John Leffingwell's (johnleffingwell) Blog

    Knowledge is Power!  Thinking of buying a house? Whether you are a first-time home buyer or you are thinking of moving, it is a good idea to check your credit report on a yearly basis. This yearly review will allow you to contact the individual bureaus to correct any misinformation. Identity...

The first step for home buyers is to meet with a lender.  The purpose of meeting with a lender is to find out how much money can be borrowed to purchase a home, and to receive a pre-approval letter to accompany the offer. Most of you will not let your sellers entertain any offers that are not acc...

     Tired of hearing all the negative media about the housing market??  Yes, sales are down.  Yes, home prices have decreased.  Yes, we've seen a decrease in loan programs.  It can be easy to lose perspective when all you hear and see is negative, negative, negative.  Let's take a look at why NO...

Raleigh and Charlotte NC were chosen in a recent Forbes top 10 list. The list ranked the nation's best cities for bargain hunters. The best place to get a bargain on a home is an area where there is healthy job growth and more houses available than people to buy them. The magazine went looking fo...

Even here in the Raleigh area homes are sitting a tad longer than what we've been used to, but there are a few newer ideas to help your home stand out.Of course nothing replaces having your home cleaned, decluttered and paint colors neutralized! We can't stress that hard and loud enough... but he...

The Senate & House last night passed the stimulus package that includes higher mortgage limits for both FHA and the GSEs.  Because of the importance of this issue, the bill could be signed by the President as early as today.  We will keep you apprised.   FHA  The mortgage limit provisions include...

 Three (3) Credit Bureaus:               Transunion  (800)888-4213  http://www.transunion.com/    Equifax       (800)685-1111  http://www.equifax.com/Experian     (888)397-3742  http://www.experian.com/Part 1: FICO (Fair Isaac and Company) Weight of your credit score               35% - payment h...

Once you are satisfied that you are working with a top-quality professional mortgage adviser, here are the rules and secrets you must know to "shop" effectively.First, IF IT SEEMS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY ISBut you didn't really need us to tell you that, did you?  Mortgage money and intere...

FHA announces a Sales Incentive to promote the purchase of HUD-Owned Homes!•Who is eligible to receive these incentives?  Any owner occupant home-buyer purchasing a HUD-owned home in North Carolina (among other states).•Go to www.hud.gov/homes and search for available HUD-owned homes in each stat...

This is a list of things to steer clear of when you are seeking to obtain financing for a home. The following items may prove to be a detriment when you wish to move forward with the loan process.Don't buy or lease an auto! Lenders look carefully at your debt-to-income ratio. A large payment such...