I must admit, for far too many years I originated loans and guided my clients by the philosophy to “buy as much home as you possibly can afford” believing that most people ended up “growing into their mortgage payment” as they continue to improve their employment skills and subsequently their income levels.

For those of you new to the home buying process, a new change happened January 1st, 2010 that will make you life allot simpler in terms of shopping for a home loan. The new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) requirements have made lenders HIGHLY accountable for the interest rate and closing costs quotes on a home loan.

I was talking with the good people from Shea homes the other day and they find themselves in an interesting predicament. I am sure a lot of home builders find themselves in the exact same situation these days. You see, Shea has people walking through their models in Back Country everyday that would love to buy a new home there BUT…they have a home to sell.

As realtors, we are always telling people why “today or now is a good time to buy” and many times we have good reason for that. The prices are down and there are a number of foreclosures available, buyer incentives, etc, etc. Maybe the best reason of all right now to buy is the interest rate.

Sure, as a new home buyer you are going to get your $8000 tax credit for buying a home (provided you close before the deadlines) and you will begin to “itemize” your tax deductions (real estate property taxes, mortgage interest, and points) going forward each year. All of these can potentially save you allot of money on your federal taxes which one of the many reasons people chose to buy rather than rent.

HUD announced this week several major changes for FHA loans later this year. Some of this items will not go into effect for several months but are worth noting. Overall, HUD is doing the right thing to keep themselves in business and help consumers be able to purchase homes.

In recent months, I have spoken to quite a few people that are concerned with keeping their expenses low in this economic environment. After all, it’s a smart practice in case the economy has a relapse, you lose a job, or you have some unexpected expenses.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.”

“Will it appraise?” This is the question that every buyer must ask themselves these days before they make an offer on a property. Appraisals are becoming more and more of an issue when it comes to buying a home. Why? Well, there are several reasons for this and I’ll detail some, but not all below.

When [...]

Bank attitudes toward risky lending is making it very difficult for the self-employed, even those with high incomes, to secure mortgages.
No-doc loans are particularly hard to get, locking out people whose incomes are derived from investments or who are able to tax-shelter significant dollars.
The California Mortgage Bankers Association spokesman Dustin Hobbs says the industry understands [...]