There are different products from which to choose according to your circumstances. In particular we mention 1^st Gold which is suitable for the majority of buyers. Then there is OHFA (Oklahoma Homeownership Financial Assistance)Shield especially designed for police officers and fire fighters. Those who work in the field of education may find that OHFA 4 Teachers would be a good alternative. These are the OHFA advantage products which include low interest, 30 year loans and 3.5% down payment assistance for homebuyers in the state. If you meet the requirements for OHFA advantage and you would like to take advantage of the offer you should apply for a loan from a participating lender(list on the website). These lenders accept all those who have the minimum income and a good credit rating as long as the price of purchase is within the limits – that is not over $189,607. If you call the Homebuyer Hotline we can give you more information. The number to call is 1-888-937-1122.

In Oklahoma it is feasible for those who are at present receiving housing assistance, and are using the payments to pay rent to change to mortgage payment and thereby purchase their own property. This is the Homeownership Program called the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program. This program is available to you if you want to own your first home and you participate in both, The Family self Sufficiency Program (FSS) at the time as well as the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher. The FSS is a program that helps you to grow financially. You make a contract to progressively reach certain objectives helped along by OHFA and FSS workers. You learn how to use an Escrow Saving Account among other things.

To be accepted for the program the main wage earner of the household must have an annual income of at least $14,500 and must have had a job for one year working on average 30 hours a week unless the head of the household is disabled or elderly in which case the minimum annual income is $8,088. You can choose any type of property if you qualify for the program. It could be a new home or it could be an older single family home. You might prefer a condo or a manufactured home or a town house. The property must be inside the area that OHFA operates and it must be within your price-range. Those with a disability may buy their property from a member of their family but otherwise this is not permissible. Neither is it allowed that the property be a means of earning money.

The OHFA may inspect the house to be purchased so as to decide whether or not it qualifies for assistance. In order to arrange for a loan you may have help from OHFA staff when you decide upon a mortgage lender. OHFA will help in the whole buying process giving assistance too when it comes to down payment and closing costs. Once the home is purchased assistance will continue as long as you are entitled to section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. As soon as this terminates you are responsible to continue payments and the mortgage lender will be informed of the situation. To find out more call (800) 256-1489 ext. 171

Oklahoma Makes Homeownership Achievable is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

The state of Mississippi knows that one of the main difficulties people face when trying to find a suitable home is the upfront money needed for the down payment. People require help in this regard and also when it comes to the payment of closing costs. For this reason the Mississippi Home Corporation has arranged for a Down Payment Assistance Program designed to help those of low to moderate income to buy their first home. First time homebuyers with a low or moderate income and who have an acceptable credit rating are eligible if they meet the credit eligibility requirements and have need of a second mortgage to pay the down payment.

They are also required to complete an 8 hour homebuyer training course.

The Down Payment Assistance Program consists of a first mortgage (FHA, VA, or RD qualifying guidelines) and a second mortgage with a ten year fixed rate f 7%. The maximum down payment assistance is 3% of the loan amount and it can be used for closing costs too. It is required that the applicant´s liquid assets not exceed $4,500. The property must be the primary residence of the owner.

The Mississippi Home Loan Plus Program Grants of up to $14,999 are available for low income homebuyers who meet the requirements. The funds provided to the Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC) by the Mississippi Development Authority(MDA), Community Service Division are to make it possible for those who otherwise could not purchase a property of their own to acquire their first home. There are certain requirements that are to be met in order for the grant to be awarded. For example the property to be purchased must meet section 8 Housing Quality Standards so must have written clearance from a US HUD approved appraiser or it must meet local housing quality standards in areas that have their own local building codes. It should be noted that the whole County of Harrison and the City Hattiesburg as well as the City of Jackson are not eligible for this program. The grant can be used with the MHC programs Mortgage Revenue Bond with no cash advance (MRB) and Mortgage Credit Certificate(MCC).

