The Mortgage Files

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

How the new tax plan may affect Sonoma County home buyers

By Scott Sheldon / December 26, 2017

On December 22, 2017 president trump signed into law the new tax plan changing the tax deduction of home ownership. Here’s what this means for you and your home buying efforts in 2018 and beyond. Prior to December 22, 2017 homeowners could write-off mortgage interest for the acquisition of a primary home or a secondary home…

How your mortgage payment changes per every $100,000 in purchase price

By Scott Sheldon / December 11, 2017

One of the questions home buyers have when house hunting is the relationship between their monthly mortgage payment and how much purchase price they are looking to take on. Here’s what you can use as a guide when you’re house hunting to help determine that bridge that gap… In most instances, for every $100,000 of…

FHFA Increases 2018 Sonoma County Loan Limits

By Scott Sheldon / December 7, 2017

The Federal Housing Finance Agency just released the new 2018 national loan limits. These loan limits provide increases in most counties throughout the United States. Here’s how the changes will benefit you when buying or refinancing a home. The loan limit increase changes the conforming loan limit from $424,100 to $453,100. This increase allows for…

What you need to know when paying off debt to buy a home

By sonomacountym / November 28, 2017

Here’s what you need to know if you’re trying to pay off debt before buying a home Paying off debt to buy house can absolutely be beneficial. Debt cripples a would-be home buyer’s ability to afford a mortgage payment. Here is how you should strategically look at paying off debt to buy a home… Mortgage…

Here is the dicey reality of renting vs buying in Sonoma County

By Scott Sheldon / November 20, 2017

Whether you buy a home or rent a home you will still have a housing payment obligation to make each month. The unfortunate reality in Sonoma County, CA is that in many cases you could be easily paying more in rent than you would for a mortgage. Not everyone who rents should be and not…

How your mortgage fees are accounted for when refinancing

By sonomacountym / November 6, 2017

When you refinance your mortgage, someone is on the hook for paying fees. Who Following are the only ways loan fees can be accounted for when refinancing…. When you refinance your home closing costs are an inevitable component that must be paid for the transaction to successfully fund and close escrow. Here are the two…

Why Sonoma County Housing Prices will continue to rise

By sonomacountym / October 22, 2017

Sonoma county housing was already limited prior to the Tubs and Nuns fires. This year has shown a scenario more reflective of large demand with little supply. This economic shift has created a competitive market place for home buyers driving prices up subsequently making it challenging to purchase a home. In the aftermath of the…

What you must do when getting an FHA mortgage with an income based student loan

By sonomacountym / October 3, 2017

FHA loans generally are easier to get than conventional mortgages. They require less money down, allow higher payment to income ratios and generally provide more flexibility for borrowing mortgage money. If you have an income based student loan you will want to pay close attention to the details about to follow…. Mortgage lenders used to…