Fannie Mae

New Fannie Mae Lending Rules Will Help Some Borrowers, Hurt Others

by Rich Vetstein 11.28.2010 Fannie Mae
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Fannie Mae will roll out new lending guidelines on December 13 which will make securing a mortgage a lot easier for some borrowers but harder for others. The Good News: Gift Money For Entire Down Payment Borrowers can now use gifts or grant funds for their entire down payment, avoiding the old rule requiring at [...]

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Black Friday and Cyber Monday Purchases Could Rain On Your Real Estate Closing Day Parade

by Rich Vetstein 11.23.2010 Fannie Mae
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I’m never one to rain on a good shopping day parade, but the upcoming Black Friday and “Cyber Monday” shopping binges could cause some problems for home buyers who intend on makes big purchases over the weekend, but haven’t closed yet on their real estate transaction. The reason is Fannie Mae’s Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) [...]

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The Current State Of The Massachusetts and U.S. Residential Mortgage Lending Market

by Rich Vetstein 10.22.2010 Fannie Mae
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David Gaffin of Greenpark Mortgage,  www.massmortgageblog.com, is here with a superb summary of what’s now going on with Massachusetts (and national) residential mortgage market. The National and Massachusetts Mortgage Lending Picture Lot’s has been happening in the Mortgage World lately. Refinance business is very good. Purchase business is fair, heading into the all important year [...]

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Taking Another Stab at Massachusetts Loan Modifications: Refinancing Underwater Mortgages

by Marc Canner 09.21.2010 Fannie Mae
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The recent historic drop of mortgage rates has created a refinancing boom for qualified homeowners. Unfortunately, the refinancing wave washing over the country has paradoxically left dry homeowners who would most benefit:  those who are “underwater.” Underwater mortgages, or “negative equity” (i.e., they owe more on the mortgage than the property is worth) cause foreclosures [...]

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Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday: Home Buyers, Please Wait Until After Your Closing To Splurge

by Rich Vetstein 08.14.2010 Fannie Mae
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I’m never one to rain on a good shopping day parade, but the Massachusetts sale tax holiday scheduled for this weekend, could cause some problems for home buyers who intend on makes big purchases over the weekend, but haven’t closed yet on their real estate transaction. The reason is Fannie Mae’s new Loan Quality Initiative [...]

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A Failed Appraisal Experiment To End? The Home Valuation Code of Conduct

by Rich Vetstein 07.24.2010 Appraisals
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We are pleased to have a new guest blogger, Jonathan Steinberg, a Certified Residential Appraiser with Abelis Appraisals which provides residential appraisals throughout Massachusetts. Jon was quoted extensively in a recent Boston Globe Magazine article on the challenges of appraising residential property. Jon is here to write about the recent overhaul of the Home Valuation [...]

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Fannie Mae Advisory: Pending Condominium Litigation Can Derail Your Condo Financing

by Rich Vetstein 07.21.2010 Condominium Law
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If the condominium project that you are buying into is involved in any pending litigation over construction or its common areas, chances are you will not be able to obtain a conventional loan under newer, strict Fannie Mae condominium lending guidelines. This is not good for condominium buyers, lenders, unit owners desiring to sell and [...]

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Home Buyers, Don’t Go To Home Depot Before Closing! Lenders Pulling Second Credit Reports Under New Fannie Mae Loan Quality Initiative (LQI)

by Rich Vetstein 05.25.2010 Closings
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Fannie Mae’s new Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) mandates become effective on June 1, 2010, and these rules are really taking the mortgage industry by surprise. The new rules could derail some closings for buyers who rack up purchases or even take out new store credit cards before their home sales have closed. The Wall Street [...]

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The 2 Major Snags That Can Derail Your Mortgage Loan: Significant Home Repairs And A Low Appraisal

by Rich Vetstein 05.19.2010 Appraisals
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The mortgage lending underwriting environment has changed dramatically in the last several years. At the peak of the bubble, mortgage professionals joked that you needed only to be able to fog a mirror to get a loan. These days, even borrowers with good incomes and good credit scores can get turned down. Much of the [...]

