FHA Changes – The Only Consistent is Change

Dustin | Home Buying Process, Mortgage Approval Process, Mortgage News, Mortgage Payments, Mortgage Programs, Mortgage Rates, Refinance Process, home buying, mortgage, real estate | no comments

As French Author François de la Rochefoucauld so perfectly stated, “The only thing constant in life is change.”  Well, those words certainly ring true for the mortgage industry, which has seen a significant shift in guidelines, interest rates, and regulatory oversight.  So, what is next?

FHA has been given the authority to change the amount charged to borrowers for the up front and annual mortgage insurance premiums… and they wasted little time making some adjustments.

This is going to impact how Realtors write up FHA purchase agreements, as well as the monthly payments borrowers might expect when buying or refinancing their home.

The new premium amounts will be effective on all FHA case numbers assigned on or after October 4, 2010 – so borrowers that already have an FHA transaction in process won’t be impacted, but new FHA clients who come into process on, or after, October 4th will be subject to the new guidelines.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The Up Front Mortgage Insurance premium is now 1.0% for all standard FHA programs, including on purchase money mortgages. This is a significant change from the 2.25% Up Front Mortgage Insurance typically in place on FHA 30 year Fixed Rate transactions.

read more »

The Students Become The Teacher – Lessons Learned

Dustin | Education, Home Buying Process, Mortgage Approval Process, home buying, mortgage, real estate, uncategorized | no comments

I have had the pleasure of co-teaching a First Time Homebuyer class at Portland Community College over the last 6 plus years with my good friends, David Axness and Ryan Kofman.  There is just something terrifying and exhilarating about going back to school, standing in the front of the classroom, and sharing your experiences with a group of anxious “soon-to-be” homebuyers.  We get a great response each time we teach the class and that fuels our excitement for upcoming classes.  As good as the class may be, I think there can be even more value when former students share their “lessons learned” after successfully navigating through their own homeownership journey.  Recently I asked some of my former students/clients to share their thoughts with tomorrow’s homebuyers.  Here is a sample of what they had to say:

What is one thing you wish you would have done differently when you look back at your first home purchase experience?

Ashley said, “I recently purchased my first home at the end of 2009. We have been living in our new home for about a month. I do not have previous experience to compare to, however I feel I made a very sound business investment by purchasing our home at this time when the market is in a downturn.  Making sure you have a realtor who is working in your best interest is really important to finding an affordable home that works for your lifestyle. The realtor we used was very knowledgeable about the market and understood what we were looking for. I don’t believe we would be homeowners without all the hard work our realtor put into making sure we found our perfect home.

Sandra said, “Look closer at how my new development was developed and whether the conditions of approval to build it had been adhered to. An example is large mature trees that were intended to be saved should have been protected much better when they graded for initial site development and built the homes. The rules were not followed very closely by the developer, the City didn’t enforce very well, and the owners (for trees on private lots and trees on HOA property) got stuck with trees that later died and were very expensive to have removed.”

What tip/advice would you give to someone who is looking at buying their first home?

Ashley said, “Identify qualities of a home you can and cannot live without, how long you plan on living in the home, the degree of upgrades you want to tackle, and the amount of time and money allotted for projects. Work with a realtor that understands what you are looking for and who has your best interest at heart. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!!!”

read more »

Second Credit Pull Could Impact Potential Homebuyers

Dustin | Credit, Home Buying Process, Mortgage Approval Process, Mortgage Closing Process, Mortgage News, Refinance Process, home buying, mortgage, real estate | 2 comments

What a relief… you have been approved for your home loan and it is just a matter of days before the big move.  Time to go to Home Depot, like my friend Frank, and purchase that new refrigerator on their 12 months no interest plan, right?  WRONG!

Effective June 1st, 2010, your lender may now be required to re-pull your credit report prior to closing.  Fannie Mae’s new “Loan Quality Initiative” is intended to improve loan quality and eliminate the poor underwriting practices that helped accelerate the housing market meltdown.

I see this being a particularly painful problem for many borrowers, realtors, and loan officers who do not effectively communicate the importance of managing their credit throughout the mortgage process.  For those unaware of this initiative, this may lead to delayed closing dates, higher interest rates, and worst case – the decline of a loan in the eleventh hour.

To avoid this happening to you, here are some quick Do’s and Don’ts you should consider: read more »

Getting Pre-Qualified Vs. Pre-Approved

Dustin | FAQ, Home Buying Process, Mortgage Approval Process, home buying, mortgage, uncategorized | no comments

Most homebuyers need to get a loan when buying a home.  Often times, people make the mistake of looking for a house prior to consulting with a mortgage professional.   Who can blame them?  No one daydreams about credit reports, or how wonderful it would be having someone review  their pay stubs.  However, I am here to tell you that it really isn’t all that painful and before you set foot in your real estate agent’s car, make sure you have been pre-approved, or at the very least pre-qualified.

Pre-qualified versus Pre-approved.  What does this really mean to you?

Pre-qualification simply means that you have consulted with a mortgage professional and based on a brief conversation or email correspondence, that loan officer has offered an opinion of a price range you may qualify for once you are ready to buy a home.  This is an important step to do early in the process to ensure you are searching for homes in the right price range.  It can be incredibly disappointing to have to reduce your house search by $100,000 if you have underestimated the difficulties of securing a loan in today’s mortgage market.

read more »

Dustin360 has launched!

Dustin | Blog, FAQ, Home Buying Process, Mortgage News, dustin360, family, home buying, homes, motivation, social media, videos, webinar | 5 comments

Welcome to Dustin360

As Ralph Waldo Emerson so perfectly stated, “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely...”.  When the idea behind Dustin360 was first conceived, I knew it was a lofty vision for the lending industry.  How could I possibly create a lending website that not only gives today’s A.D.D. driven consumers the information they so desperately need, yet still make a site that accurately reflects who I am as a person and professional?  After all, I am so much more than a loan officer, I am a dedicated family man, multi-business owner, design junkie, travel enthusiast, Apple fan, and an intense individual.  How’s that for professional A.D.D.?

Trying to create all that in one website seemed like an impossible task.  I thought, “who cares if there is another mortgage website?  Does anyone really care about your quest to build a highly successful business and only work 25 hours a week?”.  “Is the idea too far out there for the mortgage industry?”.

Then I decided to take my own advice – stop thinking about it… and just start doing it!

However, when trying to blaze a new trail sometimes you discover new problems.  For the most part, www.dustin360.com has come together better than I had ever imagined.  But due to the massive size of the vision and our concrete timeline, my old nemesis decided to pay me a visit… Murphy’s Law… Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

The good news is that the site is up and running, but this isn’t the whole thing.  I frankly just ran out of time… and my time is heavily influenced by my priorities.  Over the next 1 – 6 weeks I plan on fixing some minor bugs and opening up some other areas of the site.  Here are some of the things you can expect to see very soon.

read more »