Quickest Way To Get Disputes Removed From Your Credit...

Good Morning!

I have written about this before, but it's important so I wanted to touch on it again...

I want to talk to you about the impact of disputed accounts on Conventional loans.

There’s two ways you get a disputed account.

…either you dispute the account yourself with the credit bureaus.

…or, you higher someone to dispute the account for you.

When your credit is pulled the prospective lender will see that your account has been “disputed”.

Automated underwriting will either recognize the “dispute” and ask you to verify it’s not yours, or remove the dispute.

You will have to remove the dispute. This can be time consuming, and it can also be tricky.

Here is a link with a letter that you can use to remove your disputed account. …use it in good health! …and, good luck.

If you need help, or more advice on how best to get the disputes off – please give me a call or shoot me an email.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

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How You Can Qualify For A VA Loan...

Good Morning!

What It Takes To Qualify For VA:

You should be a veteran. You will need a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA. We can assist you in getting this.

Credit: The VA has no minimum credit score listed in their guidelines. However, the banks and lenders that write the VA loans have their own guidelines for acceptable credit scores.

Generally these banks have a 620 minimum credit score cut off. ...However, we have NO minimum score on VA loans!

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: The discharge must be at least 24 months old. Borrower needs to have reestablished good credit with at least 3 trade lines containing 12 months of clean payment history. No late payments after bankruptcy are allowed.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: If the borrower has made 12 months of payments to the trustee with no late payments, and Trustee gives his permission for the new credit, the lender may give an approval.

Foreclosure: A borrower whose previous residence or other real property was foreclosed on or given a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure within the previous two years since the disposition date is generally not eligible for a VA insured mortgage. If the foreclosure was on a VA loan, the applicant may not have full entitlement available for the new loan.

Clear CAIVRS: The government doesn’t like it when you have defaulted on a government insured loan. They have a database called CAIVRS that they check to see if you have ever defaulted on any government insured loans. These can be student loans, or other mortgages.

That's it for today!

Thanks for reading!

Get Pre Approved For A Loan Here
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Know This Before You Buy A House...

Good Morning!

I’ve covered this before, but I think it’s worth repeating…

Before you go out house hunting make sure you have enough money available to get your house closed.

…I know it sounds simple, but many people don’t realize the amount of funds they will need available to get into a house.

Here is a simple breakdown of your out of the out of pocket costs you could expect by loan program.

1) VA: 100% loan. No down payment.

2) USDA: 100% loan. No down payment

3) FHA: Minimum 3.5% down payment.

4) Conventional: 5% minimum down payment. (I also have a 3% down for first time home buyers)

…but you can expect more out of pocket than just the down payment. There are two other costs you can expect to pay when you purchase a home…

1) One, is prepaids. This is pre paid interest, taxes, and insurance. Typically your prepaids will run 1% to 2.5% of a sales price.

2) Then there’s your closing costs… Typically closing costs (from all entities – title, appraisal, mortgage, survey, etc.) will add another 1% to 2% to a sales price.

Be prepared for these additional costs. However, there are a couple of ways to help you lower the closing costs and prepaid expenses.

Contact me and we can discuss some options for you.

That’s it for today!

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

Get Pre Approved For A Loan Here
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Way Around Credit Dispute Removal If You Are Buying A Home…

Good Morning!

You may have been told by your loan officer that you have to remove the disputes from your credit before they can underwrite your loan.

Removing disputes can be time consuming and expensive.  

For Conventional loans, there is really no way around this. You will have to remove them.

However, for FHA loans you don’t necessarily have to remove them.

This is true for manually underwritten FHA loans.

So, if you are getting an FHA loan, and your loan officer wants to remove the disputes. Ask your loan officer to have the file manually underwritten.

On a manually underwritten loan, the underwriter can underwrite the loan “around” the disputes. …Ignore them in other words.

That’s it for today!

Thanks for reading!

Get Pre Approved For A Loan Here
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Waiting Period For Bankruptcy And Foreclosure...

Good Morning!

I've written about this before, but it's been a while and thought I would touch on it again.

Here are the waiting periods required for FHA and Conv. loans on Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, and Short Sale...

Waiting periods for FHA:

Bankruptcies: 2 years. …Note, if there was a mortgage included in the BK, you need to determine when the property was subsequently foreclosed to make sure the loan meets those parameters.

It’s possible to get a loan while your in Chapter 13 Bankruptcies with at least 12 months of clean pay history, and permission from your trustee.

