Diane Gerdes's (dianegerdes) Blog

Question:  My client would like to finance two investment properties.   He owns three properties.  But there is a fourth property his ex-wife received in the divorce and his name is still on the mortgage.   He is having a hard time finding a lender?  Why? Answer:   In 2008 Fannie Mae reduced the ...

Question:  My FHA buyer's close of escrow is delayed because the lender is asking for the home inspection and information on the seller's LLC.  Why? Answer:  We will assume the contract was executed within the 90 days of the seller acquiring the property.  In February of this year, The Waiver of ...

Diego and his best friend were making their weekly run to the wine store to stock up on boxed wine when they were stopped. It turns out the five pound Chihuahua did not have the proper documentation. He had jumped into the car without bringing it with him. They would have carted him away, but bec...

The once blind sheriff of our financial markets, the Security Exchanges Commission, or SEC slapped handcuffs on Goldman Sacs for investor fraud. The crime was selling instruments of mass financial destruction named collateralized debt obligations and betting that they would go bad. Except there w...

Dear Bank of America, Oh, my goodness! Three and a half years after the housing meltdown you are boldly going where no bank as gone before by finally allowing principal balance reduction on modified loans targeting specific programs. Your name and picture (logo) made the headlines. Television and...

Dear Bank of America, Oh, my goodness! Three and a half years after the housing meltdown you are boldly going where no bank as gone before by finally allowing principal balance reduction on modified loans targeting specific programs. Your name and picture (logo) made the headlines. Television and...

Question:  Can a Leprechaun buy a home?     Answer:  Yes and No. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 prohibits discrimination in granting credit to individuals based on race, color, age, religion or national origin.  Stature, mode of dress and jig dancing cannot be a reason to deny a home lo...

This past week the administration serenaded the American housing market with the same old songs and repetitive lyrics. The HAMP loan modification program or  the banks refuse to reduce the principal balance program because it would hurt their bottom line planis blowing in the wind by reporting  a...

Question: My client  heard that there are no loans for the self-employed.  He owns his company and says he makes a lot of money. Is that true?   Answer:    Our great country is based on entrepreneurs that made the gutsy decision to control their own financial destinies.  The self employed encompa...

Question: Which is better option for my client a 3.5% down FHA loan or a 5% down conventional loan?    Answer:   FHA loan limits in Arizona are $346,250.  Conventional loans will go to $417,000.    The FHA payment will come to about $65.00 less based on a comparison to the loan amounts of $346,25...