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Newport News, VA Real Estate News

By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
 No cost Refinance, when are they a good deal for consumersBy Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage Lender  Lets all give credit where credit is due.  Countrywide and Bank of America have found a way to repackage an old idea and call it there own.  Least not forget that Bank of America now owns a significant portion of Countrywide Home Loans.  However, they should be given credit for an excellent marketing strategy.How does a no cost refinance work.A No Cost refinance works very simply.  Mortgages today are unlike mortgages many decades ago where you had to wait for the bank to have the money to loan people.  Today mortgages are backed by bonds called Mortgage Backed Securities.  Bonds carry prices on them both negative (which is when borrowers pay points) and positives  (when a borro...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
What happens when points are ill gottenby Michael MapesWe all know by now how to achieve points on AR.  Active Rain is a point based blogging system and if the most part it works.  You write bolgs for consumers to read and you score 200 points, more if people actually like what you wrote.  You also score points for making comments to other blogs, Invite other to join Active Rain and you can build yourself residual points.  The point system is alive an well on Active Rain.Other PointsUntil friday I did not know that you can post photos to Localism and score points.  In fact post two photos and you can score 150 points and then 25 points for each additional photo.  Here in lies a potential problem.  When you have reached your 10 blog max and you have exhausted you comment limit for the da...
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By Vallee Delong
(Bull Island Realty)
I am new at this so please forgive me.  I am about as excited as a pig in a wet blanket.  I am old but not to old.  Anyway I wanted to introduce myself and say hey....Any words of Advice for a newbie.  By the way I love banjo music so if any body knows any one at the grand ole opry, I would be willing to pick with them for a spell.  I have been playing banjo for 45 years.
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
One out of every married man sleeps aloneby Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage LenderAs I walked in the door this evening I kissed my wife and kids hello.  It was a great day.  At the dinner table talk turned to the local news story about married couples who sleep in separate beds.  The story concluded a study that stated that 25% of all married couples sleep in separate beds in separate rooms because of the male in the relationship snoring so loud that the female cannot sleep.  Well truth be told I snore, according to my wife I snore loudly.  Of course she snores as well, which I pointed out to her.  I also explained to her that men have to sleep on the couch because of the female hogging the bed.  Tonight I get to sleep on the couch for general principals.Go figure. Open mouth in...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
Sharks in the water, Are you the bait By Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage Lender.ComDuring the recent housing boom buyers had to be wary of predatory lenders selling sub prime loans with high cost mortgages and terms that were in reality not affordable.  It appears today that buyers still need to worry about not only predatory lenders but also predatory sellers.Sellers are wanting to sell a home, especially builders.  With all the standing inventory and the need to bleed off that inventory builders, especially builder who control the financing vehicle are coming up with unheard of terms and conditions for the sale.  Recently, some builder have been offering closing cost assistance of up to 10,000.00 and price reductions of up to 30-40,000 of new homes.   On the surface this seems...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
Prevent Identity TheftMany consumers are not aware of what there credit report says.  Not knowing what is on your credit report can leave you a exposed to identity theft when it happens.  WWW.annualcreditreport.com offers a free credit report to individuals so that you can check your credit report on an annual basis.  This helps to identify new accounts opened in your name that perhaps you did not open.By staying proactive and informed you can keep the criminals at bay.Michael Mapes can be reached at 757.599.1810 or on the web at www.suntrustmortgage.com/mmapes
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
Buying a home in Virginia Has never been easierby Michael MapesEvery now and again you must revisit a tried and true product and then enhance it.  That is exactly what has happened with Michael Mapes.  In recent months Michael has tweaked existing products, recieved secondary market approval for and implemented the "skip it" program.This is a tremendous tool not only for sellers to attract quality buyers but also for agents to attract quality buyers.  The skip it mortgage program currently being offered is a 30 year fixed rate mortgage that allows the buyers to skip up to six months worth of mortgage payments.These payments are not included in the loan, there are no special fees to pay in order to participate in "skip it".  In-fact the the rates on the skip it program are the exact same...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
