Credit Score

You’ve Been Pre-Approved — Now Get RE-Approved

December 19, 2007

Even if you’ve been recently pre-qualified (or pre-approved) for a mortgage, it may be prudent to get “re-approved”. The mortgage industry is changing quickly; being prepared beats the alternative. Recently, mortgage lenders have made adjustments in what they will lend, and to whom.  This shrinks the pool of eligible mortgage borrowers. Some of these guideline […]

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Mortgage Rate Relief Plan: Who Qualifies For Help?

December 7, 2007

Thursday, the White House revealed its HOPE NOW program, aiming to help sub-prime borrowers freeze their initial “teaser” rates for a period of five years. The program is receiving a lot of ink in the newspaper dailies but sometimes it’s unclear exactly what the program offers, and to whom. Let’s look at the details and […]

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Your Credit Score Doesn’t Cost You Today, But In Three Months It Could Cost You Plenty

December 6, 2007

Credit scores are the best predictor of how a homeowner will pay on a mortgage, so it’s no surprise that credit scores will play a bigger role in mortgage financing in 2008. Actually “that date” is more clearly defined.  It’s March 1, 2008. For loans closing on or after March 1, 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie […]

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It’s Not Your Imagination : Getting A Home Loan Is More Challenging For Everyone

November 7, 2007

If it feels like mortgage approvals are harder to come by than in years past, that’s because it is. And we’re not just talking about sub-prime mortgages (for which the market has nearly vanished in just 12 months). According to a story on Marketwatch, mortgage guidelines are more challenging for everyone to meet — gold-star […]

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How Mortgage Calculators Can Be Misleading

October 16, 2007

Mortgage calculators are ubiquitous on real estate-related Web sites but that doesn’t mean that they’re helpful. See, Internet-based mortgage calculators take three figures into consideration when determining “how much home can you afford”. Income Debt Downpayment/Equity Next, the calculator figures in your downpayment, multiplies your income by a factor of .38 and spits out an […]

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An Appetite For Jumbo Loans Returns

September 5, 2007

Yesterday was a rather drab day in mortgage circles — not much happened and mortgage rates idled.  The bigger story was how liquidity appears to be slowly returning to some areas of the beaten-down mortgage market. Specifically, liquidity is returning to prime, fixed-rate, full documentation jumbo loans and pricing appears to be improving (slightly). The […]

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Simple Steps To Keep Home Insurance Costs Down

July 19, 2007

As homeowners insurance premiums rise across the nation, Bankrate.com writes a helpful story on ways to keep your premiums down.  The tips may surprise you. Some of the highlights include: Don’t think a series of small claims is better than one big claim.  The smaller clains are more expensive to process for an insurer and may […]

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How The End Of Credit Score Piggybacking Could Damage Your Credit Rating

July 12, 2007

Credit “piggybacking” used to be a handy way to boost a person’s credit score in order to help them get a home loan approval.  Starting in September, it’s going the way of the Dodo bird. Piggybacking involves linking one person’s strong credit rating to another person’s weak credit rating. By adding the latter as an […]

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One Method To Reduce The Amount Of Sub-Prime ARM Foreclosures

May 23, 2007

The graphic at right comes from The Wall Street Journal and it illustrates something that we all intrinsically know: Sub-Prime ARMs foreclose at a faster pace than all other home loan types. When adjustable rate mortgages reach the end of their “fixed rate” period, some homeowners are unprepared for the upward-adjusting mortgage payments and that […]

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Sharing Your Credit Card Balances Can Lower Your Mortgage Rates

March 1, 2007

Typically, higher credit scores get lower mortgage rates and access to a wider array of mortgage products. Extent of Indebtedness comprises 30% of a credit score and is the second largest component in the credit scoring model.  In plain-speak, Extent of Indebtedness is: “How close is this person to maxing out his cards?” The ideal […]

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