local real estate news, statistics, and commentary without the sales spin.
I received tips from two different people in the last few days about a recent change in FHA underwriting standards announced in a letter titled “Back to Work – Extenuating Circumstances” Quoting from the letter: As a result of the recent recession many borrowers who experienced unemployment or other severe reductions in income, were unable…
A reader emailed me with the following question: My girlfriend and I put an offer on a house last week. The house was listed in the upper $500k range, and we offered $25k under asking with $10k in closing costs to be paid by the seller. We had 1% in earnest money included in the…
Note from The Tim: Jillayne Schlicke has been a valued member of the Seattle Bubble community for quite some time, and I’m happy to welcome her as a guest poster. Jillayne has many years experience in the lending industry and offers some great insights. She currently provides continuing education for real estate professionals through her…
Three facts: Nearly 7% (and rising) of FHA loans are currently in default (source). The FHA has cash reserves of less than 2 percent (and falling) of the total value of loans they guarantee (source). FHA currently makes about 23% (and rising) of all mortgages in the USA (source). Here are those first two points…
Here are a few recent stories that have been covered elsewhere and are worth at least mentioning here. Latest foreclosure statistics: Seattle P-I, Foreclosures in Seattle higher, but much lower than nation’s The Seattle area had about twice as many foreclosures in May as it did a year earlier but continued to have a far…