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Loan Modification FACTS

Explore Loan Workout Options: If you have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage that is adjusting or have missed mortgage payments which has impacted your ability to refinance , you still have options in this market. Your lender may offer several 'loan workout' options including but not limited to: reinstatement, forbearance or a new repayment plan to suit your situation. When you call your lender directly ask for a supervisor for best result! FHA Rescue and Secure Plans FHA officially offers a range of options for people needing to get out of ARM loans or who may be in arrears. Not all lenders offer these plans. Even FHA is teetering on risk based pricing hits (translated: higher interest rates) to encourage lenders to fund these loans. Certainly you should speak with an FHA licensed broker or bank about whether you will qualify. Officially the FHA has advised they perfer no FICO score or a minimum of 500. The banks who fund FHA loans have very strict loan limits (by city/county)

Housing Bill Promises!

Congress Passes Housing Bill to Assist Homeowners Takes effect January 1, 2009 The newly passed Housing Bill promises more help for homeowners facing foreclosures. What we don't know yet is how Congress is going to get private banks to actually deliver these programs. Much of the legislation is designed to better inform consumers and this is very welcome news to our industry! Officially, Congress has set aside more money for FHA guaranteed loans and will pump more money into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since Freddie and Fannie, both Goverment Sponsored Enterprises, or GSE's were placed in conservatorship shortly after the Housing Bill was passed, the new heads have not yet declared if their recent guideline changes (tighter) will continue as planned. In fact, FHA has areadly delared a moratorium on their own risk guidelines so the whole situaiton is very much up in the air. These risk based guidelines translate into higher interest rates and fees for marginal credit or dec

Stop Your FICO From Becoming a Fido!

Online Mortgage Shopping Impacts FICO Scores If you've considered checking out an online mortgage site: think again. What they don't tell you is that their network may comprise multiple agents. Each may pull your credit report (separately) over a course of hours or days while they review your loan options. While all this is going on, your FICO score is taking a nosedive. Each mortgage inquiry can negatively impact your score 3 points. Each time. So if 10 brokers pull your credit in one 90 day period you could be 30 points worse off. And here's the scary part: each of those 10 brokers could actually submit your application to another 10 banks who also check your credit and that little exercise just cost you 30 points per broker...so the potential for damage is exponential. Because banks and lenders have strict FICO score requirements, a lower FICO Score can affect your qualifying for the loan you want. So much for convenience... What is a FICO Score? Invented by the

Practice Credit Wellness!

4 Point Plan to Success: Most people think if they not have claimed bankruptcy or bounced checks then all is well in credit land. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. If you have let your payment schedules slip or allowed your credit account balances to creep up these practices can seriously impair your creditworthiness. Since the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines for mortgages were released in late December 2007, lenders are being forced to charge more for loans in up front points and fees due to the increased risk factors. This means a low FICO score is costing you higher interest rates not only on your mortgage but for everything from insurance to auto loans. The difference between a low 600’s score and a score over 700 could easily mean $100 a month on a car loan and more on your home payments. Below are some tips for turning things around. The standards have been raised 20 - 40 points across the board this year and document stacks are that much taller! Make 2008 th