New rules go into effect on January 10th related to getting a mortgage. Most of the rules just formalize the practices already in place–higher attention to a borrower’s debt ratios, insuring that a loan doesn’t have negative amortization and the like. Birmingham news station ABC 33/40 interviewed Warner McGowin this week about the new rules....Read More
The pattern of increased home sales in the Birmingham area continued in October, with 938 homes being sold in the Birmingham metro area. That’s exactly 100 more homes than were sold in the metro area in October 2012. The average price of those houses increased also. The median home price in Birmingham rose nearly 8%...Read More
That’s according to an article in Bloomberg. While rates ticked up this summer, they’ve floated back down a bit in the last few weeks. And the uncertainty of the shutdown in Washington, along with the lack of a federal jobs report because of the shutdown, means rates are likely to hold steady in this lower...Read More
As we all know, staying mentally active has been shown to help our cognitive skills. Many seniors keep their minds engaged through working at a job, but good jobs have become increasingly scarce in our current economy. There is good news on the job front for senior females. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics expects...Read More
According to Fannie Mae’s most recent national housing survey of 1,000 respondents, confidence in America’s housing market continues its upward climb. Perhaps most telling: 23% of respondents feel this is a good time to sell a house. That’s the first time that number has risen above 20% since Fannie Mae started measuring that particular item....Read More
The new FHA streamline program makes saving easier than ever for homeowners who bought their house with an FHA loan prior to May 2009. Back in 2008-2009, a “good” rate was 5.5% or so. Now, it’s 3.5%. On a $200,000 loan that’s a monthly savings of $236! But what makes this program unique is that...Read More
In the past, seniors viewed reverse mortgages as a last-option choice. Now that seniors are getting to know the program better, the reasons they are choosing to get reverse mortgages are changing. Here are the top five objectives for Alabama reverse mortgage borrowers: Improvement of Quality of Life. As children it seems that life is...Read More
Channel 42 had done a special report on reverse mortgages. It was good to hear Christine Wade, an Alabama reverse mortgage borrower speak so highly of her reverse mortgage and what it has done to improve her life....Read More
In a recent issue of Forbes, writer Mark Greene illustrates in enlightening fashion the realities of getting approved for a mortgage loan in 2012. It’s one of the clearest explanations we’ve seen about why the process of getting a loan approved these days is harder than ever. It’s not because banks are simply trying to...Read More
