By Barbara September 06, 2011
Fantastic job! My rate was better than I expected and I learned a TON of stuff about the industry just from speaking to David. I will be sending my friends to speak with him as well - you cannot find a more honest and up-front guy to work with. ...read more
By davidb May 25, 2011
I cannot do anythign with my mortgage at this time, but the people I spoke with told me why, and then told me what I need to do moving forward. All the banks told me was that I was declined without any direction at all. I greatly appreciated the time that Halo took with me - especially knowing that they could not help me now, I know that I will be back when I am ready to go. ...read more
Okay, I apologize for getting this up late, but this week's schedule is a little chaotic. So what happened in the Iowa mortgage market lately? Well, if you were paying attention you could have been the one saying "I told you so" all the way to thebank. The bond market and the mortgage market got hammered last week. Not just beat up a little, but seriously hammered. And the beating that it took was frankly more than the economics of the situation justified. Mortgage rates go "up on an elevator and down on the stairs." That means that they go up a lot more quickly than they go down. So we saw a bit of a reversal in the markets eventually. The stock market has been doing better, so rates are now going up as a result. How long will this continue? Hard to say! My recommendation remains to lock all loans. I believe that the risks remain significantly to the upside on rates and while there is downside potential, it's not nearly as prevalent as the upside risk. Keep coming back forDes Moines, IA mortgagenews and updates! ...read more
By HALO Capital August 11, 2009
With all the excitement of the first time home buyer tax credit, mortgage homebuyers often get confused and miss out on other important options. As a first time buyer, don't let the excitement of the $8,000 tax creditcause you to overlook the many other home buying options. It isn't uncommon for a buyer to confuse the federal tax credit with seller credits, down payment assistance, or first time home buyer grants. In themortgagemarket,first time home buyers have many options. Utilizing one option does not hold a buyer back from utilizing one or more other options allowed to them as a first time home buyer. This article is written not to go into great depth on each option, but to help you realize the different options available as a first time home buyer and how to utilize each/all of these options: · Tax Credit The federal tax credit is the (up to) $8,000 incentivethat everyone is talking about. Most home buyers that haven't owned a home in the last 3 years will qualify for this. In general, this credit is realized as a credit for you when you complete your taxes in the spring of 2009 (for 2008's income). For example,if you would have normally received $2,000 back after completing your 2009 tax returns, the tax credit would add an additional $8,000, to make your total amount received $10,000. For additional information and guidelines, go directly toFirst-Time Home Buyer Credit: Answers. · Seller Credit (Seller Concessions) A seller credit, better known as seller concessions,is a scenario when the seller agrees to pay a certain amount of your settlement costs. The seller may pay a percentage, such as 2, 3, or 6% of the purchase price, or they may pay a dollar amount, such as $2,500 or $5,000. This credit is often used in the ...read more
By HALO Capital August 05, 2009
Buy, Sell, Invest, Refinance...What do I do? Phenomenal question. Needless to say that the answer is always different from one person to the other. Selling a home is challenging right now - there is lots of competition in the marketplace throughout the State of Iowa, and even the country as a whole. If someone else has more equity and is willing to take less on an offer, your home now appears to be worth less in the eyes of an appraiser and other potential buyers. It isn't fair...or is it?Interest rates have seen consistent reductions over the past year. There aren't that many people taking advantage of it for one reason or another. It seems strange that back in the early 2000's everyone was rushing to cash in on the latest craze. Everyone was purchasing a new home or investment property...and especially refinancing. There may be a fear that what happened then is the root cause for why the subprime mortgage bubble failed - well I've got news for you! Yes, some lenders made horrible choices and approved loans for anyone that could count to ten. These lenders are gone for a reason. Secondly, borrowers that could count to ten also made some poor choices - if you have not held a stable job your entire life, it isn't a good idea to buy a $300,000 home, no matter what "deal" your bank can get you! The creative loan programs have vanished...and rates are almost as low as they were when everyone had the refinance rage before. It is safer, smarter in some instances, to check out your options and make a plan that will put you ahead in this game called life. ...read more
By HALO Capital April 16, 2008
Making the decision to sell one's stocks can be very confusing if one is a novice. There are a number of factors that should be considered when selling stocks, such as what price one should sell the stocks for and when is a good time to put them on the market. ...read more
