All Posts Tagged With: "conventional"
Why Obama Should Favor Mortgage Appraisals
President Obama inherited the worst financial crisis since Hoover and the Great Depression. It follows that getting the country back on track is no easy task and while his new housing plan includes much to support it also includes a provision to dump appraisals when they are most needed. Dump is really the right word. Fannie [...]
6Feb2012 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Caution: Refinancing with Low Mortgage Rates May Not Work
I got a letter from my mortgage lender offering to refinance my home. I could lower my rate, said the letter, and I might save money. Actually, both claims are correct but the bigger issue is whether refinancing is actually worthwhile. According to the letter my mortgage rate would drop from 4.63 percent to 4.46 [...]
30Jan2012 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Should Mortgage Robo-Signers Go To Jail?
John O’Brien is a Register of Deeds based in Salem, Massachusetts. Instead of burning witches, O’Brien believes we should investigate the people who created the notes and documents that have now destabilized the entire property records system. He also believes those who are guilty of criminal conduct should go to jail and not merely face [...]
23Jan2012 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Why Trump Is Wrong On Mortgages
Donold Trump — a possible candidate for President — thinks mortgages are tough to get, maybe impossible. “If somebody wants to buy a house,” he told CNN’s Piers Morgan, “it’s virtually impossible to get the money from a bank. And it’s — even if they have good credit. Even when mortgages are coming due, and [...]
12Dec2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
FHA Loan Limits Rise, Conventional & VA Mortgage Limits Stick
It didn’t take long for the lower mortgage limits that began October 1st to be changed. As of November 18th the mortgage rate limits were selectively revised with FHA loan limits increasing but with conventional loan limits staying the same. Does this change make a lot of sense? No. Is this change the law of [...]
25Nov2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Will The FHA Go Bankrupt?
A new study says the FHA is likely to need a $50 billion bailout and perhaps as much as $100 billion. But is the FHA really in trouble? And if so, why? The paper, written by Joseph Gyourko, a professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School of Business at the University of [...]
16Nov2011 | Peter G. Miller | 3 comments | Continued
New FHA, VA and Conventional Mortgage Loan Limits
As of October 1, 2011 new and lower mortgage loan limits will be here unless Congress unites and stops the planned changes. Since Congress unites over very few things borrowers are likely to find bright and new loan limits as of Oct. 1st. Note: This material is now out of date. Please go to: FHA [...]
12Sep2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Why You WON’T Need a 20% Down Payment For a Mortgage Loan
There’s been a lot of talk claiming that new mortgage rules will soon require borrowers to put down 20 percent if they want to buy a home. Such talk is nonsense. The alleged culprit in this matter is the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Having failed to prevent its passage, the lending [...]
28Jun2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
How VA’s Residual Income Factor Keeps Vets Out of Foreclosure
There are multiple reasons why VA loans continue to have the lowest rate of foreclosure of any major lending program. Residual income is a big one. This is a unique credit and underwriting guideline that applies only to VA loans. At the outset, it’s important to differentiate residual income from a debt-to-income ratio. Unlike conventional [...]
12Apr2011 | Chris Birk | 0 comments | Continued
Will “safe” QRM mortgages raise loan rates?
In an important step forward, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finally has a website — and a big issue to confront. The question is fairly straight-forward: What’s a safe mortgage? There must soon be an official definition to comply with Wall Street reform measures passed last summer. The Wall Street Reform Act tells us that [...]
8Feb2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
