A little over one year ago, the Supreme Court handed down the decision in Kelo, which held that the city of New London could condemn land to sell it to private developers in order to increase the tax base. At the time, it generated huge amounts of outrage – the formation of Life Liberty Property, …
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Foreclosures – A Good Investment?
Well, sometimes. Okay, most of the time. But not always. Foreclosures: Bargain hunters beware! Myth no. 1: A big spike in foreclosures is right around the corner… …That’s because in most of the country, anyone who has owned a home for even a year or two is likely sitting on enough equity to sell or …
Dissecting the “Lending Game”
Right now lender X is offering me a loan that looks something like this: 80/20 No down paymentOn the /80: 6.5% FIXED interest for 30 years, interest-only payment option for 15 yearsOn the /20: 8.75% FIXED interest for 25 years (amortized to 30) 6-month lock for 1-point ($3800) refundable fee with float-down option My response: …
Agents Refusing to Make an Offer on Real Estate
“buyers agent refuses to make offer” was a search hit I got recently. This is yet another reason not to sign exclusive buyer’s agent agreements. My guess is that the CBB is lower than the agent would like. The CBB is the “cooperating brokers” payment – that share of the selling agent’s commission that will …
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Let Me Tell You About The Loan You Could Have Had
Not interested? Most people aren’t when it’s talking about how they got taken advantage of in the past. First off, it’s in the past so it is over and done with, and there’s no use dwelling on it, right? Second, there’s the ego thing. Nobody who’s been bragging about what a great deal they got …
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Buying Investment Property – An Example of the Issues
My aunt is going to move to a new condo and wants to sell her old one. I would like to buy her old condo as an investment and rent it out (as I am already a home-owner). This whole investment/rental buying is all new to me. She has lived there about 5 years and …
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Rate Buydowns
Every so often I run across a reference to a “rate buydown” I don’t like to use them because they don’t benefit the client, but I should explain them, what they are, and how they work. A rate buydown is where for an upfront price, the lender agrees to give you a lowered interest rate …
Practical Examples – Refinance or Prepayment Penalty?
Hi Dan wondering if you could help me out I’m getting a lot of different answers from a lot of people and I’m really searching for help I bought my house brand new (three years ago) for 550,000, and (the next year) I refinanced into a mta loan. which at that time was around 4.25% …
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Loans Not Funded
I got a question about “what does it mean if my loan is not funded after right of rescission?” It likely means your loan provider lied to you, probably from day one. Once you have signed documents, there shouldn’t be anything but procedural matters left. Things that cannot be taken care of earlier. Things like …
When The Loan Underwriter Makes A Mistake
“challenging underwriters mistakes in housing loan paperwork” was a search that I got. You can’t challenge them. Butting heads with an underwriter is stupid and counterproductive. There’s only one person who gets a vote, and it’s not you, whether you are an applicant, processor, or loan officer. The underwriter may not be the original application …
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