights how difficult the mortgage financing market has become and WHY.  Rather than paraphrase the article, I would encourage you to read the article.  One thing that is more important than ever is to protect your credit score.  With that in mind, read the article below:

Keeping Your Credit Score Healthy

It doesn't take much these days to damage a credit score. Before the recession, late payments and blasting through credit limits would take its toll. But in the past year, Fair Isaac, the company that developed the algorithm that is the leading determinant of our scores, made an important change in its formula.

It's now putting much more emphasis on the size of your balances and how close they are to your total credit limit. It's a behavior trigger that creditors see as a bigger worry than ever. So the best thing you can do for your credit score is to get your balances down to under half of your credit limit.

Even better, pay them off entirely and use them only when you know you can pay them off at the end of the month. Inactive accounts will ding your credit score, but quick payments can only help.

The latest revision in the FICO system will actually allow a bit of lenience on late payment - something that might affect more than a few consumers with the downturn in the economy. Obviously, this won't mean that someone can chronically pay late, but once or twice won't make the same impact as in earlier FICO versions.

Yet credit utilization - the amount of credit you're actually using relative to your credit limit  - is a much bigger deal simply because high balances are still prevalent among consumers. From the lender's perspective, high balances mixed with a tough economy means a higher risk of default among customers.

So, one more time. What's a good target utilization rate for all your revolving credit accounts? No more than 50 percent of your credit limit, and if you can get it significantly lower than that over time, that's a good plan.  The lower your credit utilization, the better your score.

What does that mean for ordinary Americans who don't meet that under-50 percent goal? It means you shouldn't be applying for new credit or refinancing for awhile, and that includes something as innocuous as a department store charge.

So maybe that means deferring gratification for awhile until you get things under control. But look at it this way - you can use this time as a way to develop more knowledge about credit and be in a better position long-term.  Here are some things you need to know:

You'll need at least a 740 score for the best rates: You'll often hear that credit scores of 700 and up will get you best customer status with lenders. That's true, but you need to aim significantly higher. For the lowest rates and best terms, you need to get your credit score above 740 (the top credit score, by the way, is 850), so keep that target in mind.

Budget: If you've never reviewed your spending and picked out areas where you can cut, you've never done a budget. Start tracking your spending either on paper or with financial planning software and start pinpointing what spending you can shift over to paying off debt. 

Get some advice: Remember that debt is just one part of your overall financial picture. It might not be a bad time to sit down with a financial planner to talk about your debt issues, planning for retirement, your kids' college education and any other key financial goals.

Monitor your credit reports: Remember that you have the right to get all three of your credit reports -- from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax -- once a year for free. You can do so by ordering them at www.annualcreditreport.com. Order them individually at different points in the year. That means you'll get an extended picture of how your credit picture looks because the three bureaus feed each other the latest information. You'll also be able to clean up errors as you find them -- errors can drag down a credit score - and you'll also keep an eye on identity theft.  Oh, and make sure you use the site above and avoid the businesses that use "free credit report" in their title. It's easy. If they ask for your credit card number, don't do business with them.

Make electronic payments: Electronic bill payment will allow you to save on postage while guaranteeing on-time payment, and the budgeting advice mentioned above will allow you to put a few more bucks toward getting that loan or credit card bill paid off. It's important to always pay more than the minimum payment on your bill - otherwise your balance will barely move.

July 2010 - This column is produced by the Financial Planning Association, the membership organization for the financial planning community, and is provided by John Mazzara 952-929-2577 , a local member of FPA

Military & Certain Federal Employees
Get Home Buyer Tax Credits Until 2011

A little-known provision of the Home Buyer Tax Credit bill that became effective on Nov 6, 2009, is that certain military personnel and Foreign Service

employees have an EXTRA year to purchase a home and qualify for the tax credit. 

In addition to that, if they sold a principal residence between Jan 1, 2009 & April 30, 2010 because they had to relocate at least 50 miles due to "orders",

they qualify for a tax credit, even if they owned a home between the above time periods.  Income, age and sales price limitations still apply. 

Who qualifies?
 Member of "uniformed" services
 Member of Foreign Service of the US
 Employee of Intelligence Community
 Spouse of any of the above

And must have had:
 Extended Duty outside the US for 91 days, or
 Extended Duty inside the US for 91 days and had to relocate at least 50 miles from principal residence
 Sold principal residence between Jan 1 2009 & April 30, 2010

Tax Credit Dates Extended to:
 Signed contract by April 30, 2011
 Closed by June 30, 2011

Can get tax credit if:
 They sold their home or the home stops being their principal residence as of January 1, 2009 (because of government orders)
 Extended duty (either inside or outside the US) and had to move at least 50 miles away from principal residence
 Extended duty is defined as 91 days service (either inside or outside) the US.

This information was provided by mortgage currency

Minnesota condo purchase at 95% loan to value. Minnesota condo refinance at 95% loan to value.  Borrower just needs a FICO of 680.  This great opportunity is aailable on Primary Residence only.  Condo must be approved by Fannie Mae to qualify for this special financing.

Call Venture Development in Minneapolis Minnesota 952.285.4319 or visit our website www.VentureLoanApp.com.  We have a wide range of programs for home purchase or refinance.  If you are looking for a low-down payment program but this is not a match please call to see how we can help you.

Our latest booklet will be useful to buyers everywhere.  If you are in the Twin Cities metro area, we are able to help you find and finance a new home. In the meantime, visit our real estate website at http://www.MinneapolisStPaulHomes.com and start shopping for a new home.  You can set up your MLS on line search directly from the website.  To begin your mortgage application, please visit http://www.VentureLoanApp.com

Minnesota Low Down Payment Purchase for Primary Residence and Investment Property

97% financing for Primary Residence purchase in MN

90% financing on Investment Property purchase in Minnesota

Purchase of a MN foreclosed property owned by Fannie Mae

Down Payment can be from personal assets, gift, grant, or loan from a non-profit organization such as community programs that I have sourced throughout the Twin Cities and Minnesota.

Minneapolis and St Paul Minnesota mortgage offers low down payment financing for purchase of a foreclosed property.  Call Patti Mazzara 952.285.4319 for more information on how you can purchase your primary residence or investment property using this low down program. 

MN First time homebuyers ACT NOW before the funds are used up.  Anoka County in Minnesota is offering up to $10,000 on the purchase of single family homes, condominiums and townhouses.  Buyers just need to qualify for a VA guaranteed loan, FHA insured, or Fannie Mae approved conventional mortgage.  The MN home purchase must for a primary residence. 

Call Minnesota Mortgage Broker Patti Mazzara to learn more about Down Payment Assistance and the loan programs that make home ownership possible.

Purchase a forclosed home in Brooklyn Center, MN and receive up to $10,000 toward down payment and closings.  This program is a perfect complement to the FHA loan program that requires 3.5% of the purchase price as down payment.  

Highlights:

The borrower(s) must plan to occupy the home as a Primary Residence. 

No Non-Occupying co-signers will be allowed with the program. 

Borrower must not exceed the 31% housing 43% total debt ratios of the FHA program. 

Borrower must not own other residential property.

Homebuyer education class must be attended to qualify.

Minnesota FHA 203K can be used with the Brooklyn Center Rehab loan of up to $7000.