FHA loans & FHA mortgages --  I have always said that it can't be easy to shop for a mortgage. With so many loan officers and lenders making promises, how do you know who is telling the truth or not? Sure, many people can sound so trusting and honest. My advice, compare at least 3 loan officers, but don't compare just on the lowest rate. That could probably be the biggest mistake that you would make. FYI... anyone can promise the lowest rate and or fees and even put it on paper. But remember, it's not always worth the paper that it's written on. So, why do I focus on FHA loans?  Because in most cases, if you don't have a fico score better than 680 and more than 10% down, it will usually be cheaper to do a FHA mortgage. Don't believe me, please read these :     5% down FHA loans vs con... 11/09/2008

         FHA loans - FHA mortgages - Conventional loans - VA mortgages Consumers & Borrowers, please read this !!!   I have noticed in the last few months that some loan officers and lenders are getting more desperate than ever before. In my 16 years of being a loan officer in regards to mortgages, the consumer needs to be aware of knowing when to seek help from another loan officer and not wait until the last minute. It's one thing to trust, it's another to be lied to or misled to.... and not just by accident.       I so love helping people in general. And even more so when it comes to helping my client get a mortgage, no matter if they are buying a home or refinancing. I will also say that I am not perfect nor that I know everything when it comes to mortgages. But I have some pet peev... 11/04/2008

David Burns | Keller Williams Realty | 856 321 1212 1A Hoffman, Cherry Hill, NJ LEASE PURCHASE OPTION AVAILABLE - New luxury townhome ready for immediate delivery. 3BR and 2 Full/2 Half Baths, open, flowing and beautifully lit flo 3BR/2.5BA Townhouse offered at $313,000 Year Built 2007 Sq Footage 2,700 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 2 partial Floors 3 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION LEASE PURCHASE OPTION AVAILABLE - New luxury townhome ready for immediate delivery. 3BR and 2 Full/2 Half Baths, open, flowing and beautifully lit floor plan. 100% convenient location to downtown Philadelphia, 1 block to Cooper River Park and easy access to all of South Jersey. 2,700 SF of living space with quality workmanship and top of the line amenities. Two zon... 11/03/2008

David Burns | Keller Williams Realty | 856 321 1212 2B Donahue, Cherry Hill, NJ Priced Like Bank Owned Property! 3BR/2.5BA Townhouse offered at $299,000 Year Built 2007 Sq Footage 2,700 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 2 partial Floors 3 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION LEASE to PURCHASE OPTION AVAILABLE - New luxury townhome ready for immediate delivery. 3BR, 2 Full/2 Half Baths, open flowing and beautifully lit floor plan. 100% convenient to downtown Philadelphia, 1 block to Cooper River Park and easy access to all of South Jersey. 2,700 SF of open living space with quality workmanship and top of the line amenities. Two zone heating and air. Sound dampening construction for quiet living. Kitchen includes granite countertops, full stainless stee... 11/03/2008

David Burns | Keller Williams Realty | 856 321 1212 2A Donahue Avenue, Cherry Hill, NJ PRICED LIKE A BANK OWNED HOME!! 3BR/2.5BA Townhouse offered at $299,000 Year Built 2007 Sq Footage 2,700 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 2 partial Floors 3 Parking Unspecified Lot Size .15 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION PROFESSIONALLY STAGED! New luxury townhome ready for immediately delivery. 3BR, 2 Full/2 Half Baths, open flowing and beautifully lit floor plan. 100% convenient location to downtown Phila, 1 block to Cooper River Park and easy access to all of South Jersey. 2700 SF of living space w/quality workmanship & top of the line amenities. 2-Zone heating & air. Sound dampening construction. Kitchen includes granite countertops, full stainless steel Frigidaire package, cherry cabinets, ... 11/01/2008

    Anyone in the news media, please read this. No matter if you are TV., radio, newspaper, please listen up and forget about what sells !!!!!  My problem?  News that is misleading or not the truth. News from sources that aren't that reliable. Stop picking Joe Wannabe who sounds like a professional in the mortgage industry or the real estate industry. Stop interviewing people that really have no clue or who are one-sided.   What ever happened to common sense? Or is your job all about just selling news that sells. Okay, don't answer that question, we know the answer. But what about standing up for what you believe in? The truth.. Use Freedom of Speech now, more than ever. Stand up to your editor....         So, what news am I pissed off about?  Tom Burris wrote a blog the other day in re... 10/30/2008

