Fannie Mae has announced that it is rolling back its rule requiring additional downpayments in areas that it deemed at risk of declining home prices.  Freddie Mac has indicated that it is tempering a similar policy.  The recent rule change discards a policy in existence since last December that insisted an additional 5% downpayment be anted up on top of whatever amount was normally required for that particular loan program if the property was in a zip code determined to be at risk of price declines.

Many homeowners are finding they can’t refinance because they owe more than their home will appraise for.  Call your current loan servicer and find out if Fannie Mae is the end servicer.  If so, Fannie Mae has a program for “under water borrowers” and will refinance your loan up to 120% of your home’s value.  Obviously, you must still qualify for the loan.

FHA has the FHASecure program.

If you can’t make your mortgage payments and refinancing isn’t an option, the worst thing you can do is nothing.  A good place to start is Hope Now. 
Check out their website at http://www.hopenow.com/

Absolutely No closing costs line of credit, APR 3.99%
This is a 3 month introductory rate at Prime minus 1.01% and then goes to Prime minus .25%.  The Prime interest rate is currently 5.000%.  You are able to make interest only payments on this loan…  A borrowed amount of $50,000 would have a minimum payment of only $198.  If you bought a $50,000 car and got a great car loan at 6.0% for 5 years, your payment would be $966.64.

To see how much you qualify for please contact us.  With such a low cost of money it is worth considering this home equity loan instead of pulling money out of your savings where you can potentially earn more right now.  Looking to buy a home?  Ask us about our purchase program for a (no down payment, no closing costs, no $ needed at settlement) no money loan in MD, DC, and VA.

   Mitch Jacobs, Choice Finance®

Below is a scenario Choice Finance® is able to offer home buyers.  The rate is real and is based on today’s rate.  If your scores are in the low 600’s and higher, you are not wasting your time to seek approval.  Even high 500’s are sometimes acceptable.  We do not require excellent credit.  To see if you are eligible and qualify, complete a detailed loan application.

We will have an answer for you within 1 business day.  *Use Choice Finance® AND Choice Real Estate® (choicerealestate.net), and your interest rate will be reduced .25%.  That’s 6.25% in this scenario.

Real Estate Agents, grab your buyers and grab your listings that are sitting un-sold..  We will show you how to get your buyers into these homes.  Talk with us about offering a rebate to your clients to reduce the interest rate by .25%.

Sellers, how would you like to offer this scenario to your potential buyers and help get your home SOLD?

Sales price                               $359,999
Closing costs needed              $0
$ needed at settlement          $0

30 year fixed rate                 6.50%, 4/15/08

Monthly payment                  $2,240.28
+ taxes, insurance, mi          $562.74  ($357.98 your taxes may be lower + $60 + $144.76)
TOTAL PAYMENT                    $2,803.02

More info on this program.. Complete a detailed application today and find out if you qualify!  APR% in above scenario is 7.321%.  My Community   FHA   VA loans   Police   Teachers

Reverse Mortgage
They are fantastic programs and offer a variety of payouts to the customer.  The borrower can receive a lump sum payment, a monthly payment, the availability of a line of credit to draw at their leisure OR a combination of the 3.  These loans are very flexible. 

The Reverse Mortgages have no monthly payments for the life of the loan.  All interest is added to the principal balance to be paid back when the loan is paid off.  The loan is due when the home is no longer the borrower’s primary residence.  At the time of the sale of the property, if there is negative equity in the property, it becomes the lender’s issue.  The borrower and or their heirs will not be responsible for making up any difference between the sales price and the balance due. 

If there is positive equity, the proceeds will go to the borrower’s designated heirs.  These programs are not as simple as getting the value of the property and multiplying it by a Loan to Value factor to come up with the available loan amount.  Age, zip code, property value, and product type (ARM (many available) vs. Fixed) will determine the amount available.  These loans normally float until closing so the loan amount may fluctuate a little between application and settlement. 
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If you are interested in learning more and/or finding out what you qualify for, we will need a complete application to run through a Reverse Mortgage application engine to generate proposed terms for you.  Complete a “Forward” application online, and put in $1 for loan amount at 1% fixed over 30 years.  This will allow you to complete the rest of the application.  Don’t complete any liabilities as we will get this from your credit report.  While we don’t verify income or assets, the information is required on the application as is a credit report even though credit and credit scores are not a determining factor in the approval process. 
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Click here for the Reverse Mortgage Application, and here for a very helpful guide to run preliminary numbers for good estimates of reverse mortgage loan amounts.   Remember, the calculators are an estimate… We are closing on one this afternoon where the borrowers are receiving $6K more than the AARP calculators suggests they are entitled to. 
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Contact Choice Finance® anytime with any questions and to move forward with your application.

I appreciate the chance to be heard on this subject of appraisers and what we can and can’t do in the near future. I believe that the quality of the loan process will suffer greatly if these proposed changes are made. Those who seek to change this interaction between the appraisers and the loan originators do not realize the increased cost and the greater risk that will be placed on the borrowers shoulders.

