You may have heard. Debt ceiling debates. A volatile stock market. Historically low mortgage rates. It’s hard to turn on the television or read a newspaper without seeing some sort of daily upheaval in the financial sector. According to Rodrigo Campos for Reuters Report on 8/12- “After one of the most volatile weeks in memory, [...]
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FHA set to reduce loan limits
According to Brad Finkelstein, in an article posted today by National Mortgage News, it appears as though this administration, which has busied itself with massive regulation and an unending overhaul of the mortgage banking industry, is now set to reduce the current FHA loan limit by almost 50%. The spirit behind the reduction in the [...]
Foreclosures bogged down-expanded “lease” to live rent free!
A recent article in the New York Times reports some surprising statistics regarding the amount of time it is taking banks to process foreclosures. No surprise that the high level of default has overwhelmed bank’s REO departments. Not to mention the “false filings” via “robo-signing”, that certain banks have copped to, mandating reforms to the [...]
FHA changes to loan limits coming!
I feel like Paul Revere sounding the alarm that the British are coming! And the consequences of the anticipated arrival are not good… I recently blogged about the upcoming changes (decrease) in high loan balance limits for those mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While the standard $417,000 is likely to remain unchanged [...]
Mortgage climate change
For those of you who have applied for a mortgage in the past few years, you know all too well how burdensome it became! Many of you may have felt overwhelmed and bewildered by the amount of paperwork involved -often in duplicate and triplicate- over the course of the 30-60 day process. If you had [...]
What you need to know before you buy!
You’ve heard the horror stories: “I’m being treated like a criminal”! “I need 20% down payment to qualify”! “I don’t make enough money despite the money I have in the bank!” and the list goes on. While it is true that mortgage loan applications are being scrubbed with far greater discernment today, there is light [...]
Modification Loan Programs-are they helping?
On the heels of my last post, the government is not only fully functioning, having staved off a potential shutdown, but now splintered as to where and how to make budget cuts. (No surprise there). While Congress battles over the right mix of “fix”, Laurie Anne Maggiano, director of policy in the Treasury Department’s Office [...]
Critical info for current mortgage applicants!
While this may seem extreme and overly paranoid on my part, the threat of a temporary government shutdown could negatively impact the progress of your loan application (if you have applied for mortgage financing and are not yet closed on your transaction). What you may not know is that all loans, whether you have applied [...]
How to Raise your Credit Score
How to improve your credit score has received alot of attention in recent years, despite the fact that the Fair Isaac Corporation (author of the”FICO” score) has been around since 1987. Nonetheless, this credit scoring model has a tremendous impact on a consumer’s ability to obtain a mortgage at a good rate. Similar models are [...]
HARP HAS BEEN EXTENDED!
Timing is everything! Just yesterday I posted about the possible elimination of HARP financing this June. GOOD NEWS for some homeowners: The Federal Housing Finance Agency has extended this program to 6/2012! Now would be a great time to research this opportunity, while rates are still low. Call your local mortgage representative if you think [...]
