Brett Sampson's (bsampson) Blog

Many of you may be unaware that FHA county loan limits have gone up.Some counties are much higher than they used to be. In fact, there are some counties that exceed $330,000 on a max FHA loan now.Remember, the max FHA loan is 96.5% on a purchase. So, for a $100,000 purchase the most you could bor...

Every now and then I’ll pull back the curtain on my personal life in these blog updates.I’m going to do this today.…Some of you are aware, but most of you are not that my divorce was finalized earlier this year. It was unfortunately contentious, and took over a year to finalize, but it is done.Wo...

I hope you had a good weekend!Couple of quick things…1) Gave our web site an update. Check it out when you have time… www.berkshirelending.com2) I wrote this free report that gives you six simple steps to show you how to buy a home for your family in the next 45 days – even if you don’t have mone...

In Texas, where I originate anything over $417k is a Jumbo loan.We have some very unusually Jumbo loan products that I wanted you to be aware of.Here are the bullet points on these Jumbo loans…CORE JUMBO-Owner Occupied to 90% LTV without MI up to $1.5M – 30 YEAR FIXED RATE (very unusual!)-Non-Own...

I get asked about “Deed In Lieu” sometimes.A Deed In Lieu is where you beat the mortgage company to the punch… …and give the mortgage company back the house before they have a chance to foreclose.People ask me how a Deed In Lieu would affect their credit.I tell them that it would be treated the s...

For those of you who may be unaware, a new phase of the Frank / Dodd regulations went into effect October the 3rd. These are regulations that affect the mortgage and real estate industry.I won’t go through a complete list of all the new regulations.I did want to point out one unintended consequen...

I’ve written about this before, but I saw it come up again last week. …So, I thought it would be prudent to touch on it again here.Be careful about what your Realtor puts in the earnest money contract.Keep in mind the buyers mortgage underwriter will scrutinize the contract.…and, sometimes what’s...

     I wanted to let you know how the major mortgage programs treat Chapter 7 bankruptcy… FHA: 2 years from discharge date, but not less than 12 months w/extenuating circumstances. VA: 2 years from completion date. USDA:  3 years from discharge date. Fannie Mae: 4 years from discharge date, or di...

 Most people think the reason for refinancing a mortgage is to lower their rate and/or payment.While that’s a very good reason to refinance, there are many other reasons you might want to refinance your mortgage.Here are some other reasons to refinance…To lower your term. Go from 30 years to 20 o...

  I expect rate volatility today.There is much speculation on the Fed meeting today that they may increase the cost of money the Federal Government lends out.Whether they do increase the lending rate, or they don’t I expect the market to over react. Whether it’s a rally or a sell off we will see....