All Posts Tagged With: "reserve"
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
Veterans Day — Let’s Bring Back The Draft
It’s Veterans Day, a deserved recognition of the work done and the danger faced by those with military service. There will be parades and speeches, but few will get to the essential point: We need to bring back the draft. Today we have a nation of 312 million people. Of this number, 1.4 million are [...]
11Nov2011 | Peter G. Miller | 3 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
FHA Insurance Premiums Set For Fall Revamp
Borrowers who get FHA financing after October 4th will be subject to a new insurance fee schedule — with some costs rising and some falling. The FHA has two insurance premiums. There’s an up-front mortgage insurance premium (MIP) paid at closing (or added to the loan amount) which is now equal to 2.25 percent of [...]
5Aug2010 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
When Did The Mortgage Meltdown Begin?
It’s official. We now have a starting date for the mortgage meltdown. It was February 27, 2007, almost two-and-a-half years ago. It was on that date that Freddie Mac said it would no longer purchase subprime mortgages and high-risk mortgage-backed securities. Who says? The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It has come up with [...]
27Jul2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
The “Consumer” Protection Panel That Isn’t
It was with some fanfare that the Federal Reserve announced that it would create a Consumer Advisory Council to provide advice regarding issues from a public perspective. Now you might think, aha, a Consumer Advisory Council…wouldn’t that be a panel which consists largely or entirely of, er, well, consumers? You might think so, but the [...]
22Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Obama Regulatory Reform: Right Idea — Not Far Enough
The President’s new effort at regulatory reform ought to be applauded, at least for the reason that we once-again have a president who believes that regulation is a legitimate government activity. That said, the President’s 89-page regulatory reform proposal falls short because it does address two issues: Getting regulators to regulate and creating a fiduciary [...]
18Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
How do Federal Reserve decisions to raise or lower interest rates impact the mortgage market?
The Federal Reserve controls two important rates: First there is the “federal funds rate– — the interest level banks can charge each other for the use of money overnight. Second, there is the “discount– rate — that’s the cost banks pay to borrow directly from the Fed. In effect, the Fed does not control long-term [...]
9Sep2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
What Are Condo And Co-Op Reserve Funds?
Condos and co-ops collect money each month from owners to pay for current expenses. In addition, well-run properties also collect money each month to create a reserve fund, money set-aside for emergencies and big expenses. The alternative to adequate reserve funds are “special assessments” levied against owners in times of emergency. For instance, if the [...]
29Aug2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
How can we come up with a real estate down payment without selling our stock?
This is a delightful problem. A home purchase typically requires either a sizable down payment, say 20 percent, or some form of backing by a third-party — perhaps the FHA, VA, or a private mortgage insurance (MI) company — to buy with less down. With a third-party, loans with 15, 10, 5, 3.5 and even [...]
27Aug2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
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