Recent changes to FHA loans

Not exactly certain when these changes will take place but it’s supposed to be “soon.”

If you have less than 20% down on a house you are required to get Private Mortgage Insurance and if you’re seeking an FHA loan you’ll have to pay an up front premium of 2.25% now instead of the previous 1.75%.

If [...]

First time home buyer tip #14

I am frequently asked these days “what kind of home can I get?” Many first time home buyers are still assuming the only thing they can afford is a condo. (As a side note, the FHA rules regarding loans and condos will change on December 7, but more about that in a later post.) Yes [...]

First time home buyer tip #13

Know how your credit score is determined. I think pretty much everyone knows that the better your credit score, the easier it is to get a mortgage and the better the interest rate you’ll get. What not everyone knows is how that credit score is actually determined. For instance, I once had a woman call [...]

First time home buyer tip #11

Check out all the handy dandy online calculators available for those looking to purchase a home:

The MSN Home Affordability Calculator (how much home can you afford to buy?)

This calculator allows you to compare the costs of renting vs buying a home.

This calculator will show you the monthly payments you would need to make depending on [...]

First time home buyer tip #8

For today’s first time home buyer tip I am directing you to the HUD website where they answer 100 questions about buying a new home. I wish they had a PDF version for you to download but alas they don’t, but I still think it’s a great resource because it answers questions about how the [...]

First time home buyer tip #6

Try to decide what you want vs. what you need in a house. This helps your real estate agent narrow down the search and focus on specific neighborhoods and whatnot. For instance, maybe you want 3 bedrooms but really only need 2 – your agent can search for 3 bedrooms in your price range, but [...]

First time home buyer tip #5

Homes aren’t free! I know, I say this a lot and people always look at me strangely. Actually they look at me strangely a lot, but that’s beside the point here.

I say this because I’ve had more than one contract fall through on a home that I was selling because the first time buyers had [...]

First time home buyer tip #4

This post is a follow up to my other posts on the first time home buyer tax credit in order to clarify some details:
The credit is actually for up to 10% of the home’s price. In the north metro Denver area however you could barely buy a mobile home (that’s been purged and considered real [...]

First time home buyer Tip #1

Visit the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) website to check out their loan programs and what they do to assist first time home buyers.

If you have the income to afford a mortgage, but don’t have a lot of cash on hand for a down payment or closing costs, you may be able to take [...]

FHA Loan Facts

FHA loans are becoming popular again and I’ve had a lot of questions about them, so hopefully here are some answers for you:
1. FHA doesn’t actually loan money, it just insures the loan making it a little less risky for the lenders to lend their money.
2. You do NOT need to be a first time [...]

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