All Posts Tagged With: "FHA"
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
Do FHA Mortgage Borrowers Still Face Credit Score Layering?
More that a year has passed since HUD announced that it would investigate 22 lenders. The issue? Layering, the addition of requirements on top of FHA standards. “The investigations,” said HUD, “are in response to 22 complaints the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed with HUD alleging that the loan activities of the mortgage originators [...]
16Jan2012 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium To Rise In 2012
Borrowers will pay more to get an FHA loan in 2012. The much-heralded payroll tax cut worked out by Congress will also raise the cost of an FHA mortgage by at least .2 percent and probably more in 2012. Think of it as a back-door tax increase. While the public was watching the payroll debate [...]
3Jan2012 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Happy New Year: Corporate Profits Up, Taxes Down
If you’re looking for hard economic news, this year-end mindbender from the Bureau of Economic Analysis ought to do the trick: corporate profits surged in the third quarter while corporate taxes fell. And more hard news: on average folks who work in financial services make 52 percent more than you do. “Corporate profits with inventory [...]
27Dec2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | 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
Why FHA Premiums Should Not Be Raised
Will the FHA loan program raise its insurance premium for new borrowers? At first it might seem as though higher premiums are in order given that the FHA reserve fund — the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund or MMI — is well below the 2 percent required reserve. While that may be true, one must also [...]
5Dec2011 | 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
Are Big FHA Mortgages Really Risky?
Who will win and who will lose with FHA loan limits that were reduced as of October 1st? The answer may be surprising. In general terms there has been considerable support for lower FHA loan limits for several reasons. First, lower FHA limits mean more opportunities to sell private-sector loans. Second, the FHA has long [...]
13Oct2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
© Copyright 