Quick Tips On The Mortgage World

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Conforming Loan Limits Increasing…

The maximum baseline conforming loan limit is increasing from 417k to $424,100 in 2017.

The max conforming loan has been $417k since 2006.

Home prices were 1.7% higher in the third quarter of 2016 than during the same period in 2007. This is according to Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Home Price Index. The increase to the baseline conforming loan limit matches the 1.7% uptick.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day today!

…and thanks for reading.

Brett

Monday, November 14, 2016

Presidential Election’s Effect On Mortgage Rates…

I hope you had a good holiday weekend!

The bond markets reacted to the presidential election last week by having a huge sell off. …The result is mortgage rates spiked, and rose a quarter of a point in two days.

This sell off will stop. It could be today, or it could take a little longer.

I expect the volatility to settle a bit this week. …I’ll keep watchin’ it for ya!

That’s it for today!

Have a good day today! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Cool Way To Use A Reverse Mortgage To Buy Your Retirement Home…

I had a borrower recently use a reverse mortgage to purchase a house, and I wanted to tell you their story.

…because I think it’s a good example of a neat way to use a reverse mortgage to upgrade your home.

The borrowers were recently retired, and now living on a fixed income.

They owned their home free and clear, and lived in a small town not too far from Dallas.

Their home was worth around $150,000.

Both husband and wife decided they didn’t want to live their retirement years in their current home.

…they wanted to spend their retirement on or near a lake. …so, they found a house they liked on a near by lake for around $295,000.

They didn’t have the cash to buy the new home outright. …and, they didn’t really want to take on mortgage payments at this stage in their lives.

I suggested they use a Reverse Mortgage to purchase the home. Here’s how it worked…

They sold their current home and put down their proceeds from the sale as their down payment. Instead of getting a traditional mortgage to pay the difference between their down payment and the sales price – we used a Reverse Mortgage.

The result is they get to retire on a lake in a home worth twice what their old home was worth. They put down less than half the sales price. …and, they will never make another mortgage payment for the remainder of their lives!

Please shoot me an email or give me a call if you would like to explore how to use a Reverse Mortgage for you or someone you know.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day today! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

3 Bonus Income Keys…

We want to be able to use your bonus income to help you get a mortgage.

However, here are three big guidelines to be aware of for us to be able to count your bonus income:

1) We can’t use bonus income or overtime income unless you can prove you have been receiving this income for 2 years.

2) The employer has to indicate that the bonus or overtime income will likely continue.

3) We will use a two year average of bonus and/or overtime income. So, if you got alot this year, but not last year then we will have to use an average of both years.

That’s it for today!

I hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading!

Brett

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

News On USDA Loans…

Here is an interesting change regarding Manufactured Housing with the USDA program.

We were previously restricted to only being able to purchase new Manufactured Homes off the lot with USDA loans. In other words you couldn’t use a USDA loan to purchase an existiing manufactured home already on land.

Now you can purchase existing mobile homes with USDA loans!

If ya got one – let me know. I can help you!

That’s it for today!

I hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading!

Brett

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Good News On USDA Loans…

How’s this for some good news…

Both the upfront guarantee fee and annual fee for purchase and refinance using USDA Rural Development’s home loan program will decrease on October 1, 2016.
The upfront guarantee fee will drop from 2.75% to 1%, and the annual fee from 0.5% to 0.35%.

This makes a great program an even better one!

That’s it for today!

I hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading!

Brett

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Potential Impact Of Fed Meeting Today…

If you have a current mortgage in process, and it’s not locked – you might want to lock it.

The Fed has a statement / press conference today. Even if they don’t announce a rate hike, their economic projections could cause volatility in the markets.

Best to lock and sleep well at night, instead of worrying that the market may turn against you.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

How To Buy A Home With A Reverse Mortgage…

Did you know you can use a reverse mortgage to buy a house?

I’ll give you an example.

Let’s say you are 65 years old. You want to buy a $200,000 house.

You have $110,000 to put down on the house. However, you don’t really want a mortgage payment.

You can put down your $110,000.

Get a reverse mortgage for $90,000.

…and, you will never have a mortgage payment for the remainder of your life (as long as you stay in this house).

With reverse mortgages the older you get the more loan you can get.

Here is a chart of the age of the youngest borrower vs the percentage of loan to value ratio you can borrow.

Youngest Age	Principal Limit
90+	0.75
89	0.739
88	0.729
87	0.719
86	0.709
85	0.699
84	0.69
83	0.682
82	0.674
81	0.665
80	0.657
79	0.648
78	0.64
77	0.631
76	0.622
75	0.614
74	0.606
73	0.599
72	0.591
71	0.583
70	0.576
69	0.569
68	0.562
67	0.556
66	0.549
65	0.542
64	0.536
63	0.53
62	0.524

Of course you can also get a reverse mortgage to get cash out of your existing home.

If you or someone you know needs a reverse mortgage give me a call! We are reverse mortgage experts!

