Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The 10 Most Miserable States In America


Is list is according to Business Insider not me. I only share it with you because Hawaii made #1 on the list for Most Happiest States In America… I thought it was interesting California didn’t make the list either way.  Tell me what you think about the list or where you think your state should have ranked.
If you want to read the full article online at Business Insider here’s the link; Business Insider  But don't leave to quickly read my post first and a leave your comment.




10. Tennessee
9. Florida
8. Missouri
7. Arkansas
6. Alabama
5. Ohio  …. I just talked to a nice young lady from this state wanted to get the hell out of it, her words not mine.  I am getting her Prequalified for a home in Hawaii.
4. Delaware
3. Mississippi
2. Kentucky
1. West Virginia

Now … The Happiest States In America

10. Montana
9. New Hampshire
8. Nebraska
7. Kansas
6. Colorado
5. Alaska
4. Utah
3. Minnesota
2. North Dakota
1. Hawaii…!!!!! Not surprised it made # ONE best or happiest state to live.


I personally think happiness is where you make it and I would be very happy to live anywhere in this great nation. We are all very lucky to be in any one of these states. It is however nice to have a beautiful environment like Hawaii and I am blessed to live here.  Leave a comment about your great state and tell us something about it.  Your comments are welcome and encouraged. Follow my blog for tips and information in future posts. Thank you in advance for your support. 

Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
NMLS#269926 

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Tuesday's Saving Money Tip #16



 
Banking; Are you still paying for the privilege of Banking and depositing your funds into your bank and having a checking account. Do you pay crazy fees for ATM services or a savings account? Banks are scrambling in this market to get more depositors. Take a look at what you are paying for monthly fees.  If you are paying anything STOP and SHOP for a new bank or sometimes it’s just a matter of changing the type of account you have at your current bank. They are not going to tell you, you need to ask for FREE checking, FREE ATM, FREE Savings. Even business accounts in some banks are FREE so ask.
If they don’t offer it go somewhere that does. Check out the online banks they are offering some great deals.  I’ve listed some interesting sites for savings and budgeting.

www.mint.com               A great site you can keep track of all your accounts in one place.

www.bankrate.com       Get the latest information on many of our counties banks, their rates and fees. 

www.ally.com               No ATM Fees Nationwide – Calculate how much you spent on ATM fees last year and see just how much you could save on just this fee. You might be very surprised.

I am trying to reach a goal of 101 saving money tips, I need your help! If you have any ideas please forward them to me and I will post in my Tuesday weekly Saving Money Post. Your comments are always welcome and encouraged.   Follow my blog for more tips and information in future posts. Thanks in advance for your support.

Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC, Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
NMLS#269926

Monday, February 27, 2012

Fannie Mae’s HomePath Loan Program for REO Homes, Do YOU know about it?


This program has been around for some time now and I don’t think enough people know about it or are taking advantage of the opportunity. I personally don't think Fannie Mae is doing a very good job of getting the word out about this great program. With that said I thought I'd lend them a hand.


This is a huge opportunity for buyers both first time home buyers, 2nd home buyers, investors and just about ANYONE looking for a home. This is something you don’t want to miss out on and too many people don’t even know of its existence.

Fannie Mae has established this loan program to aid in the sell of their REO inventory currently being held in the US. This loan program makes it very easy to qualify for the program as they have removed Mortgage Insurance (MI) and the need for Appraisal. They set higher Loan-To-Value (LTV) limited making down payment minimal. Let me go over some of the guidelines so you can see for yourself and maybe you to will see if you can meet these guidelines.

Credit Score Min of 580 will go to 80% LTV so you’ll need 20% down payment on Primary resident.

Credit Score 660 and over will go to 95%-97% LTV with 3%-5% down payment, Primary resident.

Investors can also purchase with 90% LTV and 10% down.

The program allows for 6% of the purchase price to be given as seller credits to the buyer for closing cost and pre-pays.

The loan also allows for Renovation because some of these homes need minor renovation, Fannie Mae will allow 6 months after the loan closes for the renovations to get completed. You do need a licensed contractor as NO “do it yourself projects are allowed”. There are some other guidelines that have to be met for the renovations you can find them and more
information about this program at; www.homepath.com

HomePath Buyer’s Guide  is a great source for information. 
Plus on the site you can search for approved properties.  

