All posts tagged South Florida Mortgage Banker

Buying A Home & Building Wealth

by Justin Miller on May 15, 2011 in Mortgage Education 101 with No comments

Here is a very powerful statistic for owning a home:

Renters have only a fraction of the net wealth of owners. Near the peak of the housing bubble in 2007, the median net wealth of homeowners was $234,600—about 46 times the $5,100 median for renters. Even if homeowner wealth fell back to 1995 levels, it would still be 27.5 times the median for renters.

Owning a home isn’t for everyone but there are pros and cons to both owning or renting so make sure you know what they are before buying.

http://kcmblog.com/2011/05/11/homeownership-building-family-wealth/

Should You Have a Buyer’s Agent

by Justin Miller on May 9, 2011 in General News with No comments

Absolutely and the article below goes into detail why. If you need a referral to a great real estate agent in South Florida just call or email me.

Many experts think this is a bad move – worse, for example, than trying to sell a house without an agent. For one thing, in most cases, a buyer doesn’t pay an agent; the buyer’s agent splits the commission with the seller’s agent, so the services are essentially free to the buyer. Also, a buyer’s agent can usually access historical price data for home sales in the area, which means he can recommend a bidding strategy that targets comparable properties that sold for less, rather than the mid-range. John Vogel, adjunct professor of real estate at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, calls going through this process alone “a mistake.”

Read more: Do You Need a Buyer’s Agent? – SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/do-you-need-a-buyers-agent-1304523622290/#ixzz1LrN27o4F

Take The Mortgage Quiz

by Justin Miller on May 7, 2011 in Mortgage Education 101 with No comments

Test your knowledge and find out how much you really think you know

http://www.zillow.com/mortgage-rates/quiz/

Is a Short Sale or Foreclosure Better For Your Credit

by Justin Miller on May 7, 2011 in Foreclosure, Short Sales with No comments

I think anyone in the real estate business will tell you that a short sale is better. Both of them affect your credit about the same amount but if you are trying to buy another home you will be able to do so earlier when you have a short sale on your credit versus a foreclosure.

Also, with a short sale you can get away with not having a deficiency balance so on your credit report it shows nothing is owed but with a foreclosure there will be a balance owed.

The article below goes into detail about this and also comments on how it can affect your family http://kcmblog.com/2011/05/04/is-a-short-sale-or-a-foreclosure-my-best-option/

The 4 C’s of Mortgages

by Justin Miller on May 7, 2011 in Mortgage Education 101 with No comments

Anyone who is new to the mortgage business is first taught about the 4 C’s to underwriting, Capacity, Credit, Cash, & Collateral. The #1 one thing to understand is you can’t have one without the other.

You might think because you have great credit and a lot of assets that you should get a loan but that isn’t the way it works anymore.

KeepingCurrentMatters.com does a great job in explaining what each C means http://kcmblog.com/2011/05/05/the-4-cs-of-mortgage-underwriting

How Much Do I Need To Make To Buy A $150,000 Home?

by Justin Miller on May 2, 2011 in FHA Loans, General News with No comments

It will depend on your credit score and the other debts from your credit report but let’s say we want to keep your debt to income ratio at 31% or less of your income. I feel this is a good place to be. You can go higher and actually much higher but I think it is best to not go over 36%.

Here is a breakdown of the payment based on putting 3.5% on an FHA loan with an interest rate at 5% on a property in South Florida:

Loan Amount – $146,197
Principle & Interest – $784.82
Homeowners Insurance – $225
Property Taxes – $250
Mortgage Insurance – $137.79

Total Payment of $1,397.61/month

You would have to make $26.50/hour working 40 hours per week individually or $13.25/person if you are buying with someone else. That comes out to $55,120/year.

Always make sure to consult a mortgage expert to make sure your credit, income, assets, etc. meet FHA lending standards.

Should You Get A Second Opinion?

by Justin Miller on May 2, 2011 in General News, Mortgage Education 101 with No comments

I have talked about this in the past and how your interest rate isn’t the most important aspect of the mortgage but making sure you are dealing with an expert and someone you can trust is. The Blog below is from www.KeepingCurrentMatters.com and it is geared towards finding the right real estate agent but I feel it holds true with any professional you are hiring.

http://kcmblog.com/2011/04/28/should-you-get-a-second-opinion/

Homeowner Job Loss Protection

by Justin Miller on April 27, 2011 in General News with No comments

I have written about this in the past but through a different company. Now Genworth which is one of the mortgage insurance companies that insures loans with less than 20% down is offering it for no additional cost

Advantages of Job Loss Protection:

• Helps protect credit by keeping up with your mortgage payments.
• Safeguards the investment made in your home.
• Makes emergency savings go further.
• Provides some peace of mind during the stress of unemployment.

Up to $2000 a month (including principal, interest, taxes, insurance), up to 3 monthly payments per job loss occurrence, with a maximum of 6 payments during the benefit period, and up to 3 years after loan closes, while the mortgage
insurance remains in place.

For more information click on this link http://mortgageinsurance.genworth.com/HomeOpeners/Default.aspx

South Florida Residential Inventory

by Justin Miller on April 27, 2011 in General News with No comments

South Florida residential inventory


Compiled by Condo Vultures Realty using the South Florida Shared Multiple Listing Service. Active listings are properties where no current sale contract exists; pending sales are properties in which a contract for sale has been executed, but not yet closed. Listing brokers control the status of a property listing.

Short sales and foreclosures equally lower FICO scores

by Justin Miller on April 24, 2011 in Credit with 1 Comment

I don’t pretend to be a credit expert and make sure to always consult someone who is but I found this to be a informative article especially since so many are experiencing short sales and foreclosures.

A short sale is better over time as long as you don’t have a deficiency judgment for the loss that the bank took with the sale.

“FICO said homeowners with short-sales and foreclosures on their records ended up with similar credit scores, assuming their scores were similar as distressed homeowners (see illustration below).”

http://www.housingwire.com/2011/04/22/short-sales-and-foreclosures-equally-degrade-fico-scores

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