Jake Rackham's Testimonial: Marty's ambitious and caring

“Marty's ambitious and caring.  His experience shows because of the excellent way he took care of my Mortgage needs.  I'm very satisfied with my loan, he got me a great rate! 

I would refer Marty to my friends and family without hesitation. Call Marty when you have Mortgage questions, he’s awesome at getting the job done!”  

Jake Rackham

10 Mistakes Smart Buyer's and Seller's Make and how to Avoid Them

Buyers

Mistakes	Prevented By
1.  Not knowing how much they can afford to pay for a house before they make an offer.	Obtaining pre-approval for a mortgage from a Lender, so you know in advance exactly how much you can afford.
2.  Not finding out in advance whom the real estate agent represents.	Asking your Realtor.  Most people think their agent is working for them.  But unless the agent is working as your buyer representative, he/she represents the seller.
3.  Not realizing that the wrong mortgage can cost thousands of dollars in unnecessary interest and taxes.	Consulting with a mortgage consultant, accountant, and/or financial planner before making a final decision on which mortgage to choose.  CPAs can tell you the long-term effects on your income.
4.  Not discovering hidden defects before buying a home.	Hiring a professional to conduct a pre-purchase home inspection.
5.  Not knowing how debt can affect their ability to buy or refinance a home.	Asking your mortgage professional to help you review and repair your credit file in advance.

How a cancelled credit card effects your credit score

QUESTION: I've had an American Express charge card since 1999, which costs $95 a year to maintain. If I cancel it, what will this do to my credit score?
--Fred Cohen, Weston, Fla.

Ditching annual fees is often a smart play, although in this case $95 might not be much for what amounts to an open line of credit with no preset spending limit. Since you're closing a charge card (which doesn't let you run a balance) instead of a credit card (which does), your credit score probably won't take a hit, at least for now.

Credit-scoring firm FICO currently figures scores—the calculation most creditors use—without including charge cards in the all-important "credit-utilization ratio," which divides the total of all your credit limits by your total balances. (The lower the ratio, the better.)

Still, there's a longer-term risk to cutting up the card, says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com: Ten years after you cancel, the card's history will be wiped from your credit report, potentially shortening your credit history and lowering your score.

IRS Audit Red Flags: 12 hot spots to raise scrutiny from the IRS

#1 and #12.  Yep, I raised IRS scrutiny on my 2003 taxes because of mistake #1 (I didn't receive an interest statement in the mail for $146 of interest income on one of my old employer managed 401k's) and #12 (I took higher than normal deductions for charitable contributions which resulted in me needing to get cancelled checks to PROVE that I really gave the donations-which I did, by the way).  :)

My advice is to take your time and gather ALL your information together before you get ready to prepare your taxes, whether you do it yourself or have a professional do it for you.  THEN, since you have done such a great job of gathering, do a great job of storing your information, just in case you get a mail audit (more common every year) or a full blown audit (there's where a professionally prepared tax return pays dividends!).

Here is a list of 12 IRS Audit Red Flags to help keep you out of hot water: The IRS Dirty Dozen

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Are Tax Credits Still Available for First Time Home Buyer's in 2011?

Income Tax credits are only available to qualifying military personnel.  Here is a link to the Home Buyer Tax Credit Review article. 

Because of the many different tax credits, times covered by the offering, and what tax credits needed to be repaid and which ones didn't, here is a quick review:

Summary of the First-Time Homebuyer Credit by Year

For 2008: up to $7,500, the credit is paid back over 15 years. For Jan - Nov 2009: up to $8,000, the credit does not need to be paid back.
For Dec 2009 - April 2010: up to $8,000 for first-time buyers, the credit does not need to be paid back.
For Nov 7, 2009 - April 2010: up to $6,500 for "long-term residents" buying a new home, the credit does not need to be paid back.
Until April 30, 2011: homebuyer credit continues to be available for qualified members of the U.S. uniformed services.

The Real Deal: End of a mortgage era

End of a mortgage era

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates in the 5 percent range? Minimum down payments below 5 percent? Jumbo-size home loans for high-cost markets at regular interest rates? Kiss them good-bye -- possibly sooner than you might guess.

Take a snapshot of today's mortgage market conditions and frame it. It's highly likely you'll never see anything like these favorable combinations of rates and terms again. That's the inescapable conclusion emerging from the Obama administration's "white paper" on optional remedies for the two ailing giants of housing finance -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- along with events already under way in the national economy.

Property Devastation: Don't Let It Mean Financial Devastation

One of the most important questions I should probably get from my clients at loan application would be, "How much homeowners insurance should I get on my home?".  I don't get this question.  As I read the article in my YOU Magazine this month, I wondered why. 

It's more than likely that there are other more pressing questions on my clients minds; interest rate, closing costs, what are closing costs, what amount do I need at closing, but how much insurance coverage is not even on their radar.  

This article is an excellent discussion of WHY it should be at the top of mind when getting your mortgage loan in order.  It's also a great discussion to spur on analysis of how well or how poorly insured we are on other important things: life, auto, disability, health, retirement home, etc.  


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10 Common Errors Home Owners Make When Filing Taxes

By: G. M. Filisko
Published: January 25, 2011
Don’t rouse the IRS or pay more taxes than necessary—know the score on each home tax deduction and credit.  Here's 10 "sin's" that will rouse the IRS...

Sin #1: Deducting the wrong year for property taxes
You take a tax deduction for property taxes in the year you (or the holder of your escrow account) actually paid them. Some taxing authorities work a year behind—that is, you’re not billed for 2010 property taxes until 2011. But that’s irrelevant to the feds.
Enter on your federal forms whatever amount you actually paid in 2010, no matter what the date is on your tax bill. Dave Hampton, CPA, tax manager at the Cincinnati accounting firm of Burke & Schindler, has seen home owners confuse payments for different years and claim the incorrect amount.

FHA Loans vs. Conventional Loans: Which is better?

Conventional loans increasingly slipping away

If you want to know the difference between conventional mortgages and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing, the first item up for discussion is typically the cost of each loan.
For instance, the Wall Street Journal tells us that “conforming mortgages, or those that can be bought by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, commonly require higher down payments than FHA loans require. The catch to an FHA-insured loan is that you’ll pay more in fees.”

Later the Journal explains that “borrowers don’t face those costs on a conforming mortgage with 20% down.”
Well, sure, but how realistic is this comparison for most borrowers?

Ten Secrets to Savings: Write down your goals

Cheap is chic, frugality is in fashion, and Americans have sworn off their spending addiction. In a replay of 2010, their top resolution for 2011 is to save more money, according to the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker. But a funny thing happened on the way to the bank: Americans fell off the wagon. This year, consumers aim to save an average of $2,600, a far cry from their average goal of $14,000 in 2010. The reason: many of them didn't meet their ambitious savings target.

That doesn't surprise me. I've always believed that the trick to saving money is just that – a trick. You don't have to strike it rich on Wall Street, win the lottery or even earn a six-figure salary to build a comfortable savings cushion. You just have to play mental tricks on yourself to stay focused on spending less and keeping more cash.

Five Mortgage and Foreclosure Myths

Because of the rapidly changing rules in the mortgage world, call me for up to the minute lending guideline changes.  

Marty 

In a mortgage market that changes as quickly as this one, today’s fact is tomorrow’s fiction. For buyers, misinformation can be the difference between qualifying for a home loan or not.

Sellers and owners, knowledge is foreclosure-preventing, smart decision-making power! Without further ado, let’s correct some common mortgage misconceptions.