The USDA Rural Development Single Family Residence Guaranteed Loan Program is a loan program designed by the USDA to help bring home buyers into areas deemed rural. This program allows for 100% financing with no down payment requirement, flexible credit guidelines, and you can include closing costs and repair costs in the loan. This is […]

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) created a program to help first time home buyers buy a home. This program offers up to $7500 to borrowers to act as a down payment, helping buyers purchase a home with no money out of pocket. This down payment assistance is great for anyone interested in buying […]

There is some buzz in the mortgage world about Fannie Mae’s HomePath program. It is a program I am often asked about, and have heard some pretty interesting misinformation that my clients have received from friends, family, and the internet. At its core, it is a program to help sell foreclosures currently owned by Fannie […]

There is a special mortgage type for active duty military, reservists, and veterans, called a VA mortgage. This mortgage works nothing like a conventional or FHA mortgage, as it does not rely on traditional debt to income calculations and has much more forgiving credit qualifications. It was a mortgage program designed by the government to […]

So we’ve discussed conventional and FHA mortgages, but an important type of FHA mortgage is the FHA 203k mortgage. The FHA 203k mortgage was created to help people buy houses which need repairs. Prior to the 203k loans, lenders were becoming increasingly strict when it came to lending on a house which needed work. But with the […]

In my last post, I discussed what a conventional loan is. But for many customers who do not qualify for a conventional mortgage, or who do not want to put as much money down on a house, going with an FHA mortgage might make more sense. An FHA loan is a government backed loan with […]

One of the first questions I am asked by my customers is: “what type of mortgage is best for me?” And to answer that question, I will usually ask them a series of questions to get a better understanding of their needs. After we go through this exercise, I will lay out several options, and […]

The most important first step in buying a house is determining what you can afford and what type of mortgage makes the most sense for you. So, it seemed a good idea to explain what is involved in qualifying for a mortgage and what some of the basic terms mean. For starters, it is important […]

As a mortgage banker in Wayne County, MI as well as Oakland and Washtenaw Counties I tend to work closely with a lot of real estate agents.  I keep tabs on the process for my clients as they get pre-approved for a mortgage in Michigan clear through to closing – it helps me know my […]

If you’re on the market to buy one of the many homes for sale in Oakland county, then the best way to get an offer accepted is to appeal to the emotions of the person selling the home.  Why?  Because that’s how sales work.  People not only buy in impulse and emotion but they sell […]