The Mortgage Files

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

First Time Home Buyers Get Zero O% Down Payment

By Scott Sheldon / September 26, 2011

Sonoma County First Time Home Buyers are now getting to enjoy it easy street. For years, first time home buyers were capped at putting down hefty down payments. Since the markets have changed, first time home buyers in Sonoma County can now purchase a house with 0% down. Move up buyers can also purchase a…

Best Mortgage Updates For October 1, 2011

By Scott Sheldon / September 25, 2011

In offering the best mortgages for all of Sonoma County, CA including Santa Rosa Refinance Loans and Petaluma Home Loans, its important to be aware of some underwriting guidelines changes set to occur October 1, 2011. USDA Loans, Conventional Loans, even FHA Mortgages and VA Mortgages have some slight changes. So far the biggest change…

Fed's Causes Mortgage Rates To Move Again!

By Scott Sheldon / September 23, 2011

The Federal Open Market Committee announced on Wednesday of this week to leave the Federal Funds Rate unchanged within its target range of .25%. The Fed maintained an outlook for the US economy that since last month economic growth remains slow, unemployment rates remain elevated, and the housing sector remains depressed. Obviously, this is not…

Refinance Without Starting Over At 30 years

By Scott Sheldon / September 21, 2011

Yes you can actually refinance your mortgage loan without starting over the 30 year term. As mortgage rates in Sonoma County have dropped this year, so have the actual costs of home ownership. It’s a fantastic time to purchase a home right now. It’s an even better time to refinance. This is a fact. Mortgage…

Mortgage Shopping For Competitive Rates? How To Do it Right!

By Scott Sheldon / September 19, 2011

Mortgage rates and the financial markets move all day long. On any given day you can expect that mortgage rates have the ability to change several times. It is because of this when you are shopping for a home loan, you should compare a few different lenders looking at a combination of rates and costs.…

15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages Are HOT!

By Scott Sheldon / September 16, 2011

Fixed-rate mortgages are quite competitive right now, many are seeking 15 year fixed-rate mortgages. You can actually can obtain a 15 year fixed-rate mortgage loan under 4%. Homeowners looking to benefit from mortgage financing tend to look at 30 year mortgages as the benchmark home loan to take out. Consider a 15 year fixed-rate mortgage…

Selecting The Right Home Loan Program

By Scott Sheldon / September 14, 2011

With the small variety of home loan programs available today selecting the right home loan program is easier now more than ever. There are lots of different options available for both purchases and refinances. For this blog post we are going to be discussing purchase loan programs. With a decent credit score, documented job stability/income…

What Mortgage Lenders Want…CIA Analysis

By Scott Sheldon / September 12, 2011

Mortgage lenders today want to conduct a CIA analysis. A CIA analysis is short for credit income assets. These are the three things that we as mortgage lenders really need to see before we can tell you whether or not we can do a refinance loan or a purchase loan for you. Because I work…