This program was set in place not only to make these homes affordable but to help simulate the housing market by offering a program to all potential buyers with little down and No MI. By opening this up to investors I think this is a huge step in the right direction. Taking some of the obstacles or deal killers like appraisal off the table in this market was a smart move by Fannie Mae.

Not all lenders are approved to fund Homepath loans. I am fortunate to be working with several that are approved. If you are interested or have questions please contact me for more information.
I love your comments, questions and ideas, please leave them on my blog. Follow my blog for great tips, inspiration and real estate and finance information. Thanks in advance for your support. 

Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC, Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
808-637-0011
NMLS#269926

Friday, February 24, 2012

PreQualified Vs PreApproved to Buy A HOME What's the Difference You Ask?


I get this question all the time and it’s a good one. It’s very important if you are thinking of buying a home to understand the difference and to know the process of both. Understanding what is required of you early on will help you to adjust and have the confidence you need to meet your goal of homeownership. Whether you plan to purchase in a year or 30 to 60 days it’s a good idea to get your ducks in row and plan. Set yourself up for success and know your obstacles in advance so you can tackle them one at a time to meet your goals. If you have no obstacles great! You are a rare bird, but great!
OK enough said the difference between PreQualified and PreApproved?

PreQualified; This procedure is done by looking at your credit, either a report you may have or one I would pull on your behalf.  It is important you are careful to not have too many inquiries on your credit report during this time. So limiting the amount of times your credit is pulled is very important. You would fill out the short version of the loan application. Than we would gather information from you, starting with federal tax returns, current paycheck stubs and any other forms of income documentation needed to average your income over two years. We would check all liabilities either against the credit report or a list given to us by you. This list of debts is only from creditors that report to all three of the major credit reporting agencies. We are not interested in debts like your electric, phone and other misc bills and living expenses. Depending on how close you to purchasing we would ask for bank statements for verify funds for down payment and reserves. We would verify employment. But mostly we would run your income against your debts and come up with a debt ratio and see if you were in line with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines for whatever type of loan you were going to be applying for with your purchase. If your numbers were in line, I would then be able to tell you the dollar amount you could qualify to purchase. I would also be able to give your Realtor that amount and a letter for the same. This letter does not hold as much weight as a Preapproval letter and is not a commitment to lend.

Most experienced Realtors like to have their clients PreQualified before they start working with them. Think about that for a minute, it makes perfect sense and very smart on their part. Realtors spend a lot of time, energy, money and gas showing a buyer property, sometimes this process can take months. Then to finally find a property put in an offer, get under contract, open escrow only to find out the buyer you’ve been working with for the past 3 or 6 months doesn’t qualify for a loan…. Oh my gosh! Well let just say you don’t want to be that person!

PreApproved; or (NOLA) Notice of Loan Approval. This process takes prequalifying a step further and is more defined. In this process we actually upload your information full application and income docs to Fannie Mae (DU) or Freddie Mac (LP) for an automated approval once we have this we can submit to a lender and program of choice. We would get a written verification of deposit for funds to close escrow and verification both written and verbal for employment. With this done we can write a letter of approval that your Realtor can submit with any offer and you are good to go. The conditions for the loan at this point would be inspections, appraisal and your final walk through of the property
.
To learn more about the Home Ownerships visit my website and view the Video

I hope this information has cleared this up and given you some insight on the difference between the two. .  It is important to understand that a pre-qualification letter is just an estimate of what you are eligible to borrow, not a commitment to lend. Getting pre-approved for a loan gives you competitive advantage when the time comes to bid on a home because you have been approved for a loan for a specified amount.
Remember to start early in your planning, you can never be too prepared.
Your comments are always welcome and encourages, please follow my blog for more information and future posts.


Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
808-637-0011
NMLS#269926

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

15 Saving Money Power Tips with 86 More to Come!



All of us would like to save money but the truth is most of us save very little of our income. The stats in the US show Americans are saving under 5% of disposal income. 64% of Americans don’t have $1000 set aside for emergencies and 43% have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. This equates to we are horrible savers or are we all just to broke to save? According to Suze Orman (this woman kills me) we should all be able to save, if it were that easy we’d ALL be doing it! But I bet Suze’s never had her electric turned off or had to choose between eating PB&J or Top Ramin… Any way Suze has good information and I think she has something going on with her Prepaid Debt Cards but sometimes the everyday Joe/Jane seem to escape her thought process.  Here are some tips on saving money if you can bring yourself to do them I know it’s hard and some are easier than others. Pick and choose the ones you can do but give them a try. I’d like to add to this list and reach 101 ways to save. If you can think of other ways send me an email or add it to the comment area. I will start adding a Tip each week to my Blog but your help is always welcome and encouraged. Please follow my blog too by clinking on the FB follow my blog inside my blog. Thanks

