Portage, Valparaiso and NW Indiana Mortgage Company

What's going on with the stimulus package? Sadly, NW Indiana may get exactly zero assistance from this mortgage package since we are aligned with Gary in statistical methods. Berni Germani reports:

...I had the distinct opportunity to be at a meeting with a couple of
representatives from Fannie Mae. According to these representatives HUD has 30
days from the day the President signed the package into law to identify the
impacted Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's). In other words HUD will
determine new loan limits based on median area sales prices. So this will delay
the loan limit changes until probably March or April.

It's hard to say when exactly the change will happen since we are all
waiting on HUD and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac to update guidelines. Hang in there
people and let's continue to work diligently!

I heard loudly today we(orginators) still can make an impact by writing
our state Representative to let them know we need this sooner than later.

This is an urgent request for your help. Only you and the members
of Congress can make this desperately needed change. Please respond to
help our state's residents and economy as a whole begin to recover from the
credit crisis.

Errors on Credit Report Can Cost You a Boat Load from Arizona Mortgage Guru, go to the post for the full article

Believe it or not credit reports do contain errors. I don’t think any error
on your credit report should be considered minor. Because errors in your report
can significantly alter your credit score and end up costing you thousands of
dollars in the form of higher interest rates, inability to refinance a loan etc.
Additionally, there is a growing trend where employers, vendors (if you’re self
employed), new business partners etc. are checking your credit before they
decide to establish a relationship with you. So, it is ever more important that
you diligently monitor your credit report and actively correct any errors you
find!

If my long winded advice here doesn’t convince you then read the story of
Mark S. Blythe. According to the Orlando Sentential, “Mark S.
Blythe’s loans fell through and his business went on the skids — all because a
computer glitch spewed bad information on his credit file, sending his credit
scores into a free fall.”

I asked Darrell Moore, from Texas, to guest author a post for us on credit repair. It can be dicey, and there are many companies preying on unwitting families, but it is a viable option for improving your credit score and cleaning up problems.

Thanks Darrell

CREDIT RESTORATION
First thing I can say is be careful. There are a lot of companies in this industry that will just take your money and run. Do your homework. Here are a few questions you can ask:
How many calendar years have you been in business?
Are you licensed with the Secretary of State?
Are you fully bonded with a recognized surety company?
How many clients do you service monthly?
How many full time employees do you currently have on staff?
Are you registered with the Better Business Bureau and if so how many unresolved issues do you have?
Do you use online disputes? (If the answer is yes they are not going to be very effective)

RMCN Inc. uses a trademarked five phase system to restore our customer’s credit score to an acceptable range.

Our first step is to audit the credit bureaus or creditors using the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. These two laws have been established to protect consumers like you. Creditors and credit bureaus are legally obligated to produce documented evidence within a reasonable amount of time, generally 30 days, to back the claims they make about you. If our investigation proves that they cannot validate their claims, they must promptly remove any undocumented information from your credit report.

We also use the HIPAA law that clearly states that a medical care provider can not disclose personal, medical information to any 3rd party. It makes it very difficult to validate a debt if they can not disclose the information for validation.

There is another act in place that deals with identity theft and fraud. We use this in cases where someone has broken the law and used our customer’s information. It is called the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. With a fraud affidavit and a police report we can generally get the information off of a client’s credit in a matter of weeks.

In some cases the company will validate the debt. We have a very good history of settling the debt for much less than are owed and we attempt to get the debt removed from the credit report.

Remember that due to time restraints on these companies we send all investigations certified, return receipt requested. This is holding the creditors and collection companies to a higher level of service.

Each credit report is like a fingerprint. No two are alike and it actually identifies your financial life. Let us look into improving your portfolio by giving you a free consultation. http://repairmycreditnow.com/DarrellMoore.htm


Darrell Moore
National Consultant
RMCN Credit Services, Inc.


972.529.0900 Ext. 353
903.453.5049 MOBILE
972.562.0225 FAX
888.601.6274 E-FAX
888.4.MY.REPAIR Ext. 353


d.moore@rmcninc.com
www.RepairMyCreditNow.com
www.rmcninc.com

The Veterans Administration offers a guaranty for mortgages of up to $417,000.00 to eligible veterans with -0- money down. In addition, the VA allows the veteran to borrow money at the time of the purchase for energy efficiency improvements to the home. Up to $6,000.00 can be borrowed with documentation to show the work to be done and the potential savings on utility bills. More than $6,000.00 can be borrowed with a review of the work by the VA appraiser to determine the increase in value to the house. Call today for details

U.S. fixed mortgage rates crept higher this week but still remain well below their year-ago levels, pushing up housing affordability, Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey Thursday. Adjustable-rate loans notched a slight decline. The benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaged 5.72% nationwide in the week ending Thursday, up from 5.67% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year averaged 6.30%. Fifteen-year fixed mortgages, a popular refinancing option, jumped to 5.25% from 5.15%. A year ago the 15-year loan averaged 6.03%. from Rick Kellow on Active Rain

THE GOOD NEWS. For every foreclosure there is a first-time home buyer getting a fantastic deal! As values increased, many first-time buyers were priced right out of the market. With the finance everyone for anything party over, home prices have fallen nationwide around 5%. Some markets even more.
This won't last for ever. Yet many people are sitting on the sidelines waiting, hoping, for prices to fall further. Look at the chart below. If one assumes a little further drop in home prices, does it really make sense to wait to buy? Rates are low today, but as the economy recovers, rates should go up to stem inflation. A 30-year fixed rate under 6.00% may soon be only a distant memory. From Joseph Metzler on Active Rain

We'll be doing a daily update of news on mortgage, mostly written by authors on Active Rain, so that our readers can glean from the great writing around the country. These are just exerpts, and you are encouraged to go to the links provided to read the full content of these posts.

"Consumers looking to buy with 100% financing better get approved, pick out a home and close immediately. By March 1, 2008, these loans will be near impossible to find. New credit score requirements, and lack of availability to get mortgage insurance on anything over 95% loan-to-value will rule the land. (FHA down payment assistance available but act quick)

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN: Simply put, lenders again are demanding quality people with some skin in the game (down payment). What were the old rules (pre 1999) are back again. FHA with a gift from your parents for down payment is already very popular again. " ... Death of 100% Zero Down Financing


"Today on yahoo I read Bush Acknowledges economic uncertainty AP. it stated that the loan limits will be temporarily increased to $729,750.00. Sounds good right?

Wrong... It turns out that the press seems to have it all wrong. This loan limit increase is not going to affect America on a national level as we are lead to beleive. The loan limits are going to be 417,000 or 125% OF MEDIAN HOME PRICES of an area - by county, with a cap of $729,750.00. (In Indiana loan limit won't increase, our median home values are too affordable)

This is good news for those of you live in a high value area, but for the majority of America this stimulus package will have no affect. " ... Loan Limit Increase Fact or Fiction or What?


"How long before inventories decrease to the point that an actual rebound is possible? There are still vast numbers of homes for sale, is the current market going to dampen the early spring rush to list a home? " ... Where's your seat belt our economy is ready to blast off!

First Financial Comments:

The economy didn't really recess in Northwest Indiana. Yes, the mortgage antics at the national level had an effect on our products, but for the most part we are back on track with those products. If you have a desire to buy a home, we are the place to get your options and make an educated decision.

In Northwest Indiana real estate inventories are already beginning to drop, speculative homes by builders as well, that means that soon prices will gain some traction and start to rise again. It's time to buy, now!

Call 219-762-7200 First Financial Trust Mortgage

President - James Snyder