Short sales, foreclosures and new construction homes all have caveats that need to be considered when pursuing financing. If the guidelines and potential pitfalls are not properly understood, you could face delays in closing or potentially even a denied loan. Short Sales & Foreclosures - Short sales and foreclosures are everywhere. They often represent great value when looking to by a new home. However, they also present a unique set of problems that homebuyers need to be aware of and plan for. 1.) Property Condition Typically, when homeowners are facing foreclosure or .....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Important Factors To Consider When Getting Financing On A Foreclosure, Short Sale or New Construction 08/10/2011

  Buyers are writing contracts at a furious pace nationwide. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the Pending Home Sales Index rose 2 percent last month to reach its highest level since March. A "pending home sale" is a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed.  The forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index is up 11 percent from its low of the year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®, and well ahead of its.....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Pending Home Sales Rise For 3rd Straight Month 08/08/2011

    Standard & Poors released its May 2011 Case-Shiller Index this week. The index measures change in home prices from month-to-month, and year-to-year, in select U.S. cities.   May's Case-Shiller Index showed a 1 percent increase from April 2011. Home values rose in 16 of the Case-Shiller Index's 20 tracked markets. Only Detroit, Las Vegas and Tampa fell. Phoenix was flat.   Don't look too far into the....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: 16 of 20 Case-Shiller Cities Show Improvement In May 08/08/2011

  Home builders are slowly reducing inventory. According to Census Bureau data, the number of new homes slid 1 percent from May. On a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis, home buyers bought 312,000 newly-built homes last month. It's the third straight month of falling sales and the headline data casts the Orlando housing market in a .....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: New Home Supplies Keep Shrinking; Prices Pressured Higher 08/08/2011

  The FHA is insuring a greater percentage of loans than during any time in recent history. In 2006, it insured roughly 5 percent of the purchase mortgage market. Today, it insures one-quarter. "Going FHA" is more common than ever before -- but is it better? The answer -- like most things in mortgage -- depends on your circumstance. Like its conforming counterpart, an.....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE Is An FHA Mortgage Better Than A Conforming One? 08/08/2011

  In today's Orlando homes, front-loading washing machines are a popular choices as compared to traditional, top-loading machines for 3 main reasons: They wash more clothes per cycle, lowering household energy costs They're environmentally-friendly, using less water per cycle They're gentler on clothes, preserving colors and fabrics longer They also require more care in the "cleaning" department. Because of the way most front-loading washers are built, they tend to pool water in their drums, which can be a breeding ground bacteria and mildew. Whether your front-loading washer smells "dirty" or not, you'll want to follow proper procedures to keep it .....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: How To Clean A Smelly Front-Loading Washing Machine   07/28/2011

  A strong spring season helped home values recover, says the government. According to the Federal Home Finance Agency's Home Price Index, home prices rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.4 percent from April to May. It's the HPI's second straight increase, and puts the monthly index at its highest point since January 2011. As a home seller in Orlando , you may appreciate news such as "rising home prices", but it's important to ....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Home Prices Rise For The 2nd Straight Month   07/28/2011

  Home resales slipped for the 3rd straight month, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®. The Existing Home Sales posted a 1 percent drop from May as the number of homes sold fell to a seasonally-adjusted, annualized 4.77 million units. It's the monthly report's lowest reading since November 2010. The report also showed the national supply of homes for sales rising to 9.5 months -- also its highest reading since November 2010. Home Supply is the amount of time it would take to .....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Existing Home Sales Fall To 8-Month Low   07/27/2011

  Builders are busy once again. According to the Census Bureau, Single-Family Housing Starts rose to 453,000 on a seasonally-adjusted, annualized basis in June -- a 9 percent spike from the month prior and the highest reading in 3 seasons. A "Housing Start" is defined as a home breaking ground on new construction. June's reading is largest one-month jump since June 2009. The reading surprised Wall Street despite that .....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Housing Starts Surge 9 Percent; Signal A Strong Fall Season 07/22/2011

  Homebuilder confidence is bouncing back. One month after an unceremonious dip highlighted by poor sales figures and dim prospects for the future, the National Association of Homebuilder's Housing Market Index rebounded two points to 15 in July. The monthly Housing Market Index is scored on a 1-100 scale. Readings above 50 indicate favorable conditions for ....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Led By Expectations Of A Strong Fall Season, Homebuilder Confidence Bounces Back   07/22/2011

