Interest rates climbed a bit today!

Today, the mortgage bond market was off by as much as 51 basis points. This in turn, caused mortgage rates to go up. Since investors aren't paying much for purchasing closed loans these days, the spread between rates is much lower than it has been over the last 5-7 years. So a large decrease in movement like we saw today could change interest rates roughly .375% in rate. So today probably wasn't the best day to lock in a rate.

On another note, did you know that when applying for an FHA loan, both spouses have to have their credit run even if one of them isn't going to be on the loan? The purpose of this is to add the non-applying spouse's monthly debts against the actual applying spouse's debts since they are married and will be living there together. So if your spouse has lots of debt and you are thinking that by applying as a married man/woman as your sole and separate property, you could avoid the other persons debt, that will not be the case on an FHA loan.

And remember to visit my website: http://www.somloans.com/, http://www.southernoaksmortgage.com/ and my new site for my book: http://www.loanmanjeff.com/

Hope for Homeowner Program is a Big Flop!

The Federal Governments stimulus package that was supposed to help homeowners who are facing foreclosure and who are upside down on their homes turned out to be a big flop. The Hope for Homeowner program which is all over the governments website: http://www.fha.gov/ is having it issues. The main issue is that this program is voluntary. Lenders do not have to participate and they aren't. I've heard that one lender, Flagstar Bank is one of the few that is utilizing this program. Only problem is that they are only refinancing loans that they are servicing, so if your mortgage isn't with Flagstar, then you are out of luck. I will do my best to keep you informed of the latest developments with this program as it unveils.

Remember to visit my site: http://www.southernoaksmortgage.com/ or www.somloans.com

The Changes Just Keep Coming!

Well, guess what? Another road block. FHA just came out with a new guideline regarding the rent of your current residence. The Buy & Bail policy. If you currently own your home and want to rent it out to buy another one, in the past, you'd be able to use 90% of the rent to offset the payment so you could qualify for more. The new rule basically says, you cannot do this unless you have 75% equity in your current home, proven by an appraisal within the last 6 months or you are relocating jobs or residences out of the area. So if you are in a situation where you don't have any of these conditions met, you will have to qualify for the new home provided you can qualify with both debts against you.

visit my site at www.somloans.com

The Time Has Finally Come!

Southern Oaks Mortgage, Inc. is officially approved to originate FHA loans.

visit my site at www.somloans.com

FHA Approval is on the Way!!!

Looks like Southern Oaks Mortgage, Inc. will be FHA approved by the end of this week. We will offer FHA and Reverse Mortgages. Very exciting times.

visit my site at www.somloans.com

President Bush's New Bill

Great News! The FHA, Fannie and Freddie limits will be permanently raised to approx. $625,000 in high cost areas, like Los Angeles and Orange County, January 1, 2009. More details to follow.

FHA Approval on the Way!!!

Southern Oaks Mortgage, Inc. will be approved for FHA loans within the next 30 days! This will allow many borrowers to obtain financing with little to no down.