1.     Most financial advisor will tell you to pay yourself before you pay anyone else. This is great if you can do it. Pick a percentage that is comfortable that you can deduct from each of your payroll checks and put it directly into your savings, 401K or some type of retirement account. Most employers will help you with this but if yours doesn’t you will need to do it yourself.
If you use direct deposit ask your HR department if you can deposit into two accounts one checking, one savings or money market. A healthy range is 6% to 10% of your income.
2.       Get Rid of Mortgage Insurance, if your mortgage is 80% or higher Loan- to Value you may have MI insurance. You can get rid of this insurance if the value of your home is now less than 80% of value.  You can get a new appraisal to establish the new value or refinance to remove the MI.
3.        Refinance your mortgages, Refinancing at today’s low rates can shave hundreds of dollars off your mortgage. To check out your own savings by going to my website mortgage calculator on roxyloans.com plug in your balance and the same term your present mortgage is to see savings.
I think most of you will be pleasantly surprised at the amount.  Than call me! J
4.       Improve your Credit Scores, by improving your credit scores you will be offered better interest rates saving you thousands of dollars in interest from credit card, student loans, auto loans, home loans. You should be checking your credit report every 12 months if not 6 months. With ID theft at an all time high I would opt for the later. Knowing where you stand is very important. Get your report and monitor it regularly. AnnualCreditReport.com
5.       If your credit needs to be Repaired do it, for all the reasons above you will want to also repair your credit. Repairing your credit is time consuming but not hard, you just have to be diligent, keep good records and don’t take any crap from anyone. Do a little research on your rights because you have rights and there all on your side. Look up the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Give me a call and I’ll help you or at least get you off and running. The rewards of having good credit are wonderful. Because it will allow you to finance those large items like a car, a home or education that typically most of us need financing to obtain.
6.       Insurance, Let’s talk about insurance.. boy is this an area I really hate, can’t live without it, rarely need it but when you do boy you better have it! But let’s talk about savings because you can save money here and you can save A LOT! Just by shopping! We get so complacence that instead on spending a few minute online shopping for quotes and dealing with insurance companies we’d rather just pay our overpriced insurance policies, because we tell ourselves that well Agent Joe is so nice and I hate to disappoint him or you’ve been with the same company for 20 yrs. All the more reason you need to look at other companies. Last year I reduced my auto insurance from $1432.00 per year to $741.00 per year a 50% savings and you can too. I didn’t reduce any of my coverage BTW. But you can do so if you need to;
7.       Insurance, Increasing deductibles can save you money, changing how you pay can also save you money. Most insurance companies charge you to make payments. If you can pay in full do so. Maybe after you change companies and get the savings as suggested #5 you will be able to pay in full.
Or instead of paying monthly you pay quarterly or bi-annually either way you save.
8.       GO GREEN, I know most of us would like to help the environment but let’s face it we all need to do this to save not only save mother earth but money! I think energy costs are going to get so high we will be force to see the light of green energy and well we should. Our electric bills are staggering here in Hawaii are high everywhere. I have a little condo and pay on average $200 per month for electric, if I could go solar I would. If you have a house you should convert to solar and this alone will save money.
9.       Convert your Hot Water Heater to Tankless or Solar, not only will you never run out of hot water it will be almost free.
10.   Utilities, Ok this is a big area where we can all save providing you cannot go green; let’s see what we can do to lower your utilities bills. Let’s start with the electric bill. I am really bad when it comes to leaving lights on. My husband follows me around turning them off (when he’s home) I thought how much could I really be costing us? I went to CA during the holidays and our electric bill dropped $50 while I was gone. So my bad habits do make a difference in that bill. The next month I really made an effort to turn off the lights and TV and my computer and all the other things I have on when not in use and my bill was $36 cheaper. We can all do this! I know it take awareness and commitment and it’s not easy to break bad habits.
11.   Heating and Cooling, close the vents in the rooms you are not using and close the doors in those rooms. Make sure you service your HVCC unit annually.
12.   Phone, Internet, Cable .. Most companies have package deals now so combine these bills for a cheaper rate OR get rid of your land line altogether if you can.
13.   Cell Phones, This is such a competitive market, shop, shop and then shop some more until you get the best rate and terms out there. READ those contracts and know what you are signing up for the long haul.
14.   Stop Smoking, this is a costly and bad habit. I know… but need I say more! Maybe I’ll do some math for you. Pack a day $7.5 – HI = $2737.50. 2 packs a day = $5475.00 you can do the math if you smoke more. In Hawaii there is a Free program to help you quit. Give them a call.
1-800 Quit Now(784-8669) CleartheSmoke.org
15.   Stop Drinking, Again very costly, too many calories, bad for you and your liver!   


Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
808-637-0011
www.roxyloans.com
NMLS#269926

Monday, February 20, 2012

12 Tips On Selling Your Home in ANY Market


We all know how hard it is to sell in a down market but knowing the common elements is key for selling your home in any market.
Knowing  your market, staying on track, setting your goals and staying focused are all very important to getting your home sold. Here are some tips for selling in any market.

1.       Choosing whether to list your home with a Realtor or sell it yourself. Huge decision given the hunk of commission you’ll be giving up to a Realtor usually 5% to 6% of the sale price.  But the advantages of working with a Realtor are numerous.  Your agent will be marketing your home on the MLS a national data base of homes for sale. They also list your property online with varies websites like, Realtor.comZillow.com and others. They are also experts at negotiation and know contracts and real estate law in your state. They will guide you through the process of escrow and closing. Handle all your inspections and advise you along the way. They are a great partner to have and in most cases well worth the 5% to 6% commission they earn. You could list it online too using FSBO sites for a fee, Craigslist and other free sites. If you decide to go it alone I strongly suggest you get some legal advice from an attorney and have an attorney review your purchase contract when you get one.

2.       If you decide to go with a Realtor choosing the right one is not rocket science. But follow your gut and do some due diligent before you decide. Ask a friend for a referral. First check their resume not literally of course but ask for reference, speck to their current broker and maybe call one they use to work for. Ask if they are a top producer. Go online and check their marketing skills, find their listings, see how they market their current listings. This is the best way to see how your home will be marketed. What do the pictures look like or are there any pictures. What’s sites do they market on. How many hits do their homes get on those sites… ask the questions. 93% of homebuyers start their search online and if your ad online has no pics or bad pics it will not get viewed let alone ever called on. If a Realtor can’t take the time to upload more than 1 picture in the MLS he’s not your Realtor. If he/she has no talent for taking pictures, to small, dark, no imagination and they don't use a professional to do it for them. You probably want to move on. I am not trying to be mean but your paying for a professional, getting professional work is what you should be getting. That includes photography too. "A picture says a 1000 words" and you can't sell a house without good photos. Remember marketing and advertising is their business! If they are not putting 110% effort into it then you don’t need them. There are too many great Realtors out there doing a phenomenal job find one and hire them.

3.       Videos; can help you or your Realtor sell your home. Either have it Professional done or do it   yourself. Either way get it done. Then get it out there .. Social media is key! Facebook, YouTube
Don’t make this harder than it has to be for heaven sakes use your iphone or smart phone. Walk through your home, your yard and even your neighborhood talking of course and tell your prospective buyer all about your home, your yard and your neighborhood. Take them to your favorite shopping area or restaurant/coffee shop that is close to home. Impress on them how much you have enjoyed living in your home and neighborhood. I personally think one done by the homeowner is BEST! Give it to your Realtor and ask him/her to post it wherever they have it online. 


4.       Website; Your Realtor may have his/her own website or webpage use it for your listing or link to another site that has your listing information, pictures, video and anything else you and your Realtor think might be useful. Some free sites where you can build a website with no coding skills are; weeblyyola my personal favorite and wix . This is really very easy and all you need for your website is 1 or 2 pages. 


5.       Social Media; Facebook is a powerful sharing your listing, website or video with your friends and then asking them to share and help you spread the word can be a great way to connect and possibly bring in a buyer, who knows where your buyer will come from. Twitter, YouTube are also great networking sources.

