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FHA Seller Paid Closing Costs Reduction Announced

January 22, 2012 by Charles Dailey 1 Comment

To much fanfare, FHA announced measures to better protect their insurance fund in a recent Final Ruling published in the Federal Register.  Slipped in as a footnote to this announcement was a declaration that FHA is deaf to the concerns of the real estate industry.  They are taking aim to again attempt to reduce the [...]

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FHA, Financing, Real Estate
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First Time Home Buyers, Now that You’ve Opened “The Box”

January 18, 2012 by Joe Harvey MortgageJoe's Blog 0 Comments

As a First Time Home Buyer it is like opening up a new IPad you just received from Santa.  You are excited to open the box, fire it up, but once it is out of the box you don’t even know what you don’t know about your new IPad.  The same generally apply’s to First [...]

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FHA, Financing
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FHA Mortgages: Enough Already!

January 13, 2012 by Sherri Sherpy 3 Comments

Borrowers are going to pay more for an FHA loan in 2012.  FHA mortgage insurance premiums are going up AGAIN.  This change could possibly take an approved loan file straight to the DENIED bin. The recent, signed legislation to extend the payroll tax deduction means an increase in FHA’s mortgage insurance premium.  The FHA (Federal [...]

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FHA, Financing, mortgage insurance
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Anyone you know struggling with mortgage payments due to unemployment?

January 11, 2012 by Joe Harvey MortgageJoe's Blog 0 Comments

Anyone you know struggling with mortgage payments due to unemployment? Forbearance Terms Eased for Freddie’s Borrowers Freddie Mac gave unemployed homeowners who are struggling to pay mortgages owned or guaranteed by the company a break on Friday when it eased its temporary forbearance restrictions. Effective February 1, Freddie Mac servicers will no longer need prior approval [...]

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Home Values, Uncategorized
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Mortgage Interest Rates, Closing Costs and Mortgage Calculators

January 11, 2012 by Sherri Sherpy 0 Comments

You are in your jammies, its 1:00 AM and visions of new homes are dancing in your head.  How much is this going to cost?  What interest rate will you get?  Who are you gonna call?  No need, my friend…the internet has got you covered! Information is GOLDEN.  And if you are like most, you [...]

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Financing, Uncategorized
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HARP 2.0… Getting Prepared

January 11, 2012 by Steven Brand 0 Comments

If you’re among the more than 7 million of US home-owners who are expected to qualify under the expanded guidelines, there are several preparatory steps you need to take to ensure your application is reviewed first. Our assumption is that lenders will be absolutely DEVASTATED with new refinance applications in the coming months, underwriters will [...]

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Financing, Home Values, Regulatory
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Fannie Mae Homepath Mortgage Loans…NO Appraisal, NO MI and NO Condo Certification!

January 10, 2012 by Deb - The Mortgage Lady 0 Comments

Fannie Mae HomePath Mortgage Loans… NO Appraisal, NO MI and NO Condo Certification! Looking for a fix up property… with mortgage financing readily available? You believe you are either a handy person when it comes to home fix up projects or maybe you know someone who is handy.    Shopping for foreclosed homes seems like a [...]

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Financing, mortgage insurance, Real Estate
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The Mortgage Process Put Simply

January 8, 2012 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

Understanding the mortgage process is a constant frustration for consumers. One can search the web and find all kinds of long articles breaking the mortgage loan process into anywhere between 6 and 9 individual steps. Upon reading these, a consumer gets even more confused since each individual step is confusing in and of itself. Unfortunately, [...]

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Financing, Real Estate, Uncategorized
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I’m giving myself a PROMOTION today…

December 4, 2011 by Steven Brand 1 Comment

I was reading a few blogs last night and saw some from some “mortgage guys” and I saw a few different titles that intrigued me.  If you’ve read any BLOGS on the difference between a LICENSED Mortgage Loan Originator and  REGISTERED Mortgage Loan Originator than you know that anyone who is writing loans is a [...]

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Trends, Uncategorized

A PETITION – Bolster Homeownership and the Housing Market by Reforming Regulations Concerning Short Sales

October 26, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

While 70 percent* of Americans see homeownership as part of achieving the American dream, the homeownership rate has taken a 10 year decline** that hasn’t been seen since the Great Depression. While some steps have been taken to assist underwater homeowners to refinance, *** A fast transition back into homeownership is good for the economy, [...]

