Michigan Mortgage Blog by Mortgage Matt of Icon Mortgage

First Time Home Buyer: Conforming at a glance The following was a general overview of the Conforming loan programs such as those offered by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and a guide to figure out if this is the loan program for you. Availability: Available in all areas. Type of Homes they finance: Single Family Properties and Multi-Family Properties will qualify. Site Condos are viewed the same as Attached Condominium Properties and are acceptable if they are approved condominium projects. You can search approved projects here: ******. Manufactured properties, Modular, Stick-Built, or BOCA-code properties are acceptable in some circumstances but not likely to be accepted. Working Farms, unique properties, and dome-homes will not qualify. Down Payment Required: 10% or greater in conjunction with Private Mortgage Insurance. 20% to meet conforming loan standards. In general, funds for down payment can be a gift from family. Private Mortgage Insurance: Emphasis on the “Private” since it is obt...

First Time Home Buyer: FHA at a glance The following was a general overview of the FHA loan program and a guide to figure out if this is the loan program for you. Availability: Available in all areas. Type of Homes they finance: Most property types. Single Family Properties and Multi-Family Properties will qualify. Site Condos are viewed the same as Attached Condominium Properties and are acceptable if they are approved condominium projects. You can search approved projects here: ******. Manufactured properties are acceptable if they meet individual lender requirements. Modular, Stick-Built, or BOCA-code properties are acceptable. Working Farms, unique properties, and dome-homes will not qualify. Down Payment Required: 3.5%. Can be a gift from family, friend, or employer. Down payment assistance is only available from grant programs. Mortgage Insurance: 1.75% financed into your loan and and .55% is billed monthly. Interest Rates: Vary greatly because of the great variance between lende...

So, regardless all of the jibber-jabber out of Washington lending is continuing to tighten. I figured I would write just a general overview of some of the significant changes or non-changes here in my blog in case any of these issues may affect you. First Time Home Buyers: Most of the news for you is good. So much is aimed at finding you and inspiring you to help get the economy moving again, that your business is still in demand. The current change is that banks are looking for a little more investment on your part to ensure that they are making a good investment with you. This doesn’t necessarily mean a down payment, but do expect to be accountable for past credit discretions and to able to show paperwork on where you are getting the money to pay for your appraisal, down payment, or other requirements. This can still be a gift from family, but expect to show proof of where you are getting it. More emphasis if being put on the 620 FICO phenomenon on a daily basis. Those borrowers ove...

I will be adding to this list as I go along, but I wanted to start a nice comprehensive FAQ for homebuyers. I put “first time” in parenthesis because really this can apply to anyone buying a home, but this will apply mainly to the questions I get from first time homebuyers. Q: Why buy instead of rent? A: Well, pride of ownership and having something that is yours to do with what you want. A home is also a long-term investment for your future. Don’t let all of the exploding market talk scare you. Real Estate prices go up and down, but just like investing in stocks, you buy low and sell high based on when you enter the market. If you put yourself in a position where you have to sell within a very short period of time you had better make a sound investment or you will fail as many are now failing because they relied on an implied return without realizing preparing for a long-term goal. In addition to the equity investment, a home is also a valuable tax incentive. You can deduct your mortg...

Life happens and along with it comes many challenges that we all face. These normal challenges can sometimes be magnified when you have a mortgage payment bearing down on you each and every month. There is always help available for you, but it is essential to remember a few things when you are having trouble making your monthly payment. 1. Never Wait!!! Simply missing payments is the worst thing you can do. It is important to be as on top of you payments as you can be, and that does not always mean making the payment. Recognize as early as possible when you know you will not be able to make your payment and contact your lender to let them know that you are having trouble. Often times they will have a solution for you. Simply waiting and waiting and missing payments and avoiding the situation will only further the difficulty in helping you out of your current situation. 2. Never purposely miss a payment. Many times you will hear advice from friends, family, your lender, or from advertis...

There are so many ways for a loan officer to fool you and I have heard them all in my time in the business. Now I bring this knowledge to you in how to demand that your loan officer never fools you. I will also cite all of the documents that your loan officer is legally required to show you yet rarely will. I will make you as close to impenetrable as possible. Interest Rate: Ah the interest rate. As a consumer it is always the first thing on your mind, and always the first tool you use to shop for the best deal possible on a mortgage. Of course, us in the “know” realize that there the interest rate alone rarely dictates a good deal on a mortgage. So how do you decode what your interest rate will be and if it is in fact a good value when a loan officer is so well equipped to talk his or her way around this subject? Well the value part will be covered under the APR heading below, but first let’s talk about how to know what your interest rate is and what it will be at the time you close. ...

