Posts Tagged: Finance

Via the California Association of Realtors:
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will suspend foreclosure evictions from December 19, 2009 through January 3, 2010.  To help struggling families over the holidays, both owner-occupants [...]

For the third consecutive month home prices are continuing to rise – especially in San Francisco according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index.
Read more on Bloomberg.com

Weekly Mortgage Update From Tom Balk
In December, the Agencies (FNMA and FHLMC) are going to be revising their underwriting software. This version (I have been told) will only accept debt ratios to 45% of income (down from as high as 64.9%.
Currently I can do ratios to 64.9% (see success story below). So this may have [...]

Success story – A client found a property that he and his fiancee fell in love with but she had a few past credit issues; so we could not use her income. Previous lender was pushing them into an FHA loan (where he would make a lot more money). I found a source in the [...]

Weekly Mortgage Update From Tom Balk
This is such a great time for parents to be buying properties that can be given to their kids in the future. Call your well-heeled clients and talk about this possibility.
Here is a general idea of interest rates for a rental property purchase. Specifics depend on credit scores/debt ratios/etc.

500K [...]

Weekly Mortgage Update From Tom Balk:
Now really is a great time to buy… Seriously.
We’ve said it before but now really it is a great time to buy.
Talking to buyers and getting them off the fence is more important than ever – here are some facts to talk to them about:

Home prices are down Home [...]

In my opinion, we have a small window of continuing low rates.  SO if you, or anyone you know, have any desire to obtain a mortgage in the 4’s or low 5’s NOW is the time to call me!
If I had a dollar for the number of times I am asked ‘So Tom, where do [...]

Mortgage Rates took a big jump last week. The Jobs Report last Friday capped off the 5th consecutive day of selloff in the Mortgage Bond Arena. Job Losses came in at 247K rather than the expected loss of 328K. To many investors, this was a strong signal that that economy has turned the corner and [...]

Not all markets are moving in the right direction – however, it is good to know some are!
If you are considering purchasing real estate, the timing is everything. Call Afi today for a complimentary review of your real estate portfolio.
From the New York Times:
After a plunge lasting three years, houses have finally become cheap [...]

The Next 2-3 Years: The Best Opportunity to Acquire Assets in 50 Years
The workshop will be presented by RBC Wealth Management Private Wealth Team:

Travis Buchanan – Financial Consultant
Doug Tarlton – Wealth Planning & Insurance Consultant
Pam Goldman – Wealth Strategies Consultant – Estate & High Net Worth
Stephen Foster – International Investment & Estate Planning

RBC Team Will [...]

Three weeks ago I started informing real estate agents, who had buyers in process with me, that I would be able to close on a purchase transaction in 30 days or less.
My purpose for doing this was to increase the chances of having our mutual client’s offer accepted. If competing offers were coming in [...]

MortgageBRIEF from Tom Balk
This is a great time to buy; so let’s work together to get ready to make a commitment and get pre-approved.
Timely Topics
In response to concerns raised by NAR that some servicers of Fannie Mae loans are unaware of FNMA’s short sale commissions policy or believe it is not binding, Fannie Mae has [...]

If you are counting on a California state home buying credit time is running out!  The funds are nearly all committed.  Contact Tom Balk today to talk about your options.
Important update (via www.ftb.ca.gov):
As shown in the numbers below, we will soon reach $100 million in new home credit applications. Because many of these are duplicates, [...]

Well, it has been an exciting few weeks. Five weeks ago the yield on the 10 year
bond was 2.85% and today it ended at 3.79%. This has resulted in interest rates
being a lot higher than 2 weeks ago. If you get an offer on one of your
listings, make sure you have the Max interest rate [...]

Well, it has been an exciting few weeks. Four weeks ago the yield on the 10 year bond was 2.85% and today it ended at 3.85%. This has resulted in interest rates being a lot higher than 2 weeks ago. If you get an offer on one of your listings, make sure you have the [...]