Polls and surveys can be very skewed or deceiving – especially when conducted online without filters. In other words 1 in 5 people who fill out an online survey who say they intend to buy a new home within the next 6 to 12 months does not science make. A recent survey conducted by Move.com [...]

Appraisers have it easy. All they have to do is look at some numbers on the computer and take a few photos.
Oh, really?
Mortgage lenders rely on everything the appraiser does. Not only the originating lender but every investor who buys that loan throughout its life.
Fannie Mae has some very strict guidelines which change regularly and [...]

As you can imagine I get all types of questions about the FHA streamline refinance. One of the most frequently asked questions is, “can I add my _________ to the refinance loan?” The answer is generally yes unless _________ the mortgage note investor has FHA overlays to prevent this.
Perhaps a more important question would [...]

Most likely you have already read or heard that most lenders are requiring a minimum middle credit score of 620 or higher for *all* FHA loans. What you may not know is that FHA itself does not have a credit score requirement. What you may also not know is that FHA is not the lender [...]

Many people have never heard of the FHA 203k or the Energy Efficient Mortgage. Now you are going to hear about both of them at the same time plus we are going to add streamline to FHA 203k which really puzzles most lenders and almost all loan officers.
The FHA Streamline 203k is a sized down [...]

I heard it again today after quoting a mortgage interest rate in the lowest 5’s with no discount points “We heard the government is going to offer rates at 4% and we think we’ll just wait”. (Okay, at your own peril.)
* A. The government does not set mortgage rates – at least not until the [...]

True – FHA has not had minimum score requirements. The trouble, if you call it that, is in the fact that FHA is not the lender but the insurer. All lenders have always had some sort of over-lay on FHA guidelines to make sure they are purchasing a solid security. The rare exception to this [...]

By: Ken Cook, FHA Streamline Refinance Expert (Georgia, Florida and the Southeast)
Back in the early 1980’s there were many people who owned homes with mortgages insured by FHA. If you are as old as I or older you will remember the real estate industry tanked – bad – almost as bad as we see today [...]

No. Yes.
FHA does not, at this time, have any credit score requirements. What most borrowers either do not realize or do know know is FHA is not the lender on FHA insured home loans. It does not matter if it is an FHA streamline refinance or an FHA home purchase or even an FHA 203(k) [...]

Until recently if you wanted to buy a new home and keep your existing home as a rental property it was fairly simple just to show a lease or rental agreement on your existing home. Unfortunately, believe it or not, people are moving from one home to another saying they are renting their existing home [...]