Big jump in VA mortgages reported

Applications for VA mortgages jumped 50% according to a story in the New York Times.

MORTGAGES guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs surged by 50 percent in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, as tighter credit standards on conventional financing made these programs all the more attractive to current and former military members.

VA mortgages are available to former and current members of the military.  My parents obtained one when they bought their home in 1960.  The attractiveness of the VA loan program is due to low rates guaranteed by the US government.

Borrowers also benefit now that rates have dropped.

Borrowers who already have a V.A.-backed mortgage can get an interest-rate reduction relatively easily. The department’s streamlined refinance program doesn’t require these borrowers to “re-prove” that they qualify, said Nathan Long, the chief executive of Veterans United Home Loans, an online broker of V.A. loans.

Information about VA loans is readily available on the Internet.  Read the full story here.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow AT vested.com

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Getting a mortgage will be a bit harder

Realty Times reports: "Fannie Mae Tightens Underwriting Rules for Condo, Refinance Loans, Borderline Borrowers" by Shashank Shekhar.

Fannie Mae is putting the squeeze on underwriting guidelines this fall, making it tougher for some condo, borderline and refinancing borrowers to land a home loan.

Effective Oct. 20, 2012, the stricter rules are designed to reduce Fannie Mae's ever growing exposure to risk. They will also force more borrowers to shop around.

Here are some highlights:

Condominium Loan Documentation – Right now with less than 10 percent down, condo buyers need to complete a two-page condo questionnaire about the homeowner association's financials and provide additional documents including a reserve study, by-laws and a copy of the master insurance policy.

The documents are readily available from the homeowners association, but with Fannie Mae lenders pouring over more documents, there's a greater chance more loans could be denied for failing to meet Fannie Mae's condo loan underwriting criteria.

End of Discretionary Approvals – Discretionary approvals, also called "Expanded Approvals (EAs)" will end for all Fannie Mae refinances, except Fannie Mae's Refi Plus Program loans, also called HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) loans.

Self-Employed Borrowers – Fannie Mae will require self-employed borrowers seek a loan to provide two consecutive years of federal tax returns, instead of the current one year tax return requirement for some returns.

Because of the new two-year average approach, one bad year out of two could sink a self-employed homeowner's application even if the most recent year would have qualified him or her under the old rules.

Maximum LTV Reduction for Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) – The current LTV allowed for ARM home purchases and refinances, 97 percent, will be reduced to 90 percent.

You can read the full article here.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow AT vested.com

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