Several Texas Cities Best for First-time Home Buyers and Retirees

FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS IN DALLAS- FORT WORTH Texas metro markets ranked high for first-time buyers, even though our markets are very hot right now, and home prices are rising at a faster pace than the national average. The positives for markets like Houston, Ft. Worth/Arlington and Dallas are that there is strong employment growth and plenty of buildable land. New construction would be an opportunity for first-time buyers, whereas the premium would be much higher in states like California, where there is little space to increase supply. WHY RETIRE IN DFW? Dallas – Fort Worth markets continually rank as best home buyer markets in all categories, not just first-time home buyers. Our area ranks in the top ten as the best place to retire in the country.  The main reasons for choosing Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas to retire is there is NO STATE TAX and the low cost of living and affordable housing appeals to many retirement age people who have trouble maintaining a comfortable life style in more expensive states, such as New York and California.  Home buyers nearing retirement age are perfect candidates for specialized mortgage loans. Call Global Lending Solutions for customized loan solutions, or fill out our online application today for a quick response....

FICO is Rolling Out a New Scoring Model

Fair Isaac Corporation is releasing a new update  to its widely-used FICO scoring model. The newer version is said to be “more predictive” and easier on customers with limited credit history. One of the biggest changes is more lenient on medical collection items. In the newest FICO version, a model named FICO Score 9, medical accounts which have gone into collection will not affect consumer credit scores with nearly the same impact as non-medical collection items. Consumers whose only negative accounts are medical collections should expect their FICO scores to rise 25 points. Another major change is linked to customers with limited credit history. In the new FICO Score 9 scoring model, a broader set of variables will be used to determine the borrower’s likelihood of default as compared to prior versions of the FICO model. This change is expected to help first-time home buyers with a history on of-time payments; and other borrowers who carry few monthly debts. Another great addition is how the FICO Score 9 scoring model will change the way that credit bureaus look at paid collection items. In prior credit scoring models, paying an item in collection has been known to harm a person’s credit score by “bringing the account current”. The new algorithm is expected to bypass such items, which should give a boost to borrower credit scores. The new scoring model will help boast consumers’ credit and will benefit applicants who are applying for mortgages. However, it is somewhat unclear if mortgage lenders will adapt the new scoring system to their underwriting repetroire.  Stay tuned for more information regarding the updated FICO Score 9 model, or call us for more...

SETTLEMENT WITH BANK OF AMERICA WILL STRENGTHEN FHA FUND

HUD No. 14-101 Patrick Rodenbush (202) 708-0685 http://www.hud.gov/news/index.cfm FOR RELEASE Thursday August 21, 2014 OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SETTLEMENT WITH BANK OF AMERICA WILL STRENGTHEN FHA FUND, PROVIDE BILLIONS IN CONSUMER RELIEF Washington – The Obama Administration today announced an almost $17 billion global settlement with Bank of America. $1 billion of the total settlement amount resolves claims arising from allegations of fraud involving certain Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single-family mortgage loans and a failure to perform under its servicing contract with the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Under the terms of the settlement, Bank of America will pay $800 million to resolve the claims relating to FHA and $200 million to Ginnie Mae. The remaining nearly $16 billion of the total settlement amount resolves fraud claims involving the pooling of residential mortgage backed securities, collateralized debt obligations, and other claims by the United States, along with the States of California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and includes $7 billion in consumer relief with a focus on borrowers that were in the hardest-hit areas during the housing crisis. “Today’s settlement with Bank of America is another important step in the Obama Administration’s efforts to provide relief to American homeowners who were hurt during the housing crisis,” said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro. “This global settlement will strengthen the FHA fund and Ginnie Mae, and it will provide $7 billion in consumer relief with a focus on helping borrowers in areas that were the hardest hit during the crisis. HUD will continue working with the Department of Justice, state attorneys...