Brett Sampson's (bsampson) Blog

I’ve written about this before, but I see this issue every week. …so, I wanted to touch on this again in an effort to make your next home purchase easier. Using cash for a down payment on a home is very difficult to pull off. If you have cash saved up for a down payment on a home – and you were p...

  Have you been told that you can’t get a mortgage until you pay off your judgement? If  so, I have some good news for you. It is possible to get a mortgage and not have to pay your judgement off first. (It wasn’t possible until recently – but we just got some relief on this!) Here’s how it works...

  The FHA loan product is becoming less appealing. This is due to FHA continuing to raise their mortgage insurance rates, and their recent changes to make the annual MI permanent. There is an alternative!  …You can always go with a conventional mortgage using private mortgage insurance. Here are ...

  Did you realize that a borrower using a conventional mortgage, and putting down less than 20% – can use a gift for the entire down payment? Many realtors and even loan officers believe that on a conventional loan the borrower can get a gift, but they must still have at least 5% of their own fun...

    If you would like to purchase a house, but your main obstacle is a down payment – here is an idea for you… It’s possible to sell a personal asset (car, boat, jewelry, baseball card collection, etc.) to raise the money for your down payment. Here is what you would need to provide the mortgage ...

  Quick Credit Tip: When it comes to getting a mortgage the difference between a credit collection account and a judgment is significant. The biggest difference is that a collection account generally won’t have to be paid off as a condition of mortgage approval. …However, a court ordered judgment...

    If you are considering a USDA loan there are two things you should be aware of… 1) There are geographic restrictions. Not every area is eligible for USDA financing. The best thing to do is enter the address of the home or area you are interested in and see if it’s eligible for USDA financing....

I wanted to take a minute and make sure you understand three important recent changes to FHA loans… 1) As of April 1, 2013 annual mortgage insurance premiums have gone up. a) For 30 year loans over 95% LTV = 1.35%.b) For 30 year loans under 95% LTV = 1.30%.c) For 15 year loans between 78% and 90%...

Freddie Mac is introducing a streamline refinance for conventional loans starting July 1st, 2013. The difference between this new streamline refinance program, and Freddie's standard modification program is that it would require less documentation. Facts about Freddie Mac's conventional streamlin...