|
|
| |
mortgage: Buying Your Child a House To Live in During College
- 02/25/15 12:04 AM
During my second year at the University of Virginia, I lived in the below house on 14th Street in Charlottesville with 11 other girls. One average, we each paid $300/month in rent. If our landlords’ monthly expenses were low (They weren’t putting much towards the upkeep of the property as you can see below, so they should have been low.), they were making a pretty penny every month on this investment. I also had a few friends in college whose parents decided to purchase a house for them to live in, charge rent to their son’s/daughter’s friends, and make enough to help offset … (5 comments)
|
mortgage: Why Is My Payoff So High?
- 05/22/14 04:09 AM
This question comes up during just about every refinance transaction. Clients want to know why their mortgage payoff is higher than the principal balance reflected on their most recent mortgage statement.
The answer: Your mortgage loan payment is paid in arrears. Therefore, when you make your June payment, you are actually paying the interest from the month of May. For that reason, the days of interest you have not yet paid will be added to the current principal balance when your payoff is calculated by your loan servicer.
Remember when you closed on your house and your loan officer said you would … (3 comments)
|
mortgage: Keeping My Littlest Clients Happy
- 05/15/14 12:08 AM
We often have surprise children visitors in our First Home Mortgage office in Richmond, VA
and I’ve found they aren’t amused with conversations about interest rates, tax returns, bank statements, and letters of explanation—go figure!
So, I decided to create a Bucket O' Fun for them where I’ve put in all the go-to items: coloring books, crayons, bubbles, go-fish, and stickers. It has come in handy on many occasions (especially the one when my daughter’s daycare was closed, and I needed to pop into the office for an hour to do a few things).
Two weeks ago I had a real … (10 comments)
|
mortgage: FHA 101
- 05/07/14 04:48 AM
You’ve decided to buy a home, you’ve selected the best realtor in town, and now the realtor has given you the task of becoming pre-approved. The next step is to contact a lender who can guide you through the pre-approval process.
Once you find a mortgage lender, you will complete a mortgage loan application. From that application, your mortgage lender will identify the loan products for which you are eligible and will probably make a recommendation. If an FHA loan has been recommended to you, here’s an overview of that product.
Program Basics Owner occupant only for purchases A non-occupying co-borrower is allowed Minimum credit … (3 comments)
|
mortgage: Sourcing a Deposit
- 04/29/14 05:34 AM
Has the Underwriter Asked You To Source a Deposit? One of my most recent clients who bought a home in Richmond VA was self-employed. Because of the nature of her business, she made several large deposits into her bank accounts throughout the month. The deposits were payments from clients. Since they were large and not payroll, the underwriter requested that she “source” the deposits.
What Does “Sourcing” Mean? In the mortgage industry, “sourcing” simply means to explain where funds came from (usually with a letter of explanation) and provide documentation to support the explanation. Here are a few examples of deposits you may need to source:
Money from the sale of … (12 comments)
|
mortgage: Using a Lender Credit to Subsidize Closing Costs
- 04/16/14 05:55 AM
As mentioned previously, closing costs typically range from 3%-6% of your loan amount. A closing cost estimate I priced today for a client for a loan amount of $200,000 was $7,100 (3.55% of the loan amount). In this scenario the client was not paying any points for the interest rate.
The first option buyers have to help with these costs is to ask for the seller to contribute—your realtor will guide you through this part when you’re formulating an offer. Depending on the loan program, sellers are allowed to contribute from 3%-9% of the purchase price towards closing costs, prepaids, and points. I will get … (3 comments)
|
mortgage: Seller Contributions Towards Closing Costs
- 04/16/14 05:54 AM
A realtor called me today with a question regarding maximum seller contributions on an FHA deal. A seller contribution is a dollar amount or percentage of the purchase price that a seller agrees to contribute towards closing costs, prepaids, and/or points.
Each loan product has its own contribution limit which ranges from 3% to 9% of the purchase price. Below is a seller contribution chart organized by loan product.
It is important that your realtor knows which type of financing you’re receiving so that he/she knows the amount of seller contribution you can request in your offer. If you have any questions about seller … (2 comments)
|
mortgage: 203(k) FHA Renovation Loan
- 04/14/14 10:51 PM
Are you a fan of Property Brothers on HGTV? They’re the guys who help homebuyers turn dilapidated houses into dream homes. Well, it’s probably the only show my husband and I agree on, so we watch a lot of it. (He’s not so into The Bachelor, and I’m not so into WWE.)
Until I became a loan officer, I always wondered how the financing behind the project worked. Now I think I have a good idea: It’s called an FHA 203k loan. An FHA 203k loan allows you to purchase a home and finance the costs of renovations into one loan. Read all … (2 comments)
|
mortgage: Your New Car Could Shrink Your Future House
- 04/08/14 12:24 AM
My first car was a 1979 hunter green Volvo (circa 1998). I loved it! Sure, I had to keep one foot on the gas and one on the brake at stop lights so that it wouldn’t cut off because it idled so low, but it had a brand new paint job and a cassette player which was all that mattered to me at the time.
When I graduate from college, landed my first job, and lived rent free with my grandparents, I decided to get a new car. Since I had so few living expenses, I decided to buy a BMW. My husband (fiancé at the time) talked me out … (6 comments)
|
mortgage: Contemplating Buying an Investment Property?
- 04/08/14 12:04 AM
Have you been thinking about purchasing an investment property and becoming a landlord? Getting a mortgage loan for a non-owner occupied property (NOO) is a lot different from purchasing an owner occupied property. Here’s a brief overview of the main differences to help you get started in the decision-making process:
Down Payment: There are a few investors who will allow you to put 15% down with certain restrictions; however, mortgage insurance will be required, so it’s best to put 20% down. If you can spare to put 25% or 30% down payment, rate pricing will be a little better as well. Higher Interest Rate: To give you … (1 comments)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
During my second year at the University of Virginia, I lived in the below house on 14th Street in Charlottesville with 11 other girls. One average, we each paid $300/month in rent. If our landlords’ monthly expenses were low (They weren’t putting much towards the upkeep of the property as you can see below, so they should have been low.), they were making a pretty penny every month on this investment. I also had a few friends in college whose parents decided to purchase a house for them to live in, charge rent to their son’s/daughter’s friends, and make enough to help offset … (5 comments)
;)
;)
