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Service members and veterans moving to southern Maine to settle down or relocate have the privilege of financing a home through the VA Home Loan program. VA loans in Maine combine a handful of benefits that make buying a home less financially burdensome for military members. Even active-duty personnel can use a Maine VA loan, especially if they are looking for property near the, soon to close Brunswick Naval Air Station located northeast of Portland. There is a general consensus among VA loan borrowers about the program's best benefit: the next-to-nothing down payments. Maine VA loans come with zero percent down to qualified borrowers. Almost all service members and veterans who receive a VA loan have the option to pay nothing down, while the rest of the borrowers pay less than 5 percent down. Despite this one amazing perk, it's easier to qualify for a VA loan than a conventional loan. Of those who qualified for a VA loan, about 80 percent would not qualify for a traditional o

100% financing is still available through Rural Development. Many of my buyers are finding this program hard to pass up: No Down Payment No Monthly PMI (until Oct 1st – so don’t delay!) Allows Closing Costs to be rolled into the loan Unlimited Seller Concessions (great opportunity for a "buy down" & lower monthly payments) 30yr Fixed Rates ranging from 5.0 to 5.25% over the last 6 months No Re-capture Period or Pre-payment Penalty – Ever! Credit Scores all the way down to 640 However, beginning October 1, 2011, all RD purchase loans transactions will be charged an annual fee of 0.3 percent of the unpaid principal balance (monthly PMI). On a $200K home, this is $50/month or $600/yr. These changes will not be effective until October 1, 2011. So there is plenty of time between now & October for buyers to still avoid this additional cost. Click here for more real estate news and advice. For more mortgage and finance information, visit my website's mortgage center .

Qualifying for a FHA loan just got easier! Most lenders have required a 640 minimum FICO score for FHA purchases and refinance transactions. Effective TODAY, the minimum credit score for FHA Fixed Rate loans has been lowered to 620. Another good reason for buyers to get off the fence!!! Click here for more real estate news and advice. For more mortgage and finance information, visit my website's mortgage center .

The Federal Trade Commission's new Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) Ruling is designed to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices associated with mortgage relief companies. The MARS new ruling: • Makes it illegal to collect upfront fees • Requires specific disclosures in all communications and advertisements for mortgage assistance relief services, and • Requires specific record keeping for two years from the date of document creation. Penalties for Non-Compliance According to FTC attorneys, penalties for noncompliance include: • Civil penalties of $16,000 per occurrence • Injunctive relief • Disgorgement of unlawful gain • Ban on participation To avoid penalties that could land you in hot water with the FTC, you should become familiar with and begin applying these changes immediately!

In September and early October 2010, several lenders suspended foreclosures due to questions about whether the transactions were being processed consistent with applicable state law requirements. Although nearly all of the foreclosures in question are expected to be fixed eventually, the current situation is creating difficulties and a new hurdle to the recovery of the housing and mortgage markets. Additionally, homes on the market without clear title will make sales much more difficult. It is expected that foreclosures in question are likely to be withdrawn from the market. The foreclosure problem isn't about whether some home owners had their homes wrongly foreclosed upon (there's been no evidence of that to date) but to what extent banks were taking short cuts on foreclosure procedures in states requiring judicial foreclosures. It is difficult to say what percentage of foreclosures that were improperly processed were. The assumption is that, for most of them, this may be onl

When selling your home, the goal is to sell it quickly for the highest price while spending as little as possible on renovations. With a limited budget and a little effort, you can greatly increase your home's appeal by focusing on what prospective buyers can see on their first visit. The experts at BuyOwner.com offer the following recommendations for preparing a house for sale and staging it for showings. Tip #1: Refresh the Exterior First impressions count when it comes to selling a home. Most buyers won't even leave their car if they don't find the exterior appealing. The best ways to improve your home's exterior include: -Repairing and/or replacing trims, shutters, gutters, shingles, mailboxes, window screens, walkways and the driveway. -Painting siding, trim and shutters and lamp and mailbox posts. -Pressure washing vinyl siding, roofs, walkways and the driveway. -Washing windows. Tip #2: Spruce Up the Lawn and Landscape Home buyers associate the condition of your

Many homeowners seeking a loan modification to lower their monthly mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure continue to find the application process a very complex process, often causing them to give up before their application is ever reviewed by their mortgag e company. Certified housing counselors for CredAbility, a national nonprofit credit counseling and education agency, speak daily with hundreds of homeowners seeking a loan modification or other solutions to keep their homes. The organization has several tips for people that will help them increase the chances that their application is reviewed as quickly as possible. A homeowner needs to collect and send several documents that tell the mortgage company why you need a modification, and it needs to be done in a timely, organized manner. Once a homeowner has submitted these documents, they need to stay in regular contact with the company. With hundreds of thousands of applications under consideration, homeowners must take matters i

SHOP AROUND Friends, family, the phone book and Internet are some of the sources you can use to find homeowners insurers. Get a wide range of prices from several companies. But don't consider price alone. The insurer you select should offer both a fair price and excellent service. Quality service may cost a bit more, but you buy insurance in case you need to make a claim, so it's important to get a company with a good reputation. Talk to a number of insurers to get a feeling for the type of service they give. Ask them what they would do to lower your costs. Check the financial ratings of the companies with AM Best or Standard and Poor's. RAISE YOUR DEDUCTIBLE Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance company starts to pay. Deductibles on homeowners policies typically start at $250. Increase your deductible to $ 500 -- save up to 12 percent $1,000 -- save up to 24 percent $2,500 -- save up to 30 percent $5,000 -- save up to 37 pe

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is giving homeowners and buyers until October 4 to lock in a low monthly insurance premium. After October 4, the monthly insurance premiums on FHA loans will increase by over 63%. What does this mean for home buyers? A home buyer purchasing a $200,000 home using a $193,000 FHA mortgage before October 4 would pay an insurance premium of $88.46 per month. If the same home buyer waits until after October 4, the insurance premium would jump to $148.01. Although the upfront mortgage insurance premium is going down after October 4, the long term impact to the home buyer is actually a net increase in their out of pocket costs because the monthly premium is going up by 63%. Sellers can pay the upfront premium or it can be financed into the loan amount, so homebuyers rarely pay the upfront premium out of pocket. On the other hand, the increase in the monthly premiums will be paid right out of the home buyer's pocket with their mortgage payment each m

The Federal Reserve released a proposal earlier this week to give mortgage applicants three days to change their minds. The proposal was part of a 930-page document that clarifies and finalizes the new financial reform law. The Fed's document says that for closed-end loans secured by real property or a dwelling, a creditor must: "Refund any appraisal or other fees paid by the consumer (other than a credit report fee), if the consumer decides not to proceed with a closed-end mortgage transaction within three business days of receiving the early disclosures (fees imposed after this three-day period would not be refundable); and "Disclose the right to a refund of fees to consumers before they apply for a closed-end mortgage loan." The Fed says this proposal will make it easier and cheaper for consumers to comparison shop. It also acknowledged that borrowers who want to close a transaction in a hurry would be handicapped because most lenders will delay sending out an app