Archive for June, 2008

Who Should We Blame for the Mortgage Industry’s Problems?

Friday, June 27th, 2008

Don't you think it's fascinating that some members of Congress are doing their darndest to drag down the mortgage industry-when in fact, they may have benefited from some of the "wrongdoing"? Senator Dodd (D-Connecticut) is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and has been at the forefront of those calling ...

Time is Running Out to Get the Perfect House

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

Just last week in my blog I suggested that now might be the best time to take advantage of low interest rates.  While the Fed hasn't made any adjustments in the federal funds rate, and is unlikely to do so until early next year according to market experts, interest rates ...

Why Aren’t You Taking Advantage of Low Interest Rates?

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been in the news again recently warning investors about inflation fears and stirring talk that interest rates will start to climb later this year.  But according to a recent Investor's Business Daily article, some economists aren't predicting a rate hike until 2009. As those of ...

Internet Commerce Benefits Homebuyers

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

With today's technologies, many of us have grown to rely on the internet to help us research or purchase everything from groceries to automobiles.  Most industries-including our own-have embraced this new frontier as a great opportunity to better market our products and services and see it as a venue by ...

There’s a Fortune to be Found in Texas

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Texans have long known that life is just better when you enter into the 260,000+ square miles that is the Lone Star state.  Now the nation is also taking notice.  In fact, in the most recent list created by Fortune magazine, Texas is home to more Fortune 500 companies than ...

It’s a Buyers’ Market; Don’t Drive by the Perfect House

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

What would you do if today, while you were out driving around town, you saw a station open for business and advertising its gas for $1.99 a gallon?  There's an open pump, and you're running low on gas.  Would you drive by thinking that you'd find a better price on ...

What’s the Government Doing for Your Mortgage?

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

In a previous blog, I talked about FHA's change to a credit-score based MIP (mortgage insurance premium).  This is good news for folks who need the benefits that come with FHA loans (i.e. lower down payments and higher debt-to-income ratios) but who have exercised good sense when it comes to ...

How Does My Credit Score Affect My Mortgage?

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

From the time that mortgage companies started using FICO scores in the mid-1990s to gauge a borrower's so-called "credit worthiness", there has been a common belief that the higher a person's income, the higher his credit score would be.  According to a recent article by Kenneth Harney, that appears to ...