Know the pitfalls of refinancing....

The TV and radio ads make it all seem so easy. Walk into a lender's office, refinance your home loan at a rock-bottom rate, and walk out with a lower monthly payment.

Here's a little tip: It's not so easy.

If you know the pitfalls, you can at least prepare for them - and perhaps chart a wiser course. A few issues that could have your application earmarked for the ‘Rejected' pile:

1. Heightened credit score demands

If you're refinancing, that means you've successfully secured a home loan already. But since then, lenders have started to demand near-pristine credit scores. "Now to get access to the lowest rates, you need a FICO score above 740," says Keith Gumbinger, VP of mortgage information site HSH.com.

Not quite the perfect score of 850, but still quite challenging to achieve. Credit scorer FICO does not break out the average number for refi applicants, but the national average is 690 -- well below what will get you prime lending rates.

2. Low appraisal

While interest rates have gone down, so have U.S. home values. The average home value dropped a third from the start of 2007 to the start of 2012, according to housing analytics firm Fiserv. For refinancing, that's a problem.

Chicago's Jesse Raub and his wife have owned a home for about three years, and recently started the refi process. But then the appraisal came in low.

"Beware that the appraised value of your home may not be what you think it should be," says Raub, 27, who's a trainer and educator for Intelligentsia Coffee. "Our new mortgage amount was close to the total value of the home - which required us to get mortgage insurance as well."

3. A home equity line of credit

You may have forgotten that you once took out a home equity line of credit. You may have not even touched a penny of it. But it could still derail a refi, because it means another lender has a claim on the value of the home.

"If you're refinancing your first mortgage, the lender of the home-equity line has to agree to that," says Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research for the Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association.

Essentially, that lender needs to sign off on being second in line, and agree that the primary mortgage will always be paid off first (in the event of a foreclosure, for instance). "There may be fees associated with that, and so a home-equity line of credit is one more thing that could make a refi more difficult."

4. Condo or co-op troubles

If lenders are going to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars, they don't want any issues to make them nervous. And when the property is subject to decisions of an unpredictable board of directors, that can make them nervous.

"Any number of issues might trip you up," says Gumbinger. "If the building finances aren't in good shape, or if the insurance isn't paid up, or if there are any units in foreclosure, or if there are any lawsuits against the condo association, or if the building is comprised largely of renters. All kinds of fun stuff can arise."

5. Timeliness requirements

Banks want to see the most up-to-date financial information possible before they sign off on a mortgage. But they also have a tendency to ask for document after document after document regarding your financial situation. If the refi process has ballooned to 60 or even 90 days, but they require documents from the last 30 days, that could put you on a carousel of paperwork straight from the ninth circle of hell.

So get out your yoga mat, breathe deeply, and have a mantra ready. You're going to need lots of patience. "Expect the worst," advises Erin Lantz, director of the mortgage marketplace for real estate site Zillow.com. "If you come to terms with that at the beginning, it will remove the stress later on."

(Follow us @ReutersMoney or finance/personal-finance">here Editing by Beth Pinsker Gladstone)
By Chris Taylor; NEW YORK; Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:00am EDT


Yes, at MIG have these issues too. But we know what we are doing and routinely get our clients closed in 20 - 40 days. Call or reply to this email if we can help.

Is It Hard to Get a Mortgage?

I know that you have all heard that it is tough to get a mortgage approved. Well it is, but mostly it is common sense regulations that are designed to create good mortgages for good borrowers and home owners. The kicker is that so many of my so called peers at my competitors don’t know what they are doing. They are driving their clients insane. They don’t answer their questions and if the news is not good they don’t deliver the message, much less solve the problem.


I and my team pride ourselves in recognizing and solving issues. We don’t bat 100%, but we do well if I do say so. Every month we wind up saving someone’s purchase or refinance when some other lender just didn’t know what to do. My 27 years is good for something. :)

Email me at george.margrave@migonline.com or call me at 615-777-4663 for more info or to chat about it.

Whew! Tax Day Was Yesterday!

Since tax day has passed, I feel compelled to advise those of you who are getting a tax refund and do not own a home a piece of free advice. That refund (on average $3000) can help you get into a new home of your own. The payment will likely be less than your present rent if you get a home of comparable size. You may not even have to use your refund, but even so you will probably need new drapes a new grill and will have moving expense. You may not have to use it because in spite of what you have heard on the media, you might get into a home for little to no cash. I am reading everywhere that the housing recovery is here. That will most certainly drive interest rates up.