The applicant must be a US citizen or qualified registered alien who has a social security card and it is required that the homebuyer have Homebuyer education with a housing counselor approved by HUD. The household income must be below 80% of the average household income according to the size of the family. The limit as to Purchase Price is $150,000. The buyer must purchase the property by permanent fixed-rate mortgage through a lender approved by MHC. As for the property itself it must be located in an area that is eligible for the grant and it must be the primary residence of the buyer. The home to be purchased must not be in a flood zone. To qualify the property has to be a site built single family home. Condos and town homes do qualify. If the construction is newly built it must be complete. Properties built before 1978 will be subject to a lead based paint inspection and test. Anyone who would like to participate in the program can find a participating lender list as well as a homebuyer guide on line.

Mississippi has Programs to Help You to Buy Your Home is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

Forget the adverts. Forget who your broker recommended. Forget who has the nicest offices. If you are searching for a mortgage refinance company to improve the terms of your loan, you need to forget about the gimmicks and look at what really matters in a refinance lender. This article summarizes some of the most important tips on selecting the best company for your refinance mortgage.

First Step. Forget the Annual Percentage Rate.

Many finance advisors encourage borrowers to check the annual percentage rate, or APR, of a mortgage refinance loan when deciding which is the best deal. On the surface, this is good advice. After all, the APR claims to provide a benchmark with which to compare loans by converting the total cost of the loan as a yearly percentage. If there was a standard method to calculate the APR this would be a great method, unfortunately there are no set standards to calculate a loans APR. Some lenders include certain costs and expenses while others choose to leave them out. This is not to say the APR of a loan is a worthless measure of a loan’s cost, but you do need to check what has been included in the APR. This means you cannot judge a loan by its advertised APR until you request a breakdown of how the APR has been calculated.

Second Step. Use the best mortgage brokers, but don’t let them use you.

Good brokers have access to a wide variety of mortgage providers and to the lowest mortgage refinance rates. Unfortunately brokers also have a, often deserved, reputation of charging expensive fees and offering little value to customers. However, a reputable broker with good connections can help you avoid lender junk fees and give you access to wholesale mortgage rates. How can you tell the good brokers from the bad ones? There are no easy solutions. Look for brokers with a good and long standing reputation, use brokers people you trust recommend and prefer brokers who operate as brokers and not as a mortgage banker or broker bank. Why? Because broker banks and mortgage bankers are protected from key disclosure laws which allow them to sell mortgages without the need of disclosing markup or profit margins on your loan. A broker, however, is not protected from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and must comply with the Act’s disclosure laws.

Final Step. Ask for a complete breakdown of your mortgage rates.

Whoever you end up choosing, make sure you request a complete breakdown of the costs, fees, and rates applicable. Don’t let the banker or broker blind you with jargon and well scripted speeches. Ask for hard facts, in writing, and compare it to the information other lenders offer. This way you will get the best mortgage refinance lender, not the one with the best salesperson.

The Best Mortgage Refinance Companies: How To Select Them is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

If you are living from paycheck to paycheck and never seem to have enough money to pay your bills, you may be a candidate for credit counseling. However, credit counselors may not be what your thinking they are. You see, there are many types of “professionals” offering you help to get back on your feet, financially speaking, and most of them will do exactly the opposite. After the real estate crisis of 2008 an army of foreclosure avoidance and debt relief “consultants” appeared out of thin air just as the business for subprime mortgage lenders ran into the ground. Needless to say, these are not type of counselors we are talking about when we mention credit counselors. The trouble is they are hard to set apart sometimes.

The government is offering struggling borrowers who are at risk of defaulting on loans or need a hand to get their financial matters in line the opportunity of speaking to debt relief specialists who know how to help you reduce debt without resorting to more high interest loans that only offer a short term relief. These are counselors financed by government subsidies who are not in it for your money. So, how to set them apart. Here are some things to look out for.

Choose credit counseling companies that help you organize your finances by creating a budget and offer you free credit workshops and educational material. Choose credit counselors that employ certified operators in consumer credit, debt management and budgeting. Avoid like the plague any company that requires you to provide personal information before they can help you. Call your state Attorney General, your local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau. Find out what they have to say about the credit counseling companies you are looking into. You should only consider accepting the help of government approved credit counseling companies. How do I know if they are government approved? Easy, visit the Department of Justices’s U.S. Trustee Program website and see if your potential companies appear on their list of approved credit counseling agencies.

