by Irene Moustakas | May 11, 2011 | Featured, Industry News
Fannie Mae’s current temporary limits for high-balance loan amounts are set to expire on September 30th. On October 1st of this year, they will revert back to the permanent high-balance limits. The limits are dependent on the county you live in, but for many...
by Irene Moustakas | Apr 26, 2011 | Featured, Industry News
Every once in a while, I am contacted by homeowners that want and need to refinance, but are unable to on account of high qualifying ratios, being underwater on their home, or because they lost their job. Unfortunately, I cannot help people directly when it comes to...
by Irene Moustakas | Apr 12, 2011 | 1st Time Homebuyers, Featured, Loan Programs and Products
This 3.5% assistance applies to Homepath properties, but it is available only during a small window of time. Homepath is an excellent financing program available for Fannie Mae-owned homes. Check out the features of Homepath in my previous blog, but as a quick...
by Irene Moustakas | Apr 1, 2011 | Featured, Industry News
Updated 4/6/11: As expected, the stay has been lifted and the appeal got denied. We are proceeding with the new compensation law. See my previous post regarding its details. The National Association of Mortgage Brokers won an appeal to the Loan Originator...
by Irene Moustakas | Mar 25, 2011 | Featured, Industry News
A new law is going into effect on April 1st that regulates how much loan originators* will get compensated on each loan. Yes, this will affect me and everyone else in my profession, but it will also affect you too. The law has many complexities, but my goal here is...
by Irene Moustakas | Mar 21, 2011 | Featured, Rates
On Conventional loans, your credit score can have a significant impact on the interest rate for which you qualify and/or how much more the loan is going to cost you. You can generally accept a higher interest rate so that you do not have to pay out of pocket for the...
by Irene Moustakas | Mar 7, 2011 | Featured, Loan Programs and Products, Rates
A Jumbo loan is any loan amount that exceeds the high-balance loan limit set per county. High-balance loan limits for your city in California can be found here: California City High-Balance Loan Limits with a current absolute maximum of $729,750.00. If you exceed this...
by Irene Moustakas | Mar 4, 2011 | Featured, Uncategorized
Title insurance is one of the more expensive items you pay for in a purchase and/or refinance transaction. The title company performs a detailed and comprehensive search to determine if any person or entity may have an interest in the property. The title insurance...
by Irene Moustakas | Mar 2, 2011 | Uncategorized
I’m actually pretty shocked that down payment requirements have loosened and not tightened. What do you think this means for the housing industry and the lending landscape? Do you think it’s prudent? The highlights of this 3% down payment, conventional loan option...
by Irene Moustakas | Feb 14, 2011 | Uncategorized
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development just released a new statement that FHA’s annual mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) are going to increase by .25% across the board. The change will be effective for FHA case numbers issued on and after April...