Free FHA Lending Guide
By admin on June 18, 2007
I know that they released this information a few weeks ago but I thought I would revisit it. The Mortgage Loan Place released a free Lending Guide for those seeking information about FHA Loans.
The guide is completely comprehensive and has had a lot of great feedback from the industry and consumers alike. If you get a chance to you should definitely take the time to download and look over all the great information that they worked so hard in presenting.
The site is quite clean in presentation and has the best information on the web regarding FHA Loan programs that is just short of the HUD site. But who can blame them for not having as much information as the government’s page.
If you are looking for great information to present to your consumers or readers then definitely check out the Mortgage Loan Place and their comprehensive site about FHA Lending.
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How much does America know about FHA reform?
By admin on June 15, 2007
Majority of the American Public favors FHA modernization. Here are some key statistics about a study conducted on how aware the American public is about the many key changes that are sought in regards to the FHA Loan program.
When it comes to being completely clueless on the act itself more Americans favor the changes as those that oppose it, 26% to 9% while those that remain undecided rests at 13%. The percent of those that actually know what the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007 is at 48%.
When given a description of the Act itself those that support it went up to 80%. What were they told about the Act, “the rules to make it easier for the FHA to make mortgage loans available to first time homeowners and people with moderate incomes.” With 55% of those asked about it favored the change strongly.
“Only 35% of African Americans are unaware of the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007, compared to majorities of whites (55%) and Hispanics (51%). Without any explanation, four-in-ten African Americans (43%) favor the legislation — a much larger proportion compared to whites (23%) and Hispanics (30%). These elevated levels of support are maintained after respondents heard a brief description; 88% of African Americans favor the Expanding American Homeownership compared again to 78% of whites and 81% of Hispanics.”
The survey was conducted by The Mellman Group of Washington, DC and the numbers were brought to you from their press release.
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Ohio doing their part in rising foreclosure rates
By admin on June 14, 2007
Mortgage delinquency is at an all time high thanks to states in the Midwest. The first quarter numbers reveal that Midwestern states such as Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan are pushing the rate of delinquency up in the nation. As could be predicted the subprime delinquency was up while FHA and VA delinquency fell.
With close to 44 million first time mortgages out, there are 6 million subprime loans. The Prime loan delinquency rate remained stagnant over the first quarter. Subprime delinquency jumped up to 13.77 percent which was a move of 44 bps. In FHA loans, the delinquency rate fell 131 bps to a percentage of 12.15, while the VA delinquency rate was 6.49 percent a fall of 33 bps.
Delinquency rates weren’t the only rates rising in the first quarter as foreclosure percentages moved upward as well. The rate of loans entering into foreclosure moved to a record .58 percent of all loans.
“The percentage of loans in foreclosure would be well below the average of the last ten years were it not for Ohio, Michigan and Indiana,” MBA Chief Economist Doug Duncan said in a statement. “And the rate of foreclosures started nationwide would have fallen were it not for the big jumps in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona.”
Statistically speaking, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio account for 20 percent of all foreclosures making up on nine percent of all loans. Duncan stated that he believed the reason for the increase in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana was due in part to the decline in manufacturing jobs in these states and subsequent layoffs.
On a side note there was word that 24 of the states declined in foreclosures started. But with the help of Nevada, Florida, and California the rate of loans entering foreclosure actually rose as a whole.
“The level of foreclosures and foreclosure starts for those three states exceed what occurred in Texas during the oil bust of the mid-1980s, and Ohio is the highest ever seen in the MBA survey for a large state,” he added.
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The Last Resort
By admin on June 12, 2007
I found a really great site today on shopping for a reverse mortgage. It includes some really great tips if you are in the market for obtaining a reverse mortgage. Like any other financial undertaking a reverse mortgage should be thought out carefully before going full steam ahead.
The idea of receiving money for the home you currently live is can be appealing but if money is all you are after then maybe you should consider selling as John Rother, the policy director for AARP in Washington advises.
