MIP, PMI, or neither?
This chart compares the costs and benefits of default insurance demanded by lenders on mortgages with LTVs exceeding 80%, and suggests the optimal financing path for homebuyers.
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Tag: FHA
Government-backed mortgages take off among servicemembers
The number of VA-guaranteed mortgages spiked during the 2008 recession and have only grown in popularity.
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CalVet program eclipsed by VA-guaranteed mortgages
Does the CalVet program provide a good value for veterans?
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Low credit scores are a harbinger for future home purchases
Increasingly lower credit scores may limit potential homebuyers and negatively affect the real estate market.
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California Housing Finance Agency conforms to new FHA due-on avoidance rules
A.B. 984 eliminates due-on calls for two homebuyer assistance programs to conform to new FHA rules.
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The FHA energy efficient mortgage (EEM)
Energy efficiency is all the rage, but it’s not cheap. This article guides you through the FHA’s...
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Why shouldn’t we hate Wall Street?
This article disputes the claim that Wall Street is a vital component of a thriving economy and argues the current mortgage lending environment actually stifles the upward mobility of the middle class.
Read MoreHome sales on the rise in December
37,734 new and resale home transactions closed escrow in California during December 2011, up 4% from 36,215 transactions one year ago. December is the fifth consecutive month in which home sales volume surpassed corresponding...
Read MoreNovember 2011 home sales volume
32,669 new and resale home transactions closed escrow in California during November 2011, up 4% from 31,403 transactions one year ago. November is the fourth consecutive month in 2011 in which home sales volume surpassed the...
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The burden of structural pest control
This article highlights the FHA’s shift from requiring automatic SPC reporting and clearance to discretionary compliance by the lender.
Read MoreRelief for unemployed homeowners . . . big deal
What do you think Congress and the Administration should do for California's underwater homeowner? Require lenders to grant homeowners loan mods, a la HAMP. (52%, 61 Votes) Nothing, homeowners must honor their agreement to pay...
Read MoreLike myths, this old dream will never die
Do you believe homeownership is an important part of the American Dream? Yes (80%, 105 Votes) No (20%, 26 Votes) Total Voters: 131 Who cares about financial crises of historic proportions, a feeble and ravaged real estate market...
Read MoreStrict lending is good for you and the economy
The ten largest lenders in the nation approved 73% of mortgage loan applications submitted to them in 2010, down from 77% in 2009, according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal. Loan approvals in California for 2010 were...
Read MoreFed downsizing big mortgages too soon
Players in the upscale housing market fear hard times ahead as the federal government prepares to downsize the amount at which they will guarantee a home mortgage. With the past three years of relatively low interest rates,...
Read MoreHigher FHA-insured loan costs push homebuyers to prowl the market
Annual default premiums (MIPs) on 30-year Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans for homebuyers with less than 5% down payment rose to 1.1 or 1.15% of the home value from 0.85 or 0.9%, effective April 18, 2011. For a...
Read MoreThough FHA ‘Short-Refi’ applications increase, program still a failure
‘Short-Refi Program’ application numbers are rising as lenders sign up to participate, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) reported last week. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received 387...
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Mortgage market reform from the executive branch
The current administration proposes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be gradually dissolved within...
Read MoreLicensing for listing negative equity properties for short sale
A licensing clarification: no special real estate license designation or endorsement is required for real estate licensees to list a negative equity property for sale or arrange a loan payoff discount on a short sale. Any...
Read MoreFHA ‘Short-Refi Program’ debt relief for underwater homeowners
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently launched yet another foreclosure prevention program to address the plight of underwater homeowners, called a ‘FHA Short-Refi Program,’ the ‘short’ standing for a process also...
Read More10% off HUD foreclosed homes for non-users
Effective immediately, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has implemented yet another program to market foreclosed homes, this one called the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). NSP will sell Department of Housing...
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