The Mortgage Files

Nationally syndicated mortgage news and advice from Senior Loan Officer Scott Sheldon.

Buying A Home Or Refinancing A Mortgage: Same Guidelines Apply

By Scott Sheldon / April 9, 2012

Lets get one thing straight… no matter what mortgage company you work with, banker, broker, direct lender all mortgage loan qualifying is the same. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and HUD have the same guidelines across the board, with small subtle differences from company to company. There is only one bond market and mortgage rates…

Mortgage Refinancing: Is Now The Right Time?

By Scott Sheldon / April 1, 2012

If you are considering refinancing a mortgage loan, you need to make sure the net tangible benefit is large enough in order to justify doing so. A last several weeks, mortgage rates have touched on a historic market lows with a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage dropping down to 3.75% for a short time. As the…

Sonoma County Home Loans: Mortgage Insurance 101

By Scott Sheldon / March 25, 2012

Mortgage Insurance is the dreaded monthly cost mortgage lenders put on borrowers looking to purchase or refinance with lower equity. Mortgage insurance, while it is an added cost, is not necessarily the evil it once was. While it is true, mortgage insurance does affect the total mortgage payment, the loan programs that contain monthly mortgage…

HARP: Making Homes Affordable Aka The Underwater Refinance

By Scott Sheldon / March 19, 2012

Many Sonoma County Loans have been denied due to loan-to-value restrictions imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and an overall tight credit market. Last year the Obama administration announced the no loan to value refinance program for loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For the last several months, many have…

FHA Home Loans: Mortgage Insurance Premiums Set To Rise!

By Scott Sheldon / March 12, 2012

Thinking about purchasing or refinancing using the Sonoma County mortgage? If yes, the mortgage insurance premiums on FHA Home Loans are set to rise again on April 1. The Federal Housing Administration continues to keep a close eye on their capital reserves and as a result, have instituted higher costs on FHA Home Loans originated…

The Trend To Conventional Mortgages

By Scott Sheldon / March 5, 2012

Buying a house or refinancing a Sonoma County Mortgage? Since January 2012, there’s been a trend towards conventional mortgage loan financing. Conventional financing is your standard conventional/conforming loans ie: 30 year fixed rate mortgages, 15 year fixed-rate mortgages, 20 year fixed-rate mortgages etc. Conventional mortgages are the most basic types of loan products. They are…

Mortgage Application: Pulling Credit Report

By Scott Sheldon / February 27, 2012

Taking out of home loan? This might surprise you, pulling credit associated with the mortgage application does not make your credit score drop. This is information circulating around the media, not totally accurate. When you are filling out a mortgage application with a prospective mortgage broker or lender, they are required to pull a copy…

Home Loan Denied: Consider Re-Applying With A Different Mortgage Company

By Scott Sheldon / February 20, 2012

Getting your home loan request denied, is certainly not a fun thing to deal with. Lots of times certain mortgage companies have internal mortgage loan underwriting requirements which might be more constrictive than a competitor of theirs. Not every mortgage company has the same set of guidelines and standards. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and…