Problem with New FHA SHort Refinance Program

There’s a few major problems in the new FHA Short Payoff  refinance that has been added to the “Making Home Affordable” family of solutions.  I’ll later take the time to write the full details of this issue, but I need to get this message out over the next couple of days.

The new FHA program includes [...]

HARP Loans- Perfect for Investment Properties

Many people who own investment properties don’t believe they can refinance their rentals due to equity (or lack thereof) .  Since rental property loans require 25% equity on a traditional Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan, I understand why so many landlords do not attempt to refinance.

Should You Apply for a HARP Refinance or a HAMP Modification? You Better Know Before You Start

Many homeowners who have less equity in their home are confused about their options available improving their loan terms. Should they be asking for a HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) refinance or a HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) modification? What the homeowner doesn’t know is they better find out before they call their lender. If [...]

It's Time to Rethink the 30 Year Fixed Loan

When a consumer calls me for mortgage rates, 90% of the time they’re looking for a 30 year fixed mortgage.  I can almost guess immediately what mortgage the customer is going to ask for before they finish their sentence.

Let me start off by saying that I do not have anything against 30 year fixed loans.  They have [...]

Homeowner's Guide to HARP

It appears that more homeowners with little-to-no-equity are gaining an interest in refinancing.  More importantly, they’re gaining confidence that there is an option.  This is good news as it appears the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) is gaining both momentum and attention. 

This seems like the right time to give homeowners an extensive guide to HARP, including [...]

Fannie Mae Announces Their “Deed for Lease” Program- Who Should be Looking at This?

Earlier this month Fannie Mae announced the release fo their “Deed for Lease program.

If an owner cannot afford to pay their Fannie Mae backed mortgage, they can deed the property to Fannie Mae and rent it back at market rate.  The homeowner can obtain a lease up to 12 months and either sign a new [...]

Mortgage Educational Booklets in One Place

In the mortgage industry, lenders are required to send clients educational booklets relative to their loan application.  I’ve always found it odd that there isn’t a centralized place for all of these booklets, so I thought I’d post them all here. 

Using FHA to Buy Multi-Family Homes

Recently, I was having lunch with my friends Rob Novak (fellow Loan Officer) and Andrew Norman from ING.  It was one of those lunches where topics moved left to right without filters or agenda.  While sharing ideas and opinions of the current marketplace, the topic of first time home buyers was mentioned.  At that moment, [...]

How to Find HUD Foreclosed Homes

I’ve always found it interesting that there are so many websites that claim to have a listing of foreclosed homes.  Many of them claim they have HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) foreclosures which are foreclosed homes that had FHA loans.

Though many of these listings may be accurate, there is only one real [...]

New Credit Scoring Model

It appears that there will be a new credit scoring model.  The new model is being dubbed “FICO 08.” 

Supposedly, this model is designed to help more qualified borrowers get the loans they deserve and filter more borrowers from potential default.  Mostly, it’s geared towards punishing repeat default borrowers more.  Borrowers who have an infrequent delinquency [...]