FHA Streamline Refinances: Too Good To Be True?

With mortgage rates at very attractive lows, many homeowners are seeking to refinance their existing mortgages to take advantage of the savings that lower rates bring.  While low rates are good news, if your current mortgage is an FHA mortgage, there’s great news for you: FHA offers Streamline Refinances, which are the fastest, easiest way […]

Have You Served Our Country in the Military? If So, You Likely Qualify for a Zero Down Mortgage for Veterans

It takes a special kind of person to be willing to give his or her life for the freedoms our country enjoys, and without a doubt, members of the military should receive special benefits not given to the rest of the population.  That’s why if you are a veteran and in the market for a […]

I want to refinance to take advantage of the current low interest rates but my home is underwater. Am I stuck with my high interest rate for good?

HARP 2.0 and What it Means for Homeowners Who are Underwater

If you are sitting in a home for which you owe more than it is currently worth, you are one of millions of homeowners in the exact same predicament.  The good news is that you no longer have to sit underwater with a mortgage that is sub-prime or at interest rates that far exceed what […]

Tips for Successful Real Estate Investing

Real estate investing is not for just anyone—it takes  a certain kind of person to enter into a volatile market and not only make sense of it, but also make cents ($$) of it.  Additionally, everyone who invests has different reasons for doing so, which means there’s really no one ‘right’ way of doing it. […]

What is the Difference in Short Sales and Foreclosures?

A short sale is a process in which you sell your home for an amount that is less than what is owed on the mortgage.  The lienholder of your mortgage must agree to this type of sale and in many cases, the borrowers are still not released from their obligations to repay the deficiencies on […]

“Big Player” Tactics for Closing a Sale

How many times have you found yourself in this position: you put together a brilliant presentation, your sales pitch was flawless, the potential client seems really interested, then…..nothing.  Suddenly, when it’s time to close the deal, you lose confidence and things start happening wrong. This is not only common in real estate, it’s common in […]

Prospecting Mistakes in Real Estate and How to Avoid Them

Prospecting for clients is one of the most fundamental ways you will grow your business as a real estate agent.  Simply put—do it the right way, and you’re setting yourself up for success; do it the wrong way, and you’re going to have trouble staying afloat as a business owner and entrepreneur.  There’s just no […]

HARP 2.0 Encourages Borrowers to Shorten the Terms of Their Mortgages

Participants in the HARP 2.0 program—a program that is designed to assist homeowners in refinancing their mortgages, even if the mortgage is more than the home’s current value—are being encouraged to shorten the terms of their refinanced mortgages.  According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) website, “borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than […]

What is Harp 2.0 and How Do I Qualify?

On September 7, 2008, the collapse of two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)—changed the landscape of the mortgage lending industry completely. Since then, there has been much effort within the mortgage industry to restructure itself why following stricter guidelines.  This recovery effort […]

So What Exactly Is Going On With Jumbo Loans?

You might have heard how difficult it is to get a jumbo loan.  You might even be confused now on what a jumbo loan actually is – and there’s reason for that confusion.   The reason is that the concept of a jumbo loan means two very different things based on whether you are working with […]

Why You Should Take Advantage of the FHA Streamline Refinance Option if You Are an FHA Homeowner

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Streamline Refinance is an option available to all current FHA-backed homeowners, and now with new rule changes, the process is even easier to complete.  In an effort to qualify more homeowners for the FHA Streamline Refinance, the FHA has decided to make the process as easy as possible. This means […]