orlando fha loans: Memorial Day Messes With Mortgage Rates
- 05/24/11 05:02 PM
Mortgage rates across the state are near year-to-date lows, but locking them in this week may be difficult. As Memorial Day nears, and Wall Streeters get a head-start on the long weekends, trade volume in the mortgage bond markets will dip.
When bond volume drops, mortgage rates get jumpy. It's a relationship based more on scarcity than...
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Memorial Day Messes With Mortgage Rates
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orlando fha loans: All-Natural Pest And Weed Control For Your Garden
- 05/24/11 04:54 PM
If you've spent time making your garden look great this spring, you'll want to spend time helping it stay that way through the summer. This brief video will teach you how to keep your yard pest- and weed-free using eco-friendly products and nature, itself -- all without the use of dangerous chemicals.
Some of the....
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All-Natural Pest And Weed Control For Your Garden
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orlando fha loans: Common Documents Required For A Mortgage Pre-Approval
- 05/24/11 04:44 PM
Even though many lenders are still quoting quick 10 minute pre-qualifications over the phone or online, a true mortgage approval that holds any weight is one that has been issued by an underwriter who has had an opportunity to review all of the necessary documents.
With a constant stream of new lending guidelines, volatile mortgage rates and tightening regulation from Washington, very few real estate agents will show new homes to a First-Time Home Buyer without at least a pre-qualification letter.
A Pre-Approval Letter will help you in three ways:
It lets you know how much mortgage you can qualify … (0 comments)
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orlando fha loans: Distressed Homes Now Selling At A 20 Percent Discount
- 05/24/11 04:39 PM
The housing market recovery stalled last month. At least temporarily.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, Existing Home Sales slipped 1 percent in April from the month prior, falling to 5.05 million units on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis. The reading is exactly in-line with report's 6-month average which also reads 5.05 million units.
The data may appear "average", but there's another angle to consider.
In April, as compared to....
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Distressed Homes Now Selling At A 20 Percent Discount
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orlando fha loans: Fed Minutes Put The Heat On Mortgage Rates To Rise
- 05/24/11 04:23 PM
The Federal Reserve released its April 2011 Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes Wednesday. In the hours since, mortgage markets have worsened; rates in Florida are higher by 1/8 percent this morning, at least.
The "Fed Minutes" is published 8 times annually, three week after each scheduled FOMC meeting. The minutes are the Federal Reserve's official recap of....
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Fed Minutes Put The Heat On Mortgage Rates To Rise
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orlando fha loans: Building Permits Fade Faster Than Expected
- 05/24/11 04:15 PM
Single-family housing starts dropped by 21,000 units in April on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis.
The Housing Starts report measures the number of homes on which new construction "broke ground". It's tracked by the U.S. Department of Commerce which releases new data monthly.
Single-family housing starts fell 5 percent as compared to March 2011, and 30 percent as compared to April one year ago.
The figures were worse than what Wall Street expected. For just the second time in.....
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Building Permits Fade Faster Than Expected
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orlando fha loans: Home Builders Seeing More Sales Today; Fewer Sales Tomorrow
- 05/18/11 01:53 AM
Home builder confidence can't shake its range, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The group's monthly Housing Market Index put May's builder confidence reading at a level of 16.
The Housing Market Index is scored on a scale of 1-100. A reading above 50 suggests favorable conditions for the new home housing market, as reported by home builders. A reading below 50 suggests unfavorable conditions.
May marks the sixth time in...
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Home Builders Seeing More Sales Today; Fewer Sales Tomorrow
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orlando fha loans: My Home Is Flooded. What Do I Do?
- 05/18/11 01:45 AM
With large swaths of the country bracing for an historic Mississippi River flood, it's important to remember that floods aren't just regional.
Flood waters can strike any city, in any state, at any time. According to FloodSmart.gov, floods are the #1 most common disaster in the United States. $709 million in flood insurance claims were paid to households, businesses, and renters in 2010 -- more than one-third of which went to people outside of "high-risk areas".
Should a flood hit your home or...
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My Home Is Flooded. What Do I Do?
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orlando fha loans: What's The Difference Between A Single Family, Second Home and Investment Property?
- 05/18/11 01:35 AM
When applying for a mortgage, a borrower's "Occupancy Type" is a major factor in the amount of down payment required, loan program available and mortgage interest rate.
Whether you are purchasing, doing a rate/term refinance or taking equity out of your property through a cash out refinance, occupancy type is always considered by the underwriter.
Three Types of Occupancy: Owner Occupied / Primary Residence -
According to HUD, a principal residence is a...
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What's The Difference Between A Single Family, Second Home and Investment Property? … (0 comments)
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orlando fha loans: Rising Retail Sales Threaten Low Mortgage Rates
- 05/16/11 01:53 AM
Another day, another piece of evidence that the U.S. economy is expanding.
Thursday, the Census Bureau released the April Retail Sales report. Excluding cars and auto parts, retail receipts rose for the 10th straight month and, at $321 billion, reached an all-time high.
Retail sales account for roughly half of consumer spending, and roughly one-third of the economy overall.
