Up to 100%
purchase money.
Debt
Consolidation
Refinances
Past credit
Problems...
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01-07-2010
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for a RECORD SETTING year for loan production here at Courtesy First. Despite a lot of negative news concerning the mortgage industry scattered across the country we are blessed in north Alabama to be somewhat sheltered from some of the problems being experienced in other areas. We consider it a privilege to be able to serve this community and look forward to 2010 with great optimism. On the legislative front, there have been a number of regulatory changes that went into effect on January 1. The most notable for consumers is the new good faith estimate now required by HUD which is 3 pages long instead of just one. It is designed to help an applicant to compare the offers they get from different lenders. Please feel free to call us for an explanation of the changes and how it can help you in finding the best mortgage to fit your needs. We look forward to hearing from you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
08-28-2009
Are you thinking about refinancing? Are you confused as to whether or not it is worth the closing costs? LET US HELP! The items to consider in answering these two questions are the loan size and the remaining term of the loan, along with how long you are planning to stay in the house. Generally speaking, if your balance is $150,000 or higher it is worth taking a look at if you intend to be in the house 5 years or more and you are cutting your rate 1% or more. Also, it can be worth looking at if you are reducing the remaining term of your loan even if you are cutting your rate less than 1%. If you bought your house 3 or 4 years ago and have it financed for 30 years, and if you intend to stay there for an extended period of time, it can save you thousands of dollars if we lower the term of repayment to 15 or 20 years. If the balance on your house is lower than $150,000, it is still worth looking at the possibilities if we can get you better terms or a lower rate. It only takes a few minutes to calculate the numbers for you and costs you nothing to find out. CALL US TODAY!! We look forward to hearing from you.
07-10-2009
The mortgage market in North Alabama remains strong. Rates are still very attractive and, as stated last month, we still have a buyer?s market with a wide variety of homes for sale. Government lending, FHA, VA, and rural development are still very popular options that we have available. We have received several inquiries concerning stated income loans recently, but as of now there is basically nothing available with a stated income option. Many realtors are now asking for prequalification letters, and we can issue those within 30 minutes in most cases. If you have any questions at all concerning buying or refinancing your home please don?t hesitate to call us.
06-01-2009
Although interest rates are beginning to climb, they are still at very attractive levels. After 30 days of seasoning on the new appraisal procedures mentioned in last month's newsletter, we haven't noticed any major problems so far. The mortgage market seems to be stabilizing, so this is still an excellent time for refinancing or purchasing a new home. There is a wide variety of new homes available, so we are seeing that it truly is a buyer's market right now. We can draft a prequalification letter for you in as little as 30 minutes that you can take to any seasoned realtor and start your shopping process. Please don't hesitate to call if we can be of any help.
05-05-2009
WOW!! Has it really been 5 months since I have updated our newsletter? Time flies when you are having fun!! Interest rates dropped significantly in December, and have remained in the mid to high 4's pretty much since then. We have been SWAMPED with requests for refinances, as have our lenders. Thus the extended time period since our last update. There have been a number of changes in the mortgage industry since the first of the year, both in conventional loans and FHA. If you have a particular scenario you want to run by us, please give us a call and we can update you on these changes. They involve maximum loan to values available and the appraisal process for loans initiated after 5/1. In the meantime, NOW is the time for both refinances AND purchasing that new home you have been looking for. There is an $8000 tax credit now available in certain situations for qualified buyers, which is an added incentive for acting NOW!!!! CALL US TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11-24-2008
COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE, DETERMINATION, DEDICATION
All three of the above are required to complete a grueling 140.6 mile iron man triathalon, as Courtesy First Home Lenders loan originator Keith Balch did recently in Panama City Florida. It was a personal challenge that Keith took seriously because he knew that to complete the race it would take months of training and overcoming obstacles. In the same way, all of us at Courtesy First Home Lenders take our commitment to our customers seriously. It is our responsibility to provide the best products available in today's changing and challenging mortgage world. That is why we took the time and the training necessary to become HUD approved in August so that we can offer FHA financing for purchasing and refinancing homes. This is a government guaranteed program that has been highly successful since it's inception in 1934. We have also become VA approved, and are set up with numerous lender's to offer the rural housing program, another government backed option with 100% financing and NO PMI. With the restrictions and revisions that have made numerous changes in the type loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can now offer, we felt it incumbent upon us to pursue additional options for our customers. Please call us for details on what we now have to offer. We look forward to hearing from you.
Keith Balch at the finish line!
08-19-2008
WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE WE HAVE NOW BEEN HUD APPROVED TO ORIGINATE FHA LOANS!!!!!!!!!! It is our privilege to announce we have just received our approval to source FHA loans. This will now give us a full compliment of government guaranteed loan products to better serve our customers, including FHA, VA, and Rural Development. We have become increasingly aware of the need for FHA financing over the past several months so we made the decision to take the necessary steps to be able to offer this very valuable program We look forward to being better able to take care of ALL your mortgage needs with this addition to our product line. CALL US TODAY!!!!!!!!!
08-12-2008
COMING SOON!!!!!!!! We have applied with HUD for approval to originate FHA loans. We hope to have our license sometime this month. We already have our approval for VA financing and have done quite a few rural development loans, so our HUD approval will give us a full compliment of government backed lending programs. Purchase loans and refinances are alive and well in North Alabama so CALL US TODAY to prequalify!!!!!!!!
