Alpharetta Cumming Lake Lanier Real Estate Blog

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest, mortgage, rates, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest, mortgage, rates, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest, mortgage, rate, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest, mortgage, rate, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest, mortgage, rates, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest, mortgage, rate, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest, mortgage, rates, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, mortgage, rates, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest rates, mortgage, rates, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest, jumbo loan, mortgage, rates, real estate, refinance, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, arm, covenant mortgage, FHA, mortgage, rate, real estate, refinance, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, arm, covenant mortgage, FHA, mortgage, rate

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, arm, covenant mortgage, FHA, mortgage, rates, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, mortgage, rates, real estate, vanderhoff

A new government regulation is in effect as of July 30th, 2009. This regulation requires all mortgage lenders and brokers to provide Truth In Lending (TIL) disclosures to borrower's according to a defined schedule. Although the regulation is in the best interest of the borrower, this schedule may alter your borrower's closing date expectation.

Lenders and Brokers must issue the initial TIL disclosure at least seven business days before the loan document is signed. Regardless of how the TIL is provided to the borrower, closing documents cannot be signed earlier than seven business days after the initial TIL has been issued. Therefore...loans cannot close until at least seven days have passed from date of application.

If there are any changes to the loan parameters that affect the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on the TIL, the resulting APR must be compared to the latest TIL provided to the borrower. If there is an increase greater than .125% in the APR, the lender must provide a corrected TIL to the applicant. Fees considered to be finance charges that are used in the APR calculation include but are not limited to discount points, lender and broker fees, Life of Loan flood certification coverage, settlement agent or attorney fees. Borrowers must be provided three business days to review this amended TIL prior to loan closing. This means changes will start the 3 day clock again.

Here is a real world example...

Seven day time frame example:
*Monday August 3rd - Signed and dated TIL and GFE received;
*Wednesday- August 12th = First available closing date
Three day time frame example - when we are out of tolerance and must re-disclose:
*Monday August 3rd - Re-disclosures sent to Borrower(s)
*Friday August 7th = First available closing date after re-disclosure

Contact your mortgage broker or lender for further information.

Labels: 2009, disclosure, HERA, Housing and Economic Recovery Act, lender, mortgage, TIL, truth in lending

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, mortgage, rate, real estate, vanderhoff

Labels: 15 year fixed, 30 year fixed, covenant mortgage, FHA, interest rates, mortgage, real estate, vanderhoff

President Barack Obama's new mortgage relief plan aims to help up to 9 million borrowers qualify for more affordable mortgages and stay in their homes. Obama's "Making Home Affordable" program is designed to work with lenders to modify the loan terms for up to 4 million homeowners and to refinance up to 5 million homeowners into more affordable fixed-rate loans.


Above information provided by Covenant Mortgage Corporation. If you have questions about your existing or future mortage, please contact Covenant Mortgage. For assistance with selling or buying a home, contact our team at Vanderhoff Real Estate today.

Labels: covenant mortgage, making home affordable, mortgage, obama, president, program, refinance, vanderhoff real estate

Fannie Mae, which controls nearly half of the mortgages in the country, will launch a new program in April to help those who are self-employed or have bad credit take advantage of the refinance craze.

The "Refi Plus Program" will waive the normal credit score requirement for a refinance; it will have reduced documentation standards for proof of income; and it will allow for computer-based appraisals, which tend to inflate the value of a home and make it easier to qualify for a refinance.

More people stand to be affected by these upcoming changes than the entire number of people who have already gotten their refis!

However, Refi Plus will ultimately lead to higher defaults and more foreclosures; it is, after all, a lessening of standards. But apparently the "experts" aren't overly concerned. They're holding out for the hope that the program will actually allow people who couldn't make their mortgage every month to do so.

Labels: fannie mae, mortgage, program, refi plus, refinance

Tax time is here, and if you just purchased a home in 2008, do not forget to read up on all the tax deductions that are allowed by Homeowners. Laws are always changing, so please make sure to speak with a tax consultant to get the most deductions on your taxes.

Today's Tax Tip: Deducting Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Buyers who are unable to put a 20 percent down payment on their home loan usually get stuck paying costly private mortgage insurance (PMI), which protects lenders if the buyer can't repay the loan.

But if you got a home loan after December 31, 2006, you're eligible to deduct your PMI premium from your taxes. According to the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, any PMI payments -- often $100 dollars or more per month -- can be deducted as mortgage interest when filling out Schedule A on the federal tax return.

In order to qualify for the full credit, your adjusted gross income (AGI) cannot exceed $100,000 ($50,000 dollars if married filing separately). The deduction is reduced by 10 percent for every $1,000 dollars of AGI you make over the limit, and disappears altogether at $109,000 ($54,500 if married filing separately). If you are paying a premium for mortgage insurance provided by the Veteran's Administration, Federal Housing Administration or the Rural Housing Administration, it is also deductible.

If you paid PMI premiums in a lump sum when you got your mortgage, you can deduct the portion of the sum you use each year on your tax return. You cannot deduct the entire amount in the first year of your loan.

Unless it is extended, the deduction is available for any mortgages that are originated before January 11, 2011.

So, be sure to check with your tax consultant before filing your tax returns this year and ask about your PMI.

Labels: deductions, mortgage, pmi, private mortgage insurance, taxes