Sue's Blog

I work in an office building in beautiful downtown Destin, FL. We have 5 floors, with the entire 5th floor being occupied by a pretty powerful law firm. I was outside this morning when one of the local title agents was coming in and we stopped and talked. I asked her why she was there and she in...

With the Federal Government taking conservatorship of FNMA and FHLMC, interest rates were expected to drop.  In fact, some financial analysts predict that they will drop to the point where more people purchase and housing prices will RISE!  NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY and you need to let all of your c...

Last weekened, we were on the edge of Hurricane Gustav; this week, it was a beautiful weekend.  While everybody knows that the real estate market nationally is down, and it is here, as well, the prices in our local market make buying real estate in Florida a great investment! We have something t...

With all of the activity of hurricanes and tropical storms, I wanted to give everybody a way to get information about National Preparedness Month as deemed by Homeland Security and the Citizens' Coalition.  Click here to get to the webpage and find information on making a plan, being informed, a...

As the Summer season is ending and we are getting ready to head into the Fall season this month, many Sellers are feeling a little panic because many people think that Spring and Summer are the best times to buy or sell a home.  If you're trying to sell your property at this time, you need to ta...

Federal Reserve: Florida no longer South's worst home construction market The worst of the housing crisis may have passed for Florida. So suggests the Federal Reserve in its most recent "beige book," its summary of national economic activity that came out Wednesday. The Fed divides the country i...

We just went to the Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island, right by the pier.  The water was wicked rough!  We even spotted a water spout that was heading from Destin.  Here are a couple of pictures of the beach in Ft. Walton Beach during the storm.  There may be some beach erosion, but this will not be b...

In this changing mortgage environment, there are occasions when a Loan Officer will get a call from a Realtor about helping their buyer secure a mortgage on a property they are buying and the Loan Officer is unable to do the deal for any number of reasons: they are not signed up with FHA or USDA ...

While it has always played a big factor in the approvability and/or interest rate assessed to a mortgage, recently, credit scores have taken on an even bigger role in the mortgage process.  Fannie Mae is now incorporating Loan Level Pricing Adjustments based SOLELY on a borrower's FICO score! A c...

A Rural Housing loan is actually less costly than an FHA loan or a VA loan, in most cases. It also does NOT require the buyer to be a first time homebuyer. And a Rural Housing loan may allow a buyer to get in with NO MONEY WHATSOEVER - as the seller can pay all of their closing costs, including t...