As you may or may not know I have been a resident of Fort Lauderdale for 7 plus years. In that time, I have noticed that many people and families come here from other parts of the country. For the people that like the weather, like the lifestyle and the fast pace they typically stay here. And for the rest of the people typically stay in South Florida temporarily.

Just yesterday I spoke to an old colleague that left Fort Lauderdale to go to Detroit Michigan. Thats right I said it DETROIT!! When I spoke to her she said that she found the man of her dreams and was going to marry him. Thats great for her buty she still traded Fort Lauderdale, FL for Detroit, MI.

I figured I could help everyone out that lives here. Your friends and family may need to move. Here is a new tool that I found that will help you find property in other states.

Just click on this link.To find Florida MLS Listings use eLookyLoo.com to search for your next home.

Good Luck and have a good weekend.

Unless you have been living in a cave or don’t come into contact with people on a daily basis then you know that America is having pretty tough economic times. Both the current Obama administration and the previous Bush administration have been addressing it by expanding the Fort Lauderdale area FHA Home Loan programs.

FHA mortgages are feeding the purchase market in Fort Lauderdale. Why? Because, conventional financing has dissapeared. No longer are there programs that will allow you to buy with “No Money Down”. The 2 large companies that wrote the rules on how to lend were government sponsored agencies are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. During the real estate boom of the 2000′s, these two companies drove the market up. They became riskier as the years went buy because of the lack of oversight, greed, corruption within the ranks, and more importantly the demand for mortgages.  Their lack of properly reviewing the borrowers credentials to afford a home led to their ultimate demise and the US Government bailing them out and taking over.

Now, how does that affect us down here in Fort Lauderdale and the rest of South Florida? Well it means that the only mortgage to be had is an FHA mortgage. Well…that is not completely accurate. It just depends on a combination of credit, down payment and proof of income. Their is always an exception to the rule.

Basically, as stated in previous posts, lending is becoming exactly like the motto for the state of Missouri. Banks and lending institutions have become the show me state. For many people in Fort Lauderdale that can not prove their income, are in the hospitality Business, or choose to hide their income through their companies, they will have more limited opportunities. For the people in Fort Lauderdale and the surronding areas, that choose to prove their income. Their is alot of opportunity to get a nice piece of Real Estate.

You better hurry though. This will not last forever. If you are looking to make a move but are waiting for the bottom of the market, you could miss the opporunity you have been waiting for.

Ok guys and gals (is that politically correct enough for you?)

Yesterday, the federal government announced that they will continue to buy mortgage backed securities beyond the originally $500b to the tune of an additional $750b, so a total of $1.25 trillion dollars!!     Everyone in the world was in shock that they did this. So much so that the news organizations, started reporting it and that lower rates where on their way here.

What do you think actually happened today in Fort Lauderdale and the rest of South Florida with the FHA Rates? Lenders are aggressively repricing rates for the worse. Exaclty opposite what the news organizations were saying. Some lenders this morning even put out rates much worse than the late yesterday after the announcement.  What is happening is pipeline control.  Lenders got slammed with new submissions and lock requests late yesterday and this morning and they cant handle the volume so they are increasing rates. Alot of lenders have to much work and not enough workers. Some lenders websites are getting so much traffic that they are crashing. 

What should you do if you are in this situation? Work with a lender that will honor the rate they quoted you. Know if you have made a commitment with someone by locking your rate and you signed a rate lock disclosure form, then you are in good shape. If you didnt sign one, call your loan officer or mortgage broker and ask if you are locked. Tell him to double and triple check so that you can feel safe. Then ask him to prove it to you.

That is where 1 of 2 things will happen. You will get a lock form that you need to sign or you will get an excuse. When these announcements are made by the media it can cause pandamonium. Its been a hectic week here at Fort Lauderdale Loan FHA Rates with all these announcements. But some one has to keep you updated.

***PS. Always trust your gut. If you think someone is not being straight with you then they are probably not.***

To celebrate here at Fort Lauderdale Loan FHA the holiday, I am at work. But for those of you that may have taken the day off to go to church or to celebrate with a large feast and a pint of beer, please enjoy the music.

