If you are shopping for an FHA mortgage in Orlando or anywhere throughout Florida, please contact me today.

Making decisions out of fear or desperation is never a good idea, and this is especially true when it comes to your finances. If you think bankruptcy is the only way out of the financial mess you may find yourself in, you may be right. Then again, you may have overlooked some options to help you get out of debt without ruining your credit or financial reputation.

Before making the plunge into the world of bankruptcy proceedings, you want to make sure to look into other possibilities so you know what you’re getting yourself into. You not only want to consider the benefits but the negative aspects a bankruptcy has for your financial future. Even though declaring bankruptcy is not the end of the world or even the end of your financial life and certainly not a detriment to your credit long term, it is a big deal. It does take time to recover from a Chapter 7 filing.

Here are three questions you should ask yourself before declaring bankruptcy:

1. Have you explored other options carefully?
Like I said before, you don’t want to file bankruptcy hastily. You need to consider all of your options from credit counseling and debt negotiation to getting a part-time job for extra income. Counseling services may not be good enough if your debt problems are severe, and getting a part-time job is not always feasible depending on your circumstances like health and family obligations. Still, these options need to be studied thoroughly.

2. What kind of debts do you owe?
Certain kinds of debts are more difficult to discharge with bankruptcy, and these include student loans and federal income taxes. This does not mean that it would be impossible to get rid of these obligations, but it is more challenging.

3. Have you spoken with a professional?
You need to make sure to get all the advice you can before making a final decision. Continue to read articles about the subject so you can be ready when you visit your bankruptcy lawyer. All of this advice and material can help you make a more informed decision, which is crucial considering the effects on your financial future.

Don’t let the fear of your debt take over your life. People ask all the time about the problems they are having and based on the numbers, in my opinion, they absolutely need to consider bankruptcy. So, if you find yourself getting deeper and deeper into trouble, get the facts about bankruptcy, stick to a budget and learn how to get control of your debt.

If you have any questions about this post or need to talk about a specific situation, I encourage you to contact me today.

Respectfully,
Joe Bartolotta
The Florida Upfront Mortgage Broker
No Charge Mortgage Consultations
Residential, Commercial & Reverse Mortgages
Direct 407.340.0220
Joe (at) the upfront mortgage broker (dot) com

If you are looking for a mortgage broker in Orlando, or throughout Florida, that can help you with an FHA, Reverse or Conventional mortgages, please contact me today.

Economic conditions have impacted ALL commercial properties!

I can assist you with negotiating on your behalf to modify your current note and help you get into a situation that is better for you financially.

With over 80+ years of combined commercial banking experience available to me, I have the ability to align you with sources that can help you with commercial mortgages. Investors and Banks need a detailed and underwritten package in order to assess the current situation and need to work with experts on negotiating a restructure/workout in order to be able to refinance. Many loans were priced from the origin to bring a certain return to the investor so negotiating changes to these existing contracts need to be carefully designed and underwritten to explain in detail the financial outcomes and reasons for a successful non-litigated commercial loan restructure.

Don’t forget that I am also able to help you with more traditional commercial financing as well.

If you have any questions about this post or need to talk about a specific situation, I encourage you to contact me today.

Respectfully,
Joe Bartolotta
The Florida Upfront Mortgage Broker
No Charge Mortgage Consultations
Residential, Commercial & Reverse Mortgages
Direct 407.340.0220
Joe (at) the upfront mortgage broker (dot) com

If you are shopping for an FHA mortgage in Orlando or anywhere throughout Florida, please contact me today.

Everyone knows that shopping for low mortgage rates is a game of luck. There is no skill involved.

On some days, mortgage rates are favorable. Other days, they’re not. You can sometimes make an educated guess about where rates might be headed but you’re not always going to guess right.

Even the experts get it wrong more often than they’d like and these are people who have much more data available to them than you and I.

There are a few parts of the rate shopping process can be predicted and one of them is the future of mortgage guidelines.

In general, the more often homeowners default on their mortgages, the harder it is for future mortgage applicants to be approved.

This is why “now” might be the best time to apply for a FHA mortgage. Defaults are climbing, suggesting that FHA underwriting guidelines are about to tighten.

Indeed, the FHA has implemented two major changes since last summer:

• The minimum downpayment requirement was raised by a half-percent to 3.5%
• Cash out refinances are now limited to 85 percent, down from 95 percent.

These changes will create barriers for some people to get an FHA loan. Thus improving the overall quality of the FHA loan pool.

For a taxpayer-funded agency like FHA, loan performance is an important goal. Therefore, as the number of defaults grows, expect FHA guideline to get tighter.

The problem is, though, we can’t predict just where the FHA will tighten. Maybe the FHA raises its minimum FICO score requirement, or maybe it gets tough on seller-paid closing costs. A hike in loan fees isn’t out of the question, either — that’s the path Fannie Mae took, after all.

