Oregon VA Home Loans&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Veteran Owned And Operated)

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

Creekside Mortgage Inc.

360-571-LOAN 5626

FHA to roll out new premium structure as of April 1st

March 10th, 2012

We receive regular updates about the changes happening in the market. These updates allow us to keep you as a consumer informed of changes which could affect you. As of April 1^st, the FHA is planning on making some changes which will have an impact on all future purchases and refinances through the FHA programs. Please see the updated information below about these changes.

“As part of ongoing efforts to encourage the return of private capital in the residential mortgage market and strengthen the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante today announced a new premium structure for FHA-insured single family mortgage loans. FHA will increase its annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by 0.10 percent for loans under $625,500 and by 0.35 percent for loans above that amount. Upfront premiums (UFMIP) will also increase by 0.75 percent. These premium changes will impact new loans insured by FHA beginning in April l and June of 2012. Details will soon be published in a Mortgagee Letter to FHA-approved lenders.

The UFMIP will be increased from 1 percent to 1.75 percent of the base loan amount. This increase applies regardless of the amortization term or LTV ratio. FHA will continue to permit financing of this charge into the mortgage. This change is effective for case numbers assigned on or after April 1, 2012.

FHA estimates that the increase to the upfront premium will cost new borrowers an average of approximately $5 more per month. These marginal increases are affordable for nearly all homebuyers who would qualify for a new mortgage loan. Borrowers already in an FHA-insured mortgage, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), and special loan programs outlined in FHA’s forthcoming Mortgagee Letter will not be impacted by the pricing changes announced today.

Taken together, these premium changes will enable FHA to increase revenues at a time that is critical to the ongoing stability of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund, contributing more than $1 billion to the Fund, based on current volume projections through Fiscal Year 2013.”

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360-571-LOAN 5626

VOW To Hire Hero’s Act

December 19th, 2011

Congress has passed, and the president has signed into law the VOW To Hire Hero’s Act of 2011. Included in the law is the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) for unemployed veterans. This new program is set to roll out on July 1^st, 2012 and will provide retraining for the veterans hardest hit with the current economic conditions.

The VRAP is offering 12 months of training assistance to unemployed veterans and limited to 45,000 participants during fiscal year 2012 and to 54,000 participants from October 1, 2012 through March 31, 2014. Participants may receive up to 12 months of assistance at the full time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill – active duty program.

Participants must be enrolled in a VA approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school. To see the rules, regulations and guidelines for this Act please go to the US Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Labor.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360-571-LOAN 5626

The Greenwald Team email

October 1st, 2011

One benefit of adding an email for the team is that everyone in the team gets the message and it will help the overall flow of communication in the office. The new email name is: TheGreenwaldTeam@Creeksidem.com which will enable distribution to everyone. Employees associated with title companies, real estate agents, and borrowers can use this email, and this way everyone will get the message and it will be dispersed properly. Ultimately it would prevent tasks from being delayed so the response will happen instantaneously.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360-571-LOAN 5626

Subordinating your second mortgage

September 1st, 2011

Our volume of IRRRLs (Interest Rate Reduction Refinance loans) for VA continues to increase due to market conditions. Last year it was impossible to do subordinations, in which a client kept their second mortgage as it is, while trying to refinance the first. In a subordination agreement, the second loan is not paid off but, the lender who holds the second mortgage agrees to keep your loan intact and remain in second lien position on your house. Getting a subordination allows you to refinance your first mortgage to lower your interest rate. We have had certain situations where people dropped their first rate but still have the second.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360.571.LOAN (5626)

Stranger Tides Pirate Contest

May 19th, 2011

Here at Creekside we are having a competition to see what team can get the most new people to “like” our Facebook page. The winners get a free lunch, half day off paid and movie passes to see the new Pirates of The Caribbean movie that comes out this weekend.

Please help us to be the top winning team so we can enjoy the bounty and not have to watch another team commission what is rightfully ours! If you are already a fan…thank you!!

Do it for Captain Jack!! Thank You in advance!!

Elisa Cotton / NMLS#86692

Assistant to Michael Frakes

NMLS#71539

Creekside Mortgage

360-571-5626 x 115

360-326-1672 Fax

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Happy 49th Birthday Packy!!

