LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 19: Dave Warden, a bud tender at Private Organic Therapy (P.O.T.), a non-profit co-operative medical marijuana dispensary, displays various types of marijuana available to patients on October 19, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Attorney General Eric Holder announced new guidelines today for federal prosecutors in states where the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is allowed under state law. Federal prosecutors will no longer trump the state with raids on the southern California dispensaries as they had been doing, but Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley recently began a crackdown campaign that will include raids against the facilities. Cooley maintains that virtually all marijuana dispensaries are in violation of the law because they profit from their product. The city of LA has been slow to come to agreement on how to regulate its 800 to 1,000 dispensaries. Californians voted to allow sick people with referrals from doctors to consume cannabis with the passage of state ballot Proposition 215 in 1996 and a total of 14 states now allow the medicinal use of marijuana. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Mortgage Underwriters’ hands are tied in using income from something the Federal Government considers illegal. Yet new regulations from DC require that lenders verify and borrowers ability to pay before giving them a mortgage. For example, Washington State had nearly …

FAQ – Can I use income from marijuana sales to qualify for a mortgage? Read more »

Thanks to President Obama’s recent directive to HUD to reduce the PMI there are three million homeowners who can now refinance at today’s historic low interest rates without any credit, income, or appraisal requirements! The programs is designed to help …

Streamlined FHA Refinance No Credit, Income or Appraisal Required! Read more »

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers to the new Conventional 97% Mortgage. Is the Conventional 97 a government-backed mortgage program? Yes, the Conventional 97 mortgage program is backed by the government. It’s offered via Fannie Mae only. The program is not …

Conventional 3% Down Mortgages 27 FAQ’s Read more »

According to research of the foreclosures during the past 7 years, chief among the cited reasons were lack of down payment, undisclosed debt by the buyers, reduced credit requirements, and unstable income. In response to greater accountability to Washington lenders …

What is a My Community Mortgage? Read more »

Early in your loan application process, your lender will arrange for a home appraisal. Borrowers are sometimes confused about this process. They have a pretty good idea about what the home they want to buy is worth but the appraised …

What’s involved in the Home Appraisal Process? Read more »

It is much easier to get paid charge-offs removed than unpaid charge-offs. There is no incentive for the creditor to fight the dispute, since they already have their money. So if you dispute the charge-off, the credit bureaus will send …

How is my credit score impacted by paying a charge off? Read more »

Surprisingly, one of the brightest spots of the president’s State of the Union Address last night which might have received a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle barely received a passing mention! The bright shining spot in his …

How much will the new FHA MIP Rules change save me? Read more »

So recently a realtor client contacted me to find out just how long they should expect before being able to close a USDA Rural Development Guaranteed Housing Loan because a local bank loan officer had told her that she should …

How long does it take to close a USDA Rural Development Loan? Read more »

Can a Homeowners Associations foreclose when I have a mortgage? It’s a question that I am asked frequently by borrowers and clients who have found themselves embroiled in a legal battle with their Homeowners Association (HOA) over unpaid dues, levies, …

When can Homeowners Association foreclose? Read more »