Competing With Cash Buyers–The Word is Out
The upturn in real estate activity brings many changes in the way we and other mortgage originators are doing business. We’re crazy busy, but we and many of our clients (and their Realtors©) are...
View ArticleYeah, mortgage rates are higher. So what?
When Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke opened his mouth on Wednesday at his press conference, the market immediately tanked. He could have said, “Nice day, isn’t it?” and the market would have tanked as well,...
View ArticleThe Curse? of Self-Employment
You work for yourself. You have the privilege of risking your cash and covering overhead. You get to work twice as hard as other people, maybe even for less money. But what you have is yours. There is...
View ArticleAsk Joe Money
We get a lot of questions at The Mortgage Insider. It seemed to me that it would be a good idea to have my alter ego, Joe Money, handle some of them for me. Here’s what showed up in the ol’ mailbox...
View ArticleA Minor Improvement in FHA Mortgages
FHA loans are about to get a tiny bit less expensive The FHA loan program has been in existence since 1934. It provides government support for low to moderate-income borrowers to buy homes, offering...
View ArticleFHA Mortgage—The Wrong Choice?
The venerable FHA loan has been an important path to home ownership for moderate-income buyers since 1934, when it came into being as part of the National Housing Act. Since that time, some 35 million...
View ArticleSorry, Mr. Bernanke; your loan is denied.
“My loan is WHAT?” The voice on the other end of the line was shrill—very different from the measured tones most of us had heard from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United...
View ArticleWill changing mortgage insurance fix FHA?
FHA loans are about to get a little less unattractive (yes, I know that’s a double negative. I did it on purpose). Since 1934, millions of people have become homeowners because of the Federal Housing...
View ArticleThe Horror of the FHA Mortgage
HUD Secretary Julián Castro I came across an article recently in one of the mortgage industry trade rags: “Republicans Hammer Castro over FHA Premium Reduction.” A little backstory: FHA is a federally...
View ArticleTalking to Reporters about Mortgages
I spend a fair amount of time speaking with journalists who are working on stories about the housing and mortgage industry. I like to help out, and it does give one a bit of an ego boost to see your...
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