Real estate blog entries tagged with durham by George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert (George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages)

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durham: Sixth Annual Connecticut Mayors Forum On Affordable Housing - 05/16/09 07:11 AM

The Sixth Annual Mayors Forum on Affordable Housing will be held next Wednesday, May 20th, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the Aqua Turf, Club 556 Mulberry Street, Plantsville, CT. This Forum provides a great oppostunity for sharing ideas and information on affordable housing for those who are trully interested in finding ways to solve this problem.
Mayors from various size towns with different economic make-up and needs will meet to discuss what has worked, what didn't work, and what new efforts could made to make difference.
Mulitple industries, and agencies that represent and make up a wide aray of … (7 comments)

durham: Seasoned Money ............ What Is It??? - 05/15/09 07:47 AM

The term "Seasoning Money" or Seasoned Money" is a very common term in the Mortgage Industry. A simple definition for what is "Seasoned Money" is that it is a reference to the length of time that has past since funds were deposited in or withdrawn from a Bank Account..
Why is "Seasoned Money" important in the Mortgage Industry? It is important because if a Borrower is applying for a mortgage, the Lender is going to require that they produce bank statements for a certain period of time. These days any deposit or withdrawal of funds of $1000 or more, that are … (18 comments)

durham: New Tax Creat Change ............ NOT!!! - 05/14/09 10:14 AM

If you have not heard by now, the announcement by Shawn Donovan, Secretary of HUD, made on Tuesday 12, about a change to the $8,000 Tax Credit is at least for now no longer valid.
In his speech on May 12, at the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Summit, Secretary Donovan made the following statement about the Tax Credit:
“We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment. So FHA will permit trusted FHA-approved lenders and HUD-approved nonprofits, as well … (14 comments)

durham: Wordless Wednesday - 05/13/09 01:33 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)

durham: More Changes On The Horizon. - 05/12/09 06:30 AM

I have been trying to blog about many of the changes going on in the Lending Industry, so that we can all stay on top of changes that are happening in the laws, as well as changes that investors, and PMI companies are implementing on their own. These changes are critical to all of us because they are key to our survival these days.
Not to long ago investors were focused on increasing the volume of loans they had on the books, but today this philosophy has been replaced with loan quality. Loan quality has become so much of a focus … (13 comments)

durham: Eliminate Closing Surprises! - 05/11/09 10:21 AM

I keep hearing about Buyers getting last minute surprises before their loan closes, and this is something that should not happen if everyone does their job during the loan process. The reason why there are surprises are because the necessary steps were not taken, someone tried to take a shortcut along the way, and those involved in the transaction did not pay attention to conditions that needed to be met in order for the loan to close.
It all starts with a Buyer being Pre-Approved for a loan correctly. You can read a blog that I wrote recently "It Is A … (15 comments)

durham: Wordless Sunday - 05/10/09 12:27 PM

durham: Appraisal Issues Continue To Be Big Problems!!! - 05/09/09 06:26 AM

The effects of slow sales in the last two quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 are beginning to be felt more and more on recent sales. Despite all of the recent changes by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and PMI Companies, the biggest obstacle that I am having with getting loans approved recently is appraisals.
Because of the slow sales in the last two quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, Appraisers are having a difficult time in finding Comp's to support recent sales. I wrote a blog at the end of last month "Slow Sales Causing … (14 comments)

durham: Do The People You Know, Know What You Do??? - 05/08/09 06:57 AM

Everyone who is in a sales related field, has at least one thing in common, and that it that we are always looking for ways to increase our business. We are always looking for new tools, new approaches, different marketing techniques, new advertising opportunities, and I am sure that many of you could add to this list. Generally all of these things cost money, and make up a large part of our yearly business expense.
There is nothing wrong with spending money on this form of advertising to assist us in getting our name out in the community. But do we … (12 comments)

durham: It Is A Great Time To Buy ........... Get Pre-Approved Today!!!! - 05/06/09 06:28 AM

This is a great time to purchase a house, the prices and interest rates low and Sellers are motivated to sell. So Buyers whether they are First Time Homebuyers or have bought several homes in the past, need to get Pre-Approved for a loan first to determine what price range they are qualified to purchase in.
A Realtor will most likely not take a Buyer to see a house unless they know that the Buyer is qualified to purchase a house in that price range. So it is important to get Pre-Approved as early as possible so that neither the Buyer … (12 comments)

durham: Refinance Market ............. Things That Need To Be Considered - 05/05/09 10:46 AM

We are right now in what is called a Refinance Market, because of the low interest rates. If you took out a mortgage more than a year ago, the odds are that your interest rate is now about 1% lower than when you took it out. A 1% percent difference in the interest rate is in my opinion when a Borrower should begin to inquire about refinancing if you are just looking to lower your monthly payments, but there are other things that you need to consider besides just the lower interest payment.
For example if they are refinancing because they … (10 comments)

durham: First Time Homebuyer Seminars - 05/04/09 09:15 AM

Back in January 2007 I did a series of blogs on First Time Homebuyer Seminars that were very well received, so I thought that it would be useful to make those who were not around back then aware of these blogs. In these blogs I covered everything from advertising them to what material to cover during the seminar. Below are outlines of each of the blogs and links for each of them.
First Time Homebuyer Seminars…..Part #1.
This first blog was an initial introduction into the series. First Time Homebuyer Seminars…..Part #2
Do they really want to own their own home. … (10 comments)

durham: Wordless Sunday - 05/03/09 05:23 AM

durham: Great Memories ............. Great Choice!!!! - 05/02/09 09:42 AM

Yesterday I was driving by one of our local Little League Fields, and it brought back some very pleasant old memories. I stopped the car and luckily had my camera with me, so I was able to take the picture below.

Both my sons played many games on these two fields, but they did not look this nice back then. Through a lot of work and lobbying when I was on the Middletown Little League Board of Directors, we were able to get Lights and Sprinklers put in, as well as a concession stand. Back then there were … (12 comments)

durham: Second Employment Verification Before Loans Close. - 05/01/09 09:06 AM

Many areas of this great county of ours are facing serious employment issues. Here in Connecticut the Insurance Capital of the world, we have been particularly hard hit. Insurance Companies have suffered many losses, and as a result, have had to down size and let many people go.
Because of the many job loses, several of the Lenders/Banks have add one more condition to their Commitment Letters, condition #3 of the Commitment Letter below:
Employment Verification has always been part of the Loan Approval Process, but I have never seen Employment Verifications done a second time until recently. Most people might … (16 comments)

durham: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Appraisal Order Changes. - 04/30/09 06:26 AM

"
Back in March I wrote a blog New Proposed Appraisal Regulations ............ "Home Valuation Code of Conduct" giving every one a heads up on changes to the way Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Appraisals will be done from tomorrow (May 1, 2009) forward.
Starting tomorrow, May 1, a new code of conduct, the "Home Valuation Code of Conduct" (HVCC) will go into affect for ALL appraisal on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loans. Anyone with a vested interest in the approval of a mortgage can not have any contact with Appraisers or have any say on who the appraisal will … (91 comments)

durham: Connecticut Pure Maple Syrup!!! - 04/29/09 02:32 AM

That is right you read the title correctly. Most people, especially here on the East Coast think of Vermont when the subject of Pure Natural Maple Syrup comes up. But Vermont is not the only State in New England that produces Pure Natural Maple Syrup, Connecticut does as well. And the best Connecticut Maple Syrup, in my opinion, is produced by my neighbors, the Graves Family. located on Chancey Road in Middletown.
They do not produce it in large amounts, and it is only sold at a Stand located on their farm, but it sure is good. I missed taking pictures … (9 comments)

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