The Sheir Mortgage Team Podcast

Don’t Wait to Refinance Your Mortgage

DSheir@houseloan.com (David Sheir) — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 10:33:00 -0700

Have you been on the fence about refinancing your mortgage? Rates are at historic lows, but many feel that they will go up soon. Now is the best time to save by refinancing.

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Should you refinance your mortgage?
It's a question that a lot of us are facing since interest rates have been at historic lows for some time. However, a lot of people feel that rates will rise soon. If you've been on the fence, is now the time to jump off and refinance?
The most popular reasons why people refinance are to reduce their monthly mortgage payment, reduce the term remaining on their mortgage, or take cash out to pay off higher interest debts like credit cards, college tuition, or home improvements.

It's not a matter of if rates will rise, it's a matter of when.

To find out if it makes sense for you and your specific situation, though, we'd be more than happy to put together an analysis using your current information to see if we could save you money by reducing your interest rate, shortening your term, or taking money out to pay higher interest debt. This type of analysis is very important and should be done before making a decision about refinancing.

You should also do it soon.

It's not disputed that interest rates will increase at some point in the future–the question is how soon it will happen. So if you've been thinking about refinancing, now is the time. Give me a call or send me an email and I'd be happy to help you out in any way that I can.

Forecasting the Market and Interest Rates for 2017

DSheir@houseloan.com (David Sheir) — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:28:00 -0700

The Mortgage Bankers Association met recently and predicted that interest rates will rise in the next year or two. While a small hike may not seem like much, it has a huge effect over the life of a mortgage.

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Today I wanted to stop by with a quick market forecast for 2017 and beyond.

The Mortgage Bankers Association recently met this month to discuss their predictions for the market in 2017 and beyond. The good news is that they expect real estate sales to hold steady or even increase slightly over the next few years. However, they also predict that interest rates will rise anywhere from .5% to a full percentage point over the next year or two.

A small rise in interest rates will add thousands of dollars to a mortgage.

Even a rise in rates that small can add thousands of dollars to a mortgage over the course of the loan. For that reason, I implore all of you who are thinking of buying a home in the next year and are still sitting on the sidelines, now is the time to act!

I can help you out with a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, as well as a mortgage pre-qualification at no cost. Contact me directly, and I'd be happy to help you out!

How Much Do You Need to Pay for a Down Payment?

DSheir@houseloan.com (David Sheir) — Mon, 7 Dec 2015 15:45:00 -0800

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How much do you need to put down on a down payment for a home? Well, the answer isn't so clear-cut. It really depends on the type of loan that you qualify for.

With a Veterans Administration loan, you can buy a home with 0% down. That is a fantastic deal if you're a veteran that qualifies!

If you're a first-time home buyer you can purchase a home with just 3% down if you can qualify for a special conventional loan. Keep in mind that a first-time home buyer is considered to be anyone that hasn't owned a home in the last three years.

With an FHA loan, you can purchase with a down payment of only 3.5%, as long as the residence is going to be your primary home.

There are many different options when it comes to paying a down payment. However, it's important that you remember that you will have to pay private mortgage insurance if you cannot put 20% down.

If you have any questions or if you would like to arrange an analysis, please don't hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you!

What Do FHA Guideline Changes Mean for You?

DSheir@houseloan.com (David Sheir) — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 15:10:00 -0700

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Today we’re going to talk about some recent changes that took place regarding FHA financing. If you are in the process of buying a home, or want to buy a home, you need to be aware of the changes to FHA financing that took effect on September 14, 2015.

The FHA has taken the time to totally restructure their entire guidelines into a new handbook called “The 4000.1” which went into effect on September 14. Now, any new case numbers assigned with FHA must follow these new rules.

Here are a few things you should be aware of:

In the past, deferred student loan payments would not count against your debt-to-income ratio. They will now be included in your debt. The same goes with 30-day accounts and charged cards. In the past, if they were paid off, they didn’t have to be included either. They now must be included unless you prove that you paid off the balance for 12 consecutive months.

The deposit on the contract used to not have to be sourced if it was less than 2% of the purchase price, they have cut that in half and now the requirement is 1%.

If we have a buyer that has declining income or has changed jobs more than 3 times, there are some additional hurdles they will have to hurdle as well.

Thanks for joining us today. We are always happy to bring you the best and latest mortgage news. If you have any questions for us, just give us a call or send us an email. We can’t wait to hear from you!

What You Need to Know About Condo Financing

DSheir@houseloan.com (David Sheir) — Tue, 6 Oct 2015 09:38:00 -0700

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Today, we'll discuss condominium financing. There are two types of condo reviews: the full review and the limited review.

A full review occurs whenever someone wants financing that is as little as 5% down. Basically, the lender is responsible for viewing things like budget, the insurance policies, and the amount of reserves. It's a very exhaustive five-page questionnaire.

If you have more money to put down, you can do a limited review. This is a much less intrusive review with a one-page questionnaire. You can put as much as 25% down for a primary home, and 30% down for a second home.

A recent trend is to get a loan to value equal to 90% or more by doing a first and second loan, and using a streamline limited review. There are some advantages to this if you know that the condo won't pass the full review.

If you would like more information on condominium financing, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What Cornerstone Home Lending Can Do for You

DSheir@houseloan.com (David Sheir) — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 12:34:00 -0700

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Today, I want to introduce you to Cornerstone Home Lending, and explain a little about what we do.

Cornerstone Home Lending is a national direct lender. We have operations throughout the United States, and we do everything in-house. That includes originating the loan, processing the loan, underwriting the loan, and servicing the loan. Nothing ever leaves our shop, and we ensure that your loan makes it successfully to the closing table.

We've been doing this for 25 years. We work with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and others. We offer conventional loans, FHA loans, VA loans, jumbo loans, and national loans. We're here to help you and your clients with all your mortgage financing needs.

In addition, due to Cornerstone's size, all of the appraisal ordering is done in-house. We do not use a third party company to manage appraisals.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email, and we'll answer them in a video. We look forward to hearing from you!