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Uncategorized

Fannie Mae and Freddie Make Mac Move to NO Loan to Value Limit Loans on HARP

October 24, 2011 by Charles Dailey 2 Comments

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has announced a series of changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). This program was designed to be able to help people who were in a position of negative equity. Now, it someone is upside down on their home, there will be no [...]

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Financing, Home Values, Trends, Uncategorized
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Why a Home Buyer Should Set Up 3 Search Criteria When Buying a Home

October 22, 2011 by Charles Dailey 1 Comment

A prospective home buyer or investor might have a clear idea of what he or she wants in the property they’ll buy but the current market brings complexities that make setting up search criteria for this purchase a little more complicated. The difference between bank-owned, short sales and person-to-person transactions bring unique elements to this [...]

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Uncategorized

Do I Need to be Late My Mortgage to Qualify for a Short Sale? – Don’t Take Yes for an Answer

October 7, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

I have a lot of people call me to get pre-qualified to purchase a home using FHA financing after a short sale. Early on, not a lot of these scenarios panned out but these days, more and more of them do. When they don’t, the number one reason is because they took bad advice from [...]

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FHA, Financing, Real Estate, Trends, Uncategorized
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Getting Married? Buying a house? Why not use your registry for a Down Payment Registry?

October 7, 2011 by Michael Dietrich 0 Comments

  If you are planning on getting married soon and buying a home – then why not use your registry as a Down Payment Registry.  This is a nice way to help add to your down payment funds. FHA has a Bridal Registry Program that allows the funds you receive as wedding gifts to be used [...]

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FHA, Financing, Uncategorized
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Twin Cities Off-Leash Dog Parks – My Dog Blog

September 9, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

If you’re a dog lover like I am, you don’t consider a move without contemplating neighborhood amenities for your dog. In my considerations for a move recently, I had a bit of a time trying to locate most of the off-leash dog parks in the twin cities metro area.  After collecting some information I’d thought [...]

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Real Estate, Uncategorized
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Criteria NEEDED by all Loan Originators to quote you a rate.

September 7, 2011 by Charles Dailey 1 Comment

The lending environment has changed.  I’m sure we’ve all heard this on the radio and TV for years now… right? We also know that the Government wants to make “mortgage rates” a commodity and make it EASY to shop for.  But the problem arises when someone calls up and says “whats your rate?” and truly expects to [...]

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FHA, Financing, Real Estate
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FHA Loan Limits going DOWN in the Mpls/St Paul metro on October 1st!!!

September 7, 2011 by Steven Brand 0 Comments

Well… as we all know our economy is looking SO GOOD that it may make lots of sense to LOWER the current FHA loan limits in less than a month right? Here in the Mpls/St.Paul MSA borrowers purchasing power with FHA loans is being reduced by almost $50,000 very soon. The loan limit for MOST [...]

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FHA, Financing, Regulatory, Uncategorized
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FHA Short Refi Program

August 29, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

The FHA Short Refinance Program has always existed in an unofficial form but became a formal program on December 16, 2009 with Mortgagee Letter 09-52. It was “refined” on August 6th of 2010 with Mortgagee Letter 2010-23. It was designed to provide more mortgage options to those that owe more than their house is worth. [...]

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FHA, Financing, Home Values, Uncategorized
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How Often Do Seller’s Pay Closing Costs? . . . . . Never.

August 26, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

The role of closing costs in a purchase agreement can be confusing both for buyers and sellers. In the present market, it is customary for there to be sales concessions. A real estate sales concession can be many things including but not limited to price, repairs and yes, . . closing costs. Asking the seller [...]

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FHA, Financing, Real Estate, Uncategorized
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Buying After a Short Sale is an Excellent Mortgage Credit Risk

August 7, 2011 by Charles Dailey 1 Comment

While lenders will admit that it’s technically possible to provide mortgages to homebuyers who recently had a short sale without a waiting period, most lenders are not offering this product. Because of the complexities of the process involved with closing these loans that creates perceived risk, most lenders elect not to do them and fail [...]

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FHA, Financing, Real Estate, Trends

Do Credit Inquiries Hurt Your Credit Score?

August 4, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

Reblogged with Permission Via: http://www.mtgprofessor.com/A%20-%20Credit%20Issues/do_inquiries_hurt_your_credit.htm Posted September 18, 2000, Revised January 29, 2004, Revised November 18, 2004, November 16, 2006, March 26, 2011, August 1, 2011 Borrowers in distress often contact many lenders hoping to find one who will approve them. For this reason, multiple inquiries can have a negative impact on a consumer’s credit [...]

