A few months ago, I blogged about the MSHDA down payment assistance program for first time home buyers. It is a wonderful program for people living in the great state of Michigan which offers up to $7500 to borrowers to help them purchase a home. The $7500 can be used as a down payment, and […]

As I’ve been talking about for the last few weeks, new HUD guidelines were released which allow people who have had a foreclosure, short sale, pre-foreclosure, or bankruptcy to purchase a home in as little as 12 months from the incident. To qualify there are certain requirements which must be met, including meeting minimum credit […]

In my last post, I discussed how the new HUD guidelines released last week helped those who have had to file bankruptcy. Today, I would like to explain the benefits outlined for anyone who has been through a foreclosure in the last few years. In the past, you were ineligible to purchase a new house […]

As I discussed last week, HUD recently released new guidelines for borrowers who have experienced an “economic event” in the last few years. These new guidelines allow qualified loan officers to help borrowers who were forced to declare bankruptcy buy a house if the borrowers meet certain guidelines, and if they experienced an economic event. […]

In a continuing effort to help people rebuild their lives after the great recession, HUD released new guidelines this week which open up the availability for borrowers to qualify for an FHA loan after a “economic event.” Under previous guidelines, to be eligible for an FHA loan, you needed to wait 3 years after a foreclosure,  short […]

When it comes time to calculate a mortgage payment, most of my clients simply ask me what the payment will be, and decide if they are ready to move forward or not. Occasionally, I have clients who want to know the interest rate, term, and loan amount I am basing my figures on so that […]

Ultimately, the most important factor in getting any mortgage closed is the applicant. And by this, I don’t mean the credit worthiness, income, or anything else; I mean the willingness to collect documents, the willingness to provide information, and the openness at the beginning of the process. When I submit an application and it is […]

When shopping for your first house, there are many things to consider – where do you want to live, what type of house do you want, what architectural design do you want, how many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need, do you want a big yard or a small yard; the list is as long […]

With interest rates steadily declining over the last two years, and finally hitting all time lows recently, it is no wonder so much attention is being paid to refinancing. Refinancing is, basically, just trading your existing mortgage in for a new one with a different rate and term in an effort to lower your costs. […]

The mortgage application, also known as the 1003 or the uniform residential loan application, is the primary form used to gather information to judge your ability to get a mortgage. It is 5 pages long, and can be intimidating to a lot of borrowers (especially first time home buyers). Today, I’d like to break this […]