cromwell: FHA ........ Major Condo Approval Change!!! - 06/16/09 10:47 PM
Well so much for my blog yesterday about not having seen any change to the Underwriting Guidelines lately. This morning my office made me aware of FHA's latest Mortgagee Letter 2009-19 that was issued on June 12th.  In this latest Mortgagee Letter FHA is announcing MAJOR change to their Condo Approval Process.
"In accordance with the passage of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is implementing a new approval process for Condominium Projects to insure mortgages on individual units under Section 203(b) of the National Housing Act. FHA will now allow lenders to … (66 comments)

cromwell: Market Update - 06/15/09 04:03 AM
Looks like things have calmed down a bit, and hopefully Buyers will take advantage of this before the next storm hits.
Over the last two to three weeks we have been seeing a lot of volatility in the market and as a result we saw a major upward movement in the interest rates. Prior to that it was changes to the Underwriting Guidelines for many of the Loan Programs, especially Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  FHA saw some change as well in particularly to effort that were made to make the $8,000 Tax Credit available prior to Closing.
The end of … (5 comments)

cromwell: Wordless Sunday - 06/14/09 12:36 PM

 
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Info about the author:
George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
(11 comments)

cromwell: Winning Proposal For The New York Yankees. - 06/13/09 02:03 PM
As many of you know from some of my older blogs I love sports, especially baseball.  I am also a huge Yankee Fan, and have been so since I was 8 years old.
One of the great things about living in New England for those of us who love sports is the great rivalry amongst our sport teams and fans.  Among these rivalries the biggest ones are between Boston and New York Fans.  We have the rivalries between the Celtics and Knicks, Bruins and Ranger, Patriots and Jets, and the biggest one of all Red Sox and Yankees.
This past week … (8 comments)

cromwell: OH NO ............. What Happened To My TV Picture????? - 06/12/09 03:52 AM
It was all over the news yesterday and on the news again today, it was even one of the lead stories on Yahoo Tech News this morning, Analog TV is now a part of history.  After months and months of announcements, warnings, and delays, it is still expected that more than 1 million households will be without TV service, because they did not convert over to digital.
The analog signal has been around for about 60 years, t is what most of us grew up with.  I still remember watching TV on a little black and white screen, and we were … (12 comments)

cromwell: Middlesex County Chamber Of Commerce .......... Energy Expo and Forum - 06/11/09 01:33 PM
The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce is in my opinion the busiest Chamber in the state.  I have bloged about some of the events that they have held in the past, especially the Business After Hours they they hold just about every month.
The latest event that has caught my eye and I think worth passing along is the Energy Expo and Forum that the Chamber will be hosting on June 23rd as part of the Travelers Championship breakfast meeting.  The purpose of this Expo and Forum is to Develope Strategies for business to manage their energy costs.
Leaders from the … (5 comments)

cromwell: Wordless Wednesday - 06/10/09 09:38 AM

 
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Info about the author:
George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
(18 comments)

cromwell: Interest Rates Are Climbing!!! - 06/09/09 06:22 AM
It should not came as any surprise to those of us in the Real Estate Business, that the interest rates have been climbing for almost two weeks now.  Even though they went down slightly today, the feeling seems to be that they might go up some more.  Of course one person's guess is as good as another when it comes to interest rates.  If anyone could predict them accurately, they could retire in a very short period of time.
We can look at the increase in interest rates negatively or we can look at them positively.  The first and natural reactions … (17 comments)

cromwell: Another Great Open House Sunday - 06/08/09 12:04 PM
Last week I Posted a blog about what a great day last Sunday was for Open Houses "Great Day For Open Houses".  The weather was perfect and the Buyers were out, I even got to do a Pre-Appoval for one of the Buyers. Well as good as last Sunday was, this Sunday was even better.
We were having our Annual Church Picnic right after Church, but there were two Realtors that I wanted to talk to, and they were both doing Open Houses.  So I stopped by their Open House, and each of them had Buyers at them.  Now this is … (4 comments)

cromwell: Wordless Sunday - 06/07/09 01:10 PM

 
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Info about the author:
George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
(18 comments)

cromwell: Annual Middlesex County Real Estate Luncheon - 06/06/09 09:37 AM
The Annual Middlesex County Real Estate Luncheon will be held this coming Wednesday June 10 at Saint Clements Castle, 1931 Portland Cobalt Road, Portland, Ct.
There are many reasons to attend this event, but three stand out.  First it is a great time to see and spend some quality time with many of our Real Estate colleagues that we might not normally see during the year. Second the facility that the event will be held at Saint Clements Castle is a great place to go for an event such as this. And Third it will be a fun relaxing time where … (7 comments)

cromwell: Market Update - 06/05/09 03:31 AM
This morning Kim Neilson our Executive Vice President at McCue Mortgage sent out an e-mail to all our Loan Originators explaining why we have been experiencing an increase in the mortgage interest rates over the last week. For those of you who have not heard, last Wednesday the mortgage rate increased significantly, and have continued to slightly increase since then.
In her e-mail Kim announced that the mortgage market had opened down again today because of news that Job loss claims came in @ 345,000 versus the prediction of 520,000.  She also stated that even though unemployment rate is at a … (6 comments)

cromwell: Wordless Wednesday - 06/03/09 02:54 PM

 

