Entries from Searchlight Crusade tagged with 'pmi'

100% Financing or Low Down Payment or Low Equity: PMI May Be The Only Option

One of the casualties of the lending meltdown is the high loan to value second mortgage. With many properties locally having lost twenty percent or more of their value, a second mortgage on a property that ends up in default...

VA Loans Have Become The Magic Bullet

Quite a while ago, when loan standards were other than they have become, I wrote an article with the title Is a VA Loan a Good Deal? Back then, if you could qualify for a loan that was both...

Stand Alone versus Piggyback Second Trust Deeds

Second Trust Deeds are something few real estate loan officers really understand well, mostly because the good ones don't make much money on them. Predatory lending laws in most states, limiting total compensation and total expenses to a given percentage...

How Do I Get Rid of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)?

"How do I remove PMI?" was a question that I got. First off, a definition. Private Mortgage Insurance, often abbreviated PMI, is an insurance policy that the bank may make you buy in order to get the loan. It is...

One Loan Versus Two Loans

One of the questions we ask all the time is whether to do your financing as one loan or two loans. Until comparatively recently, one loan was the default option, but people have been learning that splitting their home financing...

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Lender Fear

Most people, particularly first time buyers, want 100% financing or as close as they can get. Actually, most first time buyers don't have a down payment and couldn't put a significant down payment (5% or more) if they had...

125% Refinancing With No New PMI

Yes, it sounds like a scam to me, too. But it's real. This isn't to say that there are scammers out there promising the same thing. But there is a legitimate program that accomplishes this. Actually, there are no...

105% Refinancing With No PMI (Maybe) (NOW UP TO 125%)

Yes, it sounds like a scam to me, too. But it's real. This isn't to say that there are scammers out there promising the same thing. But there is a legitimate program that accomplishes this. Actually, there are no...

State of the San Diego Real Estate Market March 2009

Reminds me of this gold rush movie (one that I recommend watching if you have a chance) Okay, it's not quite like that, but correctly priced properties are flying into "Pending". It has to do with supply and demand. At...

VA Loans Have Become The Magic Bullet

Quite a while ago, when loan standards were other than they have become, I wrote an article with the title Is a VA Loan a Good Deal? Back then, if you could qualify for a loan that was both...

How Can I Lower The Down Payment Requirements So I Can Buy Real Estate?

With a few lenders starting to loosen their requirements slightly in San Diego, it's becoming increasingly obvious that the bottom is behind us. However, the issue has now become, "I don't have much of a down payment. How do...

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Lender Fear

I knew that people, particularly first time buyers, were going to be forced into condominiums in San Diego, I just didn't know how soon. Most people, particularly first time buyers, want 100% financing. Actually, most first time buyers don't...

Private Mortgage Insurance Rates Jump

I knew this was coming. With holders of second mortgages not wanting to go above 90% Loan to Value Ratio, sellers of Private Mortgage Insurance, (PMI) have the "less than 10% equity" market all to themselves. The rates had...

Another Refinance Boom - With a Difference

With rates having nose-dived in recent weeks, we're experiencing a refinancing mini-boom. Now that rates have fallen by about a full percent from where they were most of the last year, people are waking up to the fact that...

100% Financing or Low Down Payment or Low Equity: PMI May Be The Only Option

One of the casualties of the current lending meltdown is the high loan to value second mortgage. With many properties locally having lost twenty percent or more of their value, a second mortgage on a property that ends up in...

Is a VA Loan a Good Deal?

Veterans Administration, or VA loans, are government guaranteed loans available to veterans and active duty members of the armed services, that enable them to purchase homes for no money down. In fact, VA loans go up to 103 percent of...

Stand Alone versus Piggyback Second Trust Deeds

Second Trust Deeds are something few real estate loan officers really understand well, mostly because the good ones don't make much money on them. Predatory lending laws in most states, limiting total compensation and total expenses to a given percentage...

Is a VA Loan a Good Deal?

Veterans Administration, or VA loans, are government guaranteed loans available to veterans and active duty members of the armed services, that enable them to purchase homes for not money down. In fact, VA loans go up to 103 percent of...

Removing Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

"How do I remove PMI?" First off, a definition. Private Mortgage Insurance, often abbreviated PMI, is an insurance policy that the bank may make you buy in order to get the loan. It is a monthly surcharge based upon a...

One Loan versus Two Loans

One of the questions we ask all the time is whether to do your financing as one loan or two loans. Until comparatively recently, one loan was the default option, but people have been learning that splitting their home financing...