Here is a surprising statistic. The P and I on $150,000 at 3.75% (today’s FHA rate) is $696. If rates go up 1% which is a good probability that same payment will only finance $133,300.

So it doesn’t pay to wait to see if prices might drop some.

These payments are Principal and Interest only, not the total payment. Call me at 777-4663 for details or email me at george.margrave@migonline.com . 

T-Minus 5 Days to FHA MIP Increase....

It is T minus 5 days (in reality 2 days) to get an FHA case number for refinances and purchases.  I know I have been over and over this.  Next week it won’t be an issue any more. It will just be what it is.  But for now I don’t want anyone to pay more than they have to.   If you don’t know what MIP is, here is a short explanation.  There is more risk to a lender when the down payment is less than 20%.  So to make up for that risk the MIP is charged and supposedly put in a pool to pay for losses.

Call me, 615-777-4663, check out my website http://www.mignashville.com/ or email me at george.margrave@mignonline.com let's get you taken care of!

Good news and bad news

I have told you about how HUD is raising the MIP for their borrowers after April 1. Actually the final letter says April 9th now, so we got a few more days. So If you are thinking of buying, you would save money by getting the transaction far enough along to order the FHA case number and appraisal by then. The countdown is T minus 26 days


Now the good news. People that currently have an FHA loan that was closed prior to the first part of 2009 (date to be determined) will be able to get a considerably lower MIP for their refinance. This will mean a big savings. So if I ran the numbers for you and it didn’t look very good, it is about to get a lot better. But we have to wait until June 11.


You can reach me at 615-777-4663 (HOME) or email me at George.Margrave@migonline.com .  

Are YOU a First Time Home Buyer? We can HELP!

I want to mention our expertise with First Time Home Buyers. My team accounted for the most THDA loans in the state for 2010. This fiscal year which is almost half done finds us in the lead again. I just want to point out that these loans are not always the easiest, but I think we are serving our community by working on them so diligently.



You may not realize it but in most cases we can structure it so that these buyers do not have to have money to make the purchase. (this is in spite of what you read in the media that 20% is required)The interest rates are great and as a result of this, our borrower often owns a home for less than the rent they were paying.

You can reach me at 615-777-4663 (HOME) or email me at George.Margrave@migonline.com .

Housing Trends, First Time Homebuyers

Happy New Year, friends! We start 2012 with a look at first time home buyers. Where would they like to live? The results are in and it's no surprise that 78% said "near shops and services." The top 7 are listed here:


1. Shops and services (78%)

2. Their job (75%)

3. In a very good school district (66%)

4. Parks and other open spaces (61%)

5. Family and/or relatives (61%)

6. Restaurants, nightlife and other activities (51%)

7. Easy access to public transportation (45%)

Take a look at this infograph for more interesting information. Click here for an enlarged version.


~~From Tennessee Title

You can reach me at 615-777-4663 (HOME) or email me at George.Margrave@migonline.com . 

Call on Us First

Over and over I receive calls from my clients and they start out with I talked to my bank and 1. They won’t return my calls or 2. They say they can’t close for 60 days or 3. They don’t do the kind of loan I want and so on and so on. I guess people call their bank because they think they will give them a better deal.


I can safely say that in most cases we can close much quicker, with a better rate and we do return our calls. In fact when you call us, a human answers and you don’t go into voice mail Hades.

I’m just saying. Call us first and save yourself some aggravation.  You can reach us at 615-777-4663 or via email at George.Margrave@migonline.com

Housing News: 11 Trends from 2011

The National Association of Realtors® surveys homebuyers and sellers each year to uncover housing trends and monitor changes taking place in the industry. This year's report highlights a number of trends that haven't been seen in years. Here are just 11 highlights from the 2011 report.

1. In 2011, 37% of homebuyers were first-time buyers - which was down from 50% in 2010.

2. Last year, 88% of homebuyers used the Internet to search for a home. That number was down slightly from a high of 90% in 2009.

3. The typical homebuyer searched for 12 weeks and viewed 12 homes.

4. The number of buyers who purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker climbed to 89% - a share that has steadily increased from 69% in 2001.

5. Nearly 1 out of 4 buyers said the application and approval process was "somewhat more difficult" than expected…and 16% reported it was "much more difficult" than expected.

