My Financial Healthcheck

Proposal to Increase FHA Down Payment Voted Down in Committee

By Jann Swanson   On Tuesday the House Financial Services Committee approved a request by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to raise the ceiling on annual FHA mortgage insurance premiums from its current level of 0.55 percent. FHA had requested the increase as one part of a plan aimed at shoring up its capital reserves which [...]

A Holiday Mortgage Poem

  T’was the week before Christmas When all through the lands, LO’s and Closers were wringing their hands. RESPA changes are coming, They all started to worry, We’d better get trained, and get trained in a hurry! We all [...]

Some Mortgage Humor

This Past Week In The Mortgage Market

  Most U.S. cities saw gains in the median price of single-family homes sold during the third quarter, the national median home price was $177,900, up $7,000 from the second quarter.  It was the second quarter of consecutive gains.  Nearly half of home sales are now being made by first-time purchasers, much of the gains are [...]

This Past Week In The Mortgage Market

  Foreclosures hit a record high in the third quarter despite all the supposed government efforts to help prevent them.  The 937,840 homes that received a foreclosure letter in the third quarter was the worst three months on record, or one in every 136 U.S. homes were in foreclosure.  Once again the efforts put forth by [...]

Is The FHA In Trouble?

Friday’s WSJ Front Page article · SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 Loan Losses Spark Concern Over FHA By NICK TIMIRAOS and DEBORAH SOLOMON The Federal Housing Administration, hit by increasing mortgage-related losses, is in danger of seeing its reserves fall below the level demanded by Congress, according to government officials, in a development that could raise concerns about whether the agency [...]

This Week In The Mortgage Market

This week had another up and down interest rate rollercoaster.  Median home prices fell a record 15.6% during the 2nd quarter of this year.  In metro markets, 129 out of 155 markets had median prices drop year over year.  Foreclosures accounted for 36% of all transactions during the quarter..not a healthy sign.  Once again, if [...]

Brian – Call Me @ (609) 945-7514

Call me @ (609) 945-7514 to discuss if a Reverse Mortgage is the right option for you now! Brian

Mortgage Terms And Their Definitions-I Thru L

Interest Rate: the amount of interest charged on a monthly loan payment; usually expressed as a percentage. Interest: a fee charged for the use of money. Index: a measurement used by lenders to determine changes to the interest rate charged on an adjustable rate mortgage. Inflation: the number of dollars in circulation exceeds the amount of goods and [...]

Another Up And Down Week In the Market Market

The week started with some hope with the 10 Year Bond’s yield dropping from the high of almost 4% to the 3.60% area before finishing the week at the 3.80% area.  So in a nutshell, market rates have been up one day down the next, then up again…not a good trend.  Some believe that the [...]