A New tool for Realtors and ConsumersIn response to an ever changing and fast paced market one lender has developed a new tool for consumers and Realtors to use to deliver mortgage interest rates right to your desk top.  Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage Lender has implemented a new system called rate watch.  Here you can fill out a few pieces of information and begin to receive mortgage interest rates daily, weekly or monthly if you so desire.How Rate Watch is a tool.Rate Watchis designed to do two things.  One it is a tool for consumers to real rates in real time should they be in the market to buy a home or refinance their existing mortgage.  Secondly it is to aid Realtors in market movement.  When Realtors can see tangible results of rate movement on a daily basis they can beg...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
This can not happen to me............OH yes it canBy Michael MapesNo one wants to be me, or at least that is what a friend of mine thought.  What she did not know is that some stranger did not want to be her but did want her credit, of course until it was destroyed.  The latest victim in an ever growing crime spree, Identity Theft.Identity Theft affects millions of Americans each year and costs the credit industry billions of dollars.  However, what are left in the wake of this tragic event are the lost opportunities millions of Americans can achieve by having no access to credit.How does Identity Theft affect the consumer?Having your identity stolen is akin to having your home broken into.  All of a sudden once the crime is learned, you begin to feel very vulnerable.  In fact the lates...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
Adjustable Rate Mortgages: How They Are Calculated and When to Use Them Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) become more popular as interest rates rise, and for good reason they make sense.  They are, however, not without an element of risk.When interest rates are low....The spread between adjustable rates and fixed rates is small.The likelihood of the adjustable rate increasing is relatively high.Most borrowers prefer the safety and value of a fixed rate.When interest rates are higher...The spread between adjustable rate and fixed rate mortgages is greaterThe likelihood of adjustments is lowerThe lower introductory interest rate of an ARM becomes more desirable.Types of Adjustable Rate Mortgages  There are several types of adjustable rate mortgages.  You will typically see adjustable rate ...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
Consumers receiving mortgage loans with No Income, No Job and No Assets.....No Really.By Michael Mapes, http://www.theresponsiblemortgagelender.com/I opened up my email this evening and in my in box was an email from a good friend of mine asking me about NINJA loans.  I was perplexed thinking this was some kind of joke.  So I decided to play along and explained that NINJA loans were a special kind of loan given to members who could trace their roots back to the Ming Dynasty.  My friend after giving me a hard time tried to explain that she had just heard of this on the radio.  So, I decided to go on a hunt to find out what a NINJA loan was.  No Income No Job No Assets.....No Really  It appears that in the craziness of the sub prime melt down, creative mortgage brokers have figured out a ...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
The Importance of the Fed Rate cut on September 18th 2007By Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage Lender.ComFinally the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rode to the rescue of the financial markets.  While the move was widely expected the buzz the Fed created was the size of the cut.  Many Leading Economists expected only a .25 basis point cut in the Fed Funds Rate, today Chairman Bernanke delivered a .50 basis point cut.What does a Fed Rate Cut do?When the Fed cuts the Fed Funds rate they are cutting the rate at which banks loan money to each other on a short term basis.  The most immediate result of a rate cut is a cut in the Prime Lending Rate.  This is the rate that banks charge their best customers (typically large corporations).  Those corporations in turn take the proceeds ...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
 Senate Banking Committee passes FHA Reform Bill.By Michael MapesBy a 20-1 vote, The Senate Banking Committee passed the FHA Reform bill.  Unlike the House version which passed in May of this year, the Senates version eliminates the 0 % down option and places a 1.5% down payment requirement as well as raises the loan limit in high cost states to $417,000.  Furthermore the House passed a FHA Reform 348-72 that would raise the FHA lending limit to over $700,000 in high cost areas across the nation.In Congressional testimony Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman cited FHA's inability to meet market demands as one of the many reasons consumers were placed in Sub Prime loans and seemed to endorse the current action working it way through both Houses of Congress.  He did however, caution Con...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
When Noah built the Ark, Did he get a Sub Prime or Exotic MortgageBy Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage Lender.com  Sometime around Noah's 500th birthday God commissioned Noah to build an Ark.  While I can not imagine what Noah looked like at 500 or what he looked like when the flood came when he was 600.  What I can tell by all accounts is that it took Noah the better part of 100 years to build the Ark.I am not even sure if they had banks or money lenders back then.  What I do know is that the Ark was 450 feet long and 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.  That takes a lot of lumber, patience and planning.  Not to mention nails, hammers, saws and other raw materials to build this massive ship.  Noah had to have a plan, after all The Ark was going to be his home and that of his family an...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
