HUD Publishes New Booklet on Real Estate Settlement Costs

As of January 2010, mortgage lenders are required to use a new form when providing Good Faith Estimates. The new standardized form is designed to give home buyers a clearer picture of their real estate settlement costs, also known as closing costs. To go along with these new rules, the Department of Housing and Urban [...]

Changes to Down Payment Rules on FHA Home Loans

As the Federal Housing Administration continues to struggle with funding issues, additional changes to the FHA home loan program are being instituted. Last month, we wrote about some proposed changes to the FHA home loan guidelines that would require larger down payments across the board. That particular proposal is still with the House Committee on [...]

Low Property Appraisals – The Hottest Topic in Real Estate?

There is much ado about low property appraisals lately. Many home builders, sellers and real estate agents complain that appraisals are skewed by foreclosure homes. Low property appraisals are the topic du jour in the real estate world. Today, for example, nearly a dozen major news outlets ran stories about low appraisals on their real-estate [...]