My Mind on Mortgages

For many people saving for a rainy day is hard enough as it is.  Add on top of that all the other financial objectives a person is typically concerned with (i.e. retirement, college savings, paying down debt) saving for a down payment on a home can be difficult.  Because of this I often have clients [...]

With so many homebuyers utilizing FHA mortgage financing in the past year I’m guessing many will have questions related to the tax deductibility of mortgage insurance premiums.  Before I jump into detailed tax information let’s do a quick refresher.  I also need to tell you that I am not a licensed tax professional.
What is mortgage [...]

The NY Times published this article today outlining a “pay to stay” plan that some lenders are beginning to implement.  The idea is that lenders identify which of their loans are at greatest risk of going into foreclosure not because of financial inability to pay but because the borrower has elected to walk away from [...]

Two days ago HUD announced changes to the popular FHA loan program.  The changes are designed to “strengthen the FHA’s capital reserves, while enabling the agency to continue to fulfill its mission to provide access to homeownership for undeserved communities.“
If you’ll recall last September FHA announced that their capital reserves (used to insure FHA mortgages) [...]

Early-Issue Title Insurance is an additional title insurance premium required by lenders for borrowers who are taking out a new loan secured by a newly constructed home. It is an insurance policy that protects you and the lender from any mechanics liens filed against the property after you close. The cost of the insurance is [...]

HUD released the latest version of their booklet summarizing settlement costs and home buying procedures.  It may make for interesting reading, it may not……..
You can access the booklet here.

There are a few things to know about standard FHA loans.
*Minimum down payment requirement: Currently homebuyers who use FHA mortgage financing to buy a home can put as little as 3.5% down and borrow the remaining amount.
*Down payment may be gifted: FHA is one of the few programs that allows the entire down payment to [...]

Mortgage Industry bellwether Fannie Mae announced this morning that it has successfully implemented the latest version of it’s automated underwriting engine known as “Desktop Underwriter”.  Fannie Mae is the largest purchaser and “securitizer” of mortgages in the United States.  The new guidelines featured in this version of the software will make it more difficult for [...]

By some estimates as many as 35-40% of homes sold in the Portland-Metro area thus far in 2009 have been bank-owned or short sales.  Often times these sales involve distressed property because the sellers lack financial motivation to provide basic maintenance to the home.
Looking ahead I don’t expect this pattern to change as we head [...]

I was recently asked by a real estate professional about FHA’s anti-flipping rule.  Since I did some digging on the subject I thought I would post what I found because I suspect many others are coming across similar circumstances.
What is the anti-flipping rule?
It prevents homebuyers from obtaining FHA financing when they write an offer to [...]