What to Expect in 2009
Though no one has a crystal ball, there is a lot of discussion about the real estate and mortgage industry right now. I have heard things that seem to be rather outrageous, like interest rate going to 2 and 3% and things that seem more reasonable, like interest rates going to 4 to 4.5% for [...]
Holiday Greetings!
My wife and I have been busy getting everything cooked, cleaned, wrapped, mailed and delivered for this week. We had hoped to be finished by the end of the day on Sunday; we didn’t make it! In fact, we are still hard at work between our jobs and family to get it all completed so [...]
Rates are Down but Some Borrowing Still Tough
This past week has been a rough one for some of the people I have talked to, all of who have multiple houses and are paying their bills and mortgages on time. The issues have to do with being self employed and not showing enough income on taxes and wanting to refinance a second home [...]
Awaiting the Fed
Once again we await the Feds announcement that the interest rate will be cut to one of the lowest rates in our nations history. It won’t initially affect rates but we all hope it will get the banks lending to businesses so people can get back to work; a key in getting the economy rolling [...]
FHA Loans is Once Again a Winner
Not long ago, loan officers were laughed at if they recommended their clients go with a FHA loan. Most Realtors and customers alike were under the impression that a FHA loan was harder to close and harder to get an appraisal approved. Though that was true at one time, over the last three to five [...]
Difficult Down Payment
One of the struggles right now is having money for a down payment. In the good old days (6 months ago) there were loans that allowed the seller to contribute to the buyer’s down payment; they are gone. There were also several non-profit businesses that helped people with grants to get enough money for a [...]
Will Rates Continue to Go Down?
The holiday season is always a fun time. You get to go to everybody’s parties and see old friends and catch up with people you haven’t been around in a while. It’s no difference in the mortgage and real estate industry and this last week has been fun. One of the biggest topics of discussion [...]
Why Rates Came Down
A few weeks ago Fannie Mae released its first earnings report since the federal takeover. To say the least, it wasn’t good. The media used words like dismal and gruesome. The reason was Fannie Mae had the largest loss of any U.S. based company this year and yes; this was AFTER the federal takeover. So [...]