The FHA 90-Day Seasoning Rule on Hiatus
March 1, 2010
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." -William Feather
The FHA 90-Day Seasoning Rule on Hiatus: What It Means to Investors & First Time Buyers That Want to Buy their Rehabbed Homes.
By now you’ve probably heard that in an effort to reduce the number of foreclosed homes on the market, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has suspended its ..... read more
Fed Increases Rates What Does It Mean for You?
February 22, 2010
No doubt that you have heard that the Fed has increased interest rates last week.
A word of caution here, many of the news outlets do not understand exactly what happened and there may be more frustration and confusion created by some of these reports so we figured we would help to get you some solid information that you can share with your buyers and sellers.
In essence, what the Fed announced last night was their intent to raise their DISCOUNT rate ..... read more
How to Calculate Your Self Employed Income for Fannie Mae
February 22, 2010
Video on How To Calculate Self Employment Income: From Fannie Mae
http://fanniemae.articulate-online.com/p/7778741139/DocumentViewRouter.ashx.scorm?Cust=77787&DocumentID=2e797245-7265-489c-a829-731397b100e4&Popped=True&InitialPage=index_lms.html
This is a great site for self employed borrowers to see how to calcuate your mortgage income.
Of course we can also help with this process.
Our Best Wishes for Buying Your New Home,
The ..... read more
When is it Better to Have a Higher Mortgage Rate?
February 16, 2010
Did you know that you have an option to have your lender pay the Mortgage Insurance (MI), and that you can take advantage of a higher mortgage interest deduction with a qualifying tax basis?
Most of us know about mortgage insurance and that, for some of us, it is not tax deductible so it is something to avoid. In years past the desire to avoid MI led to the creation of combo loans, for example an 80-10-10 where the borrower could finance a portion of the down payment ..... read more
Jumbo VA Loans Up to $1 Million?
February 15, 2010
Did you know VA allows eligible veterans to borrow above the $417,000 standard VA loan size?
A qualified Veteran can borrower above $417K as long as they put down 25% of the difference between the needed loan amount and $417K.
For example a veteran can qualify for a $834,000 loan amount by putting down $104,250 or a purchase price of $938,250 with a 11.11% down payment and no mortgage insurance. The veteran would need to pay the VA funding fee on the loan amount ..... read more
Fed Will Not Extend Mortgage Backed Securities Purchases
February 1, 2010
On the economic front, the Fed did confirm it will not extend the purchase of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) slated to end March 31st. This announcement did cause rates to rise slightly. Investors are mixed on what affect this will have on interest rates.
Currently the Fed buys 75% of all MBS issued on the street. Some investors say that everyone has known that the Fed program will end in March and therefore this is already priced into MBS prices. While others state that rates must go ..... read more
Closing Times Move Out a Bit
February 1, 2010
During a recent meeting with the head of our closing department we were informed to expect a minimum turn time of 72 hours from when the file gets to the closing department to when the borrower can sit down with the attorney. The reason for this is as follows:
The new GFE is a binding contract with our clients and must disclose the lender charges, attorney charges and secondary provider charges such as surveys and pest inspections. One big issue is that some of the RESPA rules are gray ..... read more
Tax Credit Forms and Rules links - last week for FHA Spot Approval
January 25, 2010
This week is the last chance to do a FHA spot approval for condo purchases and it is the last week for us to order FHA appraisals without going through our HVCC system. We must have case numbers assigned by Friday to use these great tools.
Make sure to ask us about getting approvals for condo developments for FHA – the HOA members (not Management Company) will need to participate for success. Know your approvals before taking a condo listing: FHA, Fannie and ..... read more
MCC - Mortgage Credit Certificate Can Help Self Employed
January 19, 2010
"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can." -Sydney Smith
While mortgage rates climbed in December, they have decreased during the first two weeks of January. A combination of factors was favorable for mortgage markets this week. Low inflation, weaker than expected economic growth data, and strong demand for the Treasury auctions all helped mortgage rates move a ..... read more
New GFE What Does It Mean to You and Your Customer?
January 4, 2010
Good Morning: By now you have heard about the new GFE and the "magical issues" that will come with this new disclosure document. Please understand that while the new GFE will protect your client from last minute changes at the closing table (the reason for the new law), all should basically be the same for your clients. With a few exceptions (see sample of new GFE and HUD below).
The GFE now becomes a legally binding contract between the lender and the customers ..... read more
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