USDA is back in action

Government just approved an addition 18 billion in Guaranteed Housing Funds which will provide funding until the end of the fiscal year 2010.
Also.......

The House has passed legislation that will allow the USDA program to continue and sustain itself (so it won't run out of funds again and leave us Lenders, Realtors, and Buyers in flux). To do this they are are changing the 1 time funding fee from 2.25% to 3.5%. The funding fee will still be financed in the same way the current funding fee is.

Before this can go into effect the legislation has to go through the Senete and signed by the President himself.

I have added a tracker to my blog so you can follow whats happening in Washington.

How are FICO scores calculated?

Scores can range from 300-850 and is a statistical calculation which is based upon payment history (35%), credit utilization (30%), length of history (15%), credit type (10%), and recent credit checks (10%). Items stick around for seven years; bankruptcy for ten. Maxing out a card, a 30-day late payment, debt settlement, foreclosure (150 point ding) or bankruptcy (150-200 point hit) all negatively impact FICO. Sometimes folks wonder about whether or not a short sale hurts your credit score as much as a foreclosure, and apparently it depends on whether the borrower stays current on their payments and how the lender reports the sale (try for "debt repaid in full").

Market Update

The event that we all have been dreading and anxiously trying to forecast for has happened........... The Fed has officially bailed from the purchase of Mortgage Backed Securities. As of today bonds are down 91 basis points and rates are up by .25%. It looks like without the support of the Fed prices will reflect more realistic market conditions and not those we have seen in the past 15 months. Volatility levels will by high in the months to follow. The market never moves in a straight line but the trend is for higher rates.

If you are still in the market to purchase or refinance a home make sure you work with a loan officer that has a good grasp and knowledge of the market because it looks like we are in for a bumpy ride.