RECENT BLOG POSTS
You can buy a house with less than 20% down and avoid having to pay monthly PMI. Here is how. There is a little known mortgage insurance product which is an alternative to the traditional monthly mortgage insurance. It is called LPMI which stands for Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance. In exc...
10/24/2014
This is a very common (and valid) question that I get among homebuyers, especially first time homebuyers. The fear is by having a lender run your credit report your credit scores will drop so why do that unless you are sure you have found a house and are ready to make an offer. The reality is t...
08/02/2014
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To obtain a conventional/residential loan on a foreclosed property your new lender will likely require that the property be in good condition. For example, the roof can’t need replaced, no mold, all utilities must be on and functioning which includes water & furnace. It is not uncommon for items ...
12/19/2013
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Did you know the FHA has announced that they have reduced their loan limits starting on Jan 1, 2014? For example, in Western Pennsylvania the limit for single family residences will drop from $327,500 to $271,050. So what does this mean for those that want to borrow more than $271,050? In orde...
12/10/2013
Be cautious with your credit from the time of mortgage pre-approval until you have closed on your mortgage. Your credit report is only good for 90 days for conventional loans and 120 days for government loans. So let’s say for example that you are pre-approved on 9/1, find a house and get it un...
11/25/2013
Traditionally one needs 20-25% down to finance a single family investment property. While that is great for those that have that much liquid funds but what about those of us who don’t? Well now we can offer conventional financing on those properties with only 15% down at an interest rate of a...
11/22/2013
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A great feature that most of our lenders offer is the Rate Renegotiation. The benefit to our customers is that we can lock in the interest rate at the beginning of the loan process or as soon as they have their new home under contract. IF the interest rates drop sharply before closing we can re...
11/20/2013
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Did you know that financing a condo is different than financing a regular home or a townhouse/PUD? There is an extra step involved and that is to make sure the condo project is satisfactory. And this isn't obvious because depending upon the type of loan that you are getting the requirements are...
11/19/2013
Q: Why does the lender care where the money is coming from to buy a house as long as I have it? What business is it of theirs? A: A few years ago they didn’t care but this is one area that has really changed. Any deposits or transfers into your bank account that are not clearly marked as payrol...
11/14/2013
Q: Can I buy a house that is worth $100,000 for $80,000 and use the $20,000 equity as my down payment or use it to pay-off some debt? A: The only way you can use the $20,000 equity as your down payment would be if you happened to be related to the seller and were buying the house to live in. I...
11/11/2013