From the category archives:

Existing Homebuyer

Conforming loan limit to come down in high-cost areas

May 16, 2011 Existing Homebuyer

For the last three years, federal agencies have backed new mortgages as large as $729,750 in desirable neighborhoods in high-cost states like California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Without the government covering the risk of default, many lenders would have refused to make the loans. With the economy in free fall, Congress broadened [...]

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Tactics to compete with a cash buyer.

April 14, 2011 1st Time Homebuyer

Cash offers are nearly impossible to compete with. Here are a couple of ways to try and compete with a cash offer. The more cash you’re willing to put down, the more secure your job and the better your credit, the better off you will be in getting the seller to accept your bid. Have [...]

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FHA extends 90-day anti flip waiver

February 1, 2011 1st Time Homebuyer

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has decided to suspend it’s anti-flipping rule for another year to encourage faster sales of foreclosed homes. Back in 2003 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a rule that prohibited the FHA from insuring mortgages on homes that the seller had owned for less than 90 days. The rule was designed to restrict [...]

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The home inspection for 2011

January 6, 2011 1st Time Homebuyer

Now that we are in 2011 here are some things to do with your home inspection. A typical homebuyer assumes that the purpose of a home inspection is to catch any major structural problems before going through with a purchase. Avoiding a money pit is one reason to hire a home inspector, but savvy homebuyers [...]

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7.0 earthquake hits northern Argentina what are the chances of that happening in Maryland?

January 5, 2011 1st Time Homebuyer

This past weekend a 7.0 earthquake hit Argentina. It made me think about what would happen to my house if that happened in Maryland. This map gives you an idea of the chances we have of having an earthquake in Maryland. Here is the information I came up with. First I worked as an insurance [...]

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What if I have to change my settlement date because of snow?

December 27, 2010 1st Time Homebuyer

Yesterday we were lucky with only getting a few inches of snow. Philly, New York and Boston got slammed with a blizzard. We can go on business as usual. What if we had 15 inches of snow and you couldn’t go to you settlement today. It was the last day of the contract and if [...]

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Financing contingency with buying or selling a home

November 22, 2010 1st Time Homebuyer

Originally found at Marcie Sandalow These days it’s just plain smart to include a financing contingency (in combination with an appraisal contingency) on any real estate offer. Banks have become so rigorous in their vetting process, that even if you have been approved in writing, there is no absolute guarantee that a loan can be [...]

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Would you buy a home without the mortgage deduction?

November 16, 2010 1st Time Homebuyer

Originally found at SFGate The nation’s balance sheet is in pretty dire straits. Years of over spending is finally catching up to us. And for those we’ve appointed to try to fix it, they are racking their brains and looking at every tax break and revenue stream available. What has been billed as one of [...]

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What is running through the banks mind during the short sale process.

November 10, 2010 1st Time Homebuyer

Your mortgage lender will be considering a number of factors in deciding whether to approve a short sale. A review of your circumstance, whether you deserve a break due to financial hardship caused by uncontrollable circumstances such as death, divorce, layoffs or illness. They will also take a hard look at whether it would be [...]

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Short Sale vs Foreclosure which one to buy

October 25, 2010 1st Time Homebuyer

If you’re in the market for a new home, you’ve probably heard these buzzwords: short sale & foreclosure, but you may not know what they mean.  Here are the basic definitions of these two terms: Foreclosure (or Repossession) – Foreclosure is the legal process by which the mortgaged properties may be sold to pay off [...]

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