Strike out any company that does not pass these tests. Once you are left with an approved shortlist of credit counseling agencies ask the following questions.

What services do you offer? Avoid companies that push a debt management plan down your throat as your only option.

Do you offer information? Avoid agencies that charge for debt management information.

How are your employees compensated? Avoid agencies who offer commissions to agents who sell certain debt management products.

Government Mortgage Help: Credit Counselors is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

The first step to repairing your credit is to know what you are facing. It is not only important to know what your current credit score is, but also what black spots on your credit history are lowering it. Credit repair clinics may offer you this service: finding out your credit score and a report of your credit history, but the truth is you can find all this yourself for free. The Fair Credit Reporting Act, also known as FCRA, dictates everyone has the right for a free credit report if a) a company denies you service or takes adverse action against you based on your credit score, or b) if 12 months have passed since the last time you applied for a free report. Let us look more closely at the details of these rights .

Imagine you apply for a mortgage loan and your bank denies your application based on your credit score or some problem with your credit history. In that case the bank has the legal obligation to tell you why they denied your application and you will have the option of asking for a free report. If this happens, you would be well advised to make use of this right and request your free credit report. Of course, there are some rules you must take into account. You must apply for the free credit report within 60 days of your loan or service denial. You also have the right for a free credit report if you’re unemployed and considering looking for a job within 60 days. You see, your credit report is no longer only used to assess loan applications, it is also a factor when you apply for a job. If you are on welfare, you fear you have been the victim of identity theft or you believe your report is inaccurate, you also have the right for a free report.

In effect, you have the right for a credit report with each of the main credit reporting agencies in the United States: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. What is more, you have the right for a free report from each of these organizations once every 12 months. You just have to ask for it.

How do you do that, you may ask. Does it involve a long and tedious process requiring sending coupons or waiting for hours on the phone? It can, or you can go to annualcreditreport.com and do it online. The other option is to call 1-877-322-8228 or send a credit report request form to 

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Government Mortgage Help: Your Credit Repair Rights is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

Applying for a mortgage can be a daunting exercise, especially if you have made financial mistakes in the past and feel that your credit score may interfere with your loan application. This also applies to government subsidized loans through agencies such as the Federal Housing Administration which offers low-cost mortgages to medium- to low-income families. However, if you feel your credit rating will get in the way of your home purchasing dreams, take heart, this is not necessarily the case. Although your credit score is a significant factor when applying for an FHA loan, it is not the only factor. The FHA lending and underwriting rules allow for flexibility with reliable lenders which may have had some credit hiccups in the past.

So what are the FHA rules on lending? This article provides a brief overview on what the FHA looks at when assessing a loan.

There are four factors that determine the eligibility of a borrower to a loan: credit history, steady employment, debt-to-income ratio and your payment history in the last 12 to 24 months. This means that if your credit score is low because of a financial problem or mistake you made several years ago, but you score well in the other areas, you may still qualify for an FHA loan. Nevertheless, what constitutes a good or acceptable credit score for the FHA? This depends on the loan, but the FHA does have a general standard for most of its loans.

The FHA and Credit Scores

The FHA applies a sliding scale rule on loans depending on the credit score of the borrower. Borrowers with a higher credit score can apply for a higher loan to value percentage of the purchasing price of a property. For example, credit scores between 500 and 579, which would be considered very low by commercial lenders without the insurance of the FHA, can qualify for a maximum of 90 percent of the loan to value rate of the property. If your credit score is higher than 580, you may be eligible for the maximum FHA loan financing, as long as the other areas are also satisfied. If your credit score is below 500, you are not eligible for an FHA loan.

Therefore, the answer to the initial question of this article, the minimum credit score to be even considered for an FHA loan is 500. Anything less and your application will not even be considered. However, even applicants with credit scores as low as 500 to 600 can qualify for loans as long as the other elements the FHA looks into are above board.