 According to the National Association of REALTORS®, there are more than 3.7 million homes for sale this month. If your home is among them, are you doing what it takes to stand apart from the crowd? This 4-minute piece from NBC's The Today Show pulls no punches. It's titled "5 Mistakes Sellers Can't Afford To Make" and it covers falling home prices, buyer mentality, and ....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: There's 3.7 Million Homes For Sale. Is Yours Standing Out From The Crowd?   07/21/2011

Understanding the definition of Loan-to-Value (LTV), and how it impacts a mortgage approval, will help you determine what type of loan amount and program you may qualify for. Since the LTV Ratio is a major component of getting approved for a new mortgage, it's a good idea to learn the simple math of calculating the amount of equity you may need, or down payment to budget for in order to qualify for a particular loan program. The LTV Ratio is...   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Calculating Loan-to-Value (LTV)   07/18/2011

  The American Consumer will not be deterred. Despite worsening jobless figures and an increase in the Cost of Living, Retail Sales are climbing. In June, for the 12th straight month, retail receipts rose, excluding cars and auto parts. Analysts expected no change from May. Instead, receipts topped $321 billion -- an all-time record. For home buyers and would-be refinancers in Longwood , this is a bit of unwelcome news. Mortgage rates are rising in....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Retail Sales Rise For 12th Straight Month In June 07/18/2011

Country Creek Altamonte Country Creek Altamonte, Florida is located South West of Interstate 4 and Downtown Orlando. Traveling East on I-4 Exit 90b travel west 4 miles to Eden Park Road turn right and right again into the back entrance. This highly desirable community is just minutes from the Altamonte Springs Mall, Maitland's community center, and Downtown Winter Park. Country Creek Altamonte has a couple of communities within it such as; Woodbridge, The Glens, The Trails, Country Creeks Estates, and a Townhome community of Northbridge. Country Creek's sister community located off Eden Park is named Forest Edge. The entire Country Creek Altamonte community is lined with lush oak tree landscaping. Homes within the community were built in different sections taking just over 10 years to c... 07/15/2011

For the 9th straight month last month, foreclosure activity slowed. According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac, the number of foreclosure filings dropped 29 percent nationwide on an annual basis in June. The phrase "foreclosure filing" is a catch-all term, comprising default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions. June marked the ninth consecutive month of sub-300,000 filings after....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: For The 9th Straight Month, Foreclosure Filings Fall   07/15/2011

  The interest rate differential between fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages continues to widen and has now reached historic levels. There's never been a better time to lock an ARM. According to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, homeowners in Orlando who lock their mortgage rate today will save 129 basis points on rate, on average, by choosing a....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: 5-Year ARM Falls To Historic Lows   07/14/2011

The summer housing market is heating up. According to data from the National Association of REALTORS®, the Pending Home Sales Index smashed analyst expectations, jumping 8 percent on a monthly basis in May.  Wall Street calls were for an increase of just 0.5 percent.  It was a surprise result that, coupled with....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Pending Home Sales Unexpectedly Spike In May     07/14/2011

  Maybe homes in Longwood are holding value better than we thought. Between March and April of this year, home values rose 0.8 percent nationally, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Home Price Index. It's the index's first month-to-month improvement since May of last year. Values are down 19 percent since peaking 4 years ago. Private-sector data affirms the government's report.  Tuesday, the S&P's Case-Shiller Index also showed home values higher by 0.8 percent in April, on a monthly basis. Led by Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, 13 of the Case-Shiller's 20 tracked markets showed improvement in April.  In March, just 2 markets did. As a home seller in....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Home Values Climb 0.8 Percent In April 07/14/2011

The Federal Reserve released its June 2011 Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes Tuesday. It contained no surprises and, as such, mortgage rates in Florida have idled in the hours since. The Fed Minutes is published 8 times annually, three weeks after each scheduled Federal Open Market Committee meeting. It's the official log of the meeting's conversations and debates. The Fed Minutes is the lengthier companion piece to....   Read THE COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: Fed Minutes Hint At New Economic Stimulus   07/13/2011

More commonly called APR, Annual Percentage Rate is a government-mandated mortgage comparison tool. It measures the total cost of borrowing over the life of a loan into dollars-and-cents. A loan's APR is printed in the top-left corner of the Federal Truth-In-Lending Disclosure, as shown above. When quoting an interest rate, loan officers are required by law to disclose a loan's APR, too. APR is meant to simplify the process of choosing between two or more loans. The theory is that the loan with the lowest APR is the "best deal" for the applicant because.....   Read the COMPLETE BLOG POST HERE: What Is Annual Percentage Rate (APR)? 07/13/2011