Wednesday, March 14, 2012

HOA Fees

"Why are my HOA fees included in the loan payment section of the loan application if I don't pay my HOA fees to the lender?"

HOA fees are part of your monthly housing payment, even though they get paid directly to the HOA management company and not to the lender. HOA fees are a recurring debt and must be counted in the calculation of the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The easiest way to do that is to include them in the monthly housing payment section of the loan application.

Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do. The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:
www.mtgsupportservices.com

By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage. Rates are very, very low right now. Don't miss out! Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

FHA Underwriting Just Got Tougher


Here is an important underwriting change for FHA loans.

At the moment, collection accounts do not have to be paid to qualify for an FHA loan.  However, for FHA loans with a case number assigned on or after April 1, 2012, the borrower must pay off collection accounts if the total amount of all collection accounts is $1,000 or greater.  The borrower can either pay them off prior to closing (not recommended because their credit scores will go way down), pay them off at the closing, or provide documentation that they have made payment arrangements with the creditor and they have already made three monthly payments.

Also, if the borrower has disputed accounts on their credit report, and if those disputed accounts total more than $1,000 and they are not at least 2 years old, they must be paid off or proof must be provided showing that payment arrangements have been made with the creditor and three monthly payments have been made.

How does this affect you?  Simply put, it will prevent a lot of people from getting FHA loans unless they can pay the disputed accounts or the collection accounts. 

What should you do about this?  First of all, NEVER use a credit repair company.  Credit repair companies will dispute every account on your credit report, and that means you will have to pay them all off.

The best thing to do is to use a lender who is as knowledgeable as we are.  We can advise you correctly.  



Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do.  The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:



By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage.  Rates are very, very low right now.  Don't miss out!  Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

How the FHA Increase Will Affect You


HUD just announced that they are increasing the up-front mortgage insurance premium and the annual mortgage insurance premium for FHA loans that have case numbers assigned on or after April 1, 2012.

The up-front MI payment will increase from 1.0% of the loan amount to 1.75% of the loan amount.

The annual MI payment will increase from 1.15% of the loan amount to 1.25% of the loan amount.

Here's how that will affect you:
  • For a $100,000 loan, the total mortgage payment will increase by about $13 per month.  
  • For a $200,000 loan, the total mortgage payment will increase by about $25 per month.
These are very small increases, and it is very unlikely that they will prevent anyone from being able to qualify for an FHA loan.  So when uninformed people tell you how the government is once again destroying the real estate industry, don't believe it.


Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do.  The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:



By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage.  Rates are very, very low right now.  Don't miss out!  Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Use Credit to Have Good Credit


In order to have good credit scores, you need to use credit.  The credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax) do not give good credit scores to people who do not use credit cards.

But how do you get a credit card if you don't have good credit scores?  Won't the banks just turn you down?

The answer is NO, not if you apply for a secured credit card.  When you get a secured credit card, you give the bank $300 or $500 and they give you a credit card with a limit of either $300 or $500, depending on how much you gave them.  The money you deposited with them is your credit limit. 

If you use the credit card regularly and pay it on time, then you will rapidly see an improvement in your credit scores. 

Two words of warning:
  • Make sure you shop around for the lowest fees.  Different banks charge different fees, and some banks charge outrageously high fees for their secured credit cards.  Call at least 3 or 4 banks to compare fees before opening a secured credit card.
  • A secured credit card is NOT the same as a pre-paid debit card.  With a pre-paid debit card, you do not have a line of credit - you just have a card that has some money loaded on it.  It will not improve your credit scores.

Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do.  The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:



By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage.  Rates are very, very low right now.  Don't miss out!  Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Great News about Mortgage Insurance

Want some great news regarding mortgage insurance for conventional loans? How about this?


• The maximum allowable debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for mortgage insurance is being increased from 41% to 45%, regardless of the borrower's credit scores.

• Mortgage insurance monthly premiums are going down by a little more than 10% for borrowers with credit scores above 760.

These changes are for conventional (non-government) loans only. The mortgage insurance guidelines for FHA loans remain the same, meaning anyone who qualifies for an FHA loan automatically qualifies for FHA mortgage insurance. No additional underwriting is required.

Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do. The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:
www.mtgsupportservices.com

By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage. Rates are very, very low right now. Don't miss out! Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

Earnest Money and CHFA Loans

CHFA (Colorado Housing and Finance Authority) offers down payment and closing cost assistance for Colorado home buyers and they only require the buyer to contribute $1,000 of their own money to the transaction.

