When first time home buyers begin thinking about purchasing a home, their first thought is usually, “Can I afford it?” or “Do I have enough money?” These are valid questions, and do need to be answered before you begin your home search.
The first step in the process of purchasing a home should be visiting with [...]
How Much Money Do You Need To Purchase A House?
February 3rd, 2010 by Lisa Oates · No Comments
Tags: Buyers
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Rehab That House With The FHA 203(k) Loan Program
January 14th, 2010 by Lisa Oates · 1 Comment
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has a loan program for rehabilitating homes and communities called the 203(k) Loan Program. Better known as a “Rehab Loan.” This program is meant to encourage new home ownership, rehabilitation of neighborhoods, and communities.
One advantage of this program is that “buyers can focus on the location and floorplan instead of [...]
Tags: Buyers
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Refinancing Now at 125% Loan-to-Value
August 13th, 2009 by Lisa Oates · No Comments
Ever heard of HARP? It is the Home Affordable Refinance Program, a government-run program that allows folks with a Fannie-Mae or Freddie-Mac guaranteed loan to refinance at a lower, fixed rate. Instead of refinancing at a max of 105% loan-to-value (LTV), it is now capped at 125%. This means that if you already have this [...]
Tags: Issues
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HERA, TILA and HOEPA: Making Sense of These Acronyms
July 31st, 2009 by Lisa Oates · 3 Comments
Do you ever find yourself having conversations in acronyms and abbreviations? I guess it makes sense to shorten phrases, especially when using those terms frequently in conversation, but not everyone knows what they are all the time. So to increase your list of known acronyms, I provide you with information about TILA, HERA, and HOEPA.
The [...]
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A Brief On The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC)
July 30th, 2009 by Lisa Oates · 1 Comment
If you keep up with real estate news, you’ve surely heard about the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). If you don’t keep up with that stuff, you’re in the right place! Here is a brief summary on what this is, what it means to you, and how things are changing in the real estate [...]
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Biggest One-Day Mortgage Rate Drop in 7 Years!
November 26th, 2008 by Lisa Oates · No Comments
Check out a blog post written by Kline May Realty’s Karl Waizecker titled “Biggest One-Day Mortgage Rate Drop in 7 Years!”
It seems the Federal Reserve has hit upon a plan that will actually work. Yesterday, based on the news that the Fed will buy $600 Billion of bad loans from banks (as opposed to bank [...]
Tags: Issues
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