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Maine Open House Weekend is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5, 2011 , in line with the Nationwide REALTOR® Open House Weekend across the country to help showcase and promote the great housing inventory on the market available for Buyers. To add an additional boost to the event, the Maine Association of REALTORS is promoting the event statewide across multiple media and social media outlets, and offering everyone who attends a Maine Open House over the weekend to enter into a drawing for a Theme Park Adventure, including 2 one-day passes to your choice of amusement parks, plus 3 days/2 nights hotel accommodations for 2 at the Hilton, Marriott or Hyatt Regency, as well as a Lowe's $500 gift card . Individuals over the age of 18 can enter to win at participating open houses across the State of Maine on June 4 and/or June 5 and enter to win with the agent hosting the open house . In order to be entered for a chance to win, participants will need to provide the real es

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