Using Tax Refunds for a Down Payment
While there are some government programs the allow for zero money down on home purchases, those programs don’t work for everyone. As a result, most home buyers need at least a 3.5% down payment to...
View ArticleSpringtime approaches; that means more homes for sale soon.
Spring officially begins in March and the spring season is traditionally a time when more families begin listing their homes for sale. The better weather along with the approaching end of the school...
View ArticleUSDA Rural Housing Program: Have you considered a country home?
There are two primary ways to buy a home with zero money down in 2014. The first is to be a military veteran and utilize the VA loan program. The second is to utilize the USDA Rural Housing Program....
View ArticleWhy the FHA home purchase program remains so popular
On the surface, you might think the FHA home purchase program has some things going against it. FHA loans require a 1.75% up front fee rolled in to the loan and FHA loans include monthly mortgage...
View ArticleWhy the Fannie Mae home purchase program is popular
Of the four main government-backed home purchase programs, the Fannie Mae program requires the biggest down payment, with a down payment requirement of at least 5%. In addition, the Fannie Mae program...
View ArticleWith rent prices rising and interest rates falling, buying a home an...
Over the last couple of years rent prices have been rising rapidly across the United States. Low vacancy rates have allowed landlords to hike rates at 2-3% per year. At the same time, mortgage interest...
View ArticleUSDA rural development maps set to change in October
The USDA rural development program is a popular home purchase program. The primary appeal of the program is that it requires no down payment. In addition, borrowers who get a USDA RD loan avoid the...
View ArticleFannie/Freddie launch new 3% down home purchase program
Until this week, borrowers needed at least a 5% down payment to purchase a home through a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac conventional loan program. As of this week a new 3% down program is rolling out. The...
View ArticleObama set to significantly reduce the cost of FHA loans
In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Julian Castro, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that President Obama plans to announce a reduction in the monthly...
View ArticleUSDA home purchase program announces plans to lower fees
The USDA Rural Development home purchase program just announced plans to significantly reduce fees starting this fall. Here is what the USDA said in a recent email announcement: Upfront Guarantee Fee...
View ArticleWhich home purchase program is best for you?
As we discuss on our home purchase page, there are several government-backed home purchase programs available. The main categories of programs are Fannie/Freddie loans, FHA loans, VA loans, and USDA...
View ArticleOpinon: On Down Payment Assistance Programs
While the USDA and VA mortgage programs require zero down payment when purchasing a home, the two most popular government-backed mortgage programs, FHA and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, do require down...
View ArticleMortgage interest rates remain near historical lows
After the general election in November of 2016 mortgage interest rates spiked significantly higher than they had been the weeks and months prior to the election. Since then rates have not returned back...
View ArticleHow much house can you afford?
People often come to us wondering “how much house” they can afford. This is a somewhat complicated question because there are many variables that contribute to that answer. In this post we’ll try to...
View ArticleHow much down payment is optimal for a home purchase?
On occasion consumers will ask us “what is the optimal down payment amount for a home purchase?” The answer to that question depends on the circumstances of the borrower, but the following are some...
View ArticleMortgage interest rates at three year low
Market forces have converged in recent months to push mortgage interest rates to lows no seen since the fall of 2016. In addition, values of homes have been steadily rising all across the U.S. for the...
View ArticleHow much house can you afford? (Part 2)
In our last post, we went into some detail on figuring out how big of a mortgage and home purchase price a homebuyer can afford. In this post we will share a simple rule of thumb to figure out the...
View ArticleOn getting cash out of your home
Home values have skyrocketed all across the US over the last 2-3 years. This has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional equity for a large percentage of American homeowners. Tapping...
View Article2023 could be the year of the first time homebuyer
In 2021 and 2022 several market factors combined to make things hard for first time homebuyers. First, constrained supply of homes on the market combined with low interest rates made home values...
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