RH Funding Co. is still doing FHA loans down to 620 score! If you believe your credit score to be between 620 and 640, now is the time to apply, before these guidelines change forever.

Courtesy of RH Funding Co Orlando – www.LendingFL.com

The average 30 year fixed mortgage rate of 4.57% remains unchanged from a week earlier.  Last year this time, the average 30 year fixed rate was 5.14%.   15-year mortgages were lower of course, at 4.06%,  down from 4.63% a year ago.

These mortgages came with an average required payment of just shy of three quarters of a point (ex. .7 point on a $200k loan=$1,400).

Depending on individual’s situations, it may make sense to buy down your rate (pay points) or it may make sense not to.

Courtesy of RH Funding Co. Orlando ~ www.LendingFL.com

SHPQG8E295A6

It’s official!  The tax credit extension has officially been passed allowing prospective home buyers that are currently in contract until  September 30th, 2010 to close.

Originally the $8000 and $6500 tax credits were set to completely expire on June 30th, 2010 but the banks have experienced such an influx of applications both for short sale requests and mortgage applications alike that have made fast closing times a thing of the past.
It is important to not however, that the extension applies only to those buyers that are already in contract.  This does not apply to new contracts placed on homes after the initial deadline of April 30, 2010.

Amazingly enough, mortgage rates are at all time historic lows, yet 2010 has yet to see the big purchase boom that should result from market conditions such as these.

Low rates in Orlando with RH Funding Co. – www.LendingFL.com

According to RealtyTrac, THEY SURE ARE!  They recently reported that foreclosed homes made up 31% of  the residential sales in the first quarter of this year.  Combine that with the fact that the average sales price of these properties was over 26% below the average sales price of properties not in foreclosure and you have yourself a buying strategy. Now throw in the mix a 30-year fixed mortgage rate under 5% and you can realistically set yourself up on easy street for life.

The bottom line – NOW is the time to buy a foreclosed property.  Don’t wait for the market to rebound or the inventory to dry up, the people that have the prudence to buy now will reap the rewards for a lifetime.

Law Enforcement – Police, Sheriff, Parole, and Correctional Officers

Fire Rescue – Firefighters, EMS, EMT, and Paramedics (volunteer also)

Medical – Nurses, Laboratory Technicians, Pharmacists, Therapists, Social Workers, Chiropractors, Medical Administrators, Dental Hygienists, Chaplains

Teachers – Teachers, Special Education Teachers, Guidance Counselors, Librarians, Instructors, Tutors, Athletic Directors, Coaches and School Nurses

Military – Army, Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force, Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Merchant Marines, the Army and Air National Guard, and Veterans

Government – Federal Agency, State Agency, County and Municipality Workers, Departments of Agriculture, Community Affairs, Environmental Protection, Health and Senior Services, Human Services, Labor, Law and Public Safety, Military and Veterans Affairs, Parks & Forestry, Homeland Security, Lottery, the Library, the Public Defender, and Travel and Tourism

Apply Online www.LendingFL.com

#1 Pay your bills in a timely fashion

Approximately 35% of your credit score is directly related to your ability to make payments on time.  This is very heavily weighed, especially when applying for mortgage financing.  The bank wants to know you will pay your mortgage on time every month.   They are lending you a lot of money in hopes that you pay it back, with interest.  If you don’t typically pay your current debts on time, chances are you may not qualify for a mortgage at all, let alone one with a competitive interest rate.  The more recent the delinquent account, the greater the impact it will have on your score, and ultimately your loan approval decision.

#2 Pay down your credit card debt.

Approximately 30% of your credit score is derived from your proportion of available credit in relation to the total amount of available credit.

Say you owe $3,000 on a card with a $5,000 credit limit, this would be viewed as negative on your credit report and reduce your overall credit standing/score.  If you were to pay this card to below half  (50%) of your available credit limit, you could have an immediate positive impact on your credit score.

