A VA No-No is kind of a funny name and it’s possible you’ve heard the term but unless you’re in the mortgage business or in real estate, but most likely you haven’t. The term has been used for decades and applies to a certain type of purchase transaction when someone is using their VA eligibility […]
Are you thinking of buying a property in a rural or maybe semi-rural area on some acreage? Maybe even a property where you can grow your own apples, peaches and other fruits or vegetables? For those who live in the suburbs and long to live on the land, buying a farm can be an ideal […]
Whether it’s applying online, meeting a loan officer face-to-face, or having a conversation over the phone about a new home loan application, your mortgage lender will ask for documentation before underwriting the file. Because mortgage lenders follow the same basic lending guidelines they all ask for the same basic set of information. Sometimes though you […]
Couples don’t enter into a marriage expecting it to soon end. Quite the opposite in fact, when they get married they do so “until death do us part” and are so much in love they couldn’t imagine being separated much less getting a divorce. Unfortunately, divorce is a real thing and too often marriages end. […]
The Annual Percentage Rate, or APR, is perhaps one of the most misunderstood numbers in the mortgage process. Even some loan officers can misinterpret that the APR is for and why it’s needed but in this article we’ll talk about how to use it. The APR was first introduced back in 1974 as part […]
If you’re in the mortgage business you automatically know what these terms mean. And they’re important but if you’re not in the business you might have a vague awareness of the terms, especially if you’ve recently bought or financed a home here in the San Jose area. In other parts of the country where home […]
Jumbo loans earned that moniker because the loan amounts are greater than what Fannie and Freddie currently allow. Each year Fannie Mae reviews the current housing market and prevailing median property values. If the property values are higher year-over-year, the conforming limit is adjusted upward accordingly. This analysis takes place each fall so if home […]
One of the employee benefits human resources departments put together is the 401(k) plan. Employees can elect to have the company withhold a certain amount each paycheck and have those funds go toward a 401(k) savings account. The funds are withdrawn before taxes are deducted from the pay. The employer can also provide a matching […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was created way back in 1934 as a way to help an economy still struggling to climb out of the Great Depression. Prior to the introduction of the program, many lower to middle-income buyers could not afford to buy a home, not necessarily because they couldn’t afford the monthly payments, […]
The Federal Funds rate, or Fed Funds, is the rate that banks can charge one another for overnight short term lending. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors hold the Federal Open Market Committee meetings around once every six weeks. At these two-day affairs, economic policy is discussed from various perspectives but one in particular is […]
