Providing the most helpful tips for buyers, realtors, homeowners, and the public in general is the main purpose of our blogs. They are written about real world mortgage loan scenarios and we hope that these blogs provide education to our readers.
Best of the Best Blogs:
New 100% products with higher down payment assistance with zero interest and payments for NC buyers. One of the most popular questions we hear is what kind of programs are there with 100% financing and the answer has been VA and USDA. But now, NC Housing Finance Agency has announced that the Down Payment Assistance amounts have increased to give first time or move up buyers 100% or more… Read this blog
How to have Perfect, Walk on Water, Qualifies for the Best Rate there IS, How Dare You questions me, Credit. As I always say, nowadays everyone is a number so you might as well have a high one! Tips for getting that elusive perfect credit score…Read this blog for how
We are experts at so many types of mortgage loans that we are the Swiss army knife of mortgage lending. Just in our office we see so many different mortgage scenarios and we have always taken pride in knowing a large array of mortgage products. We don’t just take the cookie cutter loans. We tackle the difficult situations for the good of our client and we make sure that the product our borrowers choose is a good fit for them. Read the wide array of mortgages we closed
PMI Strategies that can save you money over FHA. Most of the time when you hear someone say PMI or mortgage insurance, everyone cringes. But there are not only benefits of PMI but there are also money saving PMI options. Learn these PMI strategies here
Did you know that some forms of nontaxable income can be grossed up? All forms of mortgages allow for grossing up certain types of nontaxable income. The reason nontaxable income can be grossed up is because typically mortgage loans go by a borrower’s gross income. The amount that nontaxable income can be grossed up depends on …Learn more here
Do not use cash when purchasing a home and applying for a mortgage! Buyers, selling agents, listing agents, and sellers should pay attention to this because cash can cause major problems in the mortgage loan process. Learn how to avoid these issues
I have signed my closing documents, so when do I get the keys? An important thing to remember for a purchase closing is that just because the buyer has signed the closing documents, the property is not the buyer’s yet. Generally the following items need to happen on the day of closing… See what needs to happen
Appraisal requirements to look for in order to prevent delays and extra costs. Way to often borrowers incur extra costs and have delays in the mortgage process because of preventable issues on the appraisal. To reduce the likelihood of the appraiser needing to re-inspect the property which would cause the borrower to pay another fee to the appraiser and delay the process, we suggest the following…
Request your VA Certificate of Eligibility. In order to obtain a VA home loan, you will need a VA Certificate of Eligibility. We can take care of getting your VA Certificate of Eligibility for you. See how we can get the VA COE quickly
Limits on seller paid costs for buyers. Limits on seller paid closing costs for buyer for different program types: As a buyer or realtor, before agreeing to a sales price, it is very important to know if you need or want seller paid costs, how much is needed or most beneficial, and how much is allowed to be paid by the seller. See the limits here
USDA Well Water Test Requirements. The USDA Rural Home Development has stipulated that the local health authority or a state-certified laboratory must perform a water quality analysis and that the results must “meet” or “exceed” the EPA minimum thresholds for…Read more
Difference between a condo and a townhouse. We see this misunderstanding of condo versus townhome more than any other property types as a lot of listings will call the property a condo/townhome and there is no such thing. Understanding this difference between a condo and a townhouse is very important for buyers, sellers, and their agents! Learn the differences here
When does PMI stop on FHA, USDA, and conventional mortgage loans? I hear quite often the misunderstandings of PMI or annual fees from borrowers, loan officers, realtors, and attorneys on mortgage types such as “all PMI stops at 80%”. See the real answers here
Ways to pay off a mortgage early. There are a lot of ways to pay down a mortgage quicker than the agreed upon terms. Below are several ideas to consider when trying to pay off a mortgage. See how
Using a pastor or minister’s housing allowance to qualify for a mortgage loan. The IRS looks at the housing allowance portion of a pastor’s income as an exclusion from income. Therefore the housing allowance is not reported on the personal tax returns as taxable income. Even though it is not reported on the tax returns, a pastor’s housing allowance can be used… Read more
Searching for VA approved condos. In order to finance the purchase of a condo with a VA loan, the condo must be on the VA Approved Condo List as… Read more here
Searching for FHA approved condos. In order to finance the purchase of a condo with an FHA loan, the condo must be on the FHA approved condo list and not be expired. To search approved condos, click here
Step by step instructions for locating USDA eligible properties and areas. One of the most popular questions we receive is “how do I tell if the property is USDA eligible?” or something similar. Whether you are a buyer, seller, or realtor, you should get familiar with this site as USDA is a great opportunity for a buyer to get affordable financing at 100% of the sales price. Step by step instructions can be found here
Construction to permanent loans with little to no money down in NC, SC, and VA. Finding a construction loan is very difficult today and almost impossible to find over 75 – 80% of the value. Well, we offer a one-time closing VA, FHA, & conventional construction to perm mortgage loan to meet this huge need in Virginia and the Carolina’s. Low to no down payment construction perm loans are very much needed and we fill that need for our clients and homebuilders. We offer the following solutions.
Getting a 2nd VA loan when you have a VA loan already meaning you can have two VA loans! Here’s a popular scenario for military buyers: A buyer currently in the military has been relocated and wants to purchase a primary residence with a VA mortgage to get 100% financing, but the buyer already has a VA loan on the prior residence which is now rented out. Can this be done? Yes and see how
Mortgage loan approvals with deferred student loan payments. Student loans play a big role in people’s finances nowadays and that is certainly true with mortgage loan approvals as well. CNN Money reported in an article on 12/5/13 that the average student loan debt for the class of 2012 is $29,400. Read the article here. Student loan payments are usually included in calculating a borrower’s debt to income ratio. What many borrowers may not know is that even though a student loan’s payments may be deferred to a later date, the payments… Read more
We hope that you found these “best of” blogs informative and useful. We are always happy to help answer questions as well as qualifying borrowers for the right mortgage to meet his/her goals and situation. Read more about mortgage products and tips throughout our website or give us a call.