Lately Ive been getting enough calls for people trying to refinance their FHA loan for lower rate (Called an FHA streamline).  Most of these calls the consumer states their LO told them that they can remove the MIP once they have 20% equity which is partially true as most LO's won't go into detail about it, so I will elaborate for the masses that don't know.   FHA loans: Most people in an FHA loan are in a 30 year fixed and the majority of the consumers put less than 10% down so based on this statement the consumer would be paying MIP for the entire 30 years of the loan (if they stay ..read more

We closed on a Discover HELOC yesterday, and I thought I'd provide data points for anyone interested along with future searchers of the board.     Sorry that my signature is not up to date, but I've been lazy with it as of late since things have been more or less static.  Both the wife and I came back with 800+ CSs across all three bureaus, and yes, Discover ran all three of them.  Our income is approaching $300k, and they calculated that we were at 27% DTI before the HELOC.  We took the loan against our Virginia home which has around $350k of equity and a cu ..read more

Hello everyone! If there's a new blog article that I think you guys might like I plan on posting it in the Forums.   This week's article is: What to Know About Mortgage Down Payment Assistance Programs   Let me know what you think about the article.   For more content don't forget to check out our blog ..read more

Currently in the process of looking to purchase a home.  My current mortgage FICO scores are as follows: Equifax: 636/TransUnion: 547/Experian: 612   Currently my middle score is in good shape for an FHA and I've been pre-approved for that.  But looking at purchasing a home that goes outside of the FHA limitation.  As a result my loan provider has told me that I need my middle score to be at least a 620 or higher.  My father has told me he would be willing to include me as an AU on his Discover (10,000 cl with 10 years of history and very low utilization rate).  W ..read more

Hi all,    i'm looking to increase my score specifically for mortgage lenders and I have been trying the past 24 months however I have not really seen much improvement in my score so I was hoping to get some advice.   specifically I tried the method of being added as an authorized user on my husbands credit card which he has an 800+ score on yet after he added me and we've been paying off our bills every month fully , my score has not seem to increase after he added me as an authorized user . I thought that was supposed to add the length of history to my account so that my score ..read more

Hello everyone.  I am at shock because no matter what lender i go to, they are telling me the same thing.  That they dont know why the DU is not passing me for an approval.   Here is a bit of info. I am not a first time home buyer. this will be my 3rd home already however my wife is a first time home buyer.  My middle score is 679 while hers is 652.  I know. not the best. i get it.   DTI is 44% and income is 24k monthly.     I cannot get approved through the system at all. not for 700k, not for 500k, not even 450k. i dont get it.     ..read more

Hola!  I'm closing on my first home on Monday and this process has been so stressful but it's nearing its conclusion. Anyway, I want to get T-mobile home internet but there is a credit check involved and I'd like a Home Depot card. I can wait until Monday but I'm antsy. Could it affect my closing if I open another account now, 4 days before close ..read more

Hello. I was approved for a mortgage on a 68,900 sales price for a 1.5 story 2 bedroom bungalow.  My down payment is 3%.  I qualified for 3000.00 dpa with the lender and my loan estimate reflecting that credit had a total of 4,558.00 for cash to close needed.  My LO told me a couple of days later that I also qualified for an additional 2,500.00 dpa grant because of my income bracket.  I was grateful for the help. However, when I received a revised loan estimate with the total 5,500.00 in dpa and an additional 500.00 credit for my earnest money deposit the estimated cash to ..read more

Okay, so I have a question. I know you can buy a house with FHA 2 years after Ch 7 is discharged. My mother in law wants to eith buy us a house or help us. Our house is falling apart, landlord wont fix things and no one else will rent to us because of the bankruptcy. So buying is the best option, we are still in an open bankruptcy case. We shouldve been discharged by now, but thats not happened yet. This isnt a right now thing its likely 6months to a year from now. Can I be on  the loan with her? Or because of the bankruptcy can I not be on the loan until we hit that 2 year mark? For thos ..read more

I completed the closing for Home Equity loan last week. My lender told me that I should be receiving the funds from title company today. Its already 1:35pm central and I still do not see any funds deposited in my bank account. The closing disclosures states the Disbursement date is today. I tried to contact my lender to check if everything is in order. But she is on vacation this whole week.   What happens if I do not receive the funds today? What should I do ? Please advise ..read more