Recently in Intermediate Information Category

The new consumer article for today is 105% Refinancing With No PMI (Maybe). It goes over the straight scoop on Fannie and Freddie's new programs aimed at loss mitigation by helping people who would be able to refinance if values hadn't fallen.

I will be accepting applications for these myself. Contact me with questions.

The new consumer article for today is Shopping For The Best Loan In The New Lending Environment. There have been changes in the lending environment in the last few months, changes that are practically designed to make loan officers with practices favorable to consumers change their ways. You need to know how this changes shopping for a loan.

PS Ramona has the nasty cold I had last week, so it took practically all of the time I had to write to research and write this one article. I'm trying to have a new article for tomorrow as well, but we'll see if I'm successful.

The new consumer article for today is Loan Fall-Out And The Effects Upon Consumers. The days when loan officers are willing to lock loans with just a social and the identity of the property are ending, if not already over. Loan officers are facing consequences for a low ratio of funded loans, consequences that range from all of their clients paying higher loan rates to being fired or having their broker relationship terminated. The ones that don't understand this and take appropriate steps are going to be out of the industry.

The new consumer article for today is Why It May Be Costly to Reject Paying Points. The advice "never pay points" actually started out as misleading advertising intending to keep consumers away from what in fact were better loans, but it has taken on a life of its own since.

The new consumer article for today is Games with Mortgage Loan Rate Locks (Games Lenders Play Part 10), talking about how you can be told your rate is locked when it isn't, what the benefits of playing this game are to the lender, and the effects upon consumers.

The new consumer article for today is Investment Property and Loan Qualification. It has become exceedingly difficult to get credit for rental income when you apply for a new mortgage, with the upshot being that when the lender won't agree to allow you your rental income, you don't qualify for the new loan because you don't make enough.

The new consumer article for today is Military Housing Allowance and Loan Qualification. For all the nonsense the military puts up with, this is one instance where the government treats them better than just about any other employer.

The new consumer article for today is Jumbo Loans and The Current Market (January 2009). There is always a tradeoff between rate and cost on mortgage loans, but lenders vary exactly what that tradeoff is in order to suit their current purposes, and right now, they have set it to essentially demand two points on Jumbo loans.

The new consumer article for today is Fifteen Year Loans: Are They A Good Idea?. Lots of nonsense gets put out there about fifteen year loans, and to many people there is a certain cachet to only needing fifteen years to pay off a property. But even though the interest rate is lower, there are downsides.

This morning I updated my popular article Refinancing When You Owe More Than The Home Is Worth, talking about the changes in the possibilities since I originally wrote it.

I really want to be writing more original stuff, but my schedule right now has been tough. I hope this will change enough to allow me to resume my previous writing schedule soon.