6.       Staging your home; Let’s face it first impression are everything! Cleaning and clearing out the clutter is very important. Getting organized will make your house feel airy and spacious. For some great tips go to Simply Organized or for online tips and great tools visit flylady she has a great newsletter you can sign up for too.  You may want to call in a professional stager. Again whether you do this yourself or have a professional do it, don’t skip this step or think your house doesn’t need it, we all have clutter we just grow immune to it or have simple put on our blinders to it but trust me it’s there. Remember good Chi makes potential buyers feel better and more welcome. Learn more about Feng shui 

7.       Repairs and Inspections; Make sure you have repaired anything that is broken or unfinished. No one wants to come into a new purchase and have to do what should have been done already. Go ahead and get your termite report done and complete any work on section 1 of that report. You can save yourself a lot of money by hiring your own contractor. Waiting until after you are under contract could cost you more money or the deal altogether. Knowing upfront yourself if you have a problem is best anyway so you can deal with any issues before hand.
      PAINT: if you have bright and wild colors in your house you might want to tone them down   with neutral colors. You may think people can look past color but most cannot.

8.       Depersonalize; This is an important step, remove your family pictures if you didn’t do it in step 6. You don’t want buyers getting distracted looking at your pictures instead of your home. Remove toys, baby swings, and items that tend to fill up a room. Remove RX Medicine in your bathroom. Make sure your office is clear of all personal papers and pictures. Remove all magnets, papers and picture from your refrig.

9.       Setting your Price; This is probably THE most important thing you will do! I haven’t met a homeowner that didn’t think his property was worth more than it really is, but over the last couple of years I think we’ve all been knocked down a few times when it comes to our home values. So most of us get that our values are getting more and more difficult to determine even for the Realtors, appraiser and financial institutions. As a seller however you have to depend on your Realtor to run you a Certified Market Analysis (CMA) they do this by pulling several sold and several listed like properties in your area preferable within 1 mile of your home to compare to your home and come up with a value. Even this is not easy anymore with all the foreclosure and REO but this is still the best tool used to find value.
There are some online sources that can be used to determine property values too. But these are not as reliable so take the values with a grain of salt and then call your Realtor.
Kstreet appraiser is once again Zillow. It’s important you listen to your Realtor about the value of your home. Don’t go with a Realtor just because they are willing to list your home for what you think it worth, this is a mistake many seller’s make and find themselves unable to sell because they are priced to high. Get real and price your house smart!

10.   HELP your Buyers; Thinking ahead of time about how you can help your buyers is very important, that way when you get an offer you don’t have to sit around and debate it for days because you’ve already discussed it with your better half and your Realtor.. you may even want to have your Realtor list this added benefit to buyers in the MLS or online advertisements. This added help could be; seller financing of the down payment up to 5% - 50% this is something to think about and has many pros and cons. As an investor/lender you could see a return of 6 to 8% in this market for a private second maybe even more depending on the circumstances. That’s a pro, a con of course and worst case scenario would be you would have to foreclose on your borrower at sometime in the future. Other help could be with closing costs, lenders will normally allow seller contributions of 6% of the loan amount but more customary is 3%. This helps the buyer pay for their closing costs and to buy their rate down with points. Leasing with Option to buy at a later date is another alternative in a slow market. Your Realtor won’t like this option but don’t count it out. A short term 2 or 3 year lease option is better than having a house sit empty while you pay the mortgage if you have to relocate. Everyone's situation is different just keep an open mind to different possibilities and don’t rule anything out until you know and understand all the options.

11.   OPEN HOUSE; Open house or open house party! I’d say do it all! Times have changed, the days when you could bake some brownies or cookies and light some candles or put out some fresh flowers just don’t cut the mustard anymore. Today it’s a party ! Invite the neighbors, brokers, agents, family, every friend and associate your ever known, but get them in the front door. Have it catered, live music and dancing if you have the room. Show your house off and let them know your house knows how to have a good time. Make this party and more importantly your home memorable get a buzz going about your home. Make sure during the party they know why they are there… to help you sell your home and to have fun.  

12.   Last but certainly not Least Have Some Faith; Thousand of sellers all across the US have resorted to some extreme measure to selling their homes. To the power of prayer to burying statues of St. Joseph in the back yard people of faith are doing it all.  I believe any help we can get is welcome even divine.  Stay positive, say a prayer and listen to your gut and your Realtor, with all that power working for you how can you go wrong. 

Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
808-637-0011
NMLS #269926




Friday, February 17, 2012

WHAT IS A SHORT SALE?


The mortgage and real estate industry like some others have a language unique onto itself and to the everyday Joe/Jane some of the jargon might be unknown. I get asked a lot of questions and the other day someone asked me what is a short sale? It occurred to me you just can’t take for granted that most people know these things. So for all you folks out there that need a simple explanation;

A real estate short sale is when a homeowner owes more than the property is valued to the bank or lien holder than the property can currently sell. This property is “upside down” “underwater”.  A short sale can be negotiated by a third party or the homeowner with the lender at a discount on the payoff amount due to the mortgage company/bank/lien holder.

