New Regulations Make Life More Difficult and Expensive But Mortgage Lending Goes On

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “(CFPB”) is a new federal agency which is in charge of protecting consumers in financial transaction. Since it was formed in 2011, they have spent a great deal of time investigating and then fining mortgage banks for violations of various lending laws. Unfortunately, the CFPB has spent a lot of time fining banks and mortgage loan originators; this has not really ended up helping consumers.  It also has not hurt the lending business as much as people thought it would. Though, it did result in driving many small ...

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It is Possible to Buy a Home Now with Less than Perfect Credit and a Small Down Payment!

There’s a general feeling in the market that in order to get a mortgage now, a person has to have a credit score over 700 credit score; a very high income and a large down payment.  This can be difficult since the economy is still recovering so that high paying jobs are hard to come by. Also, due to the high cost of living, it is hard to save a lot of money in order to buy a house. But none of that is necessary.  So long as you have a job and a little money saved or available to use from some source, you can buy a home! For example, on a Fannie Mae or a ...

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Networking Do’s and Don’ts for the New Year

As 2014 comes to a close, I wanted to provide some networking tips that will hopefully help make 2015 a more profitable year. Note that this list is not designed to be exhaustive or objective (i.e. these are my own tips) so feel free to disagree. I originally intended to write 4 do’s and 4 don’ts for the 8 days of Hanukkah. But, because I had more to say, I am now going to write 6 do’s and 6 don’t for the 12 days of Christmas.  But, whichever you celebrate (or if you celebrate both, neither or something else), these tips are designed for you! The 6 Don’t ...

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“Don’t Buy a Home As an Investment” A Faulty Logic and Fuzzy Math

While I was reading the Sunday paper I came across this article from The Wall Street Journal and got intrigued by the title. Don’t Buy a Home as an Investment: After Costs, It Typically Doesn’t Yield Much. Think of It as a Place to Live. I always enjoy the Wall Street Journal’s columns and generally agree with them. However, in this column listed above, the author came to his conclusion first and then tried to justify it. He neglected to include several important factors and then he discounted his extraordinary return on his Manhattan apartment for no apparent ...

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So You Want to Buy a House in 2015 (or Refinance)?

If you are looking at the mild, dry weather this winter and the low interest rates and thinking "We should look into buying a house this year," then this is for you. Likewise, if you have an interest rate above 4.25%; want to change from a 30 year fixed to a 15 year; have PMI on your loan but an increased house value; have an FHA loan with PMI of 1.35%; or want to convert an ARM to a fixed, this is for you too. But, in order to get a new loan, there are a few things that you should know.  Though some of them are "self-evident" and would appear to the untrained eye to ...

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Changes to FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums January 2015

Great news for anybody who either has an FHA loan or is looking to buy a property with an FHA loan. On January 26, 2015, which is just a few days from the taping of this video, the FHA will be lowering their Mortgage Insurance premiums. The current FHA Mortgage Insurance premium is 1.35%. It's going to be lowered by 0.5%, so from currently 1.35% to 0.85%. This represents the savings to people taking out FHA loans anywhere from $90 to $300 per month every month that you have that loan. So anybody has an FHA loan. you may be available to do a Streamline Refinance. ...

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Mortgages: A Real Estate Agent’s Insight into Residential Lending Today – a 6 Credit Course Study in Real Estate Financing

This course will provide the real estate agent with the information they need to make sure that their purchasers are in the best position possible to obtain a mortgage loan or residential lending.  It will update the agents as to recent programs and requirements in the mortgage industry that will allow more potential homebuyers to purchase a home. It will also equip them with the "inside scoop" as to what lenders are looking for with respect to income, assets, credit and appraisals. Dates: March 3rd and March 10th Time: 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM Location: Conference Room, ...

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Mortgage Checklist Documents

A lot of people have been asking lately what documents they need to provide in order to get approved for a mortgage to buy a house. With this video, we'll go over the documents that you need to provide the lender to make the mortgage application easier for you and the lender. They fall within basically three different categories. Watch this video and learn about the requirements and documentations you need to prepare to get a mortgage for that home purchase.  

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If it’s spring, it must be the housebuying season, right?

I know that the calendar says it is spring.  I also know that Easter and Passover are coming weekend. Though, like many others, I just don't know where the spring weather is!  For those of us in the residential housing game, which each year feels more and more like a Game of Thrones, the spring weather is very important. For sellers and buyers alike, there is a big psychological boost when warm weather finally arrives.  Like the Israelites roaming the desert, the homebuyers are looking for a sign from above that it is time to enter the Promised Land (of ...

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Pre-qualification vs Pre-approval

Many of you have probably heard the terms pre-qualification and pre-approval.  You may have wondered what these terms mean and how do they differ?

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