House Passes New “Tax” to Increase FHA Mortgage Insurance
Last Friday, July 30th, the House passed legislation to give the Federal Housing Administration flexibility to raise mortgage insurance premiums (PMI) on the loans it guarantees. This bill (H.R. 5981) gives FHA the authority to increase mortgage insurance premiums from the current level set at 0.55% up to 1.55%. Sponsored by House Financial Services Chairman [...]
Tri Cities WA Homeowners Equity can be Tapped by Wall Street
Wall Street has come up with yet another way of getting into Tri Cities WA (and everyone else) homeowner pockets. Freehold Capital Partners advocates for the Wall Street Home Resale fees system. They describe it as a “real estate financing solution designed to more efficiently structure the economics of real estate projects.” How do they [...]
Tri Cities Home Sales Defibrillator
Last year, home sales in the Tri Cities Washington saw a boost due to the taxpayer-funded first-time homebuyer tax credit. Many people thought this was the answer to propping up the economy in general by subsidizing the purchase of homes. Congress was so sold on it they even extended the credit to allow people with [...]
Ready to add $166 per month to your Tri-Cities WA FHA house payment???
Yesterday the US House of Representatives passed HR 5072, the FHA Reform Act of 2010, by a nearly unanimous 404 to 4. Now it’s on its way to the Senate. So, what does this mean to you, the home buying (or selling) consumer? FHA would be able to increase the current mortgage insurance premium (MIP) [...]
Act Soon to Buy or Sell your Home- Or lose 3% in Closing Costs!
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has recently announced that sometime this summer they will halve the amount a seller can offer in concessions to a Tri-Cities WA home buyer for things like renovations, or some of the services and taxes associated with a home purchase from the current 6% of the home’s purchase amount to [...]
My FICO Score? Hey! There’s an App for that- NOT!
Thanks to those friendly people at FICO (you know, the score used to tell you the “guaranteed” Gold/Optimum/Black/VIP credit card offer you received in the mail just isn’t going to happen) you now can now get a FICO score estimate right on your iPhone, anytime! And I quote their site- “and it’s fun to boot!” [...]
Things a Tri Cities WA Burgler Won’t Tell You
Some advice compiled from professional burglers on how to make their jobs harder…
What are the top sources buyers use to find your home?
I’m often asked, during the initial presentation for a home listing, why I don’t have a strong marketing presence with the local paper in the Tri Cities Washington. The reason is because advertising in the paper is a great way for me to get buyer clients for other homes, but not to sell your home. [...]
Before the Home Search Get the Pre-Approval
The figures don’t lie- over 85% of homebuyers begin their home search on the internet. But this shouldn’t be the first step in the process. Before you get your sights set on Tri Cities homes, and get emotionally involved in the search process, you have to know just how much home you can afford. And [...]
Don’t Talk Politics Unless you can Stand Nasty Emails in Response
How Aaron started an email firestorm…