This is typically done for a homeowner who is behind on their house payment and facing foreclosure. It is best when the homeowner is 60 to 90 days late on their mortgage and has no alternative to settle up and not enough equity to sell fast.

Not all short sales are alike. It’s important if you are going through this you have an experienced
negotiator or you could end up with a deficiency judgment. Knowing upfront how your credit will be affected is important getting your lender to agree upfront is very important and should be a part of the negotiations. 

For more information or if you have questions please email or call me. 
If you need a referral to a short sale negotiator please call me.
Your comments are always welcome.

Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
808-637-0011

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

HARP 3.0 New Plan for Homeowner’s Underwater with a NON Fannie or Freddie Loan



“This is HUGE “can I say it again! “This is HUGE” A settlement between the BIG banks and the government valued at 26 Billion will help those homeowners underwater by allowing refinancing into lower rates or by reducing the debt from their mortgage. PLUS hundreds of thousands more who have been foreclosured on will receive a sum to account for their hardships.

HARP 3.0 is on its way! This plan the president proposed in his state of Union address will give millions of Americans the chance to refinance their mortgages. This new refinance process will be streamlined to save money and time under the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The president’s plan will do away with the appraisal when alternative automated systems can be used to determine value, saving the homeowner the cost of appraisal.

This new program will have the same benefits as HARP 2.0 but will be for homeowner whose current loan is NOT owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan. This is something we’ve all been waiting for; we just have to hope they can deliver.

The same guidelines will apply;
1. They must be current on their mortgage and have no record of late payments within the last six months, and may only have one late payment in the past 12 months.                       
 2.  The current loan-to-value ratio (LTV) must be higher than 80%


We have no word when this new HARP 3.0 will be available…. Keep your fingers crossed!

Roxy Redenbaugh
ACMC Loan Consultant
Branch Manager
808-637-0011

Monday, February 13, 2012

HARP 2.0 New INFO for Homeowner's Who are Underwater!

Staying true to my blogger pledge I am writing today about something pretty exciting in the mortgage industry. The HARP program a part of the Making Home Affordable program put out by the Obama administration and introduced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency or (FHFA and the Treasure Department, has been around for awhile but limited due to the strict guidelines with only 900,000 borrowers refinancing through this program since April of 2009 when it started. That is a large number but clearly there are millions more that need help and this program falls short for too many homeowner’s in my opinion. The administration is listening however and some changes were announced in Oct of 2011 to revamp the HARP 2.0 program to help an addition couple million underwater homeowners in the US. Guidelines such as Loan to Value (LTV), income requirement and home appraisals are be waived so these homeowners can refinance with our current low rates.


Mortgage lender across the company are gearing up for this change and implementing these enhancements. Part of the delay in getting this rolled out is the new LTV requirement allowing up to 125% LTV and some unlimited LTVs to be built into the Fannie Mae (DU) and Freddie Mac (LP) electronic underwriting systems. This is expected to be completed in March 2012.



Some of the basic guidelines are;

1. You must have taken out a loan that is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
You can check to see if you loan is owned by either at their easy to use websites
Just fill in your info, it takes about 30 seconds.
www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

2. You must also be current on your mortgage and have NO late payment within the last 6 months
3. You may only have 1 late payment in the past 12 months

I am always available to answer any questions and help you with your financing needs.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Blog Slacker

Boy time does have a way of getting away from you! I've never thought of myself as a slacker but clearly I need to rethink that when it comes to my blog. I guess life has a way of getting in the way of serious blogging.
I really like writing but lately I've been in a funk! I need my writer's mojo back or a muse..something!
Well here's to getting it back. I pledge to be a better blogger! Maybe that will work???  I'll try once again to write at least a couple times a week and try not to be too dam boring with all my financial mumbo jumbo. I'll take an occasional pic of my surrounding or my dog she is more photogenic than I am... so here goes, hope I don't scare or bore the pants right off you!
If any of you have any requests or questions about what's going on with you know the markets, real estate or the world, maybe you know someone going through a rough path and they need some help, I am an expert on foreclosure, short sales, bankruptcy maybe I can help.  New program for Refinancing is available for some of those folks underwater.. any ideas.. any questions?? I am all ears?