From the category archives:

FHA

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

May 19, 2010

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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10 Questions To Ask Before Buying A Massachusetts Condominium Unit

March 27, 2010

Buying a condominium unit can be more involved than buying a single family home. This is because you have to worry about both the unit itself and the condominium project as a whole. 10 Questions You Must Ask Before Purchasing A Condominium Unit To borrow from a famous phrase, not all condominiums are created equally. [...]

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

April 6, 2010

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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FHA Tightens Mortgage Requirements: Lending Costs To Rise

January 26, 2010

I’m happy to welcome guest blogger, Patrick Maddigan, Esq.,the Director of Operations and Business Development at our new entity, TitleHub Closing Services. Pat is writing today on the new FHA lending changes. On January 20th, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced it would tighten certain lending requirements and guidelines with the purpose of reducing risk [...]

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The USDA Loan: Not Just for Farmers Anymore

January 29, 2010

I’m pleased to welcome back guest blogger, David M. Gaffin, a licensed Loan Officer with Greenpark Mortgage Corp. of Needham MA. You can visit him at Greenpark Mortgage or through his LinkedIn profile. Dave is here to talk about USDA loans which are, surprisingly, available in such *rural* areas of Massachusetts such as Hopkinton, Sudbury, [...]

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

December 28, 2009

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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New FHA Condominium Guidelines: Financially Sound Projects = Better Investments

December 9, 2009

I’m getting pretty tired of all the condominium developers and realtors out there claiming and clamoring that the new FHA condominium guidelines which went into effect this week are the next coming of the Apocalypse. The fact remains that the new guidelines will ensure that condominiums are financially sound and well-run, and that’s good news [...]

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FHA Condominium Lending Rules Go Into Effect Today: Today’s Hurt Is Tomorrow’s Gain

December 7, 2009

Today, the controversial Federal Housing Administration (FHA) condominium mortgage rules go into effect. I’ve written about them extensively on this blog here. The new FHA rules, in summary, require that condominiums undergo a much more rigorous financial review prior to being accepted into FHA mortgage programs. Sort of like a cardiac stress test for condominiums. [...]

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Final (Hopefully!) Revised FHA Condominium Lending Guidelines Issued

November 21, 2009

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

November 17, 2009

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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FHA To Ease New Condominium Guidelines–Spot Loan Approval Extended Until Feb. 1

November 10, 2009

Update: 11/10/09–FHA Issues Final Revised Guidelines–Spot Approvals Extended Until Feb. 1, 2010 With an eye on the “volatility” of the condo market, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has backed off some of the stingy new rules for condominium lending set to be implemented Dec. 7. After a meeting with the Mortgage Bankers Association last week, [...]

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

October 6, 2009

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

October 5, 2009

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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