The FHA Bridal Registry.  Yes - you read that right! The FHA Bridal Registry Program enables wanna-be home buyers to apply their families’ wedding gifts toward their down payments. And although it’s named a “bridal registry” program, you don’t have to be a prenuptial couple to use it. You could also use this program to collect gifts for graduation, the arrival of a baby or some other major life event in which people want to give you gifts. The FHA Bridal Registry works like a traditional registry, but is more flexible. The registrants visit their choice of FHA mortgage lenders and set up what essentially is a custodial savings account for the sole purpose of funding their down payment. The couple’s (or individual’s) family and friends can either deposit funds directly into the account o... 08/18/2011

Demand for refis booms as lower limits for Fannie, Freddie, FHA loomBy Inman NewsInman News™Date: Thursday, August 11, 2011 Mortgage rates sank to or near all-time lows this week as turmoil in financial markets had investors moving money into the relative safety of bonds and mortgage-backed securities that fund most home loans. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a low for the year, averaging 4.32 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Aug. 11, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market survey. That's down from 4.39 percent last week and a 2011 high of 5.05 percent in February, and not far off an all-time low in records dating to 1971 of 4.17 percent during the week ending Nov. 11, 2010. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, 5-ye... 08/11/2011