In today's economy, you will hear many different rhymes of reason why to rent now or why to buy a new home now. Ultimately it comes down to your own decision and you should only use such news with caution. You might have heard some say, don't buy now because home values will decrease another 5% to 20%. Remember, real estate is local. In some areas, home values have already increased by 10%. So get to know your area and speak to a qualified realtor about this. Here is a good post showing you even if home values dropped, … (14 comments)
fha loans: Mortgage Pro Week in Review -- 09/13/10 through 09/19/10 -- Good Mortgage info is important
- 09/20/10 10:36 AM
The MORTGAGE PRO Week in Review is back. This weekly review has been away the last 18 months due to the lack of volunteers, in helping to get mortgage related information out to the public and to help keep realtors up to date on the ever changing topics of mortgages. This review will appear every Sunday eevning, once a week. There will be a post in a few days about this group and how you can volunteer.
Onto Mortgages and Real Estate. Below is some very good mortgage posts that tell you what you need to apply for a … (14 comments)
With mortgage interest rates being so low, you would think many people are refinancing. And one would think that more would be doing FHA streamline refinances, because it should be so easy, hence the name streamline. Sorry to sound negative, but no and no, for many reasons. There is also a mortgage myth, aka mortgage rumor, that FHA streamlines are cheaper than regular FHA loans. A complete lie. I just had a potential borrower that was told this. Yes, there are … (7 comments)
There has been a lot of talk regarding Credit Scores in the last week after FHA came out with Mortgagee Letter 2010-29 on FHA Loans. Here was my post showing such changes with an explanation. Jeff Belonger's cheat sheet for ML 2010-29. In my opinion, some of the confussion and or arguement with the new FHA loan changes is that FHA says that you can go down to a 500 credit score with 10% down. FHA even says that you can put the minimum down of 3.5% with credit scores of 580 and above. Here is the problem … (23 comments)
FHA just came out with a new mortgagee letter describing the new changes on FHA loans regarding credit scores and LTV's (loan-to-value). Here are the changes : New updates for FHA Mortgages - Changes in LTV & credit scores - seller concessions?
Just the other day, I read this post,"Bending Over Backwards".. A simplified Version of the New FHA Credit Score Guidelines...by Karen Stone, that talked about these changes and laid out the credit score changes. It was this person's simplified version which was written by a realtor. It was well written and the outline was accurate, but … (13 comments)
Mortgage interest rates continue to still be very low, ranging from 4.00% to 4.50% for a 30 year fixed rate. This is all dependent on your credit scores, your down payment, the size of your loan amount, and the type of mortgage program. And if you want 3.875%, you just have to pay some points. I am sure many of us have been extremely use to the low rates in the last 6 months, to where we have reached record lows since interest rates were first recorded back in 1971. But don't get to comfortable, because what comes down … (3 comments)
In the last 10 months or so, FHA has announced some proposals and these proposals are now becoming reality for FHA Mortgages. Just last week, FHA increased the monthly mortgage insurance and reduced the upfront mortgage insurance. If you missed this one, you must familiarize yourself with these changes, because it could increase the borrower's monthly mortgage payments from $20 to $120 a month, depending on the purchase price. Changes in FHA mortgages for the monthly mortgage insurance & UFMIP The newest change, as of September 3rd, 2010, has officially set credit scores for all FHA loans now. Previously, FHA never had … (8 comments)
fha loans: Dear First Time Homebuyer, how many hands in the cookie jar???
- 09/03/10 03:32 PM
First homebuyer speaks to a loan officer or a real estate agent. For some reason, they decide to seek a 2nd opinion because of that gut feeling or because they have heard something different. A buyer called me regarding some mortgage information after speaking to another loan officer. Forward ahead, skipping details of the story. I give them a totally different answer and I see some major read flags. I also have a bad feeling about how this loan officer is explaining things based on the buyers answers to me. This buyer tells me that they will get the documents … (12 comments)
fha loans: It's official - FHA has formally announced the mortgage insurance changes for FHA loans
- 09/02/10 08:04 AM
FHA first shared these changes on August 4th, after it had been approved by Congress and then the President signed off on it on August 11th. FHA has finally come out with the mortgagee letter, ML 2010-28, which puts it officially in writing now. This mortgagee letter is effective on FHA loans in which the case number is assigned on or after October 4th, 2010. This policy will increase the monthly mortgage insurance and decrease the mortgage insurance premiums for purchase money and refinance transactions, to include FHA streamline refinances.
