Posted on Wednesday, 10th February 2010 by chrisjones

Many people have been asking recently how the Federal tax credit works for home purchases.  Here is the straight dope:
If you:

Have not owned a home in the last 3 years (this means you have not been on the title of a primary residence)
Have income less than $250,000 last year
Are purchasing a home less than $720,000 [...]

Tags: $8000 tax credit, federal tax credit, mortgage tax credit
Posted in Ask The Magician & FAQ, Blog & News, Finance 101, General | Comments (1)

Posted on Friday, 28th August 2009 by chrisjones

Specifically, Utah County.  Our latest batch of appraisals in the Utah County area have come in about 10% lower than projected.  Since we run all of our appraisals through the best AMC on earth, 1st Choice AMS, we know these are not appraiser-specific values.  These are across the board, almost all properties, all appraisers and [...]

Tags: lehi lender, mortgage shopper, utah mortgage, Utah Realtors
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101, General | Comments (0)

Posted on Thursday, 4th June 2009 by chrisjones

Got a question from a client the other day that I hear a lot, so I thought I’d post my response to it, in the hope that it would be helpful to more than just her.
Q: Why do I need to provide my social security number and birthday?  I’m not sure I want to give [...]

Tags: approval, lehi mortgages, utah mortgage, utah mortgage broker, utah mortgage lender
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101, General | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 19th May 2009 by chrisjones

Once, a thousand years ago, there were new loan programs coming out every day or two.  Now there are only a few left, and no innovation coming from the private loan markets, because it is the Fed that is doing all the dictating.

But they are doing some dictating.  Yesterday HUD said it is writing rules [...]

Tags: downpayment assistance, DU Refi Plus, mortgage industry, mortgage lending, mortgage loans, mortgage modification
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101, General, Rate Watch | Comments (2)

Posted on Tuesday, 19th May 2009 by chrisjones

A couple weeks ago I posted about debt and spending in A Conundrum Wrapped in a Paradox, Stuffed in a Burrito.  The point was that we as a country can get - and have gotten - to a place where we can’t keep spending as we have, because we weren’t spending our money, and now [...]

Tags: debt, Fed, personal responsibility, savings
Posted in Blog & News, Finance 101, General | Comments (0)