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Fannie Mae Tightens Its Belt On Adjustable Rate (ARM) and Interest Only Mortgage Programs

by Rich Vetstein 05.12.2010 Fannie Mae

We are thrilled to have Sheira MacKenzie, a Certified Mortgage Planner with Fairway Mortgage in Needham, MA, who is here to guest blog about the new, tighter Fannie Mae lending underwriting guidelines on adjustable rate and interest-only loan programs. You can contact Sheira at 781-719-4673 or by email sheiram@fairwaymc.com. Her website is www.sheiramackenzie.com. Overview Of [...]

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The Condominium HO-6 Insurance Policy: Fannie, Freddie & FHA Required

by Rich Vetstein 04.06.2010 Condominium Law
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The recent flooding here in Massachusetts got me thinking about the importance of good insurance coverage. So I asked my friend Nadine Heaps, the owner of Purple Ink Insurance Agency, Inc. in Ashland, MA to give an outline of “HO-6″ condominium unit insurance policies, the requirements of which have changed in recent months. A HO-6 [...]

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Massachusetts Real Estate Law Year In Review: Top Posts Of 2009 And Predictions For 2010

by Rich Vetstein 12.28.2009 Closings
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In the spirit of the New Year, let’s look back at the top legal issues of the past year and peer into the crystal ball for a glimpse at 2010. Top 5 Posts For 2009 #1.  The Catch-22 Impact of New Fannie Mae Condominium Regulations. In January, Fannie Mae was the first government agency to [...]

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Final (Hopefully!) Revised FHA Condominium Lending Guidelines Issued

by Rich Vetstein 11.21.2009 Condominium Law
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After several revisions and delays, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has finally issued major changes to its revised guidelines on mortgage insurance requirements for condominium projects. FHA first proposed the revisions back in June (under Mortgagee Letter 2009-19). The new guidelines are effective December 7, 2009; however, some of the requirements are phased in through January 31, 2010. [...]

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Are You Ready For Some RESPA Reform? Part I, An Overview Of The New Regulations

by Rich Vetstein 11.17.2009 Closings
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New, sweeping changes regulating how lenders, closing attorneys and title companies disclose loan and closing costs are set to go into effect January 1, 2010. The new regulations are part of a long awaited reform to the 30 year old Real Estate Settlement Practices Act known as RESPA aimed at providing greater transparency and fostering [...]

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New Stricter FHA Condominium Lending Regulations and Guidelines Sure To Slow Financing And Chill Sales

by Rich Vetstein 10.06.2009 Condominium Law
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Update: 11/10/09–THESE RULES HAVE CHANGED. Please see my post: FHA Issues Final Revised Guidelines–Spot Approvals Extended Until Feb. 1, 2010 Update: 10/26/09–The FHA Has Delayed Implementation Of New Rules Until December 7, 2009 Under revised guidelines which were to be effective October 1, 2009 but now delayed until November 2, 2009, the Federal Housing Administration [...]

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Community Associations Institute Weighs In Against New FHA and Fannie Mae Condominium Regulations

by Rich Vetstein 10.05.2009 Condominium Law
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IMPORTANT UPDATE: 11/16/09:  FHA Issues Final Revised Condominium Lending Guidelines As a follow up to my post on the new FHA condominium regulations, I received word from my friend Seth Wills at XLT Property Management, that the Community Associations Institute — the leading condominium and homeowner’s association trade group — recently sent a bulletin to [...]

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The Catch-22 Impact Of New Fannie Mae (FNMA) Condominium Lending Regulations

by Rich Vetstein 07.01.2009 Condominium Law
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Recent Fannie Mae (FNMA) condominium lending regulations are beginning to live up to the hype as having an onerous impact on condominium sales and project development. The changes, made in January 2009, were part of an effort by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to limit risky lending in a segment of the housing [...]

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