The main rule: Don’t just look at the mortgage interest rate. Take a close look at all the terms of the mortgage program. Check with several lenders, either directly or through a mortgage broker. You also can do some comparison shopping yourself on the Web. For more, see the section on Using the Web to Find [...]
Fannie Mae “Loan Quality Initiative” How Will This Affect Borrowers? Beginning with applications dated June 1st, Fannie Mae is implementing the “Loan Quality Initiative” (LQI) guidelines. All Fannie Mae lenders must adhere to these guidelines. In a nutshell, the LQI guideline changes are: Credit re-verification just prior to or on the day of funding: Fannie [...]
As lenders tighten mortgage guidelines for California homebuyers, minimum downpayment requirements are increasing. Several years ago, you could finance a home with nothing down. Today, most conventional mortgages require at least 10 percent. Anecdotal guideline changes have led to an increase in the number of homebuyers accepting cash gifts from family. Gifts are allowed in [...]
Your Mortgage Approval Isn’t Final Until It’s Funded, a host of things can “go wrong” while your home loan is underway. Some are in your control, many more are not. And just being aware of some potential pitfalls could help save your loan down the road, and your peace of mind today. MSN Money ran a [...]
If you have an FHA loan, you have probably heard you can refinance with an FHA streamline refinance. This FHA loan is a type of refinance where you can refi without an appraisal. It used to be very easy to do. In the past, you could refinance your loan, drop your rate, wrap in all the [...]
Pre-Approval – Lenders are encouraging buyers to get pre-approved for a mortgage so they’ll know in advance how much house they can afford. Pre-Approval is different from Pre-Qualified. With Pre-Approval you have already gathered your loan documentation and given to the lender, and the lender has already approved you for the loan pending your selection [...]
I think everyone may be missing the point of my last post. I’m not arguing loan contingency. Long before you get to loan contingency removal you should have the loan pre-approval contingency removed. Many, Many Realtors believe this to be one in the same when it’s not. Loan Pre-Approval is a full review of the clients’ ability [...]
Mathew Ryan recently wrote Backup offer for more than original contract. In a nutshell he and his client accepted an offer with a 20 day finance contingency, and then received a backup offer for $11,000 higher. My 1st question is why one would accept a 20 day finance contingency in today’s day and age of almost [...]
For Sale: Palm Springs