FHA loans have been one of the main focal points in today's real estate transactions. Two main reasons for this is that it comes to the down payment and the credit scores. In the past, some loan officers were using other types of financing that were easier for them, but not suited best for the borrower. What I do hate hearing is that FHA mortgages have taken the spot of the subprime loans. This is not true at all. This statement is very misleading. Many subprime loans should have gone FHA and that is just a fact. But why … (5 comments)
Wanting the best deal is usually on most peoples minds when heading into a purchase of any type. We all love deals, sales, getting the best. And sometimes to brag about such deals. Back in 1993, I still can remember a Veteran that wanted a VA loan, yet we had to try to put him into a FHA loan because of his credit. Then that became a problem because he wanted the same deal that his neighbor was getting, who was also getting a FHA loan, but I told him that he had too wait 6 months or … (20 comments)
The President officially signed Bill H.R. 5981 on August 11th, 2010 which became public law. I wrote about the actual changes to FHA loans and how it will affect borrowers as of October 4th, 2010. Please read : Bill H.R. 5981 passes - FHA Mortgages to increase it's annual mortgage insurance premium There has been a main problem in regards to the information being supplied since this bill was passed by the Senate, which was on August 4th, 2010. I have read several blogs out on the internet both by AR members and the news media stating that the … (12 comments)
I wanted to bring up this topic because it still happens more than it should. I know we all want the best deals, but anyone can make general promises on the phone or on paper. Shopping for a mortgage in New Jersey is not easy and it's not like shopping for a car. A car is a car, but ones service could be better. And one could argue that most mortgage companies should have the same interest rates and mortgage programs. … (15 comments)
Just last week, Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner David Stevens announced that FHA was changing their annual mortgage insurance plan. - FHA announcement - I wrote about it here : HR Bill 5981 - FHA mortgage insurance. We now have some groups and people announcing these FHA Loan changes as a tax. Think Big Work Small released their version in this video on Monday. New Homebuyer Tax Starts September 2010 - 08.09.10 - Brian Stevens, from TBWS states this... "A tax that furthers HUD's Agenda." Sounds scary, right? Because it sounds like the government is … (19 comments)
FHA first proposed the monthly mortgage insurance changes in the beginning of 2010. Bill H.R. 5981 was first passed by the House in the spring and was just passed by the Senate the other day. What does this bill do for FHA mortgages? They have projected that it will yield approximately $300 million per month to the FHA insurance fund. So what are the new FHA changes? - For terms greater than 15 years - LTV's <= 95% will increase the monthly fee to 85 bps LTV's > 95% will increase the monthly fee to 90 bps And … (63 comments)
I love what I do and I love crunching numbers, sometimes being creative and finding a way to maximize my clients cash assets, putting them in a good financial position for years to come. Meaning that I like to act like a financial planner, making sure that the borrower doesn't always use all of their assets, especially in today's market. Before you continue with this post, you will need to read part 1, Planting Seeds in the Borrower's Head. If you want the cliff notes version, read the … (12 comments)
In regards to the world of mortgages, can one be more confused now then ever before? You betcha... As many of us know, FHA is now trying to reduce the seller concession from 6% to 3%. I wrote about it here : HUD seeks public comment on 3 issues for FHA loans & Solutions for these FHA loan changes. Let's take this up a notch now. Just the other day, I wrote a post about some listing agents not accepting offers for FHA loans and or VA loans … (31 comments)
Sellers, don't accept offers from a buyer with FHA financing. Wait, don't accept offers with VA financing. Wait, don't accept offers with conventional financing. Gee, you might as well wait around for a cash buyer. FHA loans are not a bad thing. It could just be that your listing agent isn't familiar with FHA mortgages, or maybe had a bad experience once before, or that they are afraid that the house might not pass a FHA appraisal. In my opinion, I just think the listing agent is flipping a coin on your property and it could cost you thousands … (29 comments)
FHA Home Loans have been a big part of the home buying process when it comes to your financing options. This might not mean much to many, but when you apply for a conventional loan, if you don't get an automated approval, you are declined. With FHA loans, even if you received a refer in the system, your loan can still be manually underwritten. But there are many guidelines that need to be followed, even for a make sense deal. Especially if your qualifying ratios are above the normal FHA requirements of 31/43. This means that your total mortgage … (7 comments)
Making a statement that FHA loans are more expensive than conventional loans because of the monthly mortgage insurance is a blind statement. This is like saying that your house is better than your neighbors house. Just to many unknown variables to make this kind of determination. Here is what a realtor on Trulia stated the other day.... "While an FHA loan has many benefits, the downside(aside from some hefty mortgage insurance) is meeting the guidelines. If you can put 5% down, there is a conventional lender that can do the loan(and the Mortgage insurance is actually lower)." Two … (7 comments)
I just want to educate people about mortgages and the process.
In regards to lending, I am very creative, intuitive, honest, and one who communicates information, may it be good or bad. I am a loan officer that looks out for your best interest.
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