Hello all, I, and pretty much all of our people at Icon have had many Realtors calling us over the past few days concerning the health of Rural Development loans. Apparently, some lenders are having problems dealing with the lapse in funding at the USDA. Please be Aware that we are running business as usual with Rural Development loans. Our main two RD channels are committed to closing and funding loans while new funds are in process of being appropriated for the USDA. There is no back up, there is no hold up, there is no closing issue. If you are having these problems you can always just call me over at Icon 810-953-4266 and I will take a look at whatever you need help with. Thanks, Matt For more information Call Today or visit our website: 810-953-4266 or Icon Mortgage Lending.com

I find that the first hurdle a First Time Buyer faces is getting their paperwork together. I am not sure why, but honestly this simple task dissuades many people when they start to apply. Perhaps following this list and having it ready at the outset will help the process seem smoother. Last two years of W-2s or Tax Returns. If you can’t find them, you can always contact your employer, your tax preparer, or the IRS for a copy. Most recent month of pay stubs. 1 month worth…the most recent available. Most recent 2 Months of bank statements. If you don’t get paper statements, you can print your online statements, but you will need to take them to your bank to get verified and stamped. Most recent 401k statement. (If you have one.) Copy of your driver’s license and social security card. The Patriot Act requires us to check these. Have these items ready to go before you look for a loan officer and DO NOT trust anyone that will try to quote you a payment or interest rate before they even see ...

For a first time buyer, there is so much to worry about and so many levels of details to address, that I just want to provide a good general guide to how to start the process. You can refer to my other blogs for more detail, but I think this is a great overview. Purchasing anything, will cost you money. A home is the biggest purchase you will ever make, but most people expect to spend less than when getting an apartment. Any decent complex will want first, last, and possibly a security deposit. That’s at the very least $1000. Have this much before you consider buying a home. Now, Before you do anything else, find a loan officer. Before you contact a Realtor, before you look at homes, you have to qualify. In today’s market there are so many intricacies to qualifying that the first thing you need is to get approved. Approved, not pre-approved like so many tell you. Finding a good loan officer is finding someone that doesn’t talk about pre-approval. Find one that runs Underwriting and a...

Proceed with Caution: The weirdest part of talking to people about their loan experiences is that people usually are more particular about their Realtor than their Loan Officer. In reality, your Loan Officer is responsible for ten times more than your Realtor, especially in a foreclosure transaction. They will be digging through every aspect of your life; they are exposed to some of your most sensitive information. They are responsible for organizing the entire transaction from open until close. Most importantly, this is the person that represents you, and your application to the powers that be, so you need to believe in them to portray your strengths and represent you well. This is also a good time to realize that cheaper rarely means better. A good bit of advice I would give anyone…choose wisely, make sure your Loan Officer is making as much as your Realtor, and demand excellence. Interview with a Vampire. No, it’s not that bad. Actually the vast majority of bad loan officers and b...

What is it? An escrow account is basically a mandatory savings account to pay your taxes and insurance from. Every month you will pay your mortgage payment and a portion of that payment will go to the mortgage and a portion will go to the escrow account. When your tax and insurance bills come due, they will be paid from your escrow account company automatically. You will never see a tax or insurance bill, yet they will get paid. Why do you need it? With almost all loans an escrow account is required by the lender you are getting your loan from. The same as with your mortgage payment, if you do not pay your taxes, you will face foreclosure. Instead of being foreclosed on by your lender, you will be foreclosed on by Uncle Same. The possibility of tax foreclosure threatens your lender’s ability to ensure you repay them. Hence, they require that you have an escrow account so that you can’t simply stop paying your taxes. How will this affect your closing? You will need to fund the escrow...

Pro-Rated Taxes: Oh, the agony! Nothing causes headaches the way pro-rated taxes do. What exactly are they? It’s your tax bill…and yes…it is YOUR tax bill. In most places in Michigan you get two bills for Property Taxes. One for winter and one for summer. In the vast majority of places, you pay these taxes in advance meaning you are paying in July for the tax bill between July of that year and July of next year; same for the winter bill Dec.-Dec. If you buy a house, let’s say in August, the seller has already paid for the taxes through July of next year. Even though they have paid through July, they will only own the home for one month covered under that bill and you will own it for the remainder of time covered by that bill. You will be required to reimburse them for the time that you will own the home- August through July for the summer bill and August through December for the winter bill. How to calculate what you will have to pay . It’s no secret; you can calculate this yourself t...

It’s so odd to me that so many people claim to have been mistreated by their mortgage lender. There is a litany of paperwork we are required to provide to you when you apply. I am sure there were plenty of less than reputable loan officers out there that didn’t care to go through the numbers, but an even slightly educated borrower can’t be taken advantage of. So, here’s how to become an educated borrower. The Good Faith Estimate. Make sure you get one, make sure you get one from several lenders, make sure you compare them row by row and not the bottom line. Some lenders may trick you by not providing certain numbers that will pop up later (read my other blogs), make sure you don’t use anyone that leaves numbers off. The Borrower’s Bill of Rights. Make sure you get one, make sure you understand it. You can get it right here: Borrower’s Bill of Rights, but don’t trust anyone that doesn’t give you one- you know since it’s required by law and all. They are easily understandable, just act...