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Monday, September 12, 2016

3 Things You Need To Know About Bonus Income And Mortgages…

When it comes to bonus income there are a few things to be aware of when you are getting a mortgage…

1) We can’t use bonus income or overtime income unless you can prove you have been receiving this income for 2 years.

2) The employer has to indicate that the bonus or overtime income will likely continue.

3) We will use a two year average of bonus and/or overtime income. So, if you got alot this year, but not last year then we will have to use an average of both years.

If you or someone you know needs a mortgage – let me know! I would love to help you out!

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

How To Get A Loan Without Tax Returns…

If there is something in your tax returns that is preventing you from getting a mortgage – here’s a tip…

If you are a W-2 employee in almost all cases you won’t need to provide tax returns to get a loan. We would just need paystubs, and W-2’s. …No tax returns.

It’s true!

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Monday, August 29, 2016

A Few Simple Credit Tips…

A good credit strategy is important. Knowing simple things to implement to improve your credit scores is half the battle.

Here are a few easy ways to improve your credit scores…
1) Did you know a single credit card late payment can ding your score by as much as 60 points?

a) Helpful strategy – set your payments up on autopay.

2) The quickest way to increase your credit scores are to decrease your credit utilization ratio. This is the amount charged on your accounts versus their total limit.

a) Best ratio is 10%. Certainly don’t go over 50%. (If limit is $1,000 try not to carry more than $100)

b) Another strategy is to ask for a higher limit to get your ratio more in line.

3) You can gain credit score points by paying off the credit card whose balance is closest to its limit. However, don’t cancel the account after you’ve paid it down.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Monday, August 22, 2016

Want Cash Out Of Your Million Dollar Home?

Did you realize I can do Jumbo cash out loans on Texas owner occupied properties?

This would fall under the Texas Cash Out Program. …also called the Texas A6 loan.

I can tell you most lenders don’t do Texas Cash Out Loans on Jumbo loans. They will stop at the conforming limit ($417k in Texas).

I can do cash out loans up to 2.5 million dollars at 70% loan to value ratio.

So, if you fall into this category give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to help you out!

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Fed Minutes Out Today…

Today at 2pm ET the Fed will release the minutes of their meeting. People will be looking for clues on the Fed’s thoughts about potentially hiking rates at the September and December meetings.

If the thought is there won’t be a hike coming soon, then the bond markets will continue with lower rates. However, if it sounds like they will hike in September or December, the bond market will respond with higher rates.

I’ll watch it and let you know.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Monday, August 8, 2016

How Friday’s NFP Report Affected Mortgage Rates…

Last Friday the Non Farm Payroll report came out and showed job growth that exceeded estimates.

This caused a Bond sell off, and resulted in higher mortgage interest rates Friday afternoon.

Rates are still low, and if you are considering refinancing I would recommend doing so right now.

We will see how the market behaves today. Hopefully this won’t be a new trend towards higher rates.

I’ll continue to watch it for you, and let you know!

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Monday, August 1, 2016

Good Time To Save Money…

A weak GDP report helped drive demand for bonds last week.

This pushes bond prices higher and rates lower.

So, we are still enjoying very low rates right now.

A good time to refinance to lower your rate or payment, or lower then number of years left on your mortgage.

If you would like to see how much money you can save give me a call or shoot me an email – I’ll take a look at it for you.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Monday, July 25, 2016

Few Quick Notes On Mortgage Stuff…

Few notes…

1) Fed to meet this Wednesday. This is one of those Fed meetings where there is almost universal agreement that there will be no rate hike or any other change in policy stance.

2) This means for the time being rates are still very low. If you would like to see if you could drop your interest rate, and payment, or shorten the term of your mortgage the time is now. Please contact me if you would like me to take a look at your situation.

3) Ask me about our new 1% down conventional product!

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

When You Change Jobs During The Loan Process…

If you change jobs during the process of getting a loan, here’s what you can expect…

The underwriter will want to see your first pay check at the new job at a minimum, and often they will want to see your first 30 days of paychecks.

The underwriter isn’t trying to make your life difficult by asking for your new paychecks. …This is a common guideline in the mortgage industry.

There is one circumstance where you can change jobs and not have to supply your new pay check prior to approval…

If you continue to work for the same company, but you are just changing jobs within that company then you won’t have to produce a new paycheck.

If you have more questions on this – don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email!

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett

Monday, July 18, 2016

New 1% Down Loan Program…

We just rolled out a new loan program I wanted to tell you about.

It’s a 1% down Conventional loan. …and, the 1% down can be a gift.

Few things you need to know about this program…

1) Requires a 700 credit score.

2) Max 43% debt to income ratio.

3) There are income limits (you can make too much money for this program), so we will have to look at the Area Median Income Limit for your area.

This program is a nice alternative to USDA because you aren’t restricted geographically on where you can purchase.

If you are interested in this program please give me a call or shoot me an email.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Brett