Whatever the FHA does, fewer people will qualify for FHA mortgages once it’s done. So, if you’re planning to buy a home and your downpayment is limited, or your credit scores are suspect, or there’s some other “red flag” in your profile, consider moving up your timeframe to act.

Mortgage rates will rise and fall, but neither is going to matter if you can’t get qualified for a home loan. And, for FHA mortgage applicants, tougher mortgage guidelines are only a matter of time.

If you have any questions about this post or need to talk about a specific situation, I encourage you to contact me today.

Respectfully,
Joe Bartolotta
The Florida Upfront Mortgage Broker
No Charge Mortgage Consultations
Residential, Commercial & Reverse Mortgages
Direct 407.340.0220
Joe (at) the upfront mortgage broker (dot) com

Mortgage rates rose again this past Monday, adding another a half-percent in a day for the second time in under a week.

For home buyers recently under contract (of which I have a few), it’s a gut-wrenching time to be shopping for a home loan. I suggest locking a rate that is acceptable to you (the client) and not playing the market hoping that rates will come down in the future. Just because a rate in the 4’s was available once doesn’t mean it will be available again.

Rates that come out in the morning are typically gone by lunch time it seems. In some cases, lenders are sending out new rates 3 and 4 times a day.

The reasons for surge in rates are varied, but each is related to the idea that the economic recession may be nearing its end. I don’t know about you but my recession is no where near its end. Some other factors for the volatility in rates are:

• Consumer optimism is as high as it’s been all year
• Consumer spending is falling at a slower pace than in months prior
• China’s factories reported an expansion in business

Each of these points bodes well for the economy and pushes Wall Street investors towards more risky investments. As a result, investments that are believed to be “safe” (such as mortgage backed bonds) get sold, these are the basis for conforming mortgage rates.

Here’s what you need to know. If the future of the economy is in question, expect rates to jump like they are on a trampoline. I’m sure that the days of 3 and 4 interest rate updates are not going to become commonplace, but rates will move swiftly until the economy works its way out.

Be careful when shopping for a mortgage — the rate you’re quoted may not last long.

If you have any questions about this post or need to talk about a specific situation, I encourage you to contact me today.

Respectfully,
Joe Bartolotta
The Florida Upfront Mortgage Broker
No Charge Mortgage Consultations
Residential, Commercial & Reverse Mortgages
Direct 407.340.0220
Joe (at) the upfront mortgage broker (dot) com

9 Things You Absolutely Shouldn’t Do Now That You Applied For A Mortgage

You’ve applied for a mortgage and are looking forward to furnishing the home throughout, maybe even buying a new car to park in the garage. Think twice before you do anything and more importantly, call your mortgage consultant first.

In life, there are many events that are out of our control — for example, our health and our jobs. But there are also events that are within our control.

Knowing that mortgage approvals can be very delicate, here are 9 things you should absolutely not do while your home loan is in process. It may be the difference between being approved or being turned down.

• Don’t buy a new car or trade-up to a bigger lease.
• Don’t buy the furniture that will fill every room in the house
• Don’t quit your job to change industries
• Don’t switch from a salaried job to a heavily-commissioned job
• Don’t transfer large sums of money between bank accounts
• Don’t forget to pay your bills — even the ones in dispute
• Don’t open new credit cards — even if you’re getting 20% off
• Don’t accept a cash gift without filing the proper “gift” paperwork
• Don’t make random, undocumented deposits into your bank account

Of course there will be situations in which you must break one of the guidelines above, please contact your mortgage consultant first though. There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything, make sure you are doing things the right way.

Mortgage lending is like a slice of Swiss cheese, it is full of holes. With underwriting times balloning to between 45-60 days, it’s a lot more likely that a mortgage applicant will fall into one of these situations.

If you have any questions about this post or need to talk about a specific situation, I encourage you to contact me today.

Respectfully,
Joe Bartolotta
The Florida Upfront Mortgage Broker
No Charge Mortgage Consultations
Residential, Commercial & Reverse Mortgages
Direct 407.340.0220
Joe (at) the upfront mortgage broker (dot) com

When you’re looking for a mortgage, many lenders evaluate your credit based on the “Three C’s.” Due to credit tightening, now more than ever, your credit score will dramatically affect whether or not you get approved for a mortgage loan.

Credit
Is it likely that you will repay the loan? Are your payments on time and up-to-date? Are you financially stable and reliable? What are your credit scores? In today’s marketplace, most conventional lenders require your scores to be in the 700+ range and most FHA loans require a 620 score or higher.

Capacity
Are you able to pay the loan? What kind of outstanding personal debt do you have? Do you have enough earning power and net worth to repay a mortgage or home equity line of credit?

Collateral
Do you own something of value that can be promised to the lender if you don’t repay the loan? If you have less than perfect credit, collateral may assist your loan request.

