Posts Tagged ‘home loan’
– 90 DAY FLIPPING RULE SUSPENDED FOR 1 YEAR!! –
Great news for investors! Admitting that it is in fact possible to buy, rehab, and sell a property in less than 90 days, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has suspended it's infamous 90 day seasoning requirement! This is also great news for home buyers, as this suspension should effectively allow quite a few more houses onto the market that otherwise would be just "seasoning" (aka sitting) on the market for 90 days. Before we get into this too deep, lets first get an idea of what this seasoning requirement originally entailed. Basically, since 2003, the FHA has required that a house is "seasoned" on the market for 90 days before it is allowed to be resold. This means that an investor or any other person who purchased a property had to wait for approximately 3 months before they were allowed to sell the house to an FHA insured buyer. More than anything, this was done to prevent people from buying a house and immediately selling it at an inflated price to a naive or uninformed buyer. Luckily, over the past several years, most of the riff raff has been weeded out of ...
– USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOANS OFFER 100% FINANCING FOR SURROUNDING AREAS OF DFW!!! –
Over the past several years, the Government and the Mortgage Industry as a whole has continuously tightened the rules and regulations when it comes to buying a home. It has gotten to the point where even people with stellar credit and a solid borrowing history still need a hefty down payment before they can purchase a new house. Fortunately though, there is a new program available from the United States Department of Agriculture that offers 100% financing for people that live (or are looking to live) in rural areas. Why would they do this? Is it too good to be true? Well, long story short, the government offers the option of “zero money down” so that people who live in rural areas (who may have always been renters) can finally have access to affordable mortgages. Consequently, this type of loan is often the best scenario for people who live in the country and want to find a place they can call home. Another amazing feature of this loan is that 100% of repairs that ...
$8,000 TAX CREDIT EXTENDED (AND EXPANDED) FOR DFW RESIDENTS!!
The $8,000 tax credit, which was scheduled to lapse on Dec. 1 of this month, was effectively extended through the end of June 2010. This is great news for people who were rushing to find a good home in order to qualify! Homebuyers must now sign a contract before April 30 and close on their home by June 30. There were also some changes in regard to income limits. Single buyers can now earn up to $125,000 and still get the full credit, while a married couple can earn $225,000. Hooray! But the government didn't stop there. Not even close. The new bill even makes more homeowners eligible to claim the credit on their taxes. First-time homebuyers (those who haven't owned a a home in the past 3 years) still qualify for the existing credit of $8000, but now those who have owned (and lived in) a residence for at least 5 years can claim a credit in the amount of $6500! "The new version of the tax credit has the potential to stimulate the ...
$8000 TAX CREDIT – TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!!
Attention Dallas Fort Worth first time home buyers! Time is running out! As of now you have less than 3 months to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit offered by the Federal Government. If you are still planning on buying a house and taking advantage of this historic opportunity you must make your home purchase by December 1st of 2009 (in order to qualify). Here are some of the basic guidelines to see if you might qualify for the tax credit. First of all, a "first time home buyer" is considered to be someone who has not owned a home for the past three years. As for the limit you can receive, just look at the purchase price of the home and take 10%. The max is capped at $8,000, and is subject to income limitations, meaning that if you are single you would need a modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less to qualify for the full credit. Married couples need a gross income of $150,000. If you happen to make more than that, you may in fact be eligible for reduced credits. The last main requirement is that ...
- GETTING PRE-QUALIFIED FOR A MORTGAGE -
Getting yourself pre-qualified for a mortgage is a relatively simple process. It can be achieved as easily as contacting a loan officer and having them take down some general questions about your income, employment, and monthly expenses. Once the loan officer has this information from you they will run your credit and and make an estimate of approximately home much money you can afford to borrow at the current interest rates. After this is done you will get a "prequal letter" that will have this amount indicated on it. Prequal letters are often given to realtors as a a form of good faith because they show that a borrower can in fact afford a house payment of a certain amount. This way a realtor will know what price range of houses to show a borrower, and they also know that the borrower is working with a loan officer, and thus serious about finding a home. Another benefit of getting pre-qualified is that it makes you much more desirable to someone ...
