If you have been anywhere near lending or real estate social media lately, you have seen a great deal of news about what FNMA will be doing with appraisals. Much of the chatter would lead one to believe that we are facing a world of chronic low appraisals, delays in closings, & increased costs for consumers. Not to mention an almost Armageddon-like stifling of property values. Much of this remains to be seen, & like all new things, it can be difficult to separate fact from “distortion”. My personal expectation on all of this is that we will see “evolution”,...

HUD is making some long awaited changes to the cost of FHA mortgage insurance. These changes are definitely for the better, & will bring reductions to the monthly mortgage payment for folks that obtain an FHA mortgage after this change is made. When a homebuyer obtains an FHA mortgage, they pay mortgage insurance to HUD to protect the lender against default. This is similar to PMI on a conventional loan. The FHA mortgage insurance is paid in two fashions: first an “up front” lump sum payment is made, & this amount is typically rolled into the mortgage. For a standard FHA...

As discussed in part 1 of this topic, obtaining a mortgage on a condominium presents additional hurdles that do not exist when financing a standard home. This previous post delved into the “nuts & bolts” aspects of a condominium, & why it is different than financing a free standing home. In this post, we’ll get down to the nitty-gritty, & talk about what can make a condo approve-able, or “warrantable” in mortgage speak. We will also explore some things that can simply make a condo project ineligible for most types of financing. The items below are relevant to “conventional” mortgage financing of...

So did your last condo transaction feel more like a hobbit adventure into Mordor than a standard real estate deal? If so, that is definitely understandable. Financing a condominium can have an unpredictable outcome, which nobody ever wants in a transaction. What is it about condominium financing that adds such a layer of complexity? Over the next few posts, we will explore this topic.  We will identify unique condo financing criteria, as well as tips to hopefully smooth out this process to ensure a successful closing. Let’s start by looking at the factors that make financing a condominium different than...

OK, a confession here. The title of this blog post was meant to grab attention. Certainly there is no intent to imply that homebuyers that choose an adjustable rate mortgage fall into the same category as our wayward friend, Walter White. That said, during the financial collapse of 2008, ARM loans were cast into the fire and vilified as one of the elements that contributed to the collapse. Truthfully during that time, the fact that a mortgage was an ARM wasn’t typically the primary problem. Subprime loans, & loans that did not verify income were often written as ARM loans,...

Texting while driving. Not looking both ways when crossing the street. And Frasier Crane running with scissors. The dangerous things that we shouldn’t do in life are endless. In a similar way, there are things that homebuyers simply cannot do when applying for a mortgage. Many years ago, I sat in on a training session for new real estate agents, & the trainer was doing a great job talking about farming, networking, marketing, and all the things that an agent must do to build their business. She then went into great detail on the mechanics of putting together a good...