Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
We hear lots of advice these days about how to improve a credit score. However, not all advice is good advice. Here are nine credit score myths that could actually do more harm than good:
Myth #1 – Closing out old, inactive accounts will help your score. Thirty percent of your credit score is based on your utilization rate – your total balances versus the total amount of credit available to you. Canceling old accounts reduces the total amount of your available credit, changing that ratio. Any balance will Continue Reading →
By Tyler Frank NMLS # 942420, on January 3rd, 2014 Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has made some changes for 2014, which took effect January 1 and affect FHA home loans. First and foremost, you will see a drop in the maximum allowable loan. In the St. Louis metro area, for example, the new max loan amount for a single-family home has been lowered to $271,050 from $281,250.
Other items of note regarding FHA have not changed; so as a refresher let’s look at FHA qualifications and rules:
Borrower must put 3.5% down based on sales price. 100% of the buyer’s contribution Continue Reading →
By Tyler Frank NMLS # 942420, on December 13th, 2013 Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
On January 10, 2014 the mortgage world is going to go through some changes. These changes will affect consumers and their ability to qualify for a home loan. Is it doom and gloom? Not really.
A “Qualified Mortgage” or QM, is something we at Paramount Mortgage have been doing for a while. It is all about the consumer having the ability to repay the loan and verifying, to the best of our ability, through paperwork, all the facets of a loan approval. It is very possible additional paperwork may be requested Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
St Louis Mortgage companies were not making many 30-year, fixed-rate jumbo mortgages a year ago, but now many St Louis Mortgage companies are offering fixed jumbos – with very competitive rates, including my firm, Paramount Mortgage.
As interest rates start to rise, homeowners are thinking they may not see rates this low in the future and if their ARM is maturing a couple of years from now, they could be in a tough spot.
Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
Since the real estate market crash, millions of homeowners have lost their homes in a foreclosure, been forced to do a short sale to get out from a home they were underwater on or file bankruptcy as a result of financial hardship as a result of the the market crash and general economic downturn. Many of these homeowners have resorted to renting or living with relatives but, as time passes and the financial wounds heal, are now wanting to buy a home again prompting the question, “how long do I have to wait Continue Reading →
One-third of Homebuyers Surveyed Are Ill-prepared to Get a Mortgage
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
According to a survey recently conducted by Zillow, many homebuyers are really not armed with the information they should have before attempting to obtain a mortgage. For example, over one-third (34 percent) of the prospective homebuyers surveyed did not know that a qualified borrower can obtain a home loan today with less than a five percent downpayment.
In addition, many homebuyers have misinformation that can prevent them from obtaining the best possible mortgage interest rate. For example, 26 percent of the homebuyers said Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
“The (real estate) recovery has been much more like the tortoise than the hare,” said Stephen Blank, a senior resident fellow of the Washington-based Urban Land Institute. “We’ve become used to slow relief. But we have finally turned the corner.”
Real estate markets on both coasts in places like; New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston were the first to emerge from recession and will pick up their pace of recovery through 2013, said Blank, a principal researcher for Emerging Trends. He was the main speaker at the annual outlook presented by Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
Housing Boom Era Type Home Buying Tactics Reappearing in St Louis Real Estate Market
During the home buying frenzy of the housing boom, which peaked in 2006, it was common to see home buyers, in an effort to beat out other buyers fighting for the same home, include price escalation clauses in their offers and make “naked” (contingency-free) offers. It was also common for a seller to purposely price their home low in an effort to rein in multiple buyers and pit them against each other in a bidding war. We are Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
Home Prices Nationwide Shooting Up Faster Than Anyone Thought Possible Not Long Ago
The US housing market has broken out of a deep slump, and prices are shooting up faster than anyone thought possible a year ago.
Prices of existing homes rose 10% in February nationally from a year ago. What is causing this increase?
Continue Reading →
Tyler Frank,Paramount MortgageNMLS ID 942420
Free Credit Scores are Not Part of the Free Annual Credit Report Consumers Currently Receive
Consumers currently have the right to request their free credit report once a year, but a credit report does not include free credit scores. These two items are often confused to be the same, which they are not.
You generally must pay to see your credit score. It’s a three-digit grade that predicts how risky you are to a lender.
Earlier this month, bills were introduced in the House and Senate to allow all consumers Continue Reading →
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