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Streamline FHA refinance

admin — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 03:57:32 +0000

Do you currently have an FHA home loan? Did you know you could refinance to a lower rate without an appraisal? Streamline refinance mortgages have been permitted by the FHA since the early 1980′s. The term “streamline” does not mean there is no cost involved as some mortgage companies would like for you to think. Streamline only refers to the documentation and underwriting needed by the lender. Streamline FHA refinance loans usually do not even require an appraisal.

There are a few basic requirement for an streamline FHA home loan including the following:

The mortgage must already be insured by FHA
The mortgage must be current and have no late payments pending
The refinance must result in lowering the monthly principal and interest payments of the borrower
The borrower can not take out any cash during this refinance

There are also a few pros and cons of a Streamline FHA refinance.

The pros of an FHA streamline refinance are as follows:

Lower interest rate in turn means a lower monthly payment for the borrower
Very little documentation is needed to close the loan, unlike traditional mortgage refinances
Usually, no or very little out of pocket money is involved with the refinance
Usually, credit requirements are much more relaxed

The cons of an FHA streamline refinance are as follows:

No cash out option is permitted with a streamline refinance mortgage program
You can’t refinance a second mortgage loan with this type of loan
You will probably start back over with your loan term which will cost you slightly more on interest over the years
Fees are often refinanced back into the loan and often disguised as “no cost” refinance loans

If you would like more information about FHA streamline refinance loans please take a look at the HUD Handbook which includes all the laws associated with this type of loan.

Big surprise, car sales will be down in the coming months

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:46:32 +0000

So the government had a great idea to help boost the economy and eliminate some pollution by offering the “cash for clunkers” program. As you may know from a previous post Once again screwed by government stimulus plan I wasn’t a big fan of the program. Today it was reported that auto sales were up 1.3 million in August, a roughly 30 percent increase from July.

Guess what? The program is over and there are no more rebates to hand out. Car sales are expected to drop in the coming months leaving many dealerships struggling to make sales goals. Will the government have to spend even more money for another bailout program or will the auto industry be able to lure more buyers with great incentives and low interest rate financing.

No matter how you feel about the “cash for clunkers” program orÂ if you didn’t get to take advantage of the programÂ there will probably still be some good deals on new cars in the coming months. For the first time ever that I can remember Toyota is offering 0% interest on the new Camry. If you are in the market for a new, dependable, family car it’s almost too good of a deal to pass up.

I’m not a big fan of purchasing new cars, but with some of the deals that may be coming in the following months you may want to consider a new purchase.Â So, because of the hard times that hit the auto industry you may be able to take advantage of a struggling market.

The FDIC going broke?

admin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:50:44 +0000

We could always rest assured that our money was safe if it was placed in the bank. Even if the bank got robbed or if the bank failed yourÂ money was still safe.Â The basic insurance amount covered by the FDIC is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank. This is probably more than enough to cover most peoples basicÂ savings and checking accounts.

Today it was reported that the FDIC may now need a bailout. Because of all the failed banks the FDIC may need to draw cash from banks or the federal government.

During the early 1990′s a similar event occured. It was called the savings and loan crisis and the FDIC was forced to borrow $15 billion from the US Treasury to cover the peoples money.

Don’t worry too much, your money is still covered by the government up to $250,000 so don’t head to the bank and withdraw your savings account and put it under your mattress. Your money is still more safe in the bank than in your home. Remember, this has happened before and everything worked out alright.