Good Morning! This tip isn’t about mortgages. It’s about being more productive. Many of you use Gmail. I use Gmail. I like many things about it, but I won’t go into all the details here. One of the cool things about Gmail is that you can add things to it to make yourself more productive.…
Good Morning! I hope you and your family have a great 4th of July tomorrow! Few fun facts about 4th of July… – Only John Hancock actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. All the others signed later. – The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45. The youngest was…
Good Morning! I wanted to let you know how the major mortgage programs treat Chapter 7 bankruptcy… FHA: 2 years from discharge date, but not less than 12 months w/extenuating circumstances. VA: 2 years from completion date. USDA: 3 years from discharge date. Fannie Mae: 4 years from discharge date, or dismissal date. Freddie Mac:…
Good Morning! You may have been told by your loan officer that you have to remove the disputes from your credit before they can underwrite your loan. For Conventional loans, there is really no way around this. You will have to remove them. However, for FHA loans you don’t necessarily have to remove them. This…
Good Morning! I have borrowers ask me if paying extra on their mortgage payment each month will save them money over the life of the loan. The answer is… Of course! It can save quite a bit actually. I created the table below to illustrate the savings. This is based on a 30 year $100,000…
Good Morning! On Conventional loans, the maximum amount that an interested party (such as the seller) can contribute to the buyers closing costs and prepaids can vary depending on the loan to value ratio of the loan. Here is the breakdown on how much the seller can contribute… • 2% of the lesser of the…
Good Morning! Home Possible is a Conventional loan program offered by Freddie Mac. It has income limits, but many Texas counties have no income limits for Home Possible. Some of the benefits of Home Possible are lower rates and lower mortgage insurance. Loan to value ratios up to 97%. Credit scores down to 620. It’s…
Good Morning! I run into a lot of self-employed people that “maximize their deductions” on their tax returns. They make money, but they don’t show a lot of income on their tax returns due to their deductions. They may have great credit, but they can’t get a mortgage because they don’t show enough income. We…
Good Morning! Are you planning to use a gift for the down payment or closing costs when using a Conventional Loan? Not just anyone can give you a gift. Here is the list of acceptable donors that can give you a gift… Relative, defined as the borrower’s spouse, child or other dependent, or by any…
Good Morning! If you rent from an individual (no apartment complex or management company) – you must PROVE you paid the rent. That means we will need canceled rent checks. …If you pay your rent with cash – DON’T! Start writing checks for rent! If you pay with money orders then put your paycheck in…