When I order an appraisal I need my appraiser to know unless a certain value is there, to not proceed with the appraisal. Very frequently, in fact on almost every loan I ask them to run comps first to make sure the value is there. I don’t want to waste my time or the client’s money if the loan can’t be closed.  Many times, they have both told me that value requested was not available. That’s what an honest appraiser should do. I believe the vast majority do just that.  If the few bad apples aren’t playing by the rules, there are ways to deal with them. What about putting greater responsibility on the lenders who review the appraisals?  If an appraiser does poor work or is using fraud to justify a value, the bank should refuse to accept his work.  This is done all the time now, but needs to be a streamlined process with rights and responsibilities for both sides.  I only use two appraisers that I trust to perform all my appraisals for me.
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When I closed a loan in Florida for example I used someone that doesn’t know how I work and vice versa.  The last loan I did in Florida, the appraiser was almost a week late getting me the appraisal, had drastically cut the value to an absurd level in my opinion and then cursed me out and threatened not to send the appraisal even though he had already been paid.  A terrible experience from start to finish.  Why was it so bad?  In my opinion it was that bad because I had no idea what the appraiser was like and how he conducted business.  He also did not know what I expected of him. I don’t know of anyone that likes to do business with a person they don’t know. 
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This happens occasionally now due to geography.  It could happen every single time very soon!!  It will be a new person that you must place your trust in for every single transaction. This can be what happens on VA loans when we don’t interact and order the appraisals.  You are taking the factor of accountability out of the loan originators hands.  The appraiser will not be as likely to put in the time to find the comps that justify the sales price/value.  It’s also true that we have no protections against, lazy, unscrupulous or just plain poor appraisers.  We will have none and certainly our customers will have no protections either.  Once again the rule that is designed to help people will hurt them. They just don’t know it yet. And who do you think they will blame.  Some nameless, faceless appraiser or the person (loan officer) who told them everything would work and that the loan they wanted, the loan they needed, the loan they had to have won’t work?  We won’t even be able to tell them why if these rules are enforced.  We will get into trouble for asking questions and making sure they did their job correctly.
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When I began this business I used a few appraisers before I selected the two I currently have chosen to use. They didn’t do a good job, they made mistakes and when I asked them to correct their mistakes they took days, sometimes weeks to even return a phone call.  If this lack of contact is encouraged and even mandated; this will occur over and over from coast to coast.  Make no mistake; this will directly affect the borrowers in a negative fashion. Loans will take longer to close, locks will be extended at a cost to the borrower, and many loans that should close simply will not.  All because people in power don’t think through the ramifications of their decisions.  Shouldn’t that be EVERYONE’S first interest?
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What’s best for the borrower?
more on the new appraisal changes 
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     Brent Mendelson

FHA announces new limits
Many areas in the Washington, D.C. metro region were raised to the new fha limit of $729,750.  These areas include D.C. itself, and the following counties and areas:

Maryland– Montgomery, Frederick, and Prince George’s
Virginia– Alexandria, Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren
West Virginia– Jefferson 
See all counties’ new limits

Choice Finance is FHA approved and we will be happy to assist you with your FHA financing.  Please contact us with any questions and loan scenarios for refinancing or buying a home you’d like us to put together.

*FHA* streamline | purchase with only 3% needed | cash-out to 95% *FHA*

FHA customers with ARMS or a rate higher than 6.25%  
There have been many exciting changes to the FHA program in the past year. If you are currently in an FHA ARM or a fixed rate at 6.25% or higher, contact me right away to see if your situation can be improved with a refinance. Rates and program guidelines are constantly changing and you don’t want to pass up the chance to lower your rate with no closing costs and/or convert your ARM into a fixed rate.  There are many advantages I can offer you when we work together on the FHA streamline refinance process. 

1. It’s fast and easy and can have low or even no closing costs… I’ll run all scenarios so you may determine what makes the most sense for your situation.  Even a .25% drop can save you almost $15,000 over the life of the loan.
2. You can borrow up to 97% of the value of your home.  This may be possible without an appraisal.  This can be essential to getting you a loan if you are in a tough real estate market where values have declined.
3. Credit scores can be as low as 500 (this will change as several lenders are requiring at least a 550 score) and with streamlines we won’t need a credit report.  We will require a clean 12 month mortgage history.
4. I can help you with your FHA streamline refinance no matter what U.S. state your property is in. <Rules vary slightly from state to state>

FHA programs are perfect for credit challenged purchasers, people currently in a Ch. 13 bankruptcy and anyone needing cash out up to limits of 95%. Higher loan limits are coming very very soon so please consult me so I can get you the most up to date advice.  Again this could be a lifesaver when you have a high rate adjustable mortgage that you wish to close.  Refinance out of that to one fixed rate lower payment government insured loan.---Brent Mendelson, fha mortgage lender
fha interest rates Virginia

Mortgage solutions.. getting a loan in today’s tighter credit market
The idea, virtually an industry maxim not so very long ago, that there is a mortgage for every homebuyer’s circumstance or situation is now just a fond memory.  The reality in the current environment is that some would-be borrowers will be out of luck and for those for whom mortgages are available, the standards are now much tougher.  Understand, there is a still a mortgage solution for most circumstances and situations, but in many cases, fitting within the new boundaries being set by lenders will require more cash, higher incomes and better credit scores than in the recent past.   To give you an idea about where we are in the aftermath of a host of changes in mortgage metrics, here are some blog posts of typical situations and what can be expected in today’s market.

Who gets the increase? Much of California, which has some of the highest cost housing in America should now benefit from limits that are expected to be raised to the new max of $729,750.  Other projected increases are in the Washington, DC area—$600,487; NYC & Northern NJ—$595,125; Boston— $518,375; Seattle— $493,375; and Miami-West Palm Beach —$433,500.  Lenders were poised to implement the new special conforming limits once Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac gives the okay. These increases are presently scheduled to expire on December 31.