FHA approval comes for Arizona based Sterling Home Mortgage

Sterling Home Mortgage is OFFICIALLY FHA approved to originate FHA home mortgages. Apply Online for an FHA Mortgage today!
What does this mean for you? It means we can now offer you an additional choice in selecting the right mortgage loan. FHA Loans offer many advantages to other mortgages available.
An FHA Home Loan is a government-subsidized loan that is becoming ever popular with first-time homeowners. FHA is becoming a more popular way to refinance your current sub prime loan into a fixed rate mortgage or even an adjustable rate FHA program. FHA requires the property to be your principal residence
Low down payment
Sterling Home Mortgage is OFFICIALLY FHA approved to originate FHA home mortgages. Apply Online for an FHA Mortgage

What does this mean for you? It means we can now offer you an additional choice in selecting the right mortgage loan. FHA Loans offer many advantages to other mortgages available.

An FHA Home Loan is a government-subsidized loan that is becoming ever popular with first-time homeowners. FHA is becoming a more popular way to refinance your current sub prime loan into a fixed rate mortgage or even an adjustable rate FHA program. FHA requires the property to be your principal residence
Low down payment
We can use alternative credit. For example, we can get a letter from your landlord stating that you have paid on time for the past 12 months
FHA mortgages have relaxed standards used to qualify borrowers and are more liberal than those of conventional loans
FHA loans are fully assumable (with qualifying)
No prepayment penalty
The lending limits in Maricopa County, Arizona are below.

(City) - (County) - (State)
(Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale) - (Maricopa) - (Arizona)
1 Unit - 2 Units - 3 Units - 4 Units
263150 - 296390 - 360100 - 415500

I hope this will excite you as much as it excites us to make this announcement. I am certain the addition of FHA loans will make our offerings even more aggressive than ever. If you have a loan in process and would like me to look at the rate you are being sold, please feel free to contact me via email, phone or live chat on my website. We can normally beat your quoted rate and still close on time in most cases.



If you are looking to buy a home or sell your current home in AZ, please visit RE/MAX Integrity, Realtors in Arizona.

For real estate services in all 50 states, please visit us at www.azspotlighthomes.com and we will interview top agents in your desired area and match you up with the best fit. This is a free service to you.

Need your loan closed in 8 days?? We can help

This is not a guarantee your loan will close in 8 days but simply one of my latest signings to show an example of how we close loans. This is also a way to show how a loan never sits on any one's desk when you use the Martell Group of Sterling Home Mortgage.


This borrower called me on the 26Th of September with concerns her ARM was going to adjust and she would no longer be able to afford the mortgage payment. After showing her why she should not refinance back into another adjustable rate mortgage and why she should go with a principle and interest 30 year fixed rate mortgage, she selected the fixed loan. As a Certified Mortgage Planner, I also showed her dollar for dollar what the total cost would be so she could select her best option for now and in the future. I was able to get a lower interest rate on a 30 year fixed loan than she was currently on with a 2 year ARM.

I had her complete the online mortgage application in the afternoon that day the 26Th of September. I immediately prepared the disclosures and initial loan package for her to sign digitally. The application package was signed and returned to me via secured technology the same day, in fact with in minutes of her completing them. I started my work ordering the appraisal and opening title and finding the best interest rate. After finding the best rate that was available from my 100 plus lenders, I sent the borrower a list of the documentation the lender would need to see and uploaded it to her file online. She gathered these documents and faxed them into her file using the provided bar code fax cover sheet. This automatically routed her documents to her secure file. Once the supporting documentation was received and reviewed by my processor, the interest rate was locked.

I received the appraisal on the 28th of September as well as the preliminary title report. I had a complete file ready to be submitted to the lender. We submitted this complete file and had an approval with almost no conditions. There was nothing more needed from the borrower, only minor updates to the payoff and wire instructions that we took care of immediately. The loan was ready to draw docs and have the loan signed.