I talk to hundreds of first time buyers year after year and there are hundreds that don’t qualify by just a bit. They are so close but can’t get it done. I explain to them how close they are and offer direct advice on how just a month or two of fixing their issues will get them where they want. I go through the trouble to give them the advice they need knowing full well that they will not follow up. Whether it is the lack of confidence to overcome or just plain laziness, so many of them give up and never come back. So if you are just dipping your feet in the water and thinking about buying in the near future, let this help you prepare now to never have to feel the sting of denial. Your Income: I know a lot of you work jobs where you get tips, or you are just now getting raises, or are new on the job. If you are in any type of training period you will not be able to get a mortgage, but don’t worry as soon are that’s done, you are qualified. If you have gotten tips and never claimed muc...

There is a whole bunch of confusion concerning this new First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and I am looking to simplify things for you like I have been trying to do with all of my blogs. I think that the most important thing to realize here is that it is not free money! It is not. It is in effect a no-interest loan from the government. It is to be repaid over a 15 year period. You won’t be able to default because it will be taken out of your income tax refund of added to your charge every year. So, I shouldn’t take it? Of course you should take it! If you aren’t sure why you should, call up Citibank and try to get a 0% loan from them with a 15-year term. Unless you are complexly set credit and savings wise…which I think it pretty much NOBODY in Michigan, you should take advantage of this. What you have to be careful of is blowing this money on useless stuff and then ending up owing it back to government. There are many good ways to use this money, here are a few examples: Pay down the p...

If you are going to buy a home in Michigan, especially in this foreclosure driven market, nothing is more important than the team of professionals you choose to represent you. Consider these points in your search. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Do you not rush into any situation. Take at least a week to look around for reputable companies to deal with. Talk to friends and family, do some research on a few companies you target, and never consider only one source for information. Your loan officer is the first step and most important step. This person will be digging through all of your most personal documents, and trust is necessary. It should probably be an actual person that you actually meet and actually believe in. The biggest mistake is to judge just by numbers and promises, which are easily fabricated. Judge their willingness to provide written estimates of their services. Sit back, and listen…are they mentioning a Good Faith Estimate? If they don’t chances are they want to tell you...

I know, seems so simple. Pay your bills on time, don’t claim bankruptcy, but there is a lot more to it than that. So, what goes into a good credit score? Good Payment History: Obviously. Length of Payment History: One of the distinct disadvantages of a younger person. Balance to Limit Ratio: For your credit cards it is essential to keep the balance below 50 percent. If you really want to have great credit, 30% is even better. The dollar amount is not important, it’s the percentage. Diversity of Accounts: Mortages, car loans, installment loans, student loans, credit cards, and charge cards they all help to show the variety of debt that you can properly manage. Manageable Inquiries: No more than one per month. This will show that you are not trying to obtain new debt at a rate faster than you can handle. Solely Owned Debt: Fairly new to the credit factor, but it is essential to have debt you obtained on your own rather than cosigned accounts. Take all of these into consideration wh...

I have close a lot of foreclosure purchases over the last two years and have ran into some very odd demands from the selling banks. I would like to provide you with some of this information now on what these banks can and can not do that might help you in your own pursuit. They can demand that you provide them with a pre-approval letter. They can not demand that you obtain a pre-approval letter from any specific lender or broker. The doesn’t mean you won’t be told otherwise, but RESPA prohibits a seller, real estate agent, insurance agent, or anyone else from demanding an individual use any specific lender. They can demand that your lender’s pre-approval letter states that you are credit worthy. They can not demand to have your credit report or credit scores be provided to them. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act protects your privacy from any entity involved in the transaction that is not your financial service provider. You can give written permission for the selling bank to see these, b...

I know it is hard to understand exactly what your credit score is, how it is calculated, and especially how it affects you when you want to buy a home. Here is a general, and easy to understand guide to your score in reference to obtaining a mortgage. Below 500: Well I can’t sugar coat it, you are in pretty deep. This is where it may be a good option to seek consultation from a good attorney or a non-profit credit repair service (emphasis on non-profit). 501-560: You score is pretty low, but not beyond repair. You will not be able to qualify for a mortgage while your score is in this range. However, if you struggle through some high interest credit cards, maybe a secured card or two, you can bring it up. 561-619: You can probably obtain a mortgage, but it will be a very trying experience. You may be better served by simply waiting a month or two, trying to pay down some credit card balances, whatever you can do to optimize your score. 620-680: It may still seem just average, but in...

Bum Bum Buummm. Enter scary music and cold sweats, you just fell in love with a home that has a broken furnace and a big orange stain where a bathtub used to be. Chances are your financing is going to resemble that orange gunk on the tile right? There are options. With conventional financing, yes you will be sunk. The bank will only want a safe asset to secure. There are some programs that allow flexibility here like HomePossible, but it is very impractical. The good news is, that with the foreclosure boom, came the need to repair existing homes as production of new homes slowed to a crawl. Government financing fills the void of sensible repair financing. Actually it filled a long time ago before the housing boom started and home construction grew out of control. With FHA there is a possibility for a repair escrow; however the repairs must be minimal. The better option is the 203k loan that will allow a closing to take place like normal but provide you with money for all sorts of repa...