Where have we been?

Posted on July 29, 2010

Where o where has Flat Branch Home Loans been on the Blog front lately?  We apologize, but with the current volume of business lately and our continued growth we have continually let our blogging slip.  Rates are simply fantastic right now and this has led to a ton of refinance business.  If you haven't evaluated your options, be sure to give us a call!  Finally the tax credit phase is over for us and we are able to breath a little sigh of relief.  Congratulations to all that were able to take advantage.  Columbia's real estate community thanks everyone for participating and doing their part in helping our local economy.    Our website is once again undergoing some changes, most of which will be much more apparent to our visitors soon.  We appreciate your patience lately.  Just has our site continues to change and evolve, so does our company as a whole.   We have continued to add to our staff.  This included new Mortgage Bankers and Operation staff.  The most important addition is a new underwriter so that we can improve our turntimes which were already pretty darn good in most situations!  We also have opened a new office in Jefferson City and are continuing to evaluate other markets within the state as well.  Expanding like we have could not be possible without the continued support of our customers and the community.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Sincerely,

Flat Branch Home Loans

Amazing Rates

Posted on May 21, 2010

If you have been tracking mortgage rates lately you have been one  happy camper.  We have seen them improve day after day now and we are now safely in the 4's!  Yes that is right I said the 4's.  Our rates are posted on our site, but as always we can only post for a given loan scenario. Everyone's is different so I encourage you to apply here and we will get with you on your specific rate quote.  I cannot see them getting a whole lot lower at this point, but I said that a few days ago and we still saw a few more reprices for the better.  Either way these dips in rate never last long so take advantage. 

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Flat Branch Home Loans

More On the Tax Credit & USDA

Posted on April 29, 2010

Today and tomorrow we will be putting the finishing touches on a great, but very hectic month!  April marks the end of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and was the original date that the USDA program was to run out of funds.  So it is safe to say there have been a ton of people trying to get their loans processed and beat these deadlines.  If you still want to take advantage of the tax credit you have today and tomorrow to get a home under contract (April 29th and 30th).  You then have until June 30th to close.  If you are hoping to close on a USDA loan you need to have your loan currently in underwriting and it must be rushed.  Funding is now projected to run out around May 7th.  If you are just getting started on a USDA loan, I suggest you at least have the ability to put 3.5% down on an FHA loan as a backup plan.  You will not have time to go from start to finish by May 7th.  With this being said, there is still hope.  A bill has been passed by the House that provides additional funding for the remainder of their Fiscal year and provides some flexibility with the funding fee so that the program can make up for any shortfalls in funding.  This still must be passed by the Senate, but if it does pass it will be great news!  USDA is an amazing program that has and will continue to help many in Rural America achieve the dream of home-ownership.  This program is vital to the continued recovery of the housing market.  Be sure to check back for updates.  More will follow if this bill is passed.

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Flat Branch Home Loans, Inc.

Upcoming Deadlines

Posted on March 31, 2010

We would like to apologize once again for not updating this blog lately.  We have just been absolutely swamped lately.  This is due to a few factors.  First it is the busy time of year for real estate.  The weather is finally getting nice and buyer's are out and about.  Rates are also amazing right now and that has spurred a lot of activity.  The other two reasons for the increase in business are a couple deadlines that are approaching.  First there is the Tax  Credit.  Everyone has until the end of April to enter into a contract so that they can take advantage of the Tax Credits that Uncle Sam has on the table.  As long as you have a property under contract, you have until the end of June to close.  The other deadline approaching is for USDA.  USDA is set to run out of funds at the end of April.  The problem is that we just don't know when exactly the funds will dry up.  USDA will no longer reserve funds in the manner they used to.  Currently a file must be complete and have a Final automated approval before funds can be reserved.  So there is a HUGE push to get the current USDA deals out there processed, underwritten, and funds reserved.  It is critical that you have a backup plan in place for some down payment funds should funds run out.  Otherwise you could be left without any options.  USDA is working on a solution to this problem, but so far there is nothing definitive.  Check back for more.  We will post it when the information comes available.

Happy House Hunting!

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Flat Branch Home Loans

Sorry It's Been Awhile

Posted on January 22, 2010

It has been quite some time since we last blogged.  Sorry about that.  So far 2010 has been a crazy year.  I say this because everyone in our industry is trying to learn on the fly and adjust to the new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) 2010.  All in all the changes are good and were made for the right reasons.  However, getting used to them is a different issue.  There are different ways to interpret certain aspects of the new law and it will take some time before we are all 100% used to it.  So please bare with us.  As always we strive to be the best so we are being very detailed in how we handle the new GFE and all the regulations that go along with it. 

More new changes have also been announced.  Yep I said it, MORE changes!  Here we are trying to adjust to one of the many rounds of changes and another one is coming our way.  These are FHA changes.  For credit scores under 580, 10% will be required down instead of 3.5%.  This one will not effect us at all because we cannot lend to a 580 borrower anyway.  We need a minimum of 620.  The 2nd major change is the Up Front Funding  fee of 1.75% is changing to 2.25%.  The 3rd major change is that seller concessions are now capped at 3% of the sales price which is down from 6%.  This too should not effect us because 6% is excessive anyway.  3% typically is enough to do the trick.  These changes go into effect April 5th, 2010.

Lastly, lets talk about some good news.  If you watch our rates at all you will notice that they are rather low.  The MBS market has performed well and we have seen rates improve.  If you have a deal closing soon I would really look at locking, but as always have this discussion with your mortgage banker  You both know your rate goals and your mortgage banker can fill you in on the pros and cons and the latest on what the market is doing.  Rates have stayed low for quite some time, but they are at a low point for the past couple months and near the lowest rates of last year.  Lets all hope this trend continues!

So that is the lowdown for the year so far.  Be sure to check back for further updates.

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Flat Branch Home Loans, Inc.