Government Mortgage Assistance: What Is The Minimum Credit Score For An FHA Loan is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

In the current economy, few of us have the savings or income to finance the purchase of a brand new home. Even second hand homes in prime condition can be out of the reach of the average household. So what can you do if you need a new home or you are a first-time buyers looking to buy yourself a slice of the American dream? A good option for many, especially those not scared to invest some sweat and elbow grease in their home, is investing in a fixer upper and doing or at least supervising the work required to make the home livable again.

Rehab Loans with FHA

If that is your plan, you can get government mortgage assistance from the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA has a specific product for buyers interested in saving money and investing money and hard work in a fixer upper home. If you know where to look (think foreclosures, auctions, repossessions…) you can buy homes that have fallen into disrepair and need some heavy doses of tender loving care at bargain prices. Remember banks, which more often than not end up with dilapidated homes, are not in the real estate industry; they are in the lending business. So, they are often very happy to unload properties in need of renovation.

The loan you may be looking for is the FHA’s 203(k) Fixer Upper Loan. This product is based on the Housing and Urban Development’s, HUD, 203(k) program and allows buyers invest in fixer-uppers with a FHA guaranteed loan. The best things about this loan is that it is especially designed for fixer-uppers and comes with an inbuilt protection for borrowers if the repair work costs more than they expected. And let’s face it, it is next to impossible to estimate accurately how much a fixer-upper will cost to get back into shape until you actually get started.

How Do You Apply?

As usual, the FHA does not provide loans directly to borrowers, but uses lending partners. Approach a selection of lenders and request information on their 203(k) fixer-upper loans. The application process is similar to a normal FHA loan. The lender will go through the regular credit checks and debt-to-income analysis. In addition to the basic paperwork requirements of an FHA mortgage, you will need to provide a detailed list of the repairs the property requires and the estimated cost of those repairs.

Government Mortgage Assistance for Fixer-Upper Homes is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

The real estate meltdown of the last two to three years has hit the housing, real estate and mortgage lending industries hard. What previously seemed a risk-free investment, now is viewed with suspicion and caution. However, we have all heard that smart investors make more money during the bad times than the good. Could this be the time to buy a home? If you are a first-time buyer or have the capital to cover the down payment and initial costs of buying a home and your credit rating is good, the answer to that question may be a resounding yes.

Fannie Mae, the government sponsored secondary market real estate investor, has just published a survey showing that according to the latest estimates home prices will continue to decline during the next 12 months. The same survey reports that the price of rents is set to rise. More specifically, homes are projected to drop in price by 0.5 percent while rents are expected to rise by 4 percent. Of course these are just educated guesses by consumers who are responding to the current market. This survey reflects the attitude of consumers to the real estate industry. This gives you an idea of the general “feeling” of the industry that bare figures cannot.

According to 70 percent of those questioned in the survey felt now was a good time to buy a home. Of course, the reverse is also true. It is also a hard time to sell a home. If you have the cash and the credit to be a buyer in this difficult economy, you can call the shots. This is a buyer’s market and you have a wide selection of properties and prices you would not have had access to three or four years ago.

However, the Fannie Mae survey was not all good news for buyers. Another point most consumers agreed on was in a lack of confidence in the ability of investors to sell the properties they buy at a profit. The old saying “as safe as houses” is no longer true in the minds of many consumers. So how does this lack of trust in the market affect the opportunity created by lower house prices? The current market seems to be especially designed for first-time buyers and people investing in a home to live in. If you are looking for a home to live in for the foreseeable future and have the cash and credit to buy it under the more stringent credit environment we are now in, it maybe just the time for you to buy a home.

House Prices Drop While Rents Spike: Good Time To Buy a Home? is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

The real estate collapse of the last three years has caused the federal government to come up with regulations designed to avoid this from happening again. Mortgage regulation rules are being presented under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The Dodd-Frank Act is part of the far-reaching financial regulatory reform that sets out to promote financial stability and improve the accountability and transparency of the financial system as a whole. This was a reaction to the list of bail-outs of companies that were “too big to fail” and required on-going hand-outs from taxpayers to stay in business.