“If your only objective is getting money, you’re better off selling,” Rother said. “This is not something you want to do casually - this is really more of a last resort.”
Another thing to consider is what if you are still alive and the payments you receive over a fixed period of time run out and you are left with the upkeep, the taxes, and the insurance on the house.
Think of a reverse mortgage as a last resort to obtain income in your retirement years.
“There is a price to be paid - and that is the interest cost of the funds borrowed, and that accumulates over time,” says Bob Jazwinski, a CPA and financial planner based in Hermitage, PA.
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Raising the Loan limit, who could imagine?
By admin on June 11, 2007
The FHA is seeking to raise its current loan limits to be competitive with other mortgage purchasers including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In high cost areas the FHA is looking to raise the limit to 100% of the loan limits offered by the other two and in low cost areas to increase the percentage by 19% up to 67%.
“If it were increased, it would provide more options,” says Delbert F. Reynolds, Wisconsin field office director for the FHA. “Loan limits aren’t the only issue. One of the points of modernizing is to do some catch up with other tools, like not requiring a down payment.”
This is just one of the helpful changes the HUD is looking to change in the modernization of the FHA which also includes eliminating down payment requirements which previously required 3% down payment.
The changes could bring the FHA Loan back into the spotlight and up to date with the stiff competition in the loan industry.
“There are other agencies that have loan programs, that offer loan down payments, and that are targeting the portion of the subprime market with prime or close to prime. As a person who follows housing policy and finance, I don’t think of the FHA hardly ever,” Smith says.
Keep up to date with all your FHA news here at FHAday.com.
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New Face for the HUD
By admin on June 7, 2007
New face for the HUD is sought in bringing about change to the housing industry. Since 1986 the total number of employees has shrunk by 1,400 and those that are left speak of lack of leadership and vision.
“Eighty percent of us came to work for HUD because of the mission. We’re not satisfied with mediocrity,” said Federoff, who is president of Council 222 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AGFE). “It is not pleasant to come to work and have to face customers with legitimate requests and legitimate needs, and be the front line for HUD’s endless excuses.”
Many of the individual agencies that have worked in cooperation site competitive tendencies when working together with the HUD,
“They did not want to be our partner. They treated us like the enemy,” the former director said.
Even housing developers don’t feel the desire to work the HUD anymore due to the cost and the overall irritation it causes.
“HUD has become such an entrenched bureaucracy that it is no longer effective and cannot be fixed. The cost of dealing with HUD has reached the point it where it just isn’t worth it anymore,” said a senior executive of a private housing development and management firm who has worked with FHA programs, including the Sec. 236 program, since 1975.
To find out the list of top ten ways to fix the HUD you should check out this site, http://www.housingfinance.com/ahf/articles/2007/jul/REINVENTING0707.htm.
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Double-dare. Physical Challenge!
By admin on June 5, 2007
Want to know what challenges face today’s home buyers? U.S. HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said that subprime loans, loss of confidence by consumers, and predatory lending practices are the obstacles.
“Predatory lenders have targeted home buyers – especially minorities – and successfully manipulated many of them into unwarranted, illegal, or unethical loans,” Jackson said. “HUD will continue to aggressively pursue any predatory lender. Consumers must also be empowered with the tools to be able to read and understand the fine print and know when to ask for help.”
Jackson acknowledged many of the problems facing both borrowers and lenders and feels it is important to find solutions in the industry to protect homeownership.
FHA Loan are one possible solution as current borrowers of subprime loans may have a way out by refinancing their subprime loan into an FHA loan.
“One way to do this is by modernizing the FHA,” Jackson said. “We need this reform now. If Congress passes FHA reform, we could help hundreds of thousands of families and we could do so without cost to the taxpayer.”
Watch as more updates about the FHA modernization act are presented.
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Homeownership Month? Who knew?
