Home sales rise

Take a look at this article about recent home sales.

We are in the right market for growth.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/23/financial-dispatch-home-sales-skyrocket/

Financed Mortgage Insurance

There are still many options when it comes to mortgage insurance for a home. You might be familiar with the monthly option that is now tax deductible under certain circumstances. But there is also Split Monthly which is a portion upfront and then a smaller amount monthly, Lender Paid which is added to the interest rate or Financed which is added to the loan or paid in cash. The financed mortgage insurance is similar to FHA or VA because you can add it to the loan amount and like the VA there is then no monthly which makes your monthly payment less.

New Job No Problem

There is good news concerning Teachers, Physicians, and others hired using a contract. We have always been able use an employment contract as source of income. The good news is that we are able to close prior to starting the new job as long as the first pay is scheduled within 60 days of closing. This applies to irrevocable employment contracts that are typical with Teachers and Medical professionals.

Raleigh housing market ranks first - Business - NewsObserver.com

Raleigh housing market ranks first - Business - NewsObserver.com

New FHA rules coming

FHA has faced large losses due to economic conditions and people losing jobs. In order to help with some of the losses they are increasing the upfront mortgage insurance to 2.25% from the current 1.75%. This is not the first time FHA has increased the mortgage insurance. At one point in the 1990's the rate was 3.25%. This increase makes no difference in the amount of cash needed at closing and works out to be on average 4.00 more per month. FHA is a great way to buy a home if you have less than perfect credit scores, and have limited cash.

Tax Transcript

As banks continue to look at losses there are more layers of rules and documentation being required.

Most lenders now require that a tax transcript be pulled from the IRS. If you have a loss from a business that you or your spouse work at part time that will be now subtracted from your income.

How to improve your credit

I get calls everyday from potential buyers asking me to check their credit. What lenders are looking for in a credit profile has changed and the word is not really out. A lender is looking for at least 3 active credit tradelines that have been open for at least 12 months.

For a little while we heard close your credit cards you aren't using. Well now that is not the case. Even if you rarely use a store credit card it is probably better to just leave it open showing that you have good credit with that store. The other major change is never use more than 30% of the credit limit that you do have with a charge. That means if you have a 1000.00 credit limit don't charge more than 300.00 and then pay the balance in full every month.