The docs were sent out and ready to be signed on the 3rd of October with a minor glitch of the doc drawer setting the date for the following day, October 4th. Should they have put the day they were drawn, this loan would have signed on the 3rd instead of the 4th. Never the less, even with this 1 day delay, we were still many days ahead of schedule and way ahead of the time frame I quoted the borrower.

Again, I am not saying every loan closes this fast. I am saying when you choose The Martell Group of Sterling Home Mortgage, your loan will never just sit there. We are averaging less than 15 days on refinance transactions that aren't special circumstances or over equity programs. We have partnered with some of the finest appraisers, title companies and lenders to make the process simple and quick.

Please try us once and you will see why we are your preferred mortgage broker in Arizona.

We can help you with mortgages in Arizona, California, Minnesota, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wyoming and Alaska. Please apply online at the following website for any of these States.

Online Mortgage Application
Mention this blog for a $250 credit at closing. You don't need to mention it until we quote you the best interest rate we can find. This proves it is not padded into the loan and is truly a $250 gift from The Martell Group to YOU for just applying online.

To Lock or Float the Lock is the Question.....

Thursday's bond market has opened in positive territory following weaker than expected economic news. None of this morning's data was considered to be highly important, so the reaction has been muted. The stock markets are nearly unchanged with the Dow up 2 points and the Nasdaq up 5 points. The bond market is currently up 7/32, which should push this morning's mortgage rates slightly lower.

The final revision to the 2nd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed that the economy grew at a 3.8% annual pace during the April through June quarter. This was slightly lower than the 3.9% that was expected, but since this data is now aged and the preliminary reading of the 3rd Quarter GDP will be released next month, its results had little impact on bond trading or mortgage rates.

The second release of the day was August's New Home Sales that showed an 8.3% decline in sales. This was a much larger drop than was expected, a 7-year low and indicates that the housing sector is still not at the bottom. This is generally good news for bonds but as with the GDP report, it was not important enough to heavily influence trading or rates.

The Labor Department said that 298,000 new claims for benefits were files last week. This was a sizable difference from the 320,000 that was expected and can be considered negative news for bonds. But since it tracks only a week's worth of claims, it has had a minimal affect on rates.

There are two reports scheduled for release tomorrow morning. August's Personal Income and Outlays and the revised reading to the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index for September. The first will be released early morning and gives us an indication of consumer ability to spend and current spending habits. This is important to the markets because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Rising income generally indicates that consumers have more money to spend, making economic growth more of a possibility. This is bad news for the bond market and mortgage rates because it raises inflation concerns, making long-term securities such as mortgage related bonds less attractive to investors. It is expected to show a 0.4% rise in income and a 0.4% increase in spending.

The Michigan index measures consumer confidence and is believed to indicate future consumer spending strength. The preliminary release earlier this month revealed an 83.8 reading. Analysts are expecting to see a small upward revision, bringing the index around the 84.0 level. A lower reading should help improve mortgage rates tomorrow morning, depending on the results of the income and spending data.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

To Apply Online Today, follow the link.


©Mortgage Commentary 2007

Arizona Commercial Loans made easy!

We have a designated commercial loan specialist on staff to assist you with current and up to date commercial loan programs. We keep up on the current market conditions and available products for you commercial needs. We can help you purchase or refinance an existing commercial loan. Please visit our commercial page on our website for more information and contact.

3-2-1 buydown mortgage loan. Realtors, help your buyers get a lower interest rate in AZ, CA, MN, NM, SD and WY

The 3-2-1 buydown is a great way to help your real estate clients into a mortgage with reduced payments for 3 years. This is a great feature to an already great My Community Mortgage program. The My Community program allows for 100% loan to value with reduced Mortgage Insurance, lower credit scores and 6% seller contributions. 9% contributions are allowed at loan to values at or under 95% AND the buyer qualifies at 1% above the bought down rate instead of the initial note rate above 95%. I love this program and you will too. I will try and briefly explain the way this 3-2-1 and 2-1 buydown works.