By admin on June 4, 2007
In case you missed the memo, June is Homeownership Month. Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will speak at a press conference today to kick off the month. Secretary Jackson plans to address the need to educate consumers on the home buying process, helping out those that have found their way into trouble, and point out the significance the bill to modernize the FHA could be a safe alternative to subprime mortgages.
“Throughout this month-long campaign we are taking our message of promoting and protecting homeownership to communities nationwide,” said Jackson. “All Americans should have the opportunity to achieve the dream of buying a home - and once they do, we want to ensure they stay in it. Educating families about the homebuying process and helping those homeowners who may have hit a bump in the road is critical to ensuring a house remains both a home and a secure and stable investment.”
The theme of this year’s celebration is “Promoting and Protecting Homeownership” and is designed to encourage first-time homebuying and educate current homeowners on the responsibilities that come with homeownership.
HUD’s FHA programs have helped more than 34 million since the program started in 1934. The modernization of the FHA is seeking to increase loan limits to reflect the rise in current housing costs which will provide a safer alternative to a subprime loan.
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Mortgage Company helps Vets
By admin on May 31, 2007
In keeping with my last post and for the of week of Memorial Day I found this nice little article.
It appears as though a VA Loans company decided to hold a scholarship competition to Veterans to describe the reason why they served. This could be a person going to college now or even for their children going to college. This was a really great thing for the VA Mortgage Center to do and I applaud them on stepping up for Veterans and their families.
The VA Mortgage Center.com has announced the three winners of its first annual Military Education Scholarship Program. The winners, John Parker, Stacey Lang, and Ann Marie Little will each receive $1,000 from the VA Mortgage Center.com to be used towards educational funding.
The scholarships were awarded based on essays written on the topic, “Why I Chose to Serve.” The submissions covered a wide range of themes from educational benefits to life skills to spiritual growth. Entries were judged based on quality of the writing, uniqueness, and overall appeal. The contest was open to current and prospective ROTC students, active-duty personnel with plans to attend college, honorably discharged veterans currently attending or with plans to attend college, and the children of veterans or active-military personnel.
All of the essays were a testament to the strong character of the men and women serving our country. The three winners stood out as dedicated individuals and excellent writers.
“It was great to see such a talented pool of applicants,” said Matt Wanserski, one of the contest judges and a loan officer within the company. “All of the essays were a testament to the strong character of the men and women serving our country. The three winners stood out as dedicated individuals and excellent writers.”VA Mortgage Center.com is one of the leading providers of VA loans and other related lending products in association with the VA Lending Program. The scholarship program has been funded 100% by the employees of the VA Mortgage Center.com to show their support for the servicemen and women.
For additional information, please contact Nathan Long or visit www.vamortgagecenter.com
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Thank a Veteran and those that serve
By admin on May 25, 2007
With this weekend being Memorial Day weekend I thought I would make a quick shout out to thank all the men and women who have served our country or are currently serving our country throughout the world, thank you. My father is a Vietnam Veteran and both of my grandfathers served in World War II and I take great pride in knowing they served for us.
Currently President Bush wants to give a 3% pay raise to our men and women serving but Congress wants to give them a 3.5% pay increase. Why the discrepancy? Well, Bush feels that being paid $15,617 is compensation enough along with all the other benefits they receive. When military personnel are honorably discharged they receive many great benefits including money for college in the form of the GI Bill and are eligible for a home loan in the form of a VA Home Loan. This may be the case but when you give private companies the same increase I don’t think that is fair.
“Considering the sacrifices that our military families make, the Democratic proposal to provide the troops with the pay raise they deserve and an increase in benefits for the spouses they may leave behind is one small way that we can support our troops,” the leadership wrote in a joint letter to Mr. Bush.
I will say that the VA Loan program is one of the greatest benefits to military veterans. Those individuals who served our country proudly and had little time to build credit or save much for a down payment are then eligible for a competitive interest rate while having very little credit.
Take time to thank a veteran and to think about those that are currently engaged in combat.
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