Archive for December, 2008

FHA Streamline Refinance

Did you know there is a mortgage refinance option that doesn’t care about the value of your home, your current income or employment, or even if you have not paid debts, other than your mortgage, on time?  There is, and it is called a FHA Streamline Refinance.  If you currently have an FHA mortgage and [...]

FHA Changes – 2009

Effective Jan 1, 2009 FHA has made some changes to their guidelines that could impact those looking to obtain mortgage financing.  As I have stated in previous posts, FHA has become more popular over the past couple of years due to the changing mortgage environment and reduced risk tolerance of mortgage lenders.  FHA, on the [...]

Pre-Qualification versus Pre-Approval

Several years ago most people didn’t really care about the difference between a pre-qualification and a pre-approval because there were so many qualified buyers in the home buying market place that if you couldn’t buy a home, there was somebody else who could.  With lender guidelines tightening and the pool of buyers shrinking, the importance [...]

Get Rid of My Mortgage Insurance

Nobody wants mortgage insurance.  The only reason people get mortgage insurance is to provide the opportunity to buy a home without a 20% down payment.  People went as far as doing 80/20 (80% 1st mortgage and a 20% second mortgage) financing to avoid paying mortgage insurance, even if the payment ended up a little higher.  [...]

What is a Good Credit Score?

You just want to know what a good credit score is.  Probably because you are looking into obtaining a mortgage, or maybe an auto loan.  Did you know credit scores are used in other areas outside of obtaining financing?  Cell phone companies, insurance companies, apartments and sometimes even employers will check your credit to determine [...]