The seller will need to be willing to contribute 3-5 points to buy the interest rate down. The buyer can pay but I am seeing more and more sellers willing to offer this. The total amount needed in contributions is calculated by taking the rate before buying it down and using that monthly payment as a starting point. subtract the interest rate reduction of 3 points and get a payment calculated off of this rate. Multiply it by 12 and you have your first year costs. Do the same for the second year and the third year. The total difference is what would be needed in contributions.

For argument sake, let's say the interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is 7.00%. Using a $200,000 loan amount, your pre buy down payment would be $1330.60. The first year would be based off of an interest rate of 4%. The payment on the 4% rate is 954.83. The difference from the 7% rate is $375.77 a month. Take this number and multiply by 12 and you come up with $$4509.24. For the second year, you do the same. Second year rate would be 5.00% with a payment of $1073.64 and a difference from the 7% rate of $256.96. Times by 12 and your second year costs are $3083.52. Third year is 6.00% and a payment of $1199.10 and a cost of $1199.10. Take these 3 numbers and add them up for the total buydown cost of this program. For this scenario, the lender would collect $8791 for the buydown cost.

On a $200,000 home purchase with a 3-2-1 buydown will cost 4.5% in seller contributions. This program allows 6% seller contributions. If the seller contributed the full 6%, there would be over $3000 to use towards the buyers other closing costs and could get them into the home of thier dreams with no money down and 3 years of lower payments.

**NOTE** A 2-1 buydown is also available and will cost a little less. If you have a seller unwilling to contribute the full amount needed for the 3-2-1 buydown, a 2-1 buydown may be more obtainable. Calculations are figured the same way.

Please feel free to send us your executed purchase contracts to see what this can do for your current clients.

Apply online 24/7 with fast response times. We will explain this to your clients in more detail. You will see how much your clients love this program.

Apply Online in Arizona

Apply Online in California

Do It Yourself Refinance in Arizona - A Green Mortgage

A local Arizona Mortgage Broker Team has developed a new program to save you time and money on top of saving the many pages of paper. We call it A Green Loan aka the Do it yourself mortgage refinance. This loan is only available in Arizona at this time but may be extended to other states we are licensed in at a future date. See our website for more details. Once you complete your mortgage transaction, you will never seek a loan the old fashioned way again. We are changing the way mortgages are sold and originated by offering a flat fee instead of a percentage of your loan amount, normally 2%.
Do It Yourself Refinance in Arizona
For Arizona Real Estate visit this link

Arizona ARM's adjusting and need refinancing.

I have heard and seen the number of arm\'s set to adjust in Arizona alone and the number is quite high. Don't let your home loan start the adjusting before you have the time to refinance your current home mortgage loan. Since interest is paid in arrears, you will be at a higher payoff if you do not refinance before the arm adjusts. In actuality, the interest at the higher interest rate will start accruing the first day after your arm adjusts and 30 days later you will have a much higher payment due if you do not refinance the mortgage loan. Don't wait until the arm is over to start the home loan refinance process, start it 15-30 days prior and this will save you alot of interest. Ideally you would want to start the refinance process 30 days before the arm is due and have the paper work sitting at the title company waiting for you to sign the day the fixed period expires.
Please visit our website for more information and easy online home mortgage applications
Real Estate services in Arizona are available through licensed Arizona Realtors©

Sub Prime Mortgages in trouble

If you are in the market for a new home or are looking to refinance your current mortgage, you may want to do some research on the current market. If you are an "A type" borrower, you may not be affected by this market changing. The fact is the sub prime world is under going some serious changes. The ones buying the mortgages to service the loans are tightening the guidelines on second mortgages, if they even buy them at all. Banks are foreclosing on too many properties so the are changing the way they do business. They have been cracking down on the no money down programs. They are increasing the credit scores needed for financing, requiring more documentation to proove the income and assets, raising the interest rates and limiting exceptions to a rare basis.