  FYI --  There is still money to lend. Stop listening to the media and to some lenders. Yes, it's tough to get a conventional loan if your credit scores are below 700 and putting 10% or less down. But getting a FHA Loan is not as hard as percieved. FHA loans might be the way to go.       Okay, so I gave you some pros and cons of buying a house in Part 1. You seem to be feeling good and confident. That's great...... Tip : Keep your focus and don't be talking to too many people outside of the loan officer that you are speaking with. That's if you have picked one by now. And by this I mean don't ask in depth questions to your parents, friends, neighbors, etc, etc. There is a reason for this. Programs change yearly and so does the way of financing. The biggest thing, mortgage rates can cha... 10/26/2008

    Are you throwing money out the window by renting? More than likely, yes. But this can be a complicated decision based on several different factors. Sure, you can try the many rent vs buy calculators online, but I have found so many not to be the same as the first one.     When should you not buy a home? If your rent is very low. (usually 2/3 or less of your monthly payment) You intend to move in a few years. (unless you get into the house with no money out of pocket) Is this statement, "throwing your money away on rent", a myth? It certainly can be and here is why. When you buy a home, you still have expenses unlike renting. maintenance original closing costs when buying the home monthly property taxes yearly homeowners insurance sometimes mortgage insurance [but there are many type... 10/23/2008

  CUSTOMER SERVICE ..... Do you remember what it meant?  When it existed?  It's one thing to be unhappy about a specific service, but what about when you have been lied to or misled? We as Americans don't seem to complain as often as we should. There are several reasons why we wouldn't complain, no matter how severe the issue. We just want satisfaction now.... the me me me theory. It takes time to complain and sometimes to complain correctly - we are a fast paced society and we just don't want to take the time. We have pride and complaining can sometimes feel like you are the lesser person who is involved. It can be psychological at times.    So how do you handle things when they don't go your way or as promised? Are you a pistol? Are you submissive? I want to make this post specificall... 10/20/2008

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month October is national breast cancer awareness month.  Breast cancer is a disease which affects many women (and some men). It is very important that everyone get the facts, not just in October, but year round.  Fear and false information hinders many from seeking early detection and treatment.  One fear is that the actual process of getting a mammogram will leave the breast lumpy, which in turn leads to breast cancer.  In some cases, fear prevents detection and treatment. Show your support for the cause and get active in the local community throughout the month of October. These events will have you running, walking, eating and shopping to help fight Breast Cancer.Philadelphia Breast Cancer 3-Day Making Strides Against Breast CancerKey to t... 10/12/2008

WARNING.... WARNING...... WARNING..... This is not to say that mortgage interest rates have dropped today. Sometimes in the past, mortgage interest rates did become lower in weeks after the Fed dropped the fed rate. There have been times when rates went up. There are many variables for these two factors to take place. Sometimes rates were lowered previously to the Fed lowering the discount rates because Wall Street had a good idea that the Feds would lower the Fed Rate.  But then there is the discount rate which is for short term lending. The interest rates for mortgages are when it comes to financing your property which are considered long term rates. Overall, there is mass confusion to why mortgage interest rates rise or fall. And just this news alone will have the phone ringing aski... 10/08/2008

  Are you ready for some more changes in the mortgage industry? Many of us know that there has been a lot of change, both with FHA loans and conventional loans. And the changes that I am about to mention have already been out there for about a month now, but this is more of a refresher post of information. These are changes that will start to take place next week and up until January 1st, 2009. Is change good?  Yes and no.....  The first major change as of right now is that down payment assistance programs will be discontinued for now. As you noticed, I said discontinued and not banned.  HUD and the government wanted to ban these programs, more so because of HUD's misleading figures. This is something that I have proof of and that I will write about in the next few days. Hence why I wen... 09/27/2008

FHA loans have been used 30% more as the choice of mortgages as of lately in many parts of the country. What I hate hearing is that they have taken the spot of the subprime loans. This is not true by any part of the imagination. This statement is from those that are inexperienced in both the mortgage industry and the real estate industry. The realization has been that 30% of the subprime mortgages in the last 5 years previous to the last 1 1/2 years should have been FHA mortgages, not subprime. The subprime loan for many years could go down to a 500 credit score, as long as you had more money down. But your rate was usually higher. The better your score, the less you needed to put down, the lower your rate. Sounds good, right?  Wrong, because the subprime rate was always higher than th... 09/20/2008

