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Displaying blog entries 271-280 of 400

Roofs for Troops-Low Cost and Free Homes for Vets

Thursday, October 30, 2014
by Liz Warren

Have you ever heard for Roofs for Troops? This is a program that receives donated homes across the US to rehab in preparation for a Vet to either purchase the home at a huge discount or actually get a home for FREE. It's true. If you know of a Vet who needs a home, tell them about this program and visit the website at http://www.roofsfortroops.org to learn how the program works and how to apply.

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Septic Tanks on Mt. Hood

Sunday, February 9, 2014
by Liz Warren

Septic tank replacement and installation is something we deal with on a regular basis on Mt. Hood. Many of our properties were built in the 1930s and 1940s so the time is coming where a tank replacement or system replacement is coming due. 

Many of our cabins, including forest service cabins on leased lands, are used on a fairly limited basis.  Some owners use their cabins every weekend and others once a month. It’s not unusual at all to find 300 gallon septic tanks used with older septic systems.  

Today’s regulations have changed for septic tanks. DEQ requires new tanks to be at minimum 1000 gallon tanks. Check out the tank that was recently installed at one of my listings at the forest service.

                                   It does look like it’s as big as the outbuilding!

Septic tank on Mt. Hood National Forest
 

If you’re interested in what the current standards  for septic tank replacements are, check out the info Clackamas County is providing for 2014. Don’t forget, if you have a cabin in the Mt. Hood National Forest, your first step will be to contact the forest service and get permission first!

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Portland Metro Area Distressed Property Numbers from RMLS

Tuesday, October 22, 2013
by Liz Warren

Distressed properties for Portland Metro 3rd Quarter

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First Time Home Buyers

Monday, October 21, 2013
by Liz Warren

If you are a first time home buyer or a buyer with minimum down payment pay attention to recent news concerning Fannie Mae. Currently you can get a mortgage with 3% down. Many buyers have applied for a conventional loan with 3% down vs. an FHA loan due to the high upfront PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) required by FHA.  FHA loans have been losing out to Fannie Mae conventional loans due to PMI.

This November Fannie Mae will be increasing their down payment requirement to 5% instead of 3%. If you get your approval now and close by March 15th you can still get the 3%.

The mortgage insurance on Fannie Mae loans tends to be lower than the FHA insurance but that is dependent upon your credit scores.

So, the bottom line is if you are buying and want to get the best deal for a 3% down payment, you need to act NOW. See your mortgage professional for addition details.

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Mt. Hood Home Buyers

Saturday, October 5, 2013
by Liz Warren

If you're currently in a transaction in the Mt. Hood area, or starting one, and are getting an FHA, VA, USDA or conventional loan, you might be wondering what the current government shut down is doing to your loan and transaction. Read about NAR's summary of the delays for each loan and the impact it will have on your purchase. Which government services are having an impact on your loan?  The IRS and social security divisions are needed for many types of loans so this "might" cause delays. USDA loans are dead in the water. Current processing times for USDA are already three weeks out so this could cause even more of these loans to have long delayed closings!

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CPFB-Consumer Protectoin Financial Bureau Lacks Transparency

Tuesday, August 6, 2013
by Liz Warren

The CPFB was created after the Wall Street implosion to help protect consumers from financial transactions including mortgages. In the process, strict mortgage qualifications were developed so loans that would be packaged were solid (no liar loans) and these loans were called Qualified Mortgages. If a qualified mortgage failed it would give the right to the consumer to sue the lender in the event of foreclosure.  These rules for qualified mortgages were written by the CPFB.

After the Qualified Mortgage package was passed in January 2013, the director of CPFB, Raj Date, left to "spend more time with his family" and several months later created an investment advisory company called Fenway Summer LLC to make loans to people who did not qualify for the "qualified mortgage". He also hired many former CPFB employees setting his company up to make billions in future loans.

The CPFB didn't raise any alarms at what happened in their own backyard. Read the letter from the Committee of Oversight on Government Reform and the Committee on Financial Services sent out July 31st. to the current chair of the department.

Look for further news on this story in the next several months.

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Rates Are Up!

Friday, June 21, 2013
by Liz Warren

Interest rates are up

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Foreclosed on? Settlement 1.5 Billion Lost to "Independent Consultants"

Thursday, February 28, 2013
by Liz Warren

Remember that Big settlement of 8.5 Billion dollars that the big ten banks had to pay for the mortgage mess providing 3.8 Billion back to homeowners who were fraudulently foreclosed on between 2009-2010 ? Did you know as part of the settlement the banks spent 1.5 Billion of the 3.8 Billion dollars on "independent consultants" to figure out how to get the money to the foreclosed homeowners?

After complaints to Ben Bernake that the process was taking way too long, the OCC/Fed is working out how payments are made through the servicers and not using  the "independent consultants" after 1.5 Billion dollars! Most of the consulting dollars went to Promontory Financial Group.  Guess who runs Promontory Financial Group: the former chairman of the OCC: Gene Ludwig. 

More details of the 1.5 Billion loss can be found in this Forbes article.

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Check Your Credit Report

Tuesday, February 12, 2013
by Liz Warren

Recent reports by the FTC are finding that between 10 and 21% of consumers have inaccuracies in their credit reports costing them higher interest rates for any purchases that need credit! That could be 42 Million people!  A recent 60 Minutes program brought this to light last Sunday and here is an article from Business Insider that discusses the specifics.

One of the most important issues that came to light is that it is difficult to dispute errors on your report and it is a lengthy process. Be sure and check your free credit report from all three credit agencies at annualcreditreport.com.. If you find an error, take action to remedy the mistake as soon as you can and have patience.

If you’re purchasing a home in the Mt. Hood area this could impact your monthly payment substantially. With the new CFPB Consumer Finance Protection Bureau rolling out their guides for low risk mortgages your credit score will become even more critical in getting the best interest rate for your purchase.  

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Tight Lending Requirements and Credit Scores

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
by Liz Warren

Now that housing is starting to stand on its wobbly legs after years of uncertainty, Lawrence Yun, chief economist of NAR, the National Association of Realtors, is asking for some loosing up on lending standards to keep this housing recovery on its way. Here is an except from an article from NAR on credit scores and lending practices. You can see that most recent loans only go to buyers with the most stellar credit.  In 2011, around 75% of loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had credit scores of 740 or above!

Credit Scores are high for buyers

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Displaying blog entries 271-280 of 400

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