# 3 Don’t apply for new credit or loans.

Every unnecessary inquiry (when you have your credit checked by a bank, employer, insurance company, etc.) has the possibility of lowering your credit score as much as 10 points or more.  Be careful who you give your social security number to and try to avoid applying for a mortgage on one of those sites that lenders compete on.  These are just lead portals and they sell your information to random mortgage companies that could possibly pull your credit report and lower your score dramatically.

# 4 Skip the lines at the bank.Often times, consumers go directly to the bank that they have their chacking and savings account with.  These are what is referred to as retail operations and the consumer usually pays a higher interest rate to pay for the higher overhead that banks like this incur.  Don’t rule out your local broker or mortgage lender, they may have access to rates tha aren’t even on the open market.  Pick someone you trust and allow them to do their job, it’s that simple.  Make your decision in the beginning of the process and do all of your homework at the start to avoid last minute surprises.

Rates are the lowest in history right now and they won’t be there for long.  Take advantage and get locked in to a low mortgage rate for the rest of your life, now is the time!  If you follow these simple steps, you can rest assured that the banks will be knocking down your door to finance your home.

Source: Jason L. Gonzalez – RH Funding Co. – Apply online at www.LendingFL.com

On Wednesday, The Mortgage Bankers Association said that mortgage applications are up 9% from just a week ago.  Refinance transactions alone rose 13 percent, the highest level since over a year ago.

Freddie Mac states that the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan dropped to 4.69 percent last week, the lowest average rate since they began tracking rates in 1971.

Why is this happening? Investors are reacting to the debt crisis in Europe and are putting their money into treasury bonds, a lower risk investment vehicle.   Since there are more investors, the yield on those bonds is lower which forces mortgage rates lower as well.

The bottom line – Refinance or Buy a Home Now, there may be no better time in history.

Looking for more great info?  Check out www.LendingFL.com.  Questions?  Give RH Funding Co. Orlando, a mortgage lender, a call at 888-648-0005.

The RH Funding Co. Customer Experience

 A Step by Step Breakdown of The Mortgage Application and Approval Process

• Visit our secure website www.LendingFL.com and Apply Online.

• Once your application is completed, you will receive an email confirming the receipt of your application.

• If the application is complete, you will receive an email with a pre-qualification letter.

• You will receive a phone call from your personal Mortgage Consultant explaining your loan options and answering any questions that you may have.

• Your Realtor will then submit the Contract for Purchase along with our pre-approval letter.

•  Once the offer is accepted and the Contract for Purchase is executed, you will receive an email with instructions regarding “E-disclosures”

• Complete the “E-disclosures” package and upload any necessary, outstanding documents.

• You will receive a phone call from your personal Loan Processor to notify you that an appraisal company will be calling soon to collect payment for the appraisal.

• You will then receive a call from the appraisal company anywhere between 24 and 48 hours later to collect the payment information.

• You will then receive a call from your personal Mortgage Consultant to go over your loan options and “lock” in your interest rate.

• You and your Realtor will receive an e-mail stating that your loan has been sent to the Underwriting Department.

• You will then be able to track the progress of your loan online 24/7!

• The file is underwritten anywhere from 24-48 hours after submission and you will receive a “Conditional Loan Approval.”

• You may need to provide your personal loan processor with some additional documentation.

• Once the Conditional Loan Approval is received, you must secure a Homeowner’s Insurance policy for the new property and pay one year’s premium in full.

• When your personal Loan Processor collects all the remaining documentation along with the Homeowner’s Insurance policy binder and “paid in full” receipt, the file will be sent back to the Underwriting Department.

• You will receive a phone call from your personal Mortgage Consultant 24-48 hours later letting you know that your loan is “clear to close” and the closing date/time may be scheduled.

• Anywhere from 24-48 hours later you will receive an approved HUD-1 Settlement Statement from your personal Mortgage Consultant; this document will have all of the final closing figures for your mortgage.

• CLOSING DAY! Make sure to bring a cashier’s check (unless the funds are to be wired) as well as your photo ID and enjoy your new home!

