This is a recent post by a Florida mortgage broker in the Palm Beach county of Florida.  Thought this was interesting to share…

As a mortgage broker in Palm Beach county, I work with a lot of first time homebuyers. The loan process is sometimes scary and intimidating. It really doesn’t need to be that way, however you do need to be prepared to provide certain information so the lender can determine if you can pay the loan back.
A purchase that I am working on is consuming a lot of my time and energy, so I’ve decided to write this “letter” to hopefully educate and inform first time buyers and anyone else who may not be familiar with the mortgage loan process.

Dear Borrower:
As a mortgage broker, I pride myself in getting loans closed as quickly as I can. I’m good at what I do, but I also rely on a team to help me. That team can include an appraiser, a Realtor, a processor, an underwriter and YOU. Everyone on the team relies on the others to do their job correctly.
That’s right – you are part of the team too. And your job is to provide me with the documentation I request in a timely manner. If you do that, you loan is going to close quickly. If not, your file is not going anywhere.
You are wondering why it’s been a month and your loan hasn’t closed…let’s see..what could be the problem? ..
The pay stubs you gave me are from 3 months ago – and we need recent paystubs. It’s taken me 2 weeks to get current pay stubs from you. If I submit your loan with outdated documents, the underwriter is going to put your file at the bottom of the pile.
You told me you had a 401K, so I asked for verification. Another week goes by..OK, I think you get my drift.
You’re upset that I am “asking for so much stuff” that you’re going to have to take time off work.
I am asking you for the things I know the underwriter will require. The underwriter needs to justify approving your loan. If you were loaning someone a few hundred thousand dollars, wouldn’t you want to be assured you would get paid back?
If you are prepared with the documentation you will need , your loan process will go very quickly and smoothly.

Here’s a list of documentation you will need to provide to your mortgage professional:

1 month’s worth of current pay stubs
W2’s for the past 2 years
2 years tax returns – current
2 months of current bank statements..all pages and all accounts.
Current statements for any other assets such as a 401K or mutual fund.
2 years of complete employment history and a phone number for the HR department or a supervisor who can verify your employment.
Letter of explanation for any derogatory items on your credit report. Something very short and to the point, you don’t have to write a novel.

For a purchase, a copy of the sales contract signed by all parties
A copy of your driver’s license and social security card

It seems like a lot, but this is what your mortgage professional needs so they can submit your file to an underwriter for approval. Providing these things with the file makes the underwriter very happy and that means a faster closing for you!

Money management has become very important, since many American households have lost some sort of income.

This website that has become very popular with helping people manage their money for free.

mint.com

Recently they have created an iphone application.  Go here to read about it.

What I think is great about this site having an iphone application is that you have immediate access to your daily money management budgets.  Since the purpose of this site is to manage your daily expenses to help stay on track with budgets, this iphone application is a must for those iphone users that are on there phone constantly throughout the day.

Hope this website helps you with tracking your day to day expenses.  Heck, you may just realize how many StarBucks you drink in a month!

If you liked this post, don’t forget to subscribe to future ones!

I’ve been meaning to write about the Reverse Mortgage on here for some time now.

Reverse mortgage loans in Wisconsin

The Reverse Mortgage was created for Seniors that need access to the equity in their home.  The senior needs to be 62 years old or older and have a decent amount of equity in their home they occupy.  Typically, you need about 30% equity in your home in order to qualify.  It’s very difficult to say exactly the amount of equity needed, because the approval is based on the age of the senior and location of the property.

Here are the best things about the Reverse Mortgage:

1. You never have to make a payment as long as you occupy the home.  Yes, you NEVER HAVE TO MAKE A PAYMENT!
2. There are no credit score requirements.  It can help seniors that are facing foreclosures.
3. The senior has options as to how they want to access the equity in their home:

• A line of credit – The senior receives a “check book” and is allowed to write out checks when needed, up to the line amount that is approved.  Whether it’s for home improvements, to pay for the property taxes, or pay for any other expenses it doesn’t matter.  Most times the senior will write themselves a check in order to help with some bills that month if they are short on income.
• A lump sum- The senior can receive a portion of funds at closing or the entire amount of funds that the line is approved for.  Say the line is approved at $20,000, but the senior needs $10,000 to do some much needed home improvements.  Well, the senior’s line will still be available for another $10,000 after closing.  It still acts like the line of credit.

Here is the worst part about the Reverse Mortgage:

The Reverse Mortgage is not the cheapest mortgage loan.  The costs can vary from $6000 – $10,000.  The senior does not have to come out of pocket with this money, it will already be deducted from the available funds.

Also, if there are anyother liens like tax liens or judgements on title, these will have to be paid off through the loan.  Most times, the senior will have enough equity in the home to pay these other liens off as well.

If you liked this post, don’t forget to subscribe to future ones!

By far, this no down payment mortgage loan has become very popular with first time home buyers this year.  Specifically, Wisconsin has many areas in which the property you are looking to purchase will be eligible for this program.  Wisconsin mainly consists of rural areas.

Here is a direct link to a map that shows the areas of Wisconsin that are eligible for a rural housing loan.
http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do?pageAction=sfp&NavKey=property@11

The rural housing loan does apply throughout the nation, but you have to find the site that pertain to your state.  Each state is going to have different areas that allow eligibility.

To learn more about the details of the Rural Housing Loan, go to no down payment mortgage loans in Wisconsin.

Veterans struggling with their conventional home loans can now refinance their mortgage for up to 100 percent of the property’s value using a VA loan.

Part of a new federal regulation, the change gives veterans greater incentive to apply for a VA refinance. Before, eligible veterans could only refinance up to 90 percent of their home’s value.

The VA guarantees more than 18 million home loans worth more than $900 billion. Veterans don’t need a VA loan to utilize the administration’s refinance program.

“These changes will allow VA to assist a substantial number of veterans with subprime mortgages refinance into a safer, more affordable, VA guaranteed loan,” former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake said when the regulation passed in 2008. “Veterans in financial distress due to high rate subprime mortgages are potentially the greatest beneficiaries.”

The valuation increase was included in the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, which President Bush signed into law in October.

Beyond that, VA refinance loans can now extend to $729,750 depending on geographic location. That far outpaces the previous maximum loan amount of $144,000. The new regulation also extended the VA’s ability to guaranty adjustable rate mortgages and hybrid adjustable rate mortgages through September 2012. Another benefit of VA loans, the administration curbs interest rates on ARM and hybrid ARM loans.

The Veterans Administration guarantees loans but does not issue them. That guarantee typically means eligible borrowers obtain favorable loan terms.

VA loans come with a host of benefits, from no down payment or monthly private mortgage insurance to caps on interest rates for active-duty members. Veterans with poor or no credit can qualify for a VA loan.

Any military member who has served 181 days on active duty during peace time or 90 days during war time may be eligible, along with those who have served at least six years in the Reserves or National Guard. Spouses of service members killed in the line of duty may also be eligible.