 
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Info about the author:
George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
(22 comments)

cromwell: Why Not Get A Mortgage Inspection. - 06/02/09 03:31 PM
A couple of years ago we at McCue Mortgage started offering what we call a Mortgage Inspection. In the Real Estate Industry, we don't think twice about recommending to a Buyer that they should have a Home Inspection done.  So why not also  suggest a Mortgage Inspection to make sure that they are truly qualified for the amount that they have been told.
The Buyer does not have to the loan with the Loan Officer who does the Mortgage Inspection, but just like with the Home Inspection it can provide peace of mine for everyone during the home search process, especially … (13 comments)

cromwell: Great Day For Open Houses!!! - 05/31/09 12:58 PM
Today was a perfect day for Open Houses, the weather was perfect, and the Buyers were out.  I stopped by four Open Houses and all were busy except one, because of the type of property.
The Buyers that I saw at the Open Houses were mainly First Time Homebuyers, and all of them excited about the possibility of purchasing their first property.  Each of them had a lot of questions for the Realtors that were holding the Open Houses.
It is unusual for me to pick up a new Borrower when I stop an Open Houses, but today was the exception.  … (14 comments)

cromwell: Latest $8,000 Tax Credit ADVANCE ........... Is It Really What It Appears To Be? - 05/29/09 01:05 PM
FHA issued MORTGAGEE LETTER 2009-15 today, once again making a provision or provisions for the $8,000 Tax Credit (Gift) to be received before the Closing on a property.
Now before anyone gets to excited about this, like many did before, you really NEED to read the entire Mortgagee Letter, once you do, you will most likely not be as excited about this provision.  There are several catches, and I really don't know if eligible lenders are going to get on board with this.
The new provision while allowing for the $8,000 to be received in advance, does not permit it to … (8 comments)

cromwell: Happy Ending - 05/28/09 02:36 PM
In the beginning of the month I wrote a blog "Appraisal Issues Continue To Be Big Problems!!!".  In the blog I gave an example of a loan that I was presently working on, and the appraisal issues that I was have with it.  It was one of those loans that the Buyer was not the problem, they had excellent credit an income, but the property had major issues.
I closed the blog by saying that I would report back on the outcome.  Well I am happy to report that the loan closed yesterday, and I now have two extremely happy Borrowers.
(5 comments)

cromwell: Be Prepared!!! - 05/27/09 06:44 AM
Most will associate the term "Be Prepared" with the Boy Scouts, and it is a term that I am very familiar with since both my sons are Eagle Scouts.  But these days this term has taken on a new meaning for me with all of the changes and challenges that we are facing in the Real Estate Industry.  These days we in the Real Estate Industry need to adopt this term for ourselves as well.  In some regards we have always had to "Be Prepared" in Real Estate, because of the possibility of last minute things popping up, but lately the … (14 comments)

cromwell: FHA & CHFA Condo Lists. - 05/26/09 07:56 AM
Yesterday I commented on a blog that Donna Bigda wrote on Condominiums, and she suggested that I add a couple of links for Buyers to have as a resource.
The comment that I made was that most Condo Loans that I do are for First Time Homebuyer, and that FHA and Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) are the two main loan programs that I use for them, because most First Time Homebuyers do not have much money to put down on a house or condo.  I also suggested that if a Realtor is working with a Buyer that will be using … (15 comments)

cromwell: Creating Raving Fans - 05/25/09 06:22 AM
Most of us who have been in this business for a while, and plan on being around for a lot longer, pride ourselves in providing our Clients with great service.  Up until a couple of years ago I thought that providing great service was good, that is until I read a little book by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles "Raving Fans".
As I was reading this book it became very clear to me that just providing great service is not good enough.  That if I wanted to set myself apart from everyone else that also provides great service, that I had … (13 comments)

 
George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert (George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages)

George Souto

Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Middletown, CT

More about me…

George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages

Address: One Liberty Sq., PO Box 1000, New Britain, Ct, 06050

Office: (860) 573-1308

Mobile: (860) 573-1308



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