How To Get Home

Seems like everyone is talking about someone they know who is close to foreclosure. The bad news does travel fast. It is important to remember that no one wins in foreclosure. The home owner, the lender, and the neighborhoods all suffer as a result of the foreclosure.
Everyone agrees that the number of foreclosures is rising […]

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I had a client in my office the other day who was very frustrated at how long it was taking for his credit score to go up. It reminded me of another conversation I was having with a friend of mine who was as frustrated by how difficult it was for her to lose […]

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I will agree that the subprime mess is getting a significant amount of press lately. It is almost like the pre-game show before a football game, except that it looks like we are somewhere in the 1st quarter. There are a ton of interviews being done with Fed officials, mortgage lenders, and homeowners. What went […]

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In the late 80’s and early 90’s, lenders were working on programs to charge more for higher risk loans and less for lower risk loans. As a result of the evolution of credit scores and automated underwriting, more lenders began to adopt the concept of risk-based pricing and use it to increase loan production. In […]

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If I had to guess, I would say over half of the potential home buyers that call in for their initial consultation ask the same question- How much can I be approved for? A large percentage of these same buyers will go out and find a home at that maximum price or slightly higher.
Most mortgage […]

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A few weeks ago, I made a post on the subject of risk. A lot has changed in the last 3 weeks so I thought I would revisit the issue.
The headlines today were more of the same - Late Mortgages Jump to 3 1/2 Year High - New Foreclosures Hit All-Time High. Today’s release of […]

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Countrywide Financial is the nation’s largest mortgage lender. As of Friday, Countrywide was telling brokers to stop offering the option of no-money down.
“Please get in any deals over 95 LTV (loan-to-value) today!” Countrywide said late on Friday in an urgent e-mail to brokers. “Countrywide BC will no longer be offering any 100 LTV […]

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Not sure if you got to watch the 60 Minutes section tonight on U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. It was a very powerful story about the impending financial crisis facing the country. It’s been called the “dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows” – a set of financial truths so inconvenient that most elected officials […]

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There are some interesting facts out today from Experian:
- 1 in 7 Americans carry 10 or more credit cards
- The average credit score nationally dropped to 674
- The average American holds four credit cards
Check out the National Score Index for some revealing data about our credit card nation.
Understanding how credit scores are calculated can help […]

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Sometimes it is nice to know that you are not the only one who is having financial hardship. Coming to grips with spending habits and debt levels is not easy for some to do. Not talking about it will not help the situation get better. Here are a few consumers who have taken their […]

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