Archive for the 'Mortgage Programs & News' Category
The FHA maximum mortgage limits for Pima county Arizona have been increased. The new mortgage limit for a single family home in Pima county is now $316,250.
This is good news for the Tucson housing market!
An FHA loan allows potential home owners to purchase a home with only 3% down. The seller can contribute up to 6% of the buyers closing costs. Plus the buyer can get 100% of the down payment as a gift from a family member. So it is possible for someone to buy a home with an FHA loan with NO money out of pocket.
Below is a break down of the new FHA loan limits as of March 6, 2008.
- One - Family - $316,250
- Two-Family - $404,850
- Three-Family - $489.350
- Four-Family - $608,150
Both Tyler and Todd are FHA experts and have helped many Tucson folks purchase a home using FHA financing. Give us a call today so we can help you purchase a home with as little as 3% down.
For more information visit www.hud.gov
Through an official announcement just received, MGIC and other MI companies have just reclassified all of Arizona, 
California, Florida, Nevada as well as many counties in several states as “restricted markets”.
As such, here are their new guidelines for issuing Mortgage Insurance beginning March 3rd.
Mortgage Insurance will still be available on the following loans:
• 95% Loan-to-Value with a credit score of 680 (90% LTV with 620) based upon full documentation for Primary & Second Homes only.
Mortgage Insurance will NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE on the following loans:
• Any loan greater than 95% Loan-to-Value (good-bye 100% financing)
• Reduced Documentation or A-Minus (”Expanded Approval”) loans
• Investment properties of any kind
• Cash-out refinances of any kind
• Any loan with the potential of negative amortization.
New rules will also apply to any loan with LPMI (lender paid mortgage insurance) or One-time (up front) mortgage insurance policies.
These changes go into effect on March 3rd so if you’re considering something like this…
GET THE DEAL UNDER CONTRACT AND SECURE FINANCING NOW!!!
Note that FHA and VA loan programs are not affected.
If you could have access to the equity in your home, regardless of whether or not you EVER tapped it, why would you not want it?
I’ve had this discussion with literally thousands of homeowners over the past 10 years and will continue to shout it from the mountain top!
The objections I hear are always the same: “I want to pay OFF my mortgage so why would I want another mortgage?” and “what on earth would I do with it?”. There are obvious disadvantages to the abuse of debt but the concept that most people continue to miss is that debt is a part of our financial life and managed wisely is GOOD.
Let’s look at the ADVANTAGES of just being able to access your equity, but first some basic assumptions:
1. Home Equity, in and of itself, earns 0% rate of return. The proof: property appreciation is based on the physical value alone (regardless of any underlying liens).
2. Home Equity, in and of itself, is NOT safe. The proof: look at the declining property values in California, Florida and Nevada.
3. Home Equity, in and of itself, is NOT accessible: The proof: try to take out a new loan after you lose your job or have a financial crisis. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s a lot of marketing out there to help make some loan-jockey’s phone ring but nothing brings them in faster than the “no cost loan”. I’ve got news for everyone and it’s a secret no one will share with you: There’s no such thing as a no cost loan!
I’ve been in the mortgage business for 13 years and I pay closing costs on my own loans! The last time I checked, neither the Title Company, the Appraiser, nor the Credit Reporting Agencies worked for free. So where does this alleged “no cost loan” jargon come from? I’ve developed and simple yet strikingly easy chart to explain the process.
In a nutshell, there are only three variables to consider: Loan Amount, Interest Rate, and Cash in/out. Assuming you agree there are in fact closing costs to deal with, you get to pick two sides and the remaining side defines how your costs will be handled.
Examples
1. LOAN AMOUNT: You can increase the loan amount if you have enough equity to roll all the closing costs into your loan; doing so allows you to bring in NO cash at closing. Hence the words ‘no cost loan.’
2. INTEREST RATE: If you want the lowest rate, there will be extra fees called origination fees or discount points. If you’re willing to accept a higher rate, it will be used to cover some or all of the closing costs.
3. CASH: If you’re willing to pay closing costs in cash at closing, you can get the lowest rate and/or loan amount.
Read the rest of this entry »
As the largest sub-prime loan servicer in the country, Countrywide handles payments for 11.90% of the sub-prime market. That’s a massive $120 billion worth of loans.
The sheer size of that portfolio is why I am publishing the above chart. Normally, data from one lender wouldn’t be enough for a clean sample, but Countrywide is the largest servicer of loans and it holds that title by a longshot.
According to Countrywide’s servicing department, just 1.4 percent of its loans that defaulted in July 2007 defaulted because of “payment adjustment”.
That’s a tiny number.
The publicly available presentation also noted the other reasons why its homeowners defaulted on their mortgages:
- A decrease in household income led to 58.3 percent of all foreclosures
- Medical bills and/or illness led to 13.2 percent of all foreclosures
- Divorce led to 8.4 percent of all foreclosures
- Inability to sell a home led to 6.1 percent of all foreclosures
- Death caused 3.6 percent of all foreclosures
Read the rest of this entry »