For home buyers and rate shoppers in....
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Rising Retail Sales Threaten Low Mortgage Rates
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orlando fha loans: Foreclosure Filings Fall To 40-Month Low
- 05/13/11 02:05 AM
Foreclosure activity continues to drop nationwide.
Based on data from foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings nationwide fell below 220,000 in April 2011, a 9 percent decrease from March.
A "foreclosure filing" is defined as...
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Foreclosure Filings Fall To 40-Month Low
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orlando fha loans: Conforming ARMs From 2004-2006 Are Adjusting To 3 Percent
- 05/12/11 01:41 AM
When a mortgage applicants chooses an adjustable-rate mortgage over a fixed-rate one, he accepts a risk that -- at some point in the future -- the mortgage's interest rate will rise. Lately, though, that hasn't been the outcome.
Since mid-2010, conforming mortgages have adjusted below their initial "teaser" rate consistently, giving homeowners in Florida and nationwide reason to...
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Conforming ARMs From 2004-2006 Are Adjusting To 3 Percent
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orlando fha loans: What To Fix Before You List
- 05/11/11 01:43 AM
With housing prices down across the country, there are a lot of homeowners in Orlando barely breaking even on their respective home sales. Some are even losing money.
You may find yourself in that position, too; wanting to sell, but worried about bringing cash to your own closing.
It creates an interesting dilemma. You want your...
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What To Fix Before You List
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orlando fha loans: Getting More Educational Bang For Your Housing Buck
- 05/10/11 01:44 AM
A recent joint report from Forbes and GreatSchools debunks a powerful myth in housing. There's little correlation between Public School Quality and the Median Price Point for a home.
In other words, the most expensive districts don't always have the best schools. And spending per pupil seems only loosely correlated, too.
The study, titled America's Best Schools For Your Housing Buck, puts tiny Falmouth, Maine at the top of....
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Getting More Educational Bang For Your Housing Buck
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orlando fha loans: Where Does My Earnest Money Go?
- 05/09/11 01:52 AM
Hey, I gave my real estate agent a $5000 Earnest Money Deposit check... Where does that money go?
A basic and very obvious question that most First-Time home Buyers ask once their purchase contract gets accepted.
According to Wikipedia:
Earnest Money - an earnest payment (sometimes called earnest money or simply earnest, or alternatively a good-faith deposit) is a deposit towards the purchase of real estate or publicly tendered government contract made by a buyer or registered contractor to demonstrate that he/she is serious (earnest) about wanting to...
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Where Does My Earnest Money Go?
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orlando fha loans: Foreclosures And Short Sales Distorting "Home Price Trackers"
- 05/09/11 01:45 AM
In an echo of February's Case-Shiller Index report, the government's own home price-tracker -- the Home Price Index -- showed home values slipping between January and February 2011.
The Federal Home Finance Agency data had home values down 1.6 percent nationwide in February, on average, marking the fourth straight month in...
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Foreclosures And Short Sales Distorting "Home Price Trackers"
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orlando fha loans: Job Growth Returning To "Normal" Levels -- A Bad Sign For Mortgage Rates
- 05/06/11 01:46 AM
Be prepared for Friday morning. Mortgage rates and home affordability could worsen quickly. At 8:30 AM ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its April Non-Farm Payrolls report and momentum has been strong.
The monthly jobs report is a market-mover and analysts expect that 196,000 new jobs were added last month. If those expectations are...
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Job Growth Returning To "Normal" Levels -- A Bad Sign For Mortgage Rates
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orlando fha loans: How To Screen For A Good Home Contractor
- 05/05/11 12:31 AM
Home remodeling projects are expected to top $130 blllion this quarter, their highest total since Q1 2008. A likely catalyst is that the average cost of a home improvement project is falling fast.
With the economy loosening up and contractor costs on a downswing, some in Orlando homeowners are choosing to put money back into their respective homes, and making home improvements. If you're...
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How To Screen For A Good Home Contractor
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orlando fha loans: Geopolitics Have Mortgage Rates Poised To Change
- 05/04/11 01:13 AM
Among the most challenging aspects of shopping for a mortgage is how rates change constantly. It's hard to pin them down.
For example, in 2011, mortgage rates have expired every 3-and-a-half hours, on average. That's fast.
There's two main catalysts for changing mortgage rates.
The first can be grouped as "scheduled events"; the planned release of market data which includes the Existing Home Sales report, or a scheduled government statement such as when the Federal Open Market Committee meets. When the outcomes of...
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Geopolitics Have Mortgage Rates Poised To Change
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orlando fha loans: Wash Your Windows The Eco-Friendly Way
- 05/03/11 01:46 AM
Your home's windows look best when they're clean on both the inside and the outside. It's a quarterly housekeeping chore, at minimum, and should coincide with seasonal changes.
But washing windows can be a drag on the environment. Most homeowners use multiple rolls of paper towels to finish the job, and many commercial window cleaners are chemical-loaded.
Fortunately, there's a way to....
Wash Your Windows The Eco-Friendly Way
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