- ALL ABOUT REVERSE MORTGAGES –
If you are over the age of 62 and you own a house, you have more than likely heard about a Reverse Mortgage. This is an interesting issue due to the fact that Reverse Mortgages are becoming extremely popular in America these days. Unfortunately, though, many people are afraid of this type of mortgage, which can be attributed to a lack of knowledge on the issue, or just because they may have been misinformed. The truth is, a reverse mortgage can offer extremely beneficial assistance (monetarily) to a senior who may be out of options or who is just strapped for cash. But what exactly is a Reverse Mortgage? How do they work? What are the requirements for obtaining one? All of these questions will be answered in the following guide. In the most basic sense, a reverse mortgage is a special type of loan that lets you convert a portion of the equity in your home into cash. What this means is, the money you have built up over the years by making home mortgage payments can essentially ...
– ALL ABOUT PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE (PMI) -
If you find yourself in the market for a new home, it is obvious that you will need some money available to use as a down payment when you get to closing. As far as the industry goes, there is an age old adage that says a new home buyer should have at least 20% in reserves to pay when they get their new home. But why 20%? Isn't that a tad high? Well, the reason for this is Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI, and if it ends up that you are unable to make a down payment of at least 20% of the sale price, you'll be required to obtain private mortgage insurance from your lender. But what is PMI, and why are you paying for it? In the most basic sense, PMI protects the lender in the event that you default on your mortgage. Unfortunately though, it doesn't protect you from anything. How much you will pay in PMI charges will vary depending on the size of your loan, the size of your down payment, and even the lender you use. Generally, the charge is equal to about one-half of one percent.
- SHOULD YOU BUY MORTGAGE (DISCOUNT) POINTS? -
One of the most commonly referred to aspects of obtaining a mortgage is the all-important issue of "points." If you're in the market for a new home, or if you're looking to purchase for the first time, you've undoubtedly heard of them before, although you may have no idea what it means, or what "points" even refers to. Let's start at the beginning. When you hear someone talking about mortgage points, they are speaking in reference to "discount points." In the most basic sense, one point is equal to one percent of the amount you are planning to borrow. So for example, if you were getting a loan for $150,000, then one point would be equal to $1,500. After that is when it gets tricky, so pay attention. When you purchase points, you are basically making the decision to prepay part of your mortgage interest. If that doesn't make sense, look at it this way. For every point you buy, your lender will offer you a lower interest rate. The actual amount your interest rate will drop can vary, but in most cases its is approximately 1/4 of a percentage point per every discount point you ...
- CLOSING COSTS EXPLAINED -
When it comes to purchasing a house there is one thing that will shock a first-time home buyer more than anything, and that is the total cost associated with closing a loan. To be totally honest, closing costs can be quite earth-shaking to someone who isn't ready. If you are planning to buy a house anytime soon it is strongly recommended that you get your budget in order ahead of time. Some of these costs are charged by the mortgage company itself, while others are payable to various parties. Here's a little breakdown on some of the fees you may be charged, and who's getting your money. One of the first fees you're going to run into is the Application Fee. This is charged when you fill out your initial application (the 1003) and is non-refundable. This covers the costs your lender pays in regard to paperwork, or maybe even your credit report when you got pre-approved. Next is the Loan Origination Fee, which is charged by the lender to cover all the costs that are associated with processing your loan. This also covers their administrative costs. This fee is generally ...
- REFINANCING YOUR MORTGAGE -
Few thing in life can compare to the fun filled adventure that is refinancing your mortgage. Wait, what did I just say? That doesn't seem quite right. The truth is, dealing with a refinance can be quite the arduous process, and for the most part, it's not fun at all. This can be attributed to the abundance of paperwork to fill out, the random lender fees, and the sheer fact that most people don't like modifying their mortgage to begin with. But there is a reason so many people subject themselves to these hardships, and there are times when refinancing your mortgage is an extremely smart decision that can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. You may have heard on the news that interest rates have been hovering around historic lows lately, and because of this, thousands of homeowners have refinanced their mortgage in order to cut their monthly payment. You might be wondering how this works. Basically, by replacing (refinancing) your old mortgage with a new one (that offers a lower interest rate), you can possibly save hundreds of dollars per month. Imagine if your monthly ...
