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. 

Education

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All Changes for the Home Buyer Tax Credit are in Effect November 7th, 2009

Until the end of this month, it’s important that we know the effective date of the Home Buyer Tax Credit (HR 3548) change. 

November 7th, 2009 (date circled)

The changes took effect on November 7th, 2009 which was the day after President Obama signed the bill into law.  This means that any transaction closed AFTER November 7th, 2009 will include all of the changes.  This includes the provisions for Move-Up Buyers and the income limits which were raised from $75,000 single/ $150,000 married to $125,000 single/ $225,000 married. 

Other details of the new bill can be found at the National Association of Realtors announcement.

Tax Credit Bill Extended and Expanded

It’s official.  President Barack Obama signed the bill that includes an extension and expansion of the popular First-Time-Home-Buyer tax credit. which will now include some move up buyers.

In the coming days, I will be discussing all of the details.  In the mean time, here are the details I currently have.

The extension and expansion of the tax credit was included in an unemployement benefits bill that also includes assistance for businesses (HR 3548). 

  • The extension will continue until the end of April to have a COMPLETED CONTRACT.  This means you do not have to close by the end of April, but at least have a mutually accepted contract between the buyer and seller.
  • After the transaction has been mutually agreed upon by all parties, the transaction must be closed and finished by the end of June. 
  • The tax credit will remain at $8,000 for First-Time-Home-Buyers
  • The income limits for the tax credit have been raised to $125,000 for single and $225,000 for married couples, expanding the credit to higher income buyers
  • The bill also includes a $6,500 tax credit for Move-Up-Buyers, which I believe includes a provision that the Move-Up-Buyer have lived in their current resident for at least 5 of the last 8 years (I will confirm this later)

Goodbye to Some Old Friends and Hello to Some New Ones

I’m announcing an move in my career.  Effective today, I’m officially working at Cobalt Mortgage.  This is a move I’ve put thought and consideration into for many months.  Cobalt is a company where I feel I can service my clients with the best array of products and service. I will have the ability broker loans as I have in the past but will have a very strong mortgage banking operation to support my clients needs.  What this means to my clients is more options, faster responses from underwriting and better service.

cobaltMortgage

This was a very difficult decision to make as I have worked with the staff at America One Finance and Loan Network for many years.  Many have become very close friends of mine and I’m sad we won’t be working together.  A special thanks to Matt Simmons, who has been the best boss I could ever ask for.

I want to let all the clients who I’m currently working with know I’ve done all the preparations to make sure your loan will close as planned.  As many of you know, my office manager Marissa is fantastic to work with and she will wait until all loans that are scheduled to close are finished before she moves to Cobalt with me.  I will remain available to answer any questions regarding your loan closing.  The process should be no different than what you are already accustomed to.  All of my contact information will stay the same.

I want to take a moment and thank the staff at Cobalt for making my transition as smooth as possible.  I wanted to give thanks to Mark Everts for answering all my questions, Steven Marshall for believing in my future, Keith Tibbles and Ernie Gehre for the opportunity, and most of all, Janelle Steinberg for for being a guide, a friend and proof that there are good people in our industry.

High Cost County Loan Limits to Extend Through 2010

The temporary high-balance loan limits for Conforming GSE (Government Sponsored Entities) and FHA loans have been extended through 2010.

House Dollar Tower

This means the current loan limits set to expire this year will continue through next year.  This will help keep the real estate market on track for recovery.  According to a related blog on Zillow, the bill only needs President Obama’s signature which should happen in the next few days.  No word as to whether the VA plans on extending their high-balance loan limits through 2010.  This is typical for the VA as their guidelines usually change shortly after changes have been made to conforming and FHA loans.

Here are the links to search for your loan limits by area:

Conforming loan limits (Fannie Mae)

FHA loan limits

VA loan limits (only through 2009)

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