Personal Finance, Mortgage and Real Estate Blog
On August 19, HUD issued FHA Mortgage Letter 11-29 announcing its changes to FHA loan limits for the period from October 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. For the Chicago area, the limits for 1 to 4-unit properties are decreasing as detailed in the table below. FHA Loan Limit Changes Previously 10/1/11 - 12/31/11 1-Unit $410,000 $365,700 2-Unit $524,850 $468,150 3-Unit $634,450 $565,900 4-Unit $788,450 $703,250 *Counties of … [Read more...]
Understand The Different Types of Business Models Lenders Have Did your lender, loan officer, or mortgage broker request your federal tax returns for your pre-approval? If not, I recommend you read a couple of our previous posts, “9 Quick Tips To Finding A Good Loan Officer” and “Signs of a Good Mortgage Pre-approval”, right away. In most cases, W-2’s and pay stubs are sufficient documentation for mortgage pre-approval and final loan approval. Typically we think tax … [Read more...]
Last week, Senators David Vitter and Jon Tester from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs sent a letter to Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve System. In the letter, they urged Mr. Bernanke to delay the implementation of final Truth-in-Lending regulation governing Loan Originator Compensation which becomes effective April 1, 2011. … [Read more...]
In today’s real estate market you may have heard a lot about the FHA 203k rehabilitation mortgage. It is a popular marketing tool. Most importantly, the 203k loan is perfect for the types of homes that are on the market today: homes that require cosmetic or major rehabilitation in order to make them livable. In my conversations with Realtors, I often hear how 203k loans never close or take too long. I agree that 203k loans take longer and are more difficult to originate than a … [Read more...]
On Monday, February 14, Valentine’s Day, a day of romance and love, FHA expressed very little love to prospective homeowners. You may remember that last August, President Obama signed into law a bill authorizing HUD to increase the annual mortgage insurance premiums for FHA loans an entire one percent. At that time, HUD elected to only raise the annual premiums for 30 year fixed mortgages by 0.35% while at the same time lowering the up-front fee to 1%, as detailed in Mortgagee Letter … [Read more...]
On Monday, February 14, Valentine’s Day, a day of romance and love, FHA expressed very little love to prospective homeowners. You may remember that last August, President Obama signed into law a … [More]
After World War II, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) realized that many service members were unable to purchase a home after returning home. The solution to this was the creation of the VA Loan … [More]
Spring is a season of great significance. It stands for rebirth and starting over, so there is no better time than now to reevaluate and figure out what more you can do to move forward and prosper in … [More]
There has been a lot of buzz about the new Home Affordable Refinance Program. I hope this will clear up some of the questions that people may have regarding the program. This program is aimed at … [More]
When I tell people I meet for the first time that I am a mortgage broker, often their next question is “So, are the banks even lending to anyone these days?” I always counter with, “Yes, but … [More]
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