Steve Alonso's (steve_alonso) Blog

Buying a home can prove expensive, and many home buyers don't necessarily have a lot of money saved up for making a down payment.However, most lenders aren't particularly interested in taking risks on unqualified borrowers, so there is a need to prioritize saving up for a sizeable down payment.Th...

Appraisals can be kind of confusing. Even if you remain in the exact same home, your original appraisal could look very different than if you were to have it appraised today.What is an appraisal? It's an in-depth report that shows the exact value of a property based on a number of different facto...

If you are a Veteran or a current member of the U.S. military, you may qualify for Academy Mortgage’s VA Loan Program, which currently offers up to 100% home financing.A VA Loan can be a great option, especially if you have limited funds for a down payment or closing costs or if you prefer to kee...

TRID is finally upon us! This is the biggest change to the mortgage lending industry since 2011. The changes to TILA (Truth-in-Lending Act) and RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) are being administered from the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). The revisions are introducing ...

Here is a quick update on what is happened over the last week in the housing and financial market. Please let me know if you have any questions.  The labor market improved as fewer Americans filed for weekly unemployment benefits. This adds to speculation that the Fed may raise the policy rates t...

There are a number of factors that can prevent you from achieving home ownership. We do not want a lack of down payment to prevent you from obtaining your dream home. There are down payment assistance programs available to residents of Arizona. The most popular program is Home in Five Advantage. ...

Before you begin the process of finding a new home it is important to obtain a pre-qualification (PQ) letter. A large portion of new home buyers do not understand the importance of completing the PQ. Educating new clients on the importance of this step should be started by the referring Realtor. ...

Academy Mortgage Mesa now has a loan solution called the First-Down Loan Program that only requires a 1/2% down payment.FinancingThe First-Down Loan Program offers financing of up to 99.5% of the sales price or appraise value of the home, whichever is lower. This is why you do not require more th...