Don't worry too much because the programs are still there today, just getting limited as many lenders close their doors. I am staying on top of where the most aggresive programs are and what we need in order to close on them. Please call me for the most current market conditions and questions about a loan you are looking for.

Arizona Mortgage Broker
Arizona Realtor

Mortgage Fraud in Arizona

I do not understand how people and mortgage brokers do not know it is fraud to do cash back in purchases. Read the article by clicking the link to AZ Central.
http://www.azcentral.com/home/hb101/articles/0120mortgagefraud0121.html

Mortgage Insurance is now tax deductible

CONGRESS PASSES NEW MI TAX-DEDUCTION LEGISLATION.
Starting Jan 1, 2007, a new legislation was passed to allow qualified borrowers with adjusted gross incomes under $100,000 to deduct 100% of their borrower-paid mortgage insurance premiums on their federal tax returns.*
The provision is effective for transactions closed after December 31,2006. MI premiums paid between January 1 and December 31, 2007 may qualify for tax deductibility on borrowers' subsequent federal tax returns as follows: · Borrowers with adjusted gross incomes below $100,000 may deduct 100% of their MI premiums. · For adjusted gross incomes between $100,000 and $109,000, deductions are phased out at 10% increments.
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By Ruth Simon - 20 December 2006 - The Wall Street Journal HOME BUYERS MAY NOW NEED to pull out their calculators when tackling a common dilemma: what to do if they don't have enough money for a 20% down payment.
In recent years, piggyback loans, low-cost and easy to get, have been the product of choice for many cash-strapped consumers eager to purchase homes. But with short-term interest rates now sharply higher -- currently above 8% -- piggyback loans are less appealing. Now, there are signs that some borrowers are giving traditional private mortgage insurance a second look.
New federal tax legislation expected to be signed by President Bush today gives some consumers even more reason to turn to mortgage insurance. The new law makes the insurance premiums tax deductible for some borrowers who take out new mortgage-insurance contracts in 2007. That is in addition to the tax deduction homeowners can already take on the mortgage interest they pay.
What's more, new guidelines issued recently by bank regulators could make it tougher for some borrowers to get piggyback loans, particularly if these are paired with exotic types of mortgages that may increase risk. Some lenders have already seen higher delinquencies on piggyback mortgages.
For borrowers, whether a piggyback loan or mortgage insurance makes more sense is likely to depend on interest rates as well as an individual's borrowing needs. "When rates were very low, there was no question that a . . .. piggyback was more economical for consumers," says Doreen Woo Ho, who runs the home-equity business for Wells Fargo & Co. Now, she says, the two options are "more competitive."
As the cost difference narrows, Vanessa Meyer, a veterinary technician in Fort Morgan, Colo., opted for mortgage insurance when she and her husband refinanced their mortgage last month. Ms. Meyer says mortgage insurance was "a little bit more [expensive], but we wanted one payment."
With a piggyback loan, a borrower takes out a mortgage for 80% of the home's value and finances the balance of the debt with a fixed-rate home-equity loan or a home-equity line of credit, allowing consumers to borrow as much as 100% of a home's purchase price. Piggybacks were particularly attractive when short-term interest rates were at rock-bottom levels. As recently as 2004, borrowers could get home-equity lines of credit with rates as low as 4%, well below the rate on their main mortgage. In addition, interest on home-equity loans and lines is typically tax-deductible.
With mortgage insurance, a borrower with less than 20% to put down takes out a single loan and pays a mortgage-insurance premium that can vary based on the amount the borrower puts down, credit history and other factors. For a $225,000 mortgage, for example, the insurance premium could run $50 to $100 a month. (In some cases, the lender pays the mortgage-insurance premium and charges the borrower a slightly higher interest rate.) Lenders require mortgage insurance because borrowers who put little, if any, money down are more likely to default.
The popularity of piggyback mortgages has grown sharply. Some 49% of home purchases made in the first three quarters of this year that required financing included a piggyback mortgage, up from 24% in 2002, according to SMR Research Corp., a market-research firm.