Here’s the Cherry Hill Real Estate market update for August 2008.  Pended units for August were down 26 and Sold units were down 26 compared to August 2007; listed units were down 28 versus 2007.  This has led to a current inventory of 635 units.  Cherry Hill has been averaging 59 units sold per month which means there is currently 10 months worth of inventory in Cherry Hill.  This outperforms the overall Camden County market, which has 12 months worth of inventory. Year to date listed units are down 211 (a 16.3% decrease), pended units are down 186 (a 36.4% decrease) and sold units are down 205 (a 43.1% decrease).  See how this compares to the Camden County Market. Over the last 3 years the average number of units pended and sold in August was approximately 92 & 109 respectively.  This... 09/20/2008

    ...... my rate is locked, but rates came down.       ....... my rate is locked, but rates came down who?           ........ But rates came down, so I want the lowest rate now. With the volatile market and rates dropping by more than 1/4% to 1/2% in the last 10 days, people want the lowest rates. And this is even after they locked into their rate 15 days ago. What makes it difficult in today's market is that this is not always easily achieved. Why? Because the point of locking in is to be safe. Also, brokers in many cases will advertise or make promises that if rates come down, that they will give you the lower rate. A broker can usually get away with this, or hence make the promise. Their relationship with the investor is sometimes not important. As a mortgage banker, we can't do th... 09/17/2008

What a topic of discussion in the past 30 days.......  The DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS !!!!!! For many of you, you have until September 30th to have a lender actually underwrite your loan and sign off on the MCAW. For those that don't understand, stop listening to the rumors that the Down payment assistance programs, such as Nehehmiah, Ameri Dream, & a few others, are done after August 29th.  That date has been mentioned because Countrywide and Wells Fargo have told their loan officers that they can't accept any loans after August 29th. That is a whole month prior to the date that HUD set and HUD is like god in a way. It basically comes down to your lender.....   .  Just because Countrywide & Wells Fargo are some of the biggest lenders out there, doesn't mean when they say somethin... 08/26/2008

  Readers of my blog know that I absolutely LOVE food.  My time with the military and the Department of Defense allowed me a chance to travel extensively throughout the US and abroad.  Usually one of the first things I will do is make contact with a local and ask them what and where they eat.  As a result, I have had some delicous meals.  From Chicken Jose's in Puerto Rico to "pancakes" from a Muslim stand in Singapore.     The absolute worst meal, actually didn't taste bad, but smelled terrible (to me).  That meal was Pad Thai.  I was on a trip to Seattle and I noticed that there were plenty of Vietnamese & Thai restaurants.  So I tried it.  Tasted pretty good, but I could never get over the smell. What is the absolute Worst Meal You have eaten and where did you eat it? In the meantim... 08/26/2008

Description of the Mortgage Pro Week in Review : What is the Mortgage Pro Week in Review, for those that are new to Active Rainor those that haven't come across these in past weeks?  It's 1 member from AR that volunteers their time to pick any mortgage related blog in a course of a specified week. And these posts don't have to always be written by loan officers. A good one written by a realtor, a title person, an appraiser, etc, etc.....they are always welcomed. Times are changing and we all need to stick together. Basically, we are trying to pick the best out there. This weeks review is most of August for a few reasons. It's been increasingly difficult to get help in writing these reviews. But with so many new members, I hope that changes. Another reason was that my hard drive crashed ... 08/25/2008

  Here’s the Cherry Hill Real Estate market update for July 2008.  Pended units for July were down 6 and Sold units were down 6 compared to July 2007; listed units were up 6 versus 2007.  This has led to a current inventory of 620 units.  Cherry Hill has been averaging 57 units sold per month which means there is currently 10 months worth of inventory in Cherry Hill.  This outperforms the overall Camden County market, which has 12 months worth of inventory. Year to date listed units are down 186 (a 16.3% decrease), pended units are down 171 (a 38.4% decrease) and sold units are down 180 (a 44.7% decrease).  See how this compares to the Camden County Market. Over the last 3 years the average number of units pended and sold in July was approximately 93 & 102 respectively.  This July, ther... 08/21/2008

  Down Payment Assistance Programs - To include Nehemiah programs, AmeriDream programs, and many others, have been labeled to be finished as of October 1, 2008 by Congress. In this post, I wrote about the reasons and perceptions to why HUD and the government feel that they need to ban these types of programs.  Please read : Nehemiah & Down Payment Assistance programs done? Is this true? - Urgent Urgent -  What has happened since Congress voted to ban these down payment assistance programs, 4 individuals in Congress have turned around and enacted a new bill, H.R. 6694, which would allow the down payment assistance programs to continue.  I have spoken to many loan officers who have 10 years or more of experience in the mortgage industry. Every single one of them are for Down Payment Assis... 08/13/2008