Brian P.'s Blog

I have what I think is truly great news. We at VanDyk Mortgage have started warranting condos. This allows us to be less stringent regarding down payment requirements (than our friends over at Fannie Mae), and actually opens up the local condominium market to another sector of buyers that are cur...

Well, here we are again…at the start of another season. While preparedness is the name of this game, thinking ahead is especially beneficial for home buyers. Being proactive about your insurance coverage will play a huge factor in getting to actually close when you are scheduled to close.   What’...

While it was true that nothing in this life is certain but death and taxes, we can now add “paying FHA Mortgage Insurance forever and ever” to round out this trio of truths. There is unfortunately only one of these three with which I may be of assistance. Since I have no “in” with the IRS , I can...

In regard to home appraisals I have always recommended that Realtors meet the appraiser at the property just to fill in any blanks and also to potentially head off issues. The preemptive strike is the best defense in keeping a transaction rolling. Even so, I receive many calls a week from Realtor...

The short sale process as we know it today is far more systematized than it was when these transactions began in earnest several years ago. The lenders in particular have gotten better in dealing with them. Overall, in addition to the Realtors who are becoming short sale certified, the other majo...

OK, so I had a great experience with the VA the other day. They are reputed for being a little difficult and connecting with them can require an investment of time, but that is just the fabric of VA loans. It is of course worth every minute when you need to keep a mortgage deal together. Notwiths...

The more things change, the more they change. As of June 2013, FHA’s decision to make mortgage insurance an enduring expense will go into effect. What was traditionally a fee that had an end in sight (when FHA mortgagors would reach the 78% loan to value ratio they would no longer need to fork ov...

Are you entering all your sales into MLS in a timely manner? If not, PLEASE make sure you do so going forward – and here’s why: Appraisers pull data from a variety of sources when researching comparable sales for their reports, and the availability of sales data on the MLS is crucial! With inven...

We’ve got an encouraging update for all you property rehab specialists and buyers in general. FHA has once again decided not to enforce its 90-day rule giving flippers a welcome sigh of relief. This property flipping mandate had called for sellers to be on the title for 90 or more days before a n...

Today’s mortgage rates and selection of properties provide investors some nice latitude to satisfy their demand for land. For those investors out there looking to truly clean up in the marketplace, there are a few caveats and general guidelines as far as the maximum amount of properties a borrowe...