Foreclosures, Deeds in Lieu and Pre-Foreclosures (short sales): 3 years

 

Waiting periods for Conventional:

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: 4 years

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: 2 years from discharge, 4 years from dismissal

Multiple BK Filings: 5 years if more than one filing in the past 7 years

Foreclosure: 7 years

Pre-Foreclosure/Deed in Lieu: 2 years @ 80% LTV
4 years @ 90% LTV
7 years above 90% LTV

Note: You need to have established good credit history after the bankruptcy / foreclosure.

That’s it for today!

Have a good day! …and thanks for reading.

Get Pre Approved For A Loan Here
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Minimum Down Payment For Different Programs…

Good Morning!

I wanted to give you a brief updated summary of various loan products and the minimum down payment for each…

Loan Programs…

VA loan: No down payment necessary. No monthly MI. This is the best loan going if you can qualify for it.

USDA: No down payment necessary. Low monthly MI. Mainly for rural areas or outlying suburbs. Has geographic and income restrictions.

FHA: The minimum down payment is 3.5%. Great rates, has up front and monthly mortgage insurance.

Conventional: 3% down for first time home buyers, and 5% for non first time home buyers.

The bottom line:

1) If you have less than 5% to put down VA and USDA are best if you qualify for them. Otherwise FHA is a wonderful loan program – very friendly to the borrower.

2) If you have 5% or more to put down you can get a Conventional loan, and you will have multiple loan choices.

Have a good day today!

…and thanks for reading.

Get Pre Approved For A Loan Here
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Anatomy Of A No Cost Refinance...

Good Morning!

I have people ask me about no-cost refinances.

I wanted to take a minute and tell you exactly how a no-cost refinance works.

There are two pools of funds you have to address when you refinance…

1) Closing costs.

2) Pre paids. (taxes, interest, and insurance)

A no-cost refinance will cover your closing costs. You would still be responsible for the pre-paids (although we can roll them into the loan) – because you would pay these costs whether you refinance or not.

If your current loan is escrowed you would be reimbursed the balance in your escrow account after closing. So, this would be a wash for you.

Let me give you an example of how a no-cost refinance works…

Let’s say your current rate is at 4.25%. …and let’s say normal closing costs on your refinance loan would be $4,000.

There are two ways to approach this refinance…

1) You can take the very lowest rate in the market at the time. …Let’s say it’s 4.00%. If you elect to go this route – you would either have to pay the closing costs yourself, or we could roll them into the loan. Either way, you are paying for the closing costs.

2) You could take a slightly lower rate – say 4.00%, and we (the lender) can pay the $4,000 closing costs for you.

Option 2 is a true no cost refinance. You were able to lower your rate and monthly payment for free. It didn’t cost you any money to do it!

If you would like for me to review your current situation for a no costs refinance – I’ll do it for free!

…just give me a call, or shoot me an email.

That’s it for today!

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

Get Pre Approved For A Loan Here
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Repair Escrows When Using An FHA Loan...

Good Morning!

You may not be aware of this be we do allow repair escrows on FHA 203b loans. (203b is the most common FHA loan)

Repair escrows are monies that are set aside (out of seller’s proceeds) to make minor repairs on the home purchased after the closing has occurred.

I wanted to let you know some of the items that are eligible for repair escrows, and some that are not allowed.

These items are eligible for repair escrows:

1) Repair roofs, gutters and downspouts
2) Repair/Replacement/upgrade of existing HVAC systems
3) Repair/Replacement/upgrade of plumbing and electrical systems
4) Repair/Replacement of flooring
5) Painting, both exterior and interior
6) Weatherization, including storm windows and doors, insulation, weather stripping, etc.
7) Purchase and installation of appliances, including free-standing ranges, refrigerators, washers/dryers, dishwashers and microwave ovens
8) Minor repair to exterior decks, patios, porches
9) Minor basement waterproofing
10) Minor mold remediation
11) Window and door replacements and exterior wall re-siding
12) Other minor repair(s) as indicated by the appraiser as being cosmetic in nature and conform to HUD’s repair escrow requirements

These items are NOT eligible for repair escrows:

1) Major rehabilitation or major remodeling, such as the relocation of a load-bearing wall
2) New construction (including room additions)
3) Any repair that, according to the appraiser’s report, not cosmetic in nature
4) Repair of structural damage
5) Repair(s) requiring detailed drawings or architectural exhibits
6) Landscaping or similar site amenity improvements
7) Any repair or improvement requiring a work schedule longer than 60 days
8) Repair/Rehabilitation activities that require more than one (1) final disbursement


If you are buying a home and you think you may need a repair escrow. Give me a call or shoot me an email and we can discuss whether your scenario would qualify!

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

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