http://buy.housechick.com Everything you need to Buy a Tucson Home, including information, Tucson MLS Search, and personal assistance Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:23:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Sometimes, people talk to several lenders to find the best lender and loan for themselves.  And each lender they talk to wants to pull a credit score in order to provide the most accurate loan quote.  Without an accurate credit score, there’s no way a lender can give you their ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/it%e2%80%99s-okay-to-let-more-than-one-lender-pull-your-credit-score/ In an announcement earlier this year, HUD announced changes to FHA home loans. Starting early April 2010: the upfront mortgage insurance premium will increase from 1.75% to 2.25% of the loan amount. seller contributions to buyer costs cannot exceed 3% of the purchase price, down from 6%. borrowers will need a FICO score of ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/new-fha-guidelines-%e2%80%93-coming-soon-to-tucson/ I had a client looking at a property the other day, listed at an incredibly low price.  By the time they made a decision and got a lender approval letter (this is why we get these BEFORE we shop for homes!), there were already 9 other offers, bidding up ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/tucson-market-value-and-pricing-tactics/ You ever notice how when people are excited about something they like to share it with their friends? I’ve got lot of clients who are excited about buying a home in Tucson and excitedly talk to their friends about the homes, share their thoughts, get feedback from people they trust.  Which ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/your-secrets-are-safe-with-me/ Yesterday, we talked about the new Good Faith Estimate.  One of the biggest changes there was the introduction of tolerances – what fees can vary from estimate to closing, and by what amount.  We’ll see that concept again in this, the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. The HUD-1 is a document you get ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/the-new-hud-1/ Yesterday, we talked about the RESPA reform that took effect January 2010.  That change means you’ll be seeing a new Good Faith Estimate when you apply for a home loan. A Good Faith Estimate – or GFE – is a disclosure document.  It gives you an estimate of the charges and ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/the-new-good-faith-estimate-%e2%80%93-gfe/ “Well, in this market, I’d never pay full price.” Not so fast there.  There’s a big difference between paying full price and paying full value for a home.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with paying full price – or more – for a house if the value is supported. Consider the list ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/think-you%e2%80%99ll-never-pay-full-price-in-this-market-2/ “Well, in this market, I’d never pay full price.” Not so fast there.  There’s a big difference between paying full price and paying full value for a home.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with paying full price – or more – for a house if the value is supported. Consider the list ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/think-you%e2%80%99ll-never-pay-full-price-in-this-market/ Short sales can get you out from under an unmanageable mortgage, but they don’t come without repercussions.  Depending on how the short sale goes down, it can lower your credit score greatly, and you may owe taxes on the amount forgiven, as examples. Eventually, some people want to buy another ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/how-long-after-a-short-sale-until-i-can-buy-a-house/ I was talking to a friend the other day – a former mortgage guy and a general disruptive force in the industry.  He’s got a small obsession with bringing transparency and openness to the mortgage industry, especially as it relates to interest rates and the various ways mortgage brokers ... http://buy.housechick.com/buy-tucson-real-estate/do-you-trust-me/