However, if a buyer pays more than $1,000 in earnest money, they are NOT allowed to get the amount that is in excess of $1,000 back at the closing. So make sure that when your buyer is getting a CHFA loan, they only pay $1,000 in earnest money.

Have a buyer who needs a CHFA loan? Send them to us and we'll take care of everything for you.


Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do. The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:
www.mtgsupportservices.com


By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage. Rates are very, very low right now. Don't miss out! Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

Re-establishing Credit

After a bankruptcy, a foreclosure, or a short sale, a potential home buyer must wait a certain period of time before they are eligible to get a mortgage.

In addition, the underwriting guidelines state that they must "re-establish" their credit. Many buyers are unaware of this additional requirement, and it prevents them from getting a loan.

Here's what re-establishing credit means: for the 12 months preceding the loan application date, the borrower must have a perfect payment record on all of their existing credit accounts. In other words, they can't have any late payments for one full year before applying for the mortgage.

If you have any prospects who have had a bankruptcy, foreclosure, or short sale, do them a favor and tell them to make sure they are paying all of their bills. Even one late payment will prevent them from getting a loan.

This "no late payments" rule ONLY applies to people who have had a bankruptcy, foreclosure, or short sale. Everyone else is allowed to have late payments on their credit report and they can still get a mortgage.

Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do. The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:
www.mtgsupportservices.com

By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage. Rates are very, very low right now. Don't miss out! Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Tax Refunds as Assets

It's almost tax refund time. Many people ask us if tax refunds can be used to pay for a mortgage down payment or closing costs.

The answer is YES! All a borrower needs to do to document the tax refund is to provide a copy of the refund check and a bank statement showing that the refund has been deposited into their account. If the refund was automatically deposited into their account, they won't have a copy of the check, but the notation on their bank statement will show that it is a tax refund. In the case of automatic deposits, the only documentation necessary is the bank statement.

The money does NOT have to be "seasoned", meaning it has been in their account for 60 days. As soon as the refund has been deposited, it can be used to pay the down payment or closing costs.

Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do. The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:
www.mtgsupportservices.com


By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage. Rates are very, very low right now. Don't miss out! Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Real Estate Agents - Expand Your Sphere of Influence

By popular demand, one of the greatest ways to expand your sphere of influence is BACK!

If you're a Denver area real estate agent and you have a question about mortgages or credit reports, send us the question. If we choose your question, we'll answer it in our next email newsletter, AND we'll deliver a $25 Starbucks card to you as a way of saying "Thank You" for helping to expand the knowledge base of our local real estate industry.

We'll also include your name and contact information in our newsletter, which goes to more than 6,000 local people. We'll also post your question and contact information on our blogs, giving you outrageous exposure to thousands of people interested in real estate - buyers, sellers, and people who work in the industry.

Here's what you get, just for asking a question about mortgages:
  • $25 Starbucks card - delivered to you personally.
  • Your name and contact information sent directly to 6,000 Colorado Front Range people.
  • Your question and contact information on our mortgage blog. We had 20,446 people visit our blog in 2011 - that's an average of 56 visits per day!
  • Your question and contact information on our blog at Active Rain, a real estate blog with more than 210,000 members.The correct answer!
  • A chance to help expand the local real estate knowledge base.
All you have to do is email us your question. We take care of everything else.

Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do. The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!

Make sure you check out our web site:
www.mtgsupportservices.com


By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage. Rates are very, very low right now. Don't miss out! Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.

Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI) - What Counts Against You?

The debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is the ratio of your debts divided by your income, and is one of the main things that determines how large a mortgage you can qualify for. But do all of your debts count against you?

The answer is no, not all debts count against you when determining the size of the mortgage you can get. Here is a list of some of the things that do NOT count against you when a lender calculates your DTI:
  • car insurance
  • electricity
  • water
  • gas
  • sewer
  • phone - land line
  • phone - cell
  • Internet 
  • cablecollection accounts
  • health insurance 
In basic terms, every debt that appears on a credit report (except collection accounts) needs to be included in the DTI, and everything that does not appear on the credit report does not need to be included.

Call us with any questions.

 
Getting a loan approved is easy - if you know what to do. The Mortgage Experts know what to do!!!


Make sure you check out our web site: 
www.mtgsupportservices.com

By the way, don't forget to refinance your current mortgage. Rates are very, very low right now. Don't miss out! Call us today to get the details for your particular situation.