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Financing, Uncategorized
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Did HVCC Expire Completely? – Nope, it Still Lives On – Fannie Mae’s Appraisal Policy Broken Down

July 21, 2011 by Michael Dietrich 0 Comments

Breaking Down Fannie Mae’s Appraisal Rules Have you heard of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC)?  If you are a lender or Realtor, of course you have.  What I wanted to do with this post is breakdown Fannie Mae’s policy now that HVCC has expired.  Basically the Code lives on and has been slightly [...]

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Financing, Home Values, Real Estate, Uncategorized
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Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

June 16, 2011 by Deb - The Mortgage Lady 0 Comments

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? The million dollar question, should I stay, and continue renting, or should I go, and become a homeowner?    Sometimes, I think first time homebuyers are looking at this question as a million dollar question, and really, it is not. Are we at the bottom of the declining [...]

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Financing, Real Estate, Uncategorized

Seller Contributions Towards Closing Costs on a Home Purchase

June 16, 2011 by Steven Brand 0 Comments

Doesn’t the Seller Pay for All of Our Closing Costs? We all have to remind buyers that they are responsible to pay the required down payment percentage (3.5% for FHA or 3-10% etc for Conventional) AND their closing costs/pre-paids too.  Even if you stipulate that the sellers contribute towards “closing costs and pre-paids” in the [...]

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FHA, Financing, Real Estate, Uncategorized
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The Mortgage Loan Process – From Shopping to Closing

June 12, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

It’s not hard to search and find bland descriptions of the mortgage process that paints in broad strokes. For the more information hungry home buyer, I’ve tried to collect snippets of audio and video that go into greater depth on this topic covering everything from shopping for your home loan to closing on your new [...]

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Financing, Real Estate, Uncategorized
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What’s the Difference Between an Appraisal and an Inspection?

June 10, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

A home inspection is a limited, non-invasive examination of the condition of a home, often in connection with the sale of that home. An inspector will check the roof, basement, heating system, water heater, air-conditioning system, structure, plumbing, electrical, and many other aspects of buildings looking for improper building practices, those items that require extensive [...]

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FHA, Financing, Real Estate
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Can I Buy a Home While I’m Getting Divorced in Minnesota?

June 6, 2011 by Charles Dailey 1 Comment

It has been widely and wrongly asserted that someone who is getting divorced in Minnesota cannot purchase a home prior to finalizing a divorce decree and at the same time prevent their soon to be ex-spouse from being entitled to marital property rights in the newly purchased home. This used to be a serious problem [...]

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Financing, Real Estate, Uncategorized
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The Statistical Relevancy of the 7/1 ARM vs. the 30 Year Fixed

June 4, 2011 by Charles Dailey 1 Comment

Each person’s personal circumstances and long term objectives determine the type of mortgage they choose. For the past couple of years, the clear favorite has been the 30 year fixed rate mortgage because the yield curve between short term and long term bonds has been flat. When this happens, there is very little difference in [...]

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FHA, Financing
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Know Your Mortgage Interest Rate and Closing Costs!

May 13, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

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FHA, Financing
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What are Compensating Factors When Qualifying for a Mortgage?

April 24, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

Although we wouldn’t know it from watching the six o’clock news, mortgage underwriting guidelines and mortgage insurance underwriting guidelines have been in a pattern of loosening, not tightening. This trend started in late 2009 and continues today with such examples as lower minimum credit scores for mortgage underwriting guidelines and fewer declining markets for mortgage [...]

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FHA, Financing, Real Estate
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USDA changes coming October 1st 2011

April 20, 2011 by Steven Brand 0 Comments

USDA Rural Development home loans were designed to help improve the economy and quality of life throughout rural America. The program continues to remain a wonderful option for qualifying homebuyers, with no down payment required. As of today… this is the LAST of the true NO MONEY DOWN loans unless you qualify for a VA [...]

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Uncategorized
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FHA Premium Rate Increase Makes PMI a Better Option for Many Borrowers

April 18, 2011 by Charles Dailey 0 Comments

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) implemented a 25 bps increase to its annual premium rates on April 18, resulting in a payment increase for FHA borrowers. With this change, RMIC (an iLoan preferred mortgage insurer) offers equal or lower monthly premium rates on all LTVs with no upfront premium. RMIC Monthy PMI vs. FHA MIP [...]

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Uncategorized
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Protected: Agent HBM Tutorials

April 3, 2011 by Charles Dailey Enter your password to view comments.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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Uncategorized
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