How Private Lending Works

Private lending is a necessary and legitimate function in the world of real estate. Without it, many successful projects would have never gotten off the ground. Unfortunately, not too many consumers are aware of private funds with the result being too many opportunities being left behind. In this article, I’ll explain how private lending works, […]

Minimum Credit Standards for FHA Loans

The Federal Housing Administration’s housing finance programs, most commonly referred to as FHA home loans, provides lenders guidance regarding how to evaluate and approve an FHA loan application. FHA loans are one of three government-backed programs that carry some degree of lender compensation should a guaranteed loan ever go into default. With FHA programs, the […]

How to Finance an Out-of-State Property

The time-tested mantra of “real estate is local” simply means that while homes are bought and sold every day, one market may be seeing higher valuations while in other areas, home values might be doing the opposite, for the very same type of properties. A four-bedroom 2 ½ bath in one neighborhood might be going […]

Credit Scores: Know The Best Things That Can Happen

Credit scores for mortgage loan approvals were first introduced years ago, then refined by a company now know simply as The FICO Company. FICO is the acronym for the Fair, Isaac Corporation which developed the algorithm used by credit scoring engines today. For those who are constantly in the mode of increasing their scores to […]

Why Do Lenders Sell Loans?

It can be somewhat surprising, especially for those who have just purchased their very first home, to discover the mortgage they recently got has been sold by their lender to someone else. The mortgage industry refers to this as a “goodbye letter” which, required by regulation, informs the borrowers their loan was sold and when […]

Raising Your Credit Score in 60 Days

Understand how your credit score is determined can be somewhat of a mystery to the everyday consumer. Borrowers typically have a pretty good handle on the status of their credit. Bills come in every month and they’re paid on or around the due date. Sometimes though those accounts aren’t paid when due and if a […]

Why Mortgage Companies Use Mortgage Brokers

Consumers can get a mortgage from multiple sources. Maybe one of the most common places to secure a home loan is someone’s bank. Or, a consumer can get a mortgage from a mortgage banker that offers mortgages only, unlike a bank which can offer other financial services such as checking and savings accounts and credit […]

Why Lenders Ask You to Sign IRS Form 4506-T

One of the major changes in lending guidelines made nearly 10 years ago was making sure mortgage lenders verified income. Up until around 2008-2009, the proliferation of so-called “stated” and “no-doc” loans made getting a loan approval almost a no-brainer. Such loans also contributed to the housing crisis as those who wouldn’t normally be able […]

Why Experienced Loan Officers Form Relationships With Third Party Providers

An experienced loan offer knows that forming good relationships in the industry is key to an open dialogue when issues arise. Just like personal relationships, how each one handles adversity of any degree when it comes is extremely important.  A solid relationship keeps the lines of communication open so when a problem comes along, it’s […]

Is There Such a Thing as a Perfect FICO Score?

There are those who strive to get their credit scores as high as possible. Even way beyond the minimum FICO credit score for many home loan programs. Some programs that ask for a minimum FICO score of say 720 or 740 are above the minimum scores for other programs such as 680 or even 620. […]