But there are signs that this growth has stalled and that mortgage insurance may be making a comeback. SMR says piggybacks' share of the market was flat in 2006, following years of steady increases. Meanwhile, 6.3% of mortgages originated in the third quarter carried traditional private mortgage insurance, up from 5.9% a year earlier, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, an industry publication. The figures are based on the dollar value of loan originations and don't include mortgage insurance purchased by lenders on a bulk basis.
Mortgage-insurance providers are expecting business to pick up in the wake of the tax-law change, which they had lobbied for. The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, a trade group, is spending $1.1 million on an advertising campaign aimed at mortgage brokers and real-estate agents. Genworth Financial Inc., a leading mortgage insurer, is running "webinars" to explain the implications of the new law. PMI Group Inc. is sending out 15,000 foam oranges with stickers saying mortgage insurance is now deductible.
Mortgage lenders are also rethinking their strategies. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is currently looking at how to help its loan officers understand the new rules and decide whether mortgage insurance or a piggyback is a better bet for borrowers. "There's a whole generation of mortgage brokers who have not seen or sold mortgage insurance," says Thomas Kelly, a J.P. Morgan Chase spokesman.
The new tax legislation makes premiums fully deductible for borrowers who take out a new mortgage-insurance contract in 2007, provided they have $100,000 or less of adjusted gross income ($50,000 if married and filing separate returns). The deduction phases out for borrowers with incomes between $100,000 and $109,000. The deduction applies to insurance on mortgages taken out to buy homes and on refinancings, provided the new loan isn't for more than the amount of mortgage debt being refinanced. To claim the deduction, borrowers must file an itemized tax return. Unless the law is extended, the tax break will expire at the end of 2007.
Borrowers who took out piggybacks in recent years have seen the rate on their home-equity line increase by as much as four percentage points. Now some borrowers whose adjustable-rate mortgages are resetting are opting for mortgage insurance instead of a piggyback when they refinance, says Michael Zimmerman, vice president of investor relations for mortgage insurer MGIC Corp.
Consumers should compare the monthly payments on a piggyback versus mortgage insurance. If the rate on the home-equity line is more than two percentage points above the rate on your primary mortgage, "you should be strongly considering a mortgage-insurance policy," says Keith Gumbinger, a mortgage analyst with HSH Associates. "But you need to run the numbers."
HSH offers a calculator www.hsh.com that helps borrowers determine how much they would pay with mortgage insurance. And mortgage-advice Web site www.mtgprofessor.com includes calculators that borrowers can use to compare the costs of a piggyback versus mortgage insurance.
The size of the piggyback loan can also make a difference. "If you are taking out a $400,000 first mortgage and a $30,000 or $40,000 [home-equity loan] . . . it still may make sense to pay a little higher rate on $30,000 or $40,000, rather than paying mortgage insurance on the whole $430,000," says Dan Arrigoni, president of U.S. Bank Home Mortgage, a unit of U.S. Bancorp. In an effort to keep loan volumes up, some lenders are offering special deals that make piggybacks attractive to borrowers with good credit even as short-term rates move higher.
Another factor to consider: how fast you expect to pay down your mortgage. Since 1999, mortgage insurers have been required to automatically cancel the premium when a homeowner has paid down the mortgage to 78% of the original purchase price. Also, homeowners can ask their lender to stop premium charges if rising home prices and monthly mortgage payments bring their loan amount to 80% or less of the home's value.
"It may involve springing for an appraisal, but that can quickly pay for itself," says Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com. Homeowners selecting this route should use an appraiser who has been approved by their lender, he adds.
Some caveats: Borrowers typically can't terminate their mortgage insurance in the first two years after they have taken out their loan, says Jack Guttentag, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Borrowers may also be unable to cancel their mortgage insurance if they had a late or missed payment or if they took out a home-equity loan or line of credit.