I was recently asked how selling a home as a “short sale” affects credit score and future homeownership potential.
I found that the impact can vary quite a lot, because it depends on circumstances leading up to the short sale as well as how the lender reports information.
Unlike foreclosure, there is no way for a lender to code a [...]
Archive for the ‘Mortgages’ Category
How Does a Short Sale Affect Credit?
Posted in Credit, tagged credit report, short sale on January 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
VHDA Offers 2nd Mortgage to First Time Buyers
Posted in Getting Ready, Mortgages, tagged first time homebuyers, VHDA second mortgage on June 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
UPDATE: I understand that few lenders are offering this 2nd mortgage program, due to the difficulty of updating financial disclosure software to accomodate this temporary program.
For Virginia prospective homebuyers who have not owned a home in the last three years and otherwise qualify, VHDA is offering a second mortgage that will fund the FHA 3.5% [...]
100% USDA Financing with Income to $83,750
Posted in Mortgages, tagged 100% financing, rural development loans, USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing on May 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The USDA “guaranteed” rural housing program has updated its 100% financing program for homes located in non-urban areas.
USDA sets an income maximum, searchable on their website (where you can also look up property eligibility by address). Recently program terms were simplified so that, in the Charlottesville area, households of up to four persons can make up [...]
Home Value Down? “DU Refi Plus” May Avoid PMI
Posted in News, Opinion & Analysis, Property and Value, Refinancing on March 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The March 4 announcement of the Treasury’s “Making Home Affordable” program includes some relief for borrowers who are not delinquent on their mortgage but who have not been able to take advantage of recent lower rates because their 20% equity position has been eroded.
Under the old rules, with property values down from their peaks, people who [...]
How to Improve Your Credit Score
Posted in Credit on February 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
You may know that mortgage rates are now tied to your your credit scores. You may be interested to know that credit vendors now have ways to help you improve your credit score, quickly.
When you apply for a loan, the lender will pull a credit report with three scores, one from each of the national credit data repositories (Equifax, [...]
Mortgage Rates v. “Loan Mods” and “Cramdowns”
Posted in Mortgages, News, Opinion & Analysis, tagged cramdown on January 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Some people think it’s a good idea to allow bankruptcy judges to reduce the amount of mortgage debt payable to a lender. This practice is called a “cramdown.”
And while there is some support for this from within the U.S. Senate, it is not a popular idea within the financial world — because of what it does to [...]
FHA Increases Downpayment and MIP Requirements in ‘09
Posted in Getting Ready, Mortgages, tagged FHA Downpaymnent, FHA MIP Changes on January 2, 2009 | 1 Comment »
FHA, which offers a widely-used low-downpayment mortgage, has made changes to their loan programs for 2009, increasing their required down payment as well as mortgage insurance amounts.
In Mortgagee Letter 8-23, FHA increased their downpayment requirements to 3.5% from 2.25%.
(Note that Letter 8-23’s provisions on LTV’s for refinances were later amended in Mortgagee Letter 8-40.)
FHA loans carry mortgage insurance known as MIP, which [...]
Where’s My 4.5% Interest Rate, Mr. Paulson?
Posted in Mortgages, Refinancing, tagged 4.5%, refinance, Treasury plan on December 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Over the past two weeks, we’d been hearing about a rumored Treausury plan to get mortgage interest rates to 4.5%. But today’s news brings this rebuttal, from Sec. Paulson himself: Paulson Denies Rumored 4.5% Mortgage Plan.
The truth is, rates are great right now – still volatile, changing multiple times each day (which is why I don’t [...]
FHA Loan Limits Increase for 2009
Posted in Charlottesville Interest, Getting Ready, Mortgages, tagged 2009 FHA loan limits, FHA increase, FHFA on November 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
FHA loan limits for 2009 will be $437,000 for single-family houing in much of the area surrounding Charlottesville. The Charlottesville MSA (including Charlottesville City, Albemarle County, Fluvanna County, Greene County and Nelson County) is designated a high cost area and, as such, has a limit higher than the nationally-established “floor.” HUD publishes a list of “high-cost” area [...]
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