Category: Economy

One in Every 200 Residential Loans Were Fraudulent

March 22nd, 2010
Nationwide, one in every 200 residential loans funded last year, totaling $14 billion, involved fraud, according to First American CoreLogic.  Despite what looks like an unsettling amount of shadiness lurking within the mortgage market, the company says the fraud rate …Read more  »

FHA's Gone Nuts!

February 1st, 2010
The FHA has gone crazy, making sweeping new changes in several policies. You've got to keep these in mind when clients consider FHA loans.  Here are some of the most extreme changes: Raised up-front costs for insurance TRIPLE down-payment requirements …Read more  »

No Money Down Technique: Owner Financing

January 20th, 2010
Owner financing is the most common way to buy a property with "no money down".  Instead of getting cash at closing, the seller agrees to finance all or some part of the purchase price. What this means is the owner …Read more  »

The Quick and Expected Climb to 6% Mortgage Rates

December 28th, 2009
Mortgage rates have been steadily climbing, from a low of 4.5% around November 27, 2009 to above 5% on December 22, 2009.  For the past two months I've been warning that this will eventually happen.  It's not because the economy …Read more  »

Government Handcuffs Real Estate Investors

December 24th, 2009
Leave it to the government to take a crippled housing market (which they helped destroy) and make it worse by prolonging its recovery. Regulators have taken a loose and passive role watching the housing bubble inflate.  Now, true to their …Read more  »

Mortgage Loan Limits for Conventional, FHA and VA

December 9th, 2009
The mortgage loan limits and policies established in 2008 and 2009 will continue through 2010. There are several types of mortgage loan limits. Generally, most borrowers need to look at conventional, FHA and VA loan limits to see how much …Read more  »

When Will Mortgage Interest Rates Increase?

November 23rd, 2009
On November 19, 2009 Freddie Mac recorded an average 30 year mortgage rate at 4.83%, down from 4.91% the previous week. Just over one year ago, the 30 year mortgage rate averaged 6.04%.  So long as you have solid credit …Read more  »

10 Credit Report & Credit Score Myths

November 5th, 2009
Credit has its fair share of myths, legends and misinformation. Pile on top the proprietary nature of credit scores, the formulas for which are closely guarded secrets, and navigating the credit waters becomes even more confusing. It's time to dispel …Read more  »

The Second Wave of Mortgage Defaults Ahead

September 8th, 2009
I'm sure you know by now that it was the first wave of defaults in "subprime" mortgages that helped spark today's economic meltdown.  What you might NOT know is that there's a whole second wave of mortgages in the pipeline …Read more  »