The Mortgage Files

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

How to get a mortgage if your income was affected by Covid_19 in 2020

By Scott Sheldon / May 25, 2021

If you experienced any financial difficulty in 2020 and are now back on your feet and looking to purchase or refinance a home this information is for you… Every mortgage company is going to review your situation a little bit differently unfortunately, it’s not one size fits all as a result some lenders have an…

How much money you need to purchase a home

By Scott Sheldon / April 21, 2021

The old adage you need 20% down to buy a home these days couldn’t be further from the truth. Contrary to popular belief, you only need a very small down payment to be successful in purchasing a home. 20% down is the old school mantra of lending however if you can put down 20% your…

How to get a mortgage without tax returns for 2021

By Scott Sheldon / April 14, 2021

It goes without saying getting mortgage loan financing could be a little bit of an arduous process for some folks particularly those who have challenges showing income are in the self-employed category. The stated income loans and the loans that were created for self-employed borrowers unfortunately are very far and few these days and in…

How to handle this mortgage rate environment

By Scott Sheldon / April 7, 2021

With the new administration we have, the extra stimulus the federal government is working its way through the markets, inflation, or fears of inflation is definitely upon us and as result, an unstable mortgage rate environment is upon us… The reality of it is no mortgage loan officer no matter how good they are has…

Be careful going into forbearance

By Scott Sheldon / March 25, 2021

Well, times are definitely changing and one of the biggest challenges to buying a new home or refinancing a mortgage is forbearance. The federal government has allowed borrowers to do mortgage payment deferrals, but that comes at a cost. If you have forbearance on your mortgage right now or if you’re thinking about going into…

Here’s what you need to understand about today’s mortgage rate environment

By Scott Sheldon / March 19, 2021

Interest rates are presently unstable. As a result of this instability brought on by some of the global and national events, we are in a very unique situation where rates literally from one day to another multiple times per day. The market for hunting for terms and price above all else was in 2020.  Here’s…

Can you get a mortgage for a manufactured home?

By Scott Sheldon / March 4, 2021

One of the types of homes people tend to look at in a high-cost market is manufactured homes. If you’re in the market for buying a house or even refinancing a house that you already home here are all you need to know about manufactured homes… Manufactured homes are built in a factory and shipped…

How to be a successful home buyer in 2021

By Scott Sheldon / February 22, 2021

If you want to be a successful home buyer, here are the following things you need to be aware of if you want to buy a house in 2021… It goes without saying interest rates are at extremely low levels. Those low-interest rates are fueling demand for housing. So let’s say you’re pre-approved and you’re out…