Mortgages

Don’t miss out on the $8K tax credit! Less than 6 months left is less time than you think!

June 3, 2009

The $8K first time home buyers tax credit expires on November 30th. Buyers have less than 6 months left to find, negotiate and close on the purchase of their home! Both conventional and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured mortgages are taking longer to process this year due to tightened lending guidelines, a spike in FHA Click to continue...

1st Time Home Buyers Can Now Borrow the $8K Tax Credit Upfront!

May 29, 2009

Today the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave the go ahead to mortgage companies to develop bridge-loan products that enable first time buyers to use the benefits of the $8,000 federal tax credit upfront. Such loans let the buyers borrow against the tax credit giving them up to an additional $8,000 for a Click to continue...

A Good Example of Why Bringing a Home Purchase to Closing is a Team Effort

May 28, 2009

Yesterday I had a closing for a Lakeview condo that wouldn’t have happened for a few more days, if it weren’t for the extraordinary efforts of the buyer’s mortgage consultant, Michael Polera, and real estate attorney, Rachell Horbenko. Condo financing is challenging in this market and even more so when a jumbo loan is involved. Click to continue...

Special Mortgages for Firefighters, Police, Teachers & Health Care Workers

May 16, 2009

This afternoon during an open house I was hosting in St. Charles, a young woman, Brandi, mentioned that her boyfriend was a firefighter in Bensenville and that he had attended a program about special mortgages for firefighters. She asked if I could get her some information on them. I checked with my mortgage expert, Michael Click to continue...

30 Year Fixed Rates Drop to 4.75% for Well Qualified Home Buyers!

March 20, 2009

Wednesday the Federal Reserve said that over the course of the rest of the year, they will purchase up to $750 billion of Mortgage Backed Securities. This move is designed to help shore up the housing market by pushing mortgage interest rates down further. Mortgage rates (already in a historically low range) moved even lower Click to continue...

95% Condo Mortgages Back for People with Good Credit!

March 17, 2009

Starting late last year and until this week condo buyers had to put a minimum of 10% down unless they bought an FHA approved condo. Condo mortgages requiring only a 5% down payment with no FHA restrictions are now available for well qualified condo buyers! According to Baird & Warner Financial Services Loan Consultant, Michael Click to continue...

How to Buy a Home and Get Your Down Payment Back

February 17, 2009

STEPS 1. Be a first time home buyer and make no more than $75,000, if you are an individual or $150,000 if you are joint tax filers.1 2. Qualify for an FHA loan. 3. Buy a home for your principal residence for $228,500 or less before Dec. 1, 2009 using an FHA loan with a Click to continue...

Beware of Lenders Pushing Reverse Mortgages to Buy a Home

February 10, 2009

The email’s headline was enticing, “Realtor Alert: Seniors can now purchase a home using a reverse mortgage… Learn how to increase your Real Estate Commissions!” A bank invited me to attend their webinar on how people 62 and older can purchase homes using reverse mortgages. Previously, seniors could only get a reverse mortgage on the Click to continue...

You May Need Your Closing Papers Long After Your Closing

February 4, 2009

A gentleman I helped buy a house in Evanston a few years ago called me recently. He was refinancing and meeting with the appraiser who had asked to see his plat of survey. A plat of survey shows the boundaries of a property and where improvements (e.g. buildings) are located on the property. Richard couldn’t Click to continue...

What Home Buyers Need to Know About Seller Rate Buydowns

November 19, 2008

Today in my office’s sales meeting our loan consultant talked about seller interest rate buydowns. That’s when the seller pays to lower the buyer’s mortgage interest rate. If home buyers will be living in the home for at least 5 years and staying with that loan, it can be a great deal for them since Click to continue...

Fannie Mae Downpayment Requirements Raised

October 27, 2008

Mortgage blogger, Dan Green, recently blogged about Fannie Mae’s increased downpayment requirements. Why does this matter? Fannie Mae guarantees over a quarter of U.S. home loans. For more details, read Dan’s blog post, “Starting December 13, 2008, Many Mortgage Approvals Will Require Larger Downpayments And More Home Equity“. Click to continue...

Beware of Lenders Offering Better Deals if They Finance Your Purchase of Their Foreclosures

October 23, 2008

Recently a couple of my clients made an offer on a foreclosed home in Arlington Heights. The lender who owns the home required that buyers be prequalified by them. The buyers called one of their loan representatives and shared their income, credit and assets information. My buyers were extremely well qualified and the loan representative Click to continue...

Know What a Mortgage Preapproval is, Your Agent & Loan Officer May Not!

September 22, 2008

Want to maximize the strength of your offer and minimize the time it will take to get it accepted? Make sure you have a mortgage preapproval, not a mortgage prequalification with your offer. Years ago after one of my sellers got burned by a bad mortgage preapproval, I started having the loan consultant in my Click to continue...

Mortgage Rates Drop Sharply!

September 11, 2008

If you’ve been waiting for a sign that it’s time to buy a home, you got it on Monday. According to MSNBC.com, mortgage rates dropped sharply on Monday. Bob Walters, chief economist at Quicken Loans said, “I’ve seen a drop like this happen maybe two or three times in my 17 years in the business”. Click to continue...

The Domino Effect in Real Estate

September 8, 2008

Today a couple of my buyers were supposed to have the closing for their new condo in the South Loop, but they fell prey to the domino effect. The woman buying their Lincoln Park condo was supposed to close on the sale of her condo last week. An issue arose with her buyer’s financing and Click to continue...

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