Financing Your Fixer-Upper

July
07
2011

Whether it’s a foreclosure, a short-sell or a home neglected by a cash-strapped owner, homes that need work are often a smart buy.

But how do you finance the fix-up on your fixer-upper?
Consider an FHA 203(k) Loan. This renovation/rehab loan program combines a traditional home mortgage with a home repair loan, giving you the flexibility to [...]

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How Will Mortgage Underwriters Look at Your Income?

June
17
2011

Just imagine you have found the perfect house, started a new job and are ready to move forward with your life. Feels pretty good doesn’t it?
Now imagine that you have everything lined up except for one detail, a detail that is perhaps the most important of all. Prior to signing on the dotted line and [...]

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What If I Don’t Currently Qualify For a New Mortgage?

April
08
2011

Let’s say you have begun your home search and you meet with a Lender.   That Lender will review your credit along with income and assets to determine if you qualify for a new loan.  What happens when you find out you do not qualify? While this type of situation is unbelievably frustrating, keep in mind [...]

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The Government’s Future Role in Mortgage Financing

March
24
2011

Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion about the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with the direction of FHA.   This is important to all of us in the Housing Industry, as currently the US Government either insures/guarantees or purchases about 90% of all Mortgages originated today. I [...]

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Loan Approval…What’s Involved?

January
21
2011

Everyone has heard that mortgage financing is more difficult to obtain these days. What people may not be aware of, however, is the “why” behind the time it takes to get a loan approved and closed in the mortgage industry today.
Typically, your offer to purchase contract is written for a 30-day closing. In [...]

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See What Others See: Pull Your Credit Report Annually

December
30
2010

As we near January 1st, we start to think about things we do at the beginning of each year, like making resolutions or changing the batteries in our smoke detectors.  This year, we are recommending you add one more thing to do at the beginning of each year and that is to review your own [...]

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Mortgage Rates Increase

December
14
2010

Rates have been rising over the past few weeks and although they are still at very low levels (the mid to high 4 percent range) they have jumped ½ a percent.  This is the most significant consistent increase since the lows that we experienced in October.
Why has there been an increase you ask? Well, rates [...]

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A Drop in Foreclosures … But Why?

November
17
2010

This just in: foreclosures dropped 9% nationally in October.
At first glance, this sounds like it would be good news right? A closer look however, will show that it all seems to directly relate to the freeze in foreclosures from the robo-signing scandal. Last month, when it came to light that many of the Banks [...]

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Foreclosure Freeze: What Buyers and Sellers Should Know

October
14
2010

In the past 3 days there has been a lot in the press about the foreclosure freeze and its affect both globally and locally.  Here is an update from Monday’s blog post.
Banks and mortgage services are working at a fast pace to determine if they have any internal processing issues.  Some banks, such as Bank [...]

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Is FHA’s 203k Streamline Loan For Me?

September
08
2010

Listen up buyers! The FHA has an underutilized program that could be a good option for many of you.  I am sure that when you are looking at houses to purchase you find some that would be perfect if only the outdated kitchen was updated or maybe it would be great if only it had [...]

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