This article, Short Sales Gaining on REO Sales as “Change is Afoot”, by BY JANN SWANSON does the best job of any article I’ve seen like it of defining and documenting an emerging trend. Realtors and buyers would do well to adjust their searching, shopping and negotiating habits to conform to Jann’s observations. “A change is afoot when it comes [...]
I have had a lot of people ask me about how to buy a home after a short sale using FHA financing but it’s becoming more and more common that people are considering buying a home after a short sale using financing insured by the Veteran’s Administration. These guidelines use to be murky but the [...]
The market is at a turning point for the worse due to growing worries about inflation. While it is not a problem right now (although the consumer price index did just rise the most in 10 months), there are several strong economic factors emerging that typically lead to higher prices to the consumer and thus [...]
Saving an eighth of a percent on interest rate can save a little on your monthly payment and shopping around on closing costs can save a little on your down payment but perhaps the most overlooked and costly mistake when buying a home is not choosing the right mortgage insurance if the down payment is [...]
Re-Blogged with permission via: http://www.mtgprofessor.com/A%20-%20Title%20Insurance/Reissue%20Rates.html posted February 25, 2012 Ten years ago, Kenneth Harney wrote an excellent series of articles on why many refinancing borrowers pay too much for title insurance. In one article, published June 9, 2002 in the Baltimore Sun, Harney stated: “No one knows how much American homeowners lose annually by overpaying title premiums when [...]
Would you hire your spouse’s Attorney in a divorce battle, or if someone brought a law suit against you would you hire the opposing side’s attorney, hell no! Then why do Home Buyers and Sellers hire Real Estate Firms without understanding the concept of “Agency?” (Who Represents Whom In Real Estate Transactions) Buying and Selling [...]
During the fall of 2011, all HUD owned properties that are under the jurisdiction of the Denver and Atlanta HUD Homeownership Centers are eligible for the $100.00 down payment purchase incentive. What this means, home buyers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the additional states under Denver & Atlanta’s jurisdiction can purchase a HUD Owned Property with [...]
If you live in MN and you want to use one of these sites to find your next home, you should know that approximately 20% of the homes for sale are not being shown to you. Because these sites are riddled with data inaccuracies, Edina Realty decided to pull their listings from these third party [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
Reblogged with Permission VIA: http://www.mtgprofessor.com/Qualification/About_the_Qualification_Page.html Posted October 29th, 2011 View the Mortgage Qualification Tool One major difference between the housing finance system today and the system that prevailed prior to the financial crisis is in loan underwriting — the set of rules and procedures governing who is approved for a loan and who is rejected. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 towards [...]
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 [...]
The MN Department of Natural resources has release some great new mobile apps for those of you who are fishing and fall enthusiasts. You can now track MN fall colors, find MN lake information and find public access to MN lakes from your iPhone or Android phone. Charles Dailey – iLoan – NMLS ID# 79048 [...]
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 [...]
