Whether you filed your completed taxes this April or an extension, you should already know your tax liability for the past year. If, despite your withholding or quarterly payments, you owe more than you can pay all at once, don’t panic. It’s not the end of the world even if you’re planning on applying for a mortgage right now. It’s always been possible to obtain a mortgage while you’re on a repayment plan for past tax liability by getting an FHA mortgage. FHA loans, insured by the Federal Government, require borrowers to…
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Home Buying Process
Low Housing Inventory: Why Is It Happening?
The housing market has recently seen startlingly low housing inventory. According to data from Altos Research, the number of homes currently on sale has dropped by about half from last winter. The drop is seen most prominently in metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, New York, Austin, and Chicago. Data from the National Association of Realtors shows that total housing inventory fell 29.5% from February 2020. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is to blame for much of the low housing inventory - low interest rates and the generalized need for larger housing and the subsequent…
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Digital Closing Helpful but Chinks Remain
Remote online notarization (RON) has been on a high since the pandemic hit the town. Digital closings have allowed the housing industry to operate in times of social distancing and lack of in-person contact. However, Kimberly Smathers, Snapdoc’s Head of Information Security and Compliance stated during National Mortgage News Digital Mortgage conference’s panel discussion that the growth in this new design could lead to resource-constrained new products. "Are there enough engineers to create the product?" she asked. "Is there a rigorous security process built into how that product is developed? I think that you…
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Pandemic Changes Homebuyers’ Preferences
TD Bank surveyed 380 borrowers from the South, 240 from the West, 210 from the Northeast, and 170 from the Midwest. To add, 6% of those surveyed were born in or before 1945. 39% were Millennials, and 27% from the Gen X, and 28% Baby Boomers. The 1000 borrowers, surveyed in June, provided revealing insights into how the pandemic was shifting homebuyers’ preferences. It was interesting that 7% of the respondents were keen to raise their housing expenses while 29% wished to bring down the housing payments. 64% of the respondents were just…
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Freddie Mac Announces CHOICERenovation Loan to Finance Home Renovations
With the Remodeling market size expected to touch a massive $269 billion by 2025, it was time for Freddie Mac to jump into the Renovation loan marketplace. Especially given that the Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae have this kind of loan in place for, what, years now. Freddie Mac’s CHOICERenovation mortgage offers borrowers the opportunity to purchase a fixer-upper and get it remodeled with a single loan, thus cutting out the need for a cash-out refinance. Borrowers can also procure the loan for their existing homes for improving their properties. The CHOICERenovation…
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Can you Increase your FICO Scores with Timely Rent Payment?
Renters have outnumbered homeowners in more than 20 big cities. Between the year 2006 and 2016, the number of renters has shot up by 8.7 million (data based on Pew Research Center). These are not numbers to be sneezed at. With renters becoming hot property, it is only significant that timely rental payments get their due recognition in credit reports. Timely rental payment can boost credit score We have all witnessed how our credit scores get a boost when we pay our mortgage dues on time. Same is the case with credit card…
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Top 10 Real Estate Markets for First Time Home Buyers
Home prices have completely stabilized and the shortage in housing supply is fast becoming a thing of past. Great news then for potential homebuyers who have come right into the mix! Only time will tell whether we are nearing the tail-end of the present cycle but from the looks of it, the market is certainly becoming a lot more receptive for new buyers; not only in terms of median values but also in terms of asking price quoted by sellers. Starter homes were definitely cramped in the recent past but the situation has…
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The Complete Guide to Qualifying for the HomeReady Program
Haven't saved quite enough money for a down payment on a home? How about zero money of your own saved, but your family will gift you money towards a down payment? Or maybe there's no possibility of receiving a gift of money from anyone in your family - but you still want to buy a house. Is there any hope? You'll be happy to know there are more paths to homeownership now than ever before. You might qualify for the Freddie Mac Home Possible, or Home Possible Advantage mortgage programs we talked about…
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The Complete Guide to Qualifying for the Home Possible Program
Saving to buy a home while you watch prices and interest rates increase feels like an impossible goal. You checked into FHA loans and learned it only requires 3 ½% of the purchase price as a down payment. But then you learned about the high, and permanent, mortgage insurance premiums. No thanks. Well, don't give up on your dream of homeownership! Consider these loans offered by Freddie Mac: the Home Possible loan requiring a minimum of 5% (of the purchase price) down payment and the Home Possible Advantage, allowing a minimum of 3%…
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Say Hello to a New Kind of Credit Score – UltraFICO
Experian, FICO, and Finicity are developing an "UltraFICO" score to improve access to financial products for borrowers with low credit score or short credit histories. This will be achieved by letting the borrowers share checkings and savings account data to help lenders better assess risk. Why an "UltraFICO" Score? After all, what is wrong with a FICO score (without the ultra)!! "This changes the whole dynamic of the lender and customer relationship," said Jim Wehmann, executive vice president, Scores, at FICO. "It empowers consumers to have greater control over the information that is being…
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