One of the changes proposed under this Act is to force mortgage lenders to take 5 percent of the credit risk of mortgages pooled in securities if the mortgages do not meet certain requirements. These are mortgages that are put together as an investment unit and which can be bought or sold in a similar way to stocks in a company. One of these requirements, which is making mortgage lenders unhappy, is that borrowers must pay at least 20 percent of the home’s purchase price as down payment. The idea behind this rule is to stop borrowers from buying homes they can’t afford just because loans are available. According to some analysts, cheap and available loans were one of the reasons house prices increased artificially and later crashed when the market came to its senses and corrected itself. Canada has a similar down payment requirement as part of their comparatively stricter financial regulatory system, which may have had a lot to do with why Canada was not affected as seriously by the real estate driven recession of 2009.

Critics of the 20 percent down payment rule claim this will price out many borrowers who can’t afford to come up with 20 percent of a home’s purchase price. Figures from 2010, seem to support this claim. Around 39 percent of home buyers in 2010 put a down payment of less than 20 percent, according to a poll by CoreLogic. The question, of course, is if the low down payments are because people can’t afford to pay 20 percent or because they are not required to do so? Additionally, even if many buyers can’t afford the 20 percent rule, is that necessarily a problem? Could it be argued that buyers who can’t afford to pay 20 percent of their mortgage are simply not in a position to buy and should focus their efforts on saving for a down payment? Of course, the real estate mortgage industry claims it is time for the government to stimulate the mortgage industry not weigh it down with restricting regulations. How do you feel? Is this regulation a much needed protection against another crash, or is it an example of federal government choking the growth the real estate industry so desperately needs?

Federal Regulators Increase The Down Payment Borrowers Must Provide To Qualify For A Mortgage is a post from: Government Mortgage Help

Do you know what a mortgage servicer is? Many borrowers do not know that the company which receives their monthly payments and sends nasty letters when they are behind on their payments is often not the company or investor that sold them the mortgage in the first place or even the current investor. In the mortgage industry there are three main players, mortgage originators, mortgage servicers and mortgage investors. Mortgage investors put forward the money for the loan, mortgage servicers handle the payments and communication with the borrowers and mortgage originators sell the mortgage. In some cases, all three roles are played by the same company but often these roles are split between specialized companies.

Of course, throughout the life of your mortgage fees are paid to the companies that manage your mortgage. The origination fee you pay when you sign for a mortgage is part of the payment mortgage originators receive. Every month interest is paid to the mortgage lender and a portion of the interest and mortgage fees goes to the company that manages your payments. These fees do not stop when you are behind in your payments and you are applying for a mortgage modification.

Mortgage modifications are paperwork intensive procedures which require a lot of research and communication between borrowers, mortgage servicers and mortgage lenders. This may help you understand why mortgage modifications often take so long to get processed even when borrowers clearly qualify for them. Mortgage servicers receive a fee for their work during mortgage modifications. However, the rules that regulate how much they receive have just been changed.

Fannie May requires mortgage servicers to only charge a fee, if the loan modification is approved. That has been the case for some time now. However, how much mortgage servicers can charge has recently changed. Why? Fannie Mae states recent simplifications in the mortgage modification process as a basis for the reduction in fees charged by servicers under the government sponsored mortgage assistance programs. The current limit is 0.25 percent of the mortgage amount or whatever the mortgage servicer received before the loan modification.

The maximum allowed servicing fee for mortgage modifications is not the only change announced by Fannie Mae. Mortgage investors and mortgage servicers must also adapt to changes in foreclosure time frames and rules on mortgage delinquency management. Now, if mortgage servicers exceed the allowed time frame to assess a loan modification, Fannie Mae will impose penalties so servicers remediate the problem and improve their performance.

Fannie Mae Changes The Rules For Calculating Servicing Fees On Mortgage Modifications is a post from: Government Mortgage Help