April 14th, 2011

Oregon Zoo’s beloved Packy turned 49 today!! Packy made headlines on his birth by becoming the first elephant born in this part of the world in 44 years! Visitors flooded the zoo and the gifts poured in over this “little” miracle. Packy was even featured in Life magazine to celebrate his arrival. He was one of the biggest announcements in the world at the time.

The Oregon Zoo will hold a celebration Saturday, April 16 that they are calling “Elephantastic“. They are encouraging visitors to stop by from 11-4 for games, crafts, elephant ears and more. The event is free with zoo admission and birthday cake will be provided for free at noon. There will be a chance for kids to enter a drawing to help deliver Packy’s cake.

This should be a lot of fun for young and old alike. It isnt everyday that we get to celebrate a local celebrities birthday with so many fun festivities. Saturday is supposed to be sunny in Portland, if our local news is correct, so it will be perfect for the celebration. While youre there dont forget to say HI to Packy’s kids, Rama and “Shine”, who also live at the Oregon Zoo. If it is sunny Saturday the elephants should be out and in great spirits!!

Michael Frakes

NMLS#71539

Creekside Mortgage

360-571-5626

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Interest Rates Improving

February 23rd, 2011

What an overall crazy week it has been in the markets, but the good news is that rates have actually been improving; sticking with the theory that bad news is good news for interest rates. The issues going on in the Middle East, oil prices drastically increasing, and the stock market on decline have contributed to improvements in rates over the last week. This will most likely continue over the coming months. No one sees any light at the end of the tunnel and oil prices will probably continue to increase through the busy fuel months into the summer.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360.571.LOAN (5626)/503.445.1038

www.VALoanWA.com

www.OregonVALoan.com

Tax Credit Extension Coming to a Close

February 14th, 2011

Were you a Guard or other U.S. military member serving on qualified official extended business outside the United States for at least 90 days during the period between December 31, 2008 and May 1, 2010? If so, you may be eligible to receive the $8,000 tax credit offered for first-time homebuyers as long as you purchase, or enter a contract to purchase, a home before April 30, 2011, and close on the home before June 30, 2011.

The definition used for “first-time homebuyer” in this case is someone who has not owned property in the last three years. So, even if you’ve had a home in the past, you could be eligible as a first-time homebuyer if you fit within these guidelines. Additionally, you must be purchasing a primary residence. There is a $6,500 credit available to long-time homeowners buying a replacement principal residence as well. Please see the IRS website for additional qualifying guidelines.

This gives service members who may not have been in the country at the time the full opportunity that their fellow citizens had to take advantage of this government incentive.

Often, people find that they can purchase a home for not much of a difference than what they pay in rent every month. With VA, you can get into a home with $0 out-of-pocket cost, since it is one of the few loans that will finance 100% of the appraised value of the home.

Here at Creekside Mortgage, we have helped a number of Veterans purchase homes and receive this tax credit. Combined with historically low property values and great interest rates on VA loans, you can hardly turn this down! Give us a call with your questions.

Kerry N. Greenwald

Creekside Mortgage Inc.

360-571-LOAN (5626) / 530-445-1038

Northwest 2011 Outlook

January 3rd, 2011

Going into 2011, I would like to take a snapshot of the real estate market in the Pacific Northwest. We were one of the last in the country to start showing a decline in home values, and we will probably be one of the last to come out of this decline. It looks like nationally, we have hit bottom. Some estimates were that in 2009 and 2010 we would fall back to 2000 numbers. We are now getting close to those figures. 2011 will most likely be the end of the decline. We probably won’t necessarily go up in value anywhere in the near future. As soon as unemployment corrects itself and the economy starts to move somewhat, I feel housing prices will rise after that. My estimate is that we’re in a seven year cycle and we’re about four years into it. We probably have three years before things start to take off again, with a lot depending on how inflation will affect the housing market due to the bubble popping. Will inflation push prices up? No one really knows. There is no time in history that we can reflect on as an example or parallel to what we just went through, so it is tough to say. In my opinion, in the NW, home price recovery will primarily be driven off a correction in the unemployment rate. When we see unemployment the 6% or 7% ranges, I think the housing market will soon follow those numbers.

Kerry N. Greenwald

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

Creekside Mortgage Inc.

360-571-LOAN (5626) / 503.445.1038