There are a few more factors mortgage lenders look into when evaluating your capability of obtaining a loan. To confirm your responsibility and stability they may examine:

• Your monthly income
• Occupation and length of time with employer (two or more years is ideal)
• Homeownership status and history
• How often you move or have moved; patterns of behavior and the timing of that behavior

And there are other examples such as, have you had a charge-off (when the creditor sells your debt to a collection agency) in your credit file from several years ago? Have you been able to maintain your credit over the years since? If so, you will be judged differently from someone who recently had a charge-off, or someone who has not been able to maintain their credit since the chargeoff.

But whatever the case, it’s imperative to get off on the right foot when rebuilding your credit. It is important to establish good credit behavior as early as you can in order to build a solid credit reputation.

Here is a link to an article on credit ratings and how they help and hurt you, I wrote this article a few months ago.

Maintaining A Good Credit Score

Essentially, credit bureaus will look for five main characteristics when determining how high your credit score will be.

In descending order, they are:

Past delinquency. Have you failed to make payments in the past? If so, lenders fear you will repeat that behavior based on your bad credit history.

How has your credit been used? Have you maxed out or spent close to the limit on a credit card? If so, then you may be considered a greater risk than someone who is more conservative with his or her credit line. Do you pay off your bill every month or a keep a revolving balance?

How long you’ve established your credit history. The scoring models can judge each individual separately. Credit reporting agencies may take into account the duration of a person’s credit history.

Frequency of credit inquiries. It is recommended that you check your credit once a year to see if you have a good or bad credit rating. Creditors requesting reports several times in a short period may send a signal that you are applying for a lot of credit due to financial difficulties, or that you are taking on too much debt and over-extending yourself.

Your credit variety. It is best to have a mix of installment and revolving loans (e.g., auto, credit cards, retail, etc). On installment loans, a person borrows money once and makes fixed payments until the balance is gone, while revolving borrowers make regular payments, each of which frees up more money to access.

It is important to understand all the factors that determine if you have good or bad credit. It is never too early to begin building a good credit history and avoid bad credit inconveniences in the lending process.

If you have any questions about this post or need to talk about a specific situation, I encourage you to contact me today.

Respectfully,
Joe Bartolotta
The Florida Upfront Mortgage Broker
No Charge Mortgage Consultations
Residential, Commercial & Reverse Mortgages
Direct 407.340.0220
Joe (at) the upfront mortgage broker (dot) com

Back in February, President Obama signed into law the $8000 tax credit. It comes with a few rules and according to the most recent analysis the following rules apply:

• The deduction is worth 10 percent of a home’s value up to $8,000, which means all homes worth more than $80,000 could qualify for the maximum amount.

• There is an income limit to qualify. A married couples’ modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) should be under $150,000 and single filers’ MAGI should be less than $75,000.

• Partial tax credits may be available for married couples with MAGI incomes over $150,000 but under $170,000, and single filers with incomes over $75,000 but under $95,000.

• If married couples file separately, they can both claim 5 percent of the home purchase ($4,000 each for a home over $80,000) on their tax returns.

• It’s a tax credit, not a deduction. That means the entire amount goes back to the first-time homebuyer unlike deductions, such as mortgage interest, that are subtracted from gross income before tax is calculated. If qualified for $8,000, the buyer gets $8,000, even if they would not owe that much in taxes otherwise.

• The tax credit applies to homes purchased between Jan. 1, 2009, and Nov. 30, 2009.

• The tax credit does not have to be paid back, providing the homebuyer keeps the property for at least 36 months and resides in the home.

• To qualify as a first-time homebuyer, the purchaser cannot have owned a home within the previous three-year period. However, ownership of a vacation home or rental home does not disqualify the buyer.

• If purchasing a new home, the effective date to receive the credit is the first day the homeowner actually lives in the house. If construction began in 2008, that buyer could still qualify. And if construction begins in 2009 but the owner does not take possession until 2010, the buyer would not qualify.

• The tax credit can be claimed on 2008 income tax forms even though the purchase took place in 2009. A buyer could close on a home the same day that President Obama signs it into law, fill out their income tax forms the next day, and receive the tax credit fairly quickly.

The tax credit is not a downpayment, but it could be used toward a downpayment if first-time homebuyers plan ahead. U.S. taxpayers have money withheld from every paycheck for income taxes. If they owe more tax than the amount deducted, they pay the IRS; if they owe less, they get a tax refund.

By anticipating at least an $8,000 refund in early 2010 when they file 2009 taxes, these buyers could cut down on their tax withholding this year and save the money toward a downpayment. There is one caveat, however: Should they not buy a home in the qualifying period, they would most likely owe the IRS money, and reducing their withholding amount could result in a high bill at tax time.

If you have any questions about this post or need to talk about a specific situation, I encourage you to contact me today.

Respectfully,
Joe Bartolotta
The Florida Upfront Mortgage Broker
No Charge Mortgage Consultations
Residential, Commercial & Reverse Mortgages
Direct 407.340.0220
Joe (at) the upfront mortgage broker (dot) com