Tuesday, June 15, 2010
6/15/2010 01:35:00 PM | Posted by
Arbor Mortgage
On June 10, the House of Representatives passed the Federal Housing Administration Reform Act (HR 5072) in a practically unanimous vote of 406-4. This law is intended to boost the reserves held by the FHA, which now insures roughly a third of the nation's mortgages.
This vote just finishes what was started back in April 2010, when the up front mortgage insurance was increased from 1.75% to 2.25%. The passage of the bill allows FHA to increase the annual mortgage insurance premium, which is paid monthly, from .50% or .55% to 1.5% maximum. However, FHA says they only intend to raise it to .9% at this time.
Labels:
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
If you don’t know anyone in the real estate business, how do you choose a real estate agent? It doesn’t have to be a drawn out process. Try these easy steps:
- Start by asking friends or family for a personal referral. If you know someone has had a good experience with a person, chances are good you will, too. If you can’t find a personal referral, speak to your loan officer about a referral. Arbor Mortgage has a list of Preferred Real Estate Agents all over the state of Michigan. Try to interview a couple of agents to find a good fit.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The most stressful step for a first time home buyer is often the first one. Where do you start the home buying process? It’s not as daunting as it seems. Let’s walk through the home buying process step by step.
Step 1 – Become Pre-Approved for Financing
Many new home buyers make the mistake of looking at homes first, before becoming pre-approved for financing. They could spend countless hours finding just the right home, only to find out they don’t qualify for a home loan. For this reason, many real estate agents won’t even start working with a client until they know that they can be approved for a mortgage.
Your first phone call should always be to a trusted financing source. Many people ask, “How do I pick a lender?” Start by asking your friends and family for a referral to someone they have worked with successfully. Try getting at least 3 options, and then research those companies. Be sure to call them all on the same day for quotes when you’re ready to be pre-approved. Calling them the same day solves two problems; it ensures that you are getting “apples to apples” pricing from each (since pricing changes every day) and it ensures that your credit pulls will all be grouped together and only count as 1 mortgage pull. If you don’t have any friends or family that can refer you to someone, you can still check online or your phone book; just be sure to research the company with places like the Better Business Bureau.
Step 2 – Choose a Buyer’s Agent
Friday, May 28, 2010
Breaking News! (again)
The USDA is back to issuing conditional commitments on loans. The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill passed on 5/27, giving up to $2.5 billion in funds to the program. However, the bill referring to the program itself has not yet been addressed in the Senate, so we aren't sure what the actual Guarantee Fee will be. The majority assumption for the time being, seems to be 3.5%.
Stay tuned....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Arbor Mortgage
- Arbor Mortgage is a Michigan based mortgage lender that has been providing mortgage solutions for more than a decade. Since 1998, Arbor Mortgage has helped more than 20,000 people purchase or refinance their homes. Arbor offers a variety of mortgage programs including FHA, USDA Rural Development, VA, Conventional and Alternative loans.
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