What is Mortgage Insurance and How Does It Work?by Michael Mapes, The Resonsible Mortgage Lender.Com  Mortgage lenders stand to lose a lot of money when a borrower defaults on a loan.  Mortgage Insurance was created to protect lenders from the losses that can occur when a borrower defaults on a mortgage loan. Because lenders can be insured for some or most of the losses, they have been able to loosen their qualification standards for borrowers and loan money to people who might not have gotten it if mortgage insurance didn't exist.Mortgage insurance is required primarily when the borrower's down payment is less than 20% of the home's value.  Mortgage Insurance should not be confused with homeowner's insurance which pays the homeowner for property and contents losses in the case of accid...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
Opportunity, Buying a home in 2007Realizing the American Dream in 2007By Michael MapesBuying a home is a emotional process and as such most average Americans today must be feeling like the joy of home ownership is beyond them, especially first time home buyers. Everyday as we turn on the nightly news either some mortgage company has gone out of business, closed up or that the credit markets have tightened up so much that consumers do not have access to capital markets.In the years preceding 2007 it was very simple for consumers to gain access to the credit needed to purchase a home, almost too simple. Their was almost no need to worry about repayment ability, credit quality, or even down payment and closing costs. New and creative ways were developed to allow consumers regardless of cre...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
Are Home prices out pacing Incomes?By Michael Mapes  Most all Financial Planners admit that Home Ownership is the number one wealth creation investment a family can make.  However, in recent years with home appreciation reaching double digits has the average family been locked out of affordable housing by a lack of inflation adjusted income?In 1998 a three bedroom, two baths all brick home with 1,400 square feet would sell for about $88,000.00 in Newport News, Virginia.  That same home today would cost $198,000.  That is an increase of 110,000 in less than a 10 year period.  The average income in 1998 was $22,500 and for a duel earning family the average was $41,300, more than enough to comfortable afford the $748 house payment.  However today the average person makes 36,000.00 and a du...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
FHA's Risked by Pricing Implementation Not going well.By Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage LenderThe Federal Housing Administrations push to implement risk based pricing for mortgage insurance premium system by Jan 2, 2008 is not going well.  The current implementation would allow FHA to charge higher insurance premiums based upon the size of the down payment, credit score of the borrowers and the source of the down payment.  These changes according to regulators, venders and lenders are very complicated and have led to mass confusion. The majority of the problems are on the soft ware development platform and communicating the changes to the vendors who are responsible for implementing the changes.  At the current rate of change vendors just can not keep up.  Mr. Lance Richmond wh...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
   Down Payment Assistance Programs.....Down for the count?By Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage Lender.Com On October 1st, 2007 HUD issued its ruling concerning down payment assistance programs like the ones offered by Nehemiah, Ameridream and others.  In it's statement HUD said that it will no longer insure loans where the down payment for a property is funneled to the buyer from the seller or any other party to the contract.FHA allows the buyer to obtain the down payment from the borrowers own funds, a gift from a relative, borrow funds from a secured asset ( car, stocks, or chattel), borrow funds from a qualified retirement program or from a non-profit charity or governmental agency.The ways these programs worked in the past was that suppose a seller wanted to sell their home f...
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By Michael Mapes-Suntrust Mortgage
(Sun Trust Mortgage)
 Non approved FHA brokers charging HIGH FHA FeesBy Michael Mapes, The Responsible Mortgage Lender.comIn an disclosure made by HUD officer Mark Ross told a mortgage bankers association conference and released to National Mortgage News that The Department of Housing and Urban Development are finding that non-FHA approved lenders are charging "exorbitant" fees on FHA loans.  This is in direct violation of HUD rules. Mr. Ross also went on to say that FHA direct endorsement lenders are solicitiong nonapproved broker business with mis-leading advertisements implying that the broker can take the application or close the loan.  As FHA has pointed out this is not allowed.  Under no situation past or present can a FHA insured loan be brokered.How this is being accomplished is that non approved br...
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