07-18-2008
OK. What is all this we are hearing about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? In short, these are the 2 government sponsored enterprises (GSE) that are involved in backing over $5 trillion dollars in mortgage loans. There is a lot of talk about the possibility of the failure of these two mortgage giants, which would create a big problem for our economy. The truth is that the loans that are now being made and bought by Fannie and Freddie are very, very high quality loans that will perform extremely well. The underwriting guideline adjustments that have been made for quite some time now have corrected the problem loans that were being booked a couple of years ago. There will be a period where we will continue to hear about problems in the mortgage market, but the fact is that the problems will start to ease over the next year or so. As delinquencies and foreclosures start to go down, we will begin to see confidence restored in this historically strong market and investment dollars will begin to flow back into the mortgage arena. Although the government has a rescue plan to prevent the failure of Fannie and Freddie, the general consensus is they are very well capitalized now and no rescue will be necessary. In the long term, as delinquencies and foreclosures go down it will get easier for them to raise capital and the stock will rise. SO, no need for us to worry. There is money available to BUY and REFINANCE homes, so CALL US TODAY!!!!!!!!!!
06-04-2008
With all the new headlines that everyone has seen about the mortgage meltdown in the past year, it might be good to take a realistic look at what lenders are asking for right now. As discussed in the previous 2 months, there are still programs available for 100% financing on home purchases in some cases. However, by and large lenders are looking for those who can prove their income, have good credit, and are able to put 3-5% down toward the purchase of a new home. For refinances, we do have a lender that will go up to 95% of the appraised value of your home but for conforming loans with the best rates the maximum loan to value is 90%. Again, the lenders are looking for verifiable income and good credit. A homeowner?s credit does NOT have to be PERFECT, but some of the problems that were acceptable in the past are not now. To explore all your options for buying or refinancing a home CALL US TODAY!!!
04-25-2008
100% PROGRAMS STILL AVAILABLE!!!!! At Courtesy First Home Lenders we still have several ways to close loans financing 100% of the purchase price. As discussed last month, rural development is a wonderful government guaranteed program designed for household incomes less than $60,000. We are now seeing the return of piggy back loans where we finance 75-80% on a first mortgage and the remainder on a second. With the stabilization of the markets this once popular program is making a comeback. We also offer VA financing which has a number of benefits for qualified veterans, not the least of which is no PMI. CALL TODAY to discuss which program best fits your needs to get you into that dream home.
03-26-2008
Well, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is the new jumbo loan limits are out, but they are not applicable to the state of Alabama. Our region remains unchanged. The good news is we now have a program called rural development available. This is designed to make 100% financing available with no mortgage insurance at better than conforming rates. It is an excellent, government guaranteed program that targets individuals with incomes less than $60,000 to make home loans more affordable. CALL US TODAY FOR DETAILS!!!!
02-26-2008
Well, those amazingly low rates I talked about last month have gone away for now. HOWEVER, rates are still in the low 6s, which is quite good. EVEN BETTER, President Bush's economic stimulus package contains a provision to increase the threshold for JUMBO LOANS. This is defined as loan amounts in excess of $417,000. In the past those loans had a higher rate, sometimes as much as 1% higher than a regular conforming loan. We should have the new threshold by the second week in March. CALL US TODAY for details on this exciting development.
01-15-2008
WOW!!!!! We have seen rates crash in the last 2 weeks. As of today, 1/15/2008 we had a 15 year fixed rate of 4.875% and a 30 year fixed rate of 5.375% available. Remember, APR is always slightly higher, but we haven't seen anything like this in a long time. 100% financing for purchases is also available at a slightly higher rate. To get the details on this opportunity CALL US TODAY!!!!! We don't know how long this will last.
12-31-07
We are receiving a number of questions about how hard it is in today's market to get 100% financing on new home purchases. The fact is 100% financing is STILL AVAILABLE. At Courtesy First Home Lenders, we have relationships with 16 different lenders, which means we have access to many different options for new home purchases as well as refinances. For a complete breakdown of all your choices, call us TODAY!!!!
11-28-07
Do you ever have problems getting your lender to return your calls after you have taken the time to apply for a loan with them? Do you get FRUSTRATED when you get automated answering machines that keep you holding on forever? At Courtesy First Home Lenders we have real people that answer the phones. Our originators have their cell phone information posted on our website for before and after regular business hours calls. It is never a problem to speak to the person involved with your loan. We truly believe in putting COURTESY FIRST. Try us TODAY!!!
10-25-07
Things continue to be rather quiet on the mortgage front. The bad news that was so prevalent earlier this year seems to have run it's course for now, and we are actually seeing some of the lenders that exited the market step back in. The programs are a little different now, but this is an indication that confidence is being restored in mortgage lending. We now have VA loans available. For all the latest programs and options available, give us a call today! We look forward to hearing from you!!
09-25-07
The volatility in the mortgage market seems to have settled down a bit this month. The fed rate cut seems to have quieted some of the fear that was so prevalent over the last couple of months. While the cut does not immediately help reduce current mortgage rates, it WILL lessen the impact of those loans which are due to recast from a fixed rate to variable in the near future. However, it would still be a good idea to explore your options before that happens. Give us a call and we will be glad to discuss them with you.
09-03-07
Courtesy Mortgage, Inc. is now COURTESY FIRST HOME LENDERS, INC.
Why the name change? We are thriving in a difficult market. In order to protect our name with a trademark, it became necessary to make this adjustment. There is no ownership, location, or phone number change. At Courtesy First Home Lenders, we are here for you over the long haul. With our experience, we have been through market adjustments before. You can count on us to be here to guide you through all the recent changes in the mortgage environment to provide you with the best programs and service available. CALL US TODAY!!!! We look forward to hearing from you.
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