Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
Recently I helped a couple buy a home in King County. They’re engaged, had been living together for many years and were ready to purchase their first home. One of them, Billy Bellevue, had some credit issues and it made more sense for them to only have Susie Seattle’s on the transaction. [Read more…]
King County will unveil how much your property taxes are for 2019 on February 15, the day after Valentines Day. <3
If you recall last year, many were stunned to see just how much their property taxes jumped. Our property taxes increased roughly 27% just last year alone!
If you are in the process of buying or refinancing a home, you need to be aware of changes to the property taxes if the transaction is closing around February 15, 2018 as this could potentially impact qualifying for the mortgage since it will most likely mean an increase to the total mortgage payment. This is especially true if your debt-to-income (DTI) ratios are anywhere near the limits for qualifying. [Read more…]
Amazon recently announced that it’s increasing it’s minimum wage to $15 for all employees, including part-time, seasonal employees and temps effective November 1, 2018. Amazon states this will benefit more than 250,000 employees and over 100,000 people who will be hired for the upcoming holiday season. Even Operations and Customer Service employees who are already making $15 per hour will receive an increase to their hourly wage. [Read more…]
Recently Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated their guidelines to treat alimony payments the same way that FHA has.
With conforming mortgages (Fannie/Freddie) where there is more than 10 months remaining for alimony payments, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow the alimony to be deducted from gross income instead of being treated as a monthly debt. This often dramatically improves debt-to-income ratios. [Read more…]
On Part 1 of Got Bonus, I covered how lump sum cash or increases to salary are treated when it comes to qualifying for a home mortgage loan. In this post, I’ll address how bonuses that are in the form of company stock are treated by lenders. [Read more…]
The Seattle Times announced yesterday that Boeing employees will be receiving a record $600 million in bonuses starting next week. From the Seattle Times:
“Boeing’s nearly 66,000 current employees in the state will be eligible for the bonuses. More than 6,000 more who worked at least part of last year before leaving the company will get a partial bonus, prorated according to how long they worked last year.” [Read more…]
Effective July 29, 2017, Fannie Mae will release DU Version 10.1, packed full to changes to their underwriting guidelines. These changes apply to Fannie Mae conforming mortgages (Freddie Mac has different guidelines). Here are some of updates effective at the end of this month:
50% Debt-to-Income Ratios. [Read more…]
Last week, Fannie Mae released Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2017-04 with underwriting updates, including the special pricing for when home owners refinance their home to pay off student loans. Fannie Mae is the Federal National Mortgage Association and basically provides funding for conventional “conforming” loans. [Read more…]
Rhonda Porter is a Licensed Mortgage Originator MLO121324 living in the greater Seattle area. Rhonda began her career in 1986 in the title and escrow industry and began her mortgage career in 2000. She enjoys helping people understand the mortgage process and started writing The Mortgage Porter in late 2006. Read More…
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