Joe Long's (joelong) Blog

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Mortgage and Lending - Waterstone Mortgage
RECENT BLOG POSTS
Veterans currently on active duty that served 90 days or more outside of the United States in 2009 are eligible for the $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit until May 2011.  Unlike other first time home buyers, the 3 year ownership requirement is also waived if you need to sell the home withi...
02/02/2010
Wisconsin Veterans returning from active duty have a unique opportunity to build long term wealth for thier future! The Federal VA loan is designed to allow a veteran to purchase his or her home with no money down.  The home can be up to 4 units, and must be owner occupied.  Because of this uniqu...
01/28/2010
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As a professional lender I am constantly searching for new sources of information I can use to educate my clients.  I have gone through numerous packets of information and assembled information from more sources than I care to quote.  As a first time buyer you have the right to have all of your q...
03/19/2009
There was recently a leak from somewhere in the treasury reporting the treasury may be working on a plan to push mortgage rates as low as 4.5%. This means a mortgage in Madison, WI or anywhere in the United States would be offered at a historically low interest rate.  The goal of the program is o...
12/09/2008
I am almost out of space for this one, however, depending on interest I may schedule another seminar shortly after.  This is a hot source of business right now, if your phone isn't "ringing off the hook" right now you can't afford not to know how to negotiate with banks and go after pre-foreclosu...
11/19/2008
Below is a detailed explanation of a 2-1 rate buydown for a 30 year fixed mortgage, and how it can be advantageous for a builder/broker to offer this program to a potential buyer.  Basically, a 2-1 buydown means the note rate on the loan is "bought" down, 2% for the first year, 1% for the second ...
11/11/2008
We're fortunate here in Dane County to have several State and local agencies providing Down Payment Assistance to eligible First Time Home Buyers that qualify.  Affordable housing and Dane County are not always synonymous terms, so many of these agencies have been created to try and bridge that g...
11/11/2008
The link below is an article written by Meg Sullivan, outlining the research done by two UCLA economists that argue Government Intervention makes recovery from a depressed economy worse, not better.  I found it pertinent to note now as the argument has never been more relevant.  Certainly we are ...
11/07/2008
The following housing states are for both Madison, and for Wisconsin as a whole.  Some markets may be down but Madison is a perfect example of how all Real Estate markets are local. Between 2003 and the time of writing this blog, Home prices in the Madison MSA have increased 29.8%, compared to 28...
10/27/2008
I wanted to shine a little light on an amazing program that does not get much promotion, the FHA Good Neighbor Next Door home loan.  This is a program to help borrowers who are employed in Law Enforcement, pre K through 12thgrade Teachers, (Public or Private Schools) Firefighters and Emergency Me...
10/27/2008
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Joe Long

Purchase Perfect
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