Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 105
There’s a popular television show depicting the home buying process, where we get to watch home buyers look at different properties with their Realtor. There’s plenty of conversation about “fixer uppers” and “turn key” properties and the pros and cons of each. One of the issues that comes up is about exceeding the buyer’s budget. What would that look like in real life? On TV many families are shopping for homes in excess of $400,000, but for our area let’s use a $250,000 budget. We’re assuming...
Take time now to review your financial health. Investigate some of these ways you might re-arrange your financing to save money this year and beyond. Refinance your home loan for a lower interest rate or lower monthly payment. Change your adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate, or combine your first and second mortgages into one loan. Move credit card debt into your mortgage payment. Take a new shorter-term loan and pay off your home sooner. Address family matters, whether you need to buy a...
Shopping for a home loan isn’t fun. You hear a bunch of numbers and aren’t really sure how to make sense of it all. Have another look at my website article “Comparing Loan Offers” if it interests you. Here is some practical advice to weigh competing offers to see which one is the better deal. As an example, one lender might end up with a bottom-line monthly payment quote for $1168 per month, at a cash-to-close figure of $5400. Lender B might quote $1206 per month after spending $3800. Assuming y...
Once the holidays are over many people look around and decide they need to clean up their clutter for the new year. Here are two ways to do just that. If you find you’re receiving unwanted credit card pre-approval offers, there is a way to stop them. The website www.OptOutPrescreen.com is the official consumer credit reporting site to accept and process requests from consumers to opt-in or opt-out of firm offers of credit or insurance. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Consumer C...
You don’t want your kids to miss out on today’s housing market opportunities, and everything is different since you bought your house. Here’s a primer on how to position your young adults for their first home loan. So far I haven’t written a home loan for anyone under age 19, but theoretically an 18-year-old’s signature could be binding on the purchase agreement contract. Sound loan underwriting decisions have always been based on the three C’s: Credit, capacity, and collateral. Sometimes y...
When you apply for financing, we’ll likely ask you for your last two bank statements. Here’s a quick run down of what we’re looking for. Many single people have put their parents on title as joint owners of their account, just to be sure someone can get to the money in case of emergency. We need to know the money used for closing is actually “yours”, so your co-owner will be asked to sign a statement that you have 100% access to all funds in the account. I know it’s awkward for grown adult...
Time for a quick snapshot of our market’s affordability. Interest rates are still low, and homebuyers will be pleasantly surprised at how that affects a monthly house payment. The usual disclaimers all apply: Not everyone who wants a home loan will qualify, and terms and conditions vary per program and per lender. Having said that, here is a rundown of how much home you might buy for a monthly house payment around $1500. For those using the FHA or USDA loan programs, spending $1500 per month c...
New mortgage disclosures became effective this week. Consumers will now be given a Loan Estimate at the beginning of their loan process. This form combines several earlier forms into one format. You'll be told your loan amount, interest rate, payments, and detailed closing costs, just like before. There's one new field, though, that is likely to blow everybody's mind. In the comparisons section, you'll now see the Total Interest Percentage, or TIP. This figure is "the total amount of interest...
A new survey conducted by TransUnion indicated that home buyers may not be as prepared to purchase a home as they thought. The survey revealed that those looking to buy a home within the next 12 to 18 months are not cognizant of the actions that could help improve their credit score, and the majority of respondents did not understand how their credit score affects their ability to obtain home financing. The survey found that almost 75 percent of potential home buyers believe it’s important to c...
Suddenly lots of folks have been calling about buying a house, now that they’re back in the workforce. Whether they’ve been on unemployment, or have changed jobs, here is what they’re learning about qualifying for their next mortgage. The gold standard of loan qualifying has always been “two years on the current job.” That’s not as easy as it once was, given our current economy. What the lender is looking for is continuity of income, or the “ability” to repay your loan. Almost all lending tod...
They told us the refinance market was over, but maybe they spoke too soon. Here are four case studies of your neighbors taking advantage of current market values and rates. Family A bought their first home in 2011 using a no-down-payment program. Since that time they’ve accrued a car loan and a small credit card balance. Using a no-cost refinance loan at the same rate they’ve been paying, they reduced their monthly expenses by $439 per month. Family B has owned their home for over 15 years, and...
Frustration abounds in mortgage world these days. Closing times are longer, and more regulated wait times will be implemented in the next 60 days. Here’s a particularly sensitive spot that’s been a recent issue. The Mortgage Disclosure Information Act went into effect in 2009. Its purpose was to protect the mortgage consumer in four areas: Collection of up-front fees, formal definition of “business day”, timing of disclosures, and APR changes. Consumers cannot be charged anything more than a...
Lately we’ve been seeing appraisals come back with commentary requiring repairs be made before the close of escrow. What triggers this situation? Generally houses need to be free of “health and safety” issues in order to be finance-able. And, a reasonable buyer wants a house that is safe and secure and free of major defects. There are two stages in a normal purchase. During the course of buying a home, the buyer usually hires a home inspector to comment on the condition of the home. This entai...
