FHA Changes
Remember back in January, when then HUD Chief Mel Watt announced that FHA Monthly Mortgage insurance was going to be dropped from .85 to .60. And we all cheered! But then about 20 minutes after Trump took office, they announced that HUD was not going to reduce it…remember.
Well HUD and FHA announced this week that they are going to have an announcement, later on in the month, with regards to FHA and the mortgage insurance. Could they drop the MI? Could they also drop the Up Front MI also? Well time will tell.
Also on the FHA front, Rep. Maxine Waters introduced a bill in the House, which would take FHA Monthly Mortgage Insurance from a permanent basis to being able to be removed after the value of the home hit 78%.
I am hoping that the Republicans will trump the democrats (hee hee, trump), and announce a reduction in the monthly MI, the Up Front MI, and take the permanent MI off the table. This would be sweet!
Changes to Fannie Mae & Student Loans
It seems that each month we are getting some sort of change to student loan requirements from Fannie & Freddie & FHA/VA/RD. So this month was quite, well until now. And the news is GOOD!
Fannie Mae will allow for cash out refinance to pay off student loan debts. And the news gets better, there will be no hit to the rate for doing the cash out. Typically, when a borrower does a cash out refinance, the lenders hit the rate for about a .25. So conventional rates are running around 3.99%, that would mean a cash out rate would run 4.25%.
But with this new program, as long as the cash out money is going directly to the Student Loan Servicer, Fannie Mae will not hit them for the extra .25. AND the borrower can get up to 2% of the loan amount or $2000 CASH in their pocket to boot.
Obviously there are some pro and cons to this program, but it is an option for borrowers.
Tax Reform Bill
Well this week the Senate released their tax reform bill, and they kept the Mortgage Interest Deduction at its current cap of $1.0M, while the House’s plan reduces that down to $500,000. But in reality, with the Standard Deduction going to increase to $24,000, most people will take the Standard Deduction now. So it will only be for the higher income brackets that will take advantage of this deduction.
As soon as the Senate bill passes, they both bills will go to Conference, and then we will actually see what come to the President’s desk.
Lead Generating Ideas
Sorry it has been a while since I last did a lead generating idea, so with the snow showing up in the mourntains, it would be a GREAT time to send out a letter to all of your past clients, reminding them to get ready for winter.
Google “how to get ready for winter” and then quote, and properly cite, an article. You can also put in there “how to prevent ice dams”, because that is a big topic right now. And don’t forget to ask for the business!
So here are your steps:
1-Create a letter in MS Word or Publisher.
2-Get quotes, articles, and cite them.
3-Print off using MS word mail merge.
4-Stuff envelopes, put a business card in it, and put a stamp.
5-Mail them!
Total cost, well for about 500, $300.00, ROI, priceless.
Did you know?
City of Boise, offers up to 25% or $35,000 (which ever is less) in down payment assistance? And at a STUPID LOW rate. This is a VERY low interest 2nd mortgage, so a borrower can qualify for more, and avoid mortgage insurance. Obviously there are income, geographical restriction, so for all of the details, click link here: http://www.375loan.com/loan_products/boise_city_down_payment_assistance/