For those of us that live in the real world, lets get to it.

Not so good news was released by the FHA yesterday. Thanks to the current economic crisis and President Obama’s current administraton, they are limiting the amount of “Cash Out” on any FHA Loan. What does that mean?

That means that as of this week, lenders all across the country and Fort Lauderdale will only allow anyone to take cash out of their home up to 85% of the value of the home. Not a first look you think, thats great we as a country dont want people to strip out the equity of their home and lose it by investing with Bernie Maddoff in a Ponzi Scheme. Truth is most folks take cash out of their homes only because they have to. Like a renovation on their home, debt consolidation, medical emergency or taking out cash to invest in their own business. etc…

By limiting Fort Lauderdale FHA Loans to 85% of the value of the home. You are limiting the exposure for the government has if you default on the loan. But what about the people the need to take the cash out for any of the reasons listed above. What does FHA say to them. Sorry you cant get any money here.

I will take it one step further, what if you bought a home some time ago and you need to renovate it because it is 10 to 15 years old. What do you do if they will not let you refinance and take the cash out? 

If you want to do something before its too late, then contact me so that we can get the cash out before its too late! Talk to you all soon.

Ben Bernake View on our Economic Future

According to Ben Bernake our Fort Lauderdale Loan FHA rates will be going up. You dont have to believe me just watch the news video. Folks if this is the case. We need to get of the fence.

These super low rates and great deals that are coming across my desk need to be taken advantage of. In 6 months we could bottom out. If that happens Fort Lauderdale FHA rates will begin to go up and you are going to kick yourself for missing out on a 4.75 to 5.125 % rate. Whether you are purchasing or refinancing, now is not the time to second guess. Like Nike says “Just Do It”.

Plus, I got a purchase contract on my desk today that is a sweet deal. A 4 Bedroom 2 bath in Fort Lauderdale with a pool and on the water. Guys it doesnt get much better than this. I dont know how long it will last. What I do now is that you got to get out there and start looking for deals. Talk to you all later!!

Hi guys and gals,

I am starting this topic because it is such a hot topic. It consumes every conversation I have with a borrower/home buyer. What is the Fort Lauderale FHA Loan Interest Rate?

In a nutshell,  FHA loan rates or any other mortgage rate is controlled by the mortgage bond market. So when investors and money managers are deciding and how best to invest their money, they look at stocks, bonds(mortgage bonds in our case) and other financial instruments. Why, because that is the job of a money manager and investors. BUT THAT IS NOT THE ONLY COMPONENT IN A FHA LOAN INTEREST RATE! 

So how does that affect us hear in Fort Lauderdale? When you are looking for the best FHA Loan interest rate, there are 3 basic components. 

1. Credit Score
2. Collateral
3. Cash

 Credit, there is a minimum credit score requirement with all lenders. Why? because the investors that are buying these loans expect a certain return for their money. In order to guarantee that someone will pay back a loan a credit score is used to determine some one’s prior payment history. So if you are likely to pay your bills than you are likely to pay back a FHA Mortgage loan. The better the score, the better chance you have of getting a great rate.

Collateral, what does that mean? It means that in Fort Lauderdale your single family home, town home, condo or other property type is what you will use as collateral for the lending institution. In other words you are pledging or guaranteeing a piece of property to a mortgage.

Cash, literally how much cash you make. Or how much income you can prove that you make. For example, in Fort Lauderdale you are a self employed widget maker. If you declare $500,000 in sales and only $50,00 of that is taxable income, then that is what is used to qualify you. ***Not true in all circumstances, it depends on your tax return.*** If you are an employee of a company it is pretty straight forward, show me your W2 and I will tell you what you qualify for. ***There are also some extra income that could be added if documented properly.***

So basically what determines your Fort Lauderdale FHA Loan mortgage interest rate is a combination of factors. It depends on what and what direction the market is doing and it depends on the 3 C’s. The 3 C’s are credit collateral and cash. Until tomorrow.