Hear me out before you protest, but taking a 30-year loan is the smartest thing you can do in today’s interest rate environment. Lots of folks are wanting to talk about refinancing to 15-year loans these days, what with interest rates being available below 4%. Traditional thinking says “pay off your house as fast as you can”. But is that really the smartest thing to do? Acclaimed financial advisor Ric Edelman would tell you NO! He’s an advocate of taking the biggest mortgage you can afford...
Congratulations on your engagement! You probably want to begin your wedded life of bliss by buying your new home together. Or are you desperate to finish your divorce? Here is what you’ll want to consider about the timing of a home loan transaction when your marital status is about to change. When you’re single you can buy a home by qualifying on your own, or by qualifying with the other person (or people) who will live in that house with you. Credit-wise, you’ll qualify based on the worst...
Since this has come up five times in the past two weeks, it’s time to review the source of funds for a home purchase. Even for loans not requiring a down payment, the buyer is at least writing a check for the earnest money deposit to show the seller they are serious when making an offer to buy the house. Where the money comes from is really important. Current loan documentation requires submitting all pages of the last two monthly bank statements. These are reviewed to show there is enough money...
On-line home shopping website Trulia has recently produced a Rent versus Buy Report. Their findings show that in major metropolitan areas throughout the country, homeownership remains cheaper than renting. While this could be exciting news, home ownership may not be as fun as it sounds. Sure, you can paint the walls any color you like, and plant the garden of your dreams. But what about maintenance and expenses? There is no landlord to call when a pipe breaks or the appliances (or the roof!)...
You’d think that all the new automation in mortgage lending would make things easier, right? Faster? More efficient? It’s not the case, and here’s why. Back in the day, not so long ago but before the internet was widely available, we had to handwrite the four-page loan application data and manually type the final loan docs. The local messenger service came by twice a day because this was even before fax machines. Files got pretty thick because we manually verified everything with mailed forms to...
Nobody pays attention to mortgage lending for fun. No matter how much information is “out there” about the details, you won’t really notice it until it’s your turn to buy a house. Really, we aren’t trying to torture you with documentation, we’re trying to remain compliant in today’s regulatory environment. Here are the answers to recent questions about attaining a home loan. The seller is taking an extra few days to review my purchase offer. Is this normal? When you write a purchase cont...
Have you ever wanted to be a land baron? There are still some “deals” to be had in the housing market, but what does it take to buy rental property these days if you can’t pay cash? The most challenging prohibitions are Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s limits on the number of financed properties per borrower. You cannot have an interest in more than four financed one-to-four unit properties when buying a rental home. For so many investors who bought several houses the last time around, this prov...
For all my hoopla about VA loans lately, here’s something to consider if you want to use yours: If the VA has suffered a financial loss from you in the past, you may not be able to use your home loan entitlement. Twice recently we’ve run into Veterans who wanted to re-use their VA entitlement, and on both there was an old loss outstanding. One of those was from the 1980s. If you want to use your VA entitlement for home loans, you’d best get on the VA website and make sure your entitlement is cl...
Why are realtors and sellers wary of buyers using a VA loan? They shouldn’t be. Let’s bust some myths about this great loan program. The VA home loan entitlement allows Veteran home buyers access to a loan program requiring no down payment. Way back in the day, VA loans had extra requirements about the condition of the property, and made the seller pay some of the buyer’s loan fees. Not any more. Myth: VA home loans require a 10% down payment. Truth: Veterans can apply for 100% financing for m...
“Don’t touch anything! We shouldn’t be looking at a $300,000 house!” That’s what Mrs. Buyer said to Mr. Buyer when they went looking at new homes. They just wanted to get a feel for new neighborhoods and had not spoken with a mortgage professional yet. They also didn’t know if they could buy the next house before they sell their current home. After spending a few weeks agonizing about whether or not they could move closer to their jobs, we connected by phone. We talked about what they wanted...
Leverage is good. If you can afford the repayment terms, using other people’s money can be a smart way to keep your own cash liquid in case of emergency. What does that mean in today’s mortgage world? Most purchase-money loans these days allow for the down payment (if there is one) and/or closing costs to be made from a family member’s gift to the buyer. Note well the word “gift”: In most cases the donor and buyer are required to sign a form letter acknowledging there is no repayment to the do...
le, and no doubt you’re receiving postcard and phone solicitations daily. Before you give in to the shiny promise of a new loan, ask yourself “what matters most”? If you’re dealing with a call center, it could be that the rep’s commission is what matters most to them. They’ll quote whatever you ask for, without any analysis about what is financially smart. Many people respond to an ad and ask about “the rate”, which we know can vary greatly depending on what you want to do. Prescription be...
