Congress has proposed new limits on FHA loans. How will this affect people in Utah? It will reduce your purchasing power is some price ranges. If you want to purchase a home in Salt Lake county close to $600,000, or if you are intending to purchase a home in Utah county anywhere above $270,000, you may not be able to get FHA financing. Anyone who wants to purchase a home above the FHA limit will have to get a conventional loan for that house. Conventional loans have more strict requirements, and may have a higher rate. One thing for sure, you WILL be required to make a larger down payment for a conventional loan.

If you, or anyone you know, will be purchasing a home near the proposed limit you need to close soon. If passed, these limits will go into

A few months ago I reported on some possible changes coming from Washington D.C. The wait is over and Change is approved!

The Senate has approved changes in FHA financing that will reduce the upfront costs of an FHA loan, but increase the monthly payment for mortgage insurance. The official statement points at 'perilously low' reserves as their reasoning for making the change.

The changes will go into effect October 4th, 2010.

Here is how it is right now:

If you were to get a $200,000 FHA Mortgage...
The upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium would be $4,500 (2.25% of the loan amount)
Monthly premiums would be $92 per month or $1,100 for the first year (.55% the loan amount)

Here are the new terms on a $200,000 FHA mortgage...

The upfront

Is Bankruptcy in your future?

What factors make someone more likely to file for bankruptcy? Is it their race? Is it their religion? Is it their age group? Could it be because they are poor? Because they are wealthy?

A new study, conducted at Brigham Young University, demonstrates that high bankruptcy rates are directly tied to state policy. http://byunews.byu.edu/archive09-Jun-bankruptcy.aspx

The study shows that bankruptcy rates depend on the state’s law. Some states garnish wages for debts owed while some do not. Other states report bankruptcies while some show it as an informal debt. The study demonstrates that these 2 factors would account for 50% of bankruptcies.

In the book “The Tipping Point,” author Malcolm Gladwell illustrates how