John Barker's (jbarker) Blog

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Mortgage and Lending - Affinity Lending Solutions - NMLS #224832
RECENT BLOG POSTS
First-time Home Buyers (FTHB) who purchase a home before December 1, 2009 will receive a First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit (credit) of up to $8,000 when they complete their tax returns next spring. Many people are calling on Congress to extend, and even increase, this tax credit.Over the past 6 m...
09/23/2009
The Federal Reserve announced that consumer credit fell by a record $21.6 billion in July – more than 5 times the projected decline of $4.0 billion. Consumer credit figures for June were revised to a decrease of $15.5 billion from the originally-reported decline of $10.3 billion. Total consumer c...
09/11/2009
This is the biggest question I get, and the hardest to answer. Nobody knows for certain the direction of interest rates, but here is some thing to consider when deciding whether or not to refinance your mortgage or lock in your interest rates. Now – Mortgage Rates Are in a Tight Range Mortgage in...
09/01/2009
FICO, formerly Fair, Isaac, & Co. and creators of the ubiquitous credit scoring system, has just released a new credit scoring model, FICO 08. Under the new system, borrowers are less likely to be penalized for one-time delinquencies than in the past. Minor collections (original balances less tha...
09/01/2009
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales increased 7.2% in July from the previous month – the first time home sales have been up for 4 consecutive months in over five years. This also marks the largest monthly increase since they began keeping track in 1999. Th...
09/01/2009
According to the Illinois Association of Realtors, home sales in Illinois grew by 61.8% in the 2nd Quarter (Q2) of 2009 from the 1st Quarter (Q1). With the combination of low interest rates, affordable home prices, first-time homebuyer tax credits and a pent-up demand, home sales increased from 1...
09/01/2009
Most economists and economic forecasters believe the economy will exit the recession this quarter (July – September, 2009). However, many caution that this may be a lackluster recovery. A survey of 51 economists by Blue Chip Economic Indicators indicates that two-thirds of economists predict a U-...
09/01/2009
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has just announced a new program called Home Start. The Home Start program will offer first-time homebuyers (FTHB) a 30-Year FHA Fixed Mortgage and the option to receive a second mortgage to pay for the down payment on the home. This second mortga...
08/06/2009
When most people talk about first time home buyer programs or home buyer assistance programs they are almost always talking about Down Payment Assistance Programs (DPAs). DPAs have been around for over a decade and have helped hundreds of thousands of families purchase a home who would have other...
09/19/2008
Today, the US Treasury took control of home mortgage giants Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. This is the latest fallout from the ongoing housing and mortgage crisis facing the nation and slowing the economy. According to Henry Paulson, US Secretary of the Treasury, it was a necessary step to keep these ...
09/19/2008
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