Michigan Mortgage

Glimmers of Housing Hope

Here’s some promising news: The National Association of Homebuilders Improving Markets Index nearly doubled this month. The NAHB’s IMI combines these three criteria: employment (from Bureau of Labor and Stats), housing price appreciation (Freddie Mac), and building permit activity (Census Bureau). The index measures metropolitan areas that have shown growth for at least six straight [...]

It’s a Good Time to Jump In

The Tables are Turning

I took a call today from a Dave Ramsey listener who lives in Florida. She’s buying a second home here in Michigan. She loves the snow and the weather in the winter and never gets that in Florida. She misses it and wants to own something here in the North as a second home. After [...]

Buy a Rental Property? Love the Idea!

A friend asked recently for my advice on buying a rental property… Hey Evan, This is a different note but what do you think about Heidi and I trying to get some of these really cheap houses right now, fixing them up a bit, and renting them out? We gross about $36,000 right now and [...]

GOOD ADVICE

Evan, Can you finance a buyer who has only been out of a short sale for 2 years? Purchase price is $172,000 and 5% down. Clean credit except for short sale. Thanks! Jenna   Hi Jenna, My first assumption is that with the short sale there were also late payments on that mortgage. If so, [...]

A Year of No Mortgage Payments?

This video is well done and illustrates why we don’t want the government fixing our housing problems. It would be a lot funnier if it weren’t real. After watching this video, resolve to stop voting for or promoting programs like these. They do not work

Now May Be a Good Time to Look at Your Interest Rate

MERS Lawsuit Fouls up Foreclosures

Some foreclosures in Ingham County may have just gotten a lot more complicated. Last month the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), a private company, did not have the right to use the state’s “Foreclosure by Advertisement” law to initiate foreclosures. MERS is an electronic registry that tracks servicing rights and [...]