FHA plans to cut maximum “seller concessions” from 6% of the sales price to 3%. Seller concessions typically can generally be applied to reoccuring and non-reoccuring closing costs, i.e loan origination, transfer taxes, appraisals, inspections, closing and escrow costs among others — though not the down payment.

When FHA officials comment on the current 6% maximum “exposes the FHA to excess risk by creating incentives to inflate appraised value.”  This is an undeniable fact.  Basically, they are insuring loans with “inflated values”.  A home is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it.

Jose Fleming of Five Star Realty Group in Orlando, FL – “The reduction of the maximum seller contribution would be detrimental to this already sensitive real estate market.  I can understand that FHA needs to hedge their bets so to speak, but the overall effect this will have on the housing market is inevitable.”

They are looking into the possibility of a sliding scale approach.  This, to me, seems more realistic because the people that will suffer most with these changes would be those buying lower priced homes.  The reasoning behind this is that the smaller the loan amount, typically the higher the percentage the closing costs will be.  While it is realistic to expect a 3% seller concession to cover the costs of a $300,000 home purchase, it would barely cover junk fees at the local bank on a $60,000 property.

Our solution here at RH Funding Co. Orlando is to waive the fees altogether, thereby decreasing the amount of money paid out of pocket by a homebuyer.  We have special no bank closing cost loan programs geared towards the changing market.  Visit us online today at www.LendingFL.com and find out more!

During the housing boom (2002-2006), every imaginable loan was available.  Loans that required no documentation of income or assets to loans where the property condition literally didn’t matter.  When you hear of the state of our economy, please keep in mind that everything you’re hearing is having a direct effect on the mortgage industry.  We are regulated like never before, recently the Federal Government passed the SafeACT which requires all loan officers that do not work at Federally Chartered banks to be licensed through the Federal NMLS and at the state level with different licensing requirements for each.  That is just one small example of new regulation, we have had over 500 industry, regulatory and guideline changes in the last 2 years and more seem to come.  Don’t get me wrong, we are lending, and mortgage planning is what I do best.  What I am trying to get across is that the loan officer is the one working on both sides to make sure we do the right thing for our borrowers and meet the guidelines set by the industry. 

When I start a loan for a client, I get the basic information upfront such as federal taxes for the past 2 years, bank statements for the past 2 months, pay stubs and copies of your drivers licenses so we can comply with the Patriot Act.  This is the very basic information – in today’s environment it is not uncommon to be asked for copies of your current homeowners insurance and property tax bill if you’re purchasing a rental/investment property.  Additionally, 2^nd appraisals are almost becoming common place as lenders want to make certain the value on the first is legit.  If you’ve made any recent deposits in your accounts that exceed $500 that are not payroll related, then these funds have to be documented in order to be considered for the transaction.  By the time I come back to my client and ask them for additional information is it because it is absolutely required for the loan or I was unable to get the underwriter to waive it.  (For more info on what may be required, please visit www.imrmortgage.com/ loan-documentation)  Remember, we are (once your loan has been set-up and submitted) the party that relays the concerns and messages our underwriting staff has.  We would rather not have to ask for additional items, but sometimes it is just required. 

These days, your money in the bank and your income isn’t always enough.  Properties have the meet condition standards, appraisal standards and the seller (if flipping) has to document legitimate improvements to the properties to justify a higher value than what they purchased it for if less than 6 months prior. 

The long and the short of it – I am your mortgage banker, your loan officer, your advocate to make certain you can repay the loan and that you and the property you wish to purchase or refinance is eligible for financing.  If you have questions, just ask us.  If you have concerns, voice them.  If you’re frustrated, that is fine, talk it through so you understand what your loan officer is dealing with.  We want to get you into your home as bad as you want to be in it, work with us and be patient – I promise the whole process will be so much smoother. 

If you go into any mortgage process with a positive mind-set and patience, all the horror stories you may hear your friends speak of will be foreign to you.  We are on your side, we work with you, educate you and want to help you accomplish your goals.  Remember, we are your advocate. 

Cheers!