FHA Loans May Have Repair Requirements
If you buy a home, you should hire a professional home inspector help you to make sure there are no problems with the home. If you apply for a loan with a bank, the bank will send out a bank appraiser to appraise the home -- that is make sure that the home is standing and that the home has a high…
Buying REO Properties Not Always Successful
Buying REO properties (Real Estate Owned) is not as simple as buying a home from a seller you can talk to and see. REO properties are sometimes called bank owned properties. These bank owned or REO properties go through the corporate process. When you bid on the home, the bid gets sent to a black…
Condo Financing Faces Strict Rules From Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA
If you're looking for home loan financing, new condo financing rules went into effect that may make financing for your condo impossible. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA have new stricter rules when it comes to condo financing. You may have to buy in an approved property, not have renters in your…
Buying A Home After Bankruptcy Takes Time
Dealing with the consequences of bankruptcy can be very tough and it can take a long time. After you file for bankruptcy, you cannot qualify for a home loan from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA for at least three years, if not longer. Buying a home after bankruptcy may not be an option right away…
FHA Loan Requirements Changing
The real estate market is still in crisis. FHA reserves are falling and the FHA needs for determine how to handle its loan portfolio and future loans. With the continuing high unemployment rate, more homeowners are at risk of losing their homes. With more homes going into foreclosure, FHA stands to…
HUD Revised Streamline Refinance Transactions
Streamline mortgage refinance applications will be undergoing some changes. Under the HUD revised streamline refinance, there are changes to the mortgage seasoning, payment history requirements, and verification of assets, employment and income. For a streamline refinance without an appraisal there…
Ilyce Glink Show Notes - November 15, 2009
Today on the show, we discussed the new Fannie Mae Deed For Lease Program in Detail; the new CreditKarma Survey on credit card debt; The October 2009 Realty Trac Foreclosure survey; Divorce and Mortgages; Mike Rose, a senior loan officer with Bank of America, came on to talk about some of the new…
HUD Secretary, FHA Commissioner Report on FHA's Finance
HUD Secretary Donovan and FHA Commissioner Stevens briefed leaders on the FHA's financial outlook today, in coordination with the release of its annual independent actuarial study. The study found the capital reserve ratio to be 0.53 percent of total insurance in force this year, well below the…
FHA Cash Reserves Fall To Lowest In History
FHA cash reserves fall to the lowest level in history, below the congressionally mandated level. The Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance cash reserves fell to the lowest levels in recorded history, 0.53 percent. The FHA announced today FHA cash reserve levels have fallen below the…
ThinkGlink Radio Show for Aug 7, 2009
Today Ilyce Glink filled in on the Clark Howard Show. She discussed the latest jobs and unemployment numbers, the importance of having good credit along with how to improve your credit score, and the latest Internet work-from-home scam. Ilyce also took questions about mortgage refinancing and…
Closing Costs For Refinancing Need To Be Considered, Along With Refinance Interest Rates
Closing costs have to be considered when you thing about refinancing. Along with the closing cost for refinancing, the interest rate and length of the loan are also important, but many people forget to take into account the closing costs for refinancing. Will you save money on your monthly mortgage…
New HUD Home Affordable Modification Loss Mitigation Program for FHA Loans - Mortgagee Letter
HUD announced a new loan modification program for FHA borrowers that will help FHA borrowers who are having trouble making their mortgage payments by creating a second interest-free loan for up to 30 percent of the loan amount. New monthly payments will be amortized on the remaining portion of the…
New Refinance Option for FHA Borrowers Allows Second Interest-Free FHA Loan
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a new program designed to help FHA borrowers refinance their mortgages. FHA will allow mortgage servicers to provide a an interest-free second loan of up to 30 percent of the loan balance that does not have to be paid until the primary…
ThinkGlink Radio Show for Jun 28, 2009
Today on the Ilyce Glink Show, Ilyce discussed refinancing your mortgage, and how a successful refinancing focuses on the refinancing trifecta: Can you shorten the length of your mortgage term? Can you lower your monthly mortgage payment? Can you lower your mortgage interest rate? Ilyce also…
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan Speaks To National Association Of Real Estate Editors
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan spoke at the National Association of Real Estate Editors Annual Conference. Secretary Donovan spoke about how HUD is involved in President Obama's plans for the economic crisis and the Making Home Affordable act, FHA reform and how that will…
New Guidance from HUD: Use $8,000 tax credit toward FHA loan costs
This morning, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced a new program that will allow first-time buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit toward FHA loan costs, rather than wait to file their 2009 tax returns (in 2010) to get the cash. We've published the Shaun Donovan HUD statement and the FHA Mortgagee…
$8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit Mortgagee Letter
On May 29, 2009, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan issued guidance that allows first-time buyers who get an FHA loan to "monetize" the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit. In short, you can now apply the $8,000 tax credit to your FHA loan closing…
Use $8,000 Tax Credit Toward Costs With FHA Loan
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced on May 29, 2009, a program that will allow first-time buyers who use FHA financing to apply the $8,000 federal first-time buyer tax credit toward loan closing costs. In a speech, he announced that FHA-insured loans would allow buyers to turn the credit into cash…
Senate Passes HOPE for Homeowners
Washington, D.C. is abuzz with the flurry of legislative activity today. President Obama announced the new CAFE standards for automobiles (35 miles per gallon by 2016), the credit card bill passed the Senate, and now the amended HOPE for Homeowners legislation has sailed through.
The big news with…
Summary of the new HOPE for Homeowners Bill Amendment
This is the summary of Senate Bill 896, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009. This bill, which passed the Senate, makes some crucial amendments to the original HOPE for Homeowners Program, including reducing excessive fee levels, providing greater incentives for mortgage services to…
FHA Eligible Mortgage Lenders And Brokers
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans have very specific rules and regulations. Are mortgage lenders eligible to originate loans if they also have a real estate license, like from a previous career? We talked to a spokesman from the FHA and did a little digging in the FHA handbook to try to…
Is Your Mortgage Broker Allowed To Originate An FHA Loan?
Can a mortgage broker originate an FHA loan if he or she also has a real estate license? The FHA prohibits brokers who are "actively selling" real estate from getting FHA loans. However, the eligibility requirements for FHA lenders don't address real estate licenses. If you're a mortgage lender, but…
HUD Announces $8000 Credit Can Be Used For Down Payment
Today at a meeting of the National Association of Realtors, Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 home buyer tax credit as a down…