6. About half of home sellers traded up to a larger and more expensive home…and 60% traded up to a new home.

7. The top 3 factors influencing neighborhood choice were: the quality of the neighborhood, the convenience to job, and the overall affordability of homes.

8. The typical seller lived in their home for 9 years. That number has increased from 6 years in 2007.

9. Although 61% of sellers said they reduced their asking price at least once, the average home sold for 95% of the listing price.

10. Only 10% of sellers sold their homes without the assistance of a real estate agent. Of those people, 40% knew the buyer prior to the sale.

11. The typical "for sale by owner" home sold for $150,000 compared to $215,000 for the average agent-assisted home sale.

All Contents ©2012 The National Association of Realtors®.

Mortgage Market Guide

If you would like to talk and find out what we can offer you, please give me a call at 615-777-4663 or send me an email at George.Margrave@migonline.com.

What's the real cost of the payroll tax cut?

When you heard that our Federal Government had extended the tax cut and long term unemployment benefits for two months, you were probably glad. If you read on, you discovered that the two months were financed on the back of the Real Estate industry. (For 10 years!) Details are still sketchy, but from what I understand every FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddy Mac loan closed for 10 years will have a 10 basis point surcharge. (That is almost the equivalent of .125% increase in the rate of probably about 90 percent of the loans that will close in that period.) Now I ask you which industry does our country desperately need to turn around? That is right, the real estate industry! So why not raise their cost?


I am honestly wondering if anyone in either party has a clue what they are doing up there.

I'm just saying----.
You can reach me at 615-777-4663 (HOME) or email me at George.Margrave@migonline.com .

Give the Gift of Charity this Holiday Season!

It's a Snap with THE GOOD CARD® - a Gift Card for Charity

Network for Good has a fresh angle on gifting this holiday season: The Good Card® - a gift card for charity - is perfect for everyone on your list. Good Cards have a stored value that can be redeemed as a donation to any of more than 1.2 million charities based in the US. Good Cards can be distributed via email or physical mail, or can be private labeled to meet your brand needs. Learn more at Network for Good.

A gift card for charity is an ideal reward for employees or thank you gift for customers and vendors that links their passion for a cause to your company's brand. A new study by researchers from Harvard Business School, the University of British Columbia and the University of Liege that was recently highlighted in the Washington Post confirms that a bonus employees get to spend on others is more motivating than a bonus they get to spend on themselves. A Good Card recipient can redeem their gift card as a donation to any of more than a million nonprofits, an easy way for employees to share their personal rewards with others.

Good Card purchases, including fees, are tax-deductible to your company and are a creative way to spend funds earmarked for philanthropy. In addition, because Good Card purchases are charitable donations, they do not fall under the IRS gift limit or policies around corporate gifts with cash value. Network for Good's charity gift card program is turn-key, customizable and easy to implement - even at the last minute. The program is recommended for any company looking to put a special spin on their gift-giving this year. What's more, the person GIVING the gift (i.e., the card purchaser) gets the benefit of a tax advantage for charitable donations as well.

The Good Card is a creative and constructive way to honor partners and prospects, friends and neighbors during the holiday season and throughout the year. Visit Network for Good for more details.

Remember you can always reach me at 615-777-4663 or via email at george.margrave@migonline.com
 
Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Lowest Rates Ever! (No really)

If you have been keeping up you know we have the lowest rates since I can remember (I think they are the lowest since the records were kept.) You have been hearing radio ads about this for the last two or three years, but now it is really true. How can it benefit someone who wants to refinance?


If you have an FHA loan at about 5.75% or higher, it would probably benefit you to lower your rate on another 30 year loan in the 3’s or low 4’s. For a little more we can pay your closing cost. If you can go to 15 year, it will probably still increase your payment but can make a huge difference in your future equity position. The kicker with FHA is the MIP payments eat up some of your interest savings. If you don’t have equity, we can do a streamline loan with no appraisal, but you have to pay the closing cost out of pocket, or we as lender might be able to pay it for you. Call me for details.

If you have a conventional loan, we are most likely going to have to have an appraisal. There will have to be enough equity to finance closing cost or you could pay them or once again we as lender may be able to do it. Once again call or email your questions. Just click on reply.

The bigger the loan the more savings you get. Also once again don’t forget the 10 or 15 year loans if you can handle the bigger payment.

I can be reached at 615-777-4663 or via email at George.Margrave@migonline.com .