Counseling IS an effective tool to PREVENT Forclosure!

The probability of staying in your home (if you are in financial difficulty) can be increased dramatically (in certain cases, up to 200% improvement in your chances) if you receive financial counseling! 

The latest report from the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) makes a compelling argument for continuing support of Home Owner Counseling opportunities be made available to struggling homeowners.

During my loan application process I have a form that which says (and this is how I explain it, in layman's terms): "The mortgage company doesn't want your home back.  If you get in trouble, they will offer counseling and will help you stay in your home."

Until I read this article, I wondered if the mortgage servicing companies really had success with their customers who went through counseling.  Here is the article which tells me that we are successful in helping homeowners stay in their homes: Counseling is an effective tool to prevent foreclosure

Happy 4th of July!

On July 4th we celebrate our country's birthday, the freedoms we enjoy, and the American way of life! We hope you have a happy Independence Day. Thank you for choosing us for all of your mortgage needs.  Marty

VA Loans are Excellent for Active duty, Retired and Reservists

VA doesn't guarantee you will qualify (#1 wrong assumption I have heard over the years from Veterans I have helped), but the VA loan is awesome!  ZERO down and NO monthly private mortgage insurance!

Benefits and Q & A about why VA loans are awesome! I am ready to help with your VA questions.  Contact me at 801-540-5108. 

The American Dream and Government Intervention

A poll taken a week ago by The New York Times and CBS News indicates that 9 out of 10 respondents think buying a home is a good investment and worth the up and down value ride they experience.  45% say the Government should do more to help the Mortgage market problems and 53% want Government to give direct financial benefits to borrowers in financial trouble.  Almost none of the respondents want the tax deduction for mortgage interest to go away (this has been included in several Government budget balancing scenarios).  Read the entire American Dream article here. 

Be Smart About YOUR Closing Date and get a better interest rate!

When you are negotiating a closing date and you can get to a closing date that is WITHIN 30 days, DO IT!  This is the surest way to make sure that your rate is the best rate you will be able to get. 

If the closing is within 45 days and you WANT to lock your interest rate, the rate will be approximately .125% higher (about $15/month higher in payment than a 30 day lock).

Here is a great article about why it pays to be smart about your closing date.

Epic Refinance Opportunity is HERE, TODAY!

There's a Refi Boom Starting. Don't Watch It Pass.

Mortgage rates look like they'll fall some more, but don't sit by and wait for something better.
History has shown that mortgage rates can -- and do! -- change quickly. And because rates are unnaturally low to begin with, once they start to worsen, they should worsen in a hurry.
Exploit today's market while you still can.  Call me at 801-540-5108 and I can go over no
cost refinance options with you.

What's keeping a lid on home prices?

Anticipating and predicting a change of direction in home prices is difficult at best.  Many factors play into our market and are keeping a lid on home prices today.  

Because home prices are now at levels not seen since 2003, home buyer's have anxiety (read the article here) and additionally I am seeing softer prices because there is a lack of acceptable inventory with fewer buyer's making their way into the market.

With a smaller inventory in relation to buyer's entering the market, how does the general home buying population find a home that meets their needs in this market?  In this article I want to talk about the FHA 203k loan as a possible catalyst to provide a larger inventory of acceptable homes to buyer's. 


Since the first of the year, I am beginning to hear more requests for information on the FHA 203k loan than at any other time in my mortgage career which began in 1991 and I think it is because it allows buyer's to purchase the "wrong home in the right neighborhood" (read more about the FHA203k loan here) which could help more buyer's find the right home for them.  The 203k loan will help stabilize home values quicker than any other options available to the Government today.  Additionally, more that 100 million homes in the US were built before 1990 and almost every one of these homes would benefit from some amount of renovation and modernization.   

While we wait for a different inventory and more plentiful inventory to appear in the Real Estate Market, maybe the 203k loan is worth looking into.  Call me if I can help.

Here comes the refi boom of 2011

We're on the brink of something big. A wave of uncertainty about Greece and its debt, plus weaker-than-expected economic data at home, has dropped conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates to levels not seen since December 2, 2010.
Here comes the refi boom of 2011!

It's been 8 straight weeks that mortgage rates have dropped. 8 weeks. Not even last year's historic Refi Boom produced a winning streak of 8 weeks. This year's streak is historic. Call me at 801-540-5108 to review your no cost, low cost or full cost refinance options. 

9 week Mortgage Rate Forecast

Forecast
Interest rates have moved downward this late spring on increasingly poor economic news and inflationary leveling, so much so that the idea of a QE3 (Quantitative Easing 3) has gotten some play. We never say "never", but we're comfortable in saying that it's not going to happen during this forecast period. The downshift in growth probably has a number of facets, including but not limited to interruptions caused to the Japan disaster and our near-historic Mississippi river floods. The next few weeks will probably bring more of an accumulation of poor economic data, but the four or five weeks after that may bring new glimmers of economic life. As such, we should start low and probably end somewhat higher in terms of rates.

For the next nine-week period, we think that the overall average for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will run in a channel from 4.70% to about 5.10%. For Hybrid 5/1 ARMs, low funding costs and some increased appetite by portfolio lenders will probably serve to move those rates between 3.30% and 3.75%, and for conforming 30-year fixed rates, we see a range of 4.50% to 4.90%

Shocking how much good landscaping improves your home's value

A Virginia Tech study from 2009 suggested that landscaping and pristine lawns help increase property values by an average of 7.5%. A home valued at $150,000 with no landscaping could be worth up to from $8,000 to $19,000 more with a sophisticated landscape with color and large plants, the study said: "Relatively large landscape expenditures significantly increase perceived home value and will result in a higher selling price than homes with a minimal landscape."

I read this article AFTER tearing out landscaping in our back yard and my wife and I are going to get busy sooner than later and get things going (growing) again!  :)  The saddest part of taking down the trees has been that I don't hear the birds outside my window singing me awake in the morning!

Paying off your mortgage is a different kind of investment

As I read this article I thought of how many of my clients pay extra toward their mortgage each month in hopes of getting their mortgage paid off sooner rather than later.  8 out of 10 of my clients have regularly paid extra principal payments for most of their mortgage term.

I also thought of my fellow Business Network International friends who state in their biographies of what their #1 goal is.  The majority say that their burning desire is "to be debt free!". 

Considering the real desire of those I help and what my friends and family tell me, I found the following article interesting because it brings a great argument to the table about, "Why should we (or why should we NOT) payoff our mortgage.   

I share formulas for early mortgage payoff.  They are simple and my clients like to hear how to payoff their mortgages early,  They like the idea.  I like telling them how to make it happen.  It makes me happy that I told them about how to do it and they really like the idea of paying off their mortgage early.  Best of all?  Paying off your mortgage early is easy, it just takes discipline.

BUT here I beg the question, "Why should a mortgagee payoff their mortgage early?"  When you have a mortgage, there are tax benefits and tax savings.  Returns on a well diversified stock portfolio have a historical return of 9-12%. Why pay off early when your interest rate is sub 6%?  Lots to think about before jumping into an accelerated Mortgage payoff schedule. 

Here is the article to continue the argument for holding onto your mortgage as a GOOD (if not GREAT Investment): Should I payoff my mortgage early?