Texas Mortgage Blog

The Hispanic Mortgage Market in Houston

Al Ortiz, with Azteca America Television, was looking for a strong local perspective on the mortgage industry and how the potential meltdown may affect the Hispanic community.  So who did he call?  Zeus Mortgage of course.  Al interviewed Roger Salinas on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 which aired at 5:30PM that same day.  Stay tuned for future interviews as the market continues to change. 

How to Remove PMI?

If you have private mortgage insurance (PMI) on your home loan then you are likely very anxious to have it removed.  Fortunately, you are one of the lucky ones.  Many people go several years without knowing that their mortgage payment contains PMI.  If you have PMI on a primary residence (homestead) then for the first time starting January 1, 2007 this insurance was, under certain circumstances, tax deductible.       

Houston House Sales? National House Sales?

The economy grew at a 3.4% pace in the second quarter, a big improvement over the 0.6% showing in the first three months of 2007 and better than the 3.2% growth rate economists were expecting, the Commerce Department reported July 27. Also in the second quarter, core prices -- excluding food and energy -- rose at a rate of just 1.4%, sharply down from a 2.4% pace in the first quarter and the smallest increase in four years.

1st Time Home Buyer Seminar

1st    T I M E    H O M E    B U Y E R

S E M I N A R

PRESENTED BY THE FAST FORWARD GROUP OF THE INTOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Are you tired of renting?  Have you been thinking about buying your first home?  Have you started the buying process, but feel uncertain about how to proceed?  Do you drive around looking at For Sale flyers, but don't know what to do beyond that?   

Stated Income - No Doc - Hard Money - Full Doc - What does it all mean?

If you’re like everyone else, you think banks and lenders make underwriting decisions based on sophisticated proprietary algorithms.  You’d be surprised to know how uncomplicated and simple some of the matrixes really are.  So, what are lenders looking for, and what makes you “financially fit” to a mortgage lender or bank? 

Economic Update 06-18-07

Fueled by a surge in gasoline prices, May's Consumer Price Index increased 0.7%, its fastest pace in 20 months, the Labor Department reported June 15. However, core consumer prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, rose only 0.1%, slightly lower than the 0.2% analysts had predicted.

Biggest Mortgage Mistakes

On our show, Real Estate Uncensored, we went over the biggest blunders or mistakes that people make when buying a home, selling home, mortgaging or financing a property, and investing.   Obviously, we had a lot to say about the biggest mistakes home owners making getting a mortgage.  The problem with these mistakes is that they aren't spoken about enough for most people to learn them and then avoid them. 

Customer Testimonial and Feedback

As you know, we are big advertisers with the Walton and Johnson Radio Show.  They guys are absolutely great.  Here is an email that one of their listeners sent to them regarding our services.  It's nice to get a compliment. 

Lender Due Diligence

This question was posted on another forum:

I'm new to dealing with brokers as most of my deals have been done via a bank directly.  However I do have a speciality loan so I contacted some brokers from the Enricher.  One of the brokers I spoke with said they could help me and would send me a "short information form" (didn't call it a credit app.) No problem. I don't mind information forms or credit applications.  So I get the application and before I give this company my SS# etc. I want to find out more about them.  I talk to them this morning and after asking them general questions like are they sure they can help, how many loans they have done, how long in business etc. they get mad and tell me they don't want to work with me.

O.K.  Is this a red flag, over sensitive broker or am I asking to many questions during my due diligence?

Your take would be appreciated.

Economic Update 04-09-07

The unemployment rate in March fell to 4.4%, matching a five-year low, the Labor Department reported April 6. Employers boosted their payrolls by 180,000 workers in March, the most since December. The figures suggest that companies are not feeling a need to restrict hiring in an economy that has otherwise shown signs of sluggishness.