VA Loan Information Center

Archive for February, 2012

Is Your Computer Slow? | Are You Having Problems Updating Java?

A few weeks ago I had a virus problem so I downloaded an updated version of Norton 360 to cure the virus. My desktop computer had also been running slow. It's almost 3 years old and I started looking into a new computer.

I do a lot of webinars on the GoToWebinar platform. Recently when I went to sign on it kept prompting me to update JAVA. I was not able to get the updated download completed.

I thought the problem may have been caused by the new Norton install so I decided to uninstall JAVA on the computer and start with a fresh install. I ran into a problem. The Windows uninstall program wouldn't let me uninstall JAVA.

So I went to that secret site known as Google and searched for uninstall software. After looking at several options I decided to try IObit Uninstaller 2. It got good reviews and best of all it was FREE.

The IObit Uninstaller 2 not only uninstalled JAVA but it also went deep into the bowels of my computer and uninstalled a lot of trash associated with JAVA that had build up over the years. To be on the safe side I shut down the computer and rebooted it.

After rebooting I deleted the previous version of JAVA in my download folder and installed a fresh copy of JAVA. The install went smoothly with no problems. Again, to be on the safe side I shut down the computer and rebooted it.

Now here's where the surprise came in. All of a sudden the computer was running fast again. It seems all the trash from the old versions of JAVA had been slowing it down. The thought of buying a new computer went out the window.

And, today I went to a webinar on GoToWebinar. I had no problems getting signed in.

I repeated the above steps with my laptop and had the same results.

So, if your computers been running slow and/or your having problems with JAVA see if this cure will work for you.



Your source for VA loan information.

My direct line is 240.813.0614. So let me hear from you! Remember...it doesn't cost a penny to talk...so call right now and I will answer all your questions.


Alan Gross

Senior Mortgage Consultant

PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company
704 Quince Orchard Rd., Suite 230
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Home Office: 240.813.0614
Email: agross@primelending.com
Web: www.mtg-info.net
Web: www.DCMilitaryVALoans.com
NMLS#217388

HARP - Home Affordable Refinance Program Is Almost Ready To Help Homeowners Who Are Underwater With Their Mortgages

What HARP 2.0 Means for Homeowners

The government touted its Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) as a way to get the crumbling housing market on the road to a quick recovery and provide much-needed relief to struggling homeowners. Launched in March 2009, HAMP was supposed to help millions of homeowners get out from mortgages that were worth more than the house-- but to date, critics say it has fallen short of expectations. Now the government has refined the program, known as HARP 2.0, in an effort to assist the millions that need a lower mortgage bill.

“HARP has been around for a couple of years but hasn’t been that helpful to that many people,” says Bob Walters, chief economist at Quicken Loans. Many people that needed the help couldn’t qualify, he adds.

To qualify under the original HARP program, your loan-to-value ratio had to be less than 125%-- but for many struggling homeowners, their home value fell significantly below that, freezing them out of HARP. To be eligible for HARP 2.0, people need to have a home valued at less than their mortgage, and the loan has to be with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The mortgage has to be in good standing, and homeowners need to have a good payment history for the last 12 months. The new HARP program will expire at the end of 2013.

To be eligible for the HARP program, your mortgage must be held by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. To "look up" your mortgage, check the Fannie Mae or the Freddie Mac eligibility sites.

You can find out if you are eligible for HARP by using the HARP Eligibility Calculator.

The original HARP program was geared toward the five biggest loan servicers Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Ally Financial and JPMorgan Chase, which limited the amount of loans that could get refinanced, according to Walters. This new plan includes mortgage companies across the country; these new servicers can now qualify a borrower for a HARP loan even if the borrower’s previous loan had mortgage insurance attached to it. According to Walters, this process was extremely difficult for non-servicers in the past. Mortgage insurers, which have to sign off on a refinancing for customers that have mortgage insurance, are currently working with lenders to develop a process that lets the mortgage provider and the insurer share information to streamline the process. When that happens, Walters says more people will see HARP loans get approved.

In December as part of HARP 2.0, pricing changes went into effect that lowered the costs to HARP borrowers. Coming in March, borrowers with loan values exceeding 125% will also be eligible for HARP. While in theory the loan to value could be unlimited, Walters says companies are still going to be cautious about lending to people with high loan to value ratios even though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are taking on the risk. “There’s been so many defaults and nobody wants to foreclose,” says Walters.

The government is also hoping to make the approval processes quicker by eliminating, in many cases, the need for an appraisal.

For homeowners with a service provider that doesn’t offer the HARP program don’t give up.

“If you get an unsatisfactory answer don’t stop, call someone else,” says Walters. “People shouldn’t assume the first no means they can’t get help.

Read more: Fox Business - The Power to Prosper.

Your source for VA loan information.

My direct line is 240.813.0614. So let me hear from you! Remember...it doesn't cost a penny to talk...so call right now and I will answer all your questions.


Alan Gross

Senior Mortgage Consultant

PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company
704 Quince Orchard Rd., Suite 230
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Home Office: 240.813.0614
Email: agross@primelending.com
Web: www.mtg-info.net
Web: www.DCMilitaryVALoans.com
NMLS#217388

How To Get Free Tax Preparation and Filing For Military Members?

It's tax season again. Did you know there's free help for military members in the preparation and filing of their tax returns?

The military's tax assistance program processes more than 200,000 returns each year, Army Maj. John Johnson, director of the Defense Department's Armed Forces Tax Council, said during an interview with Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.

"It is just one of the benefits military people have," Johnson said of the program. Participants can visit their installation tax center for free assistance in filling out tax returns, he said, or access the Military OneSource Web site, www.militaryonesource.com.

"You can log on there, online, and also file for free," Johnson said of the Web site. The online tax-filing system on Military OneSource is closed to military retirees, however.

The is part of the H & R Block At Home® program. To get the free tax return preparation you must to start your return from the Military OneSource H&R Block At Home® link. Once you click the link you will be required to log in to Military OneSource. From the login page you will be directed to a site containing additional information on tax preparation, including the link to the Military OneSource free H&R Block At Home® service.

Through the Military OneSource program, you can complete, save and file your 2011 Federal and up to three State returns online for free with the H&R Block At Home® tool.

If you have questions about this tax service or about preparing your own tax returns, please call 1-800-342-9647 and ask to speak with a Military OneSource tax consultant. Trained tax consultants are available 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., EST.

Do not go directly to the H & R Block website. You will not get the free service there. Go to: Military OneSource H&R Block At Home® link

You can also get free tax service at most major military bases through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Participating VITA sites provide free tax advice, tax preparation, and assistance to military members and their families. Most importantly, they are trained and equipped to address military specific tax issues such as non-taxable military income, tax-free zones, tax deadline extensions for military members, out of state residency issues, and more. To top it off, the work is usually signed off on by a CPA before it is filed.




Your source for VA loan information.

My direct line is 240.813.0614. So let me hear from you! Remember...it doesn't cost a penny to talk...so call right now and I will answer all your questions.


Alan Gross

Senior Mortgage Consultant

PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company
704 Quince Orchard Rd., Suite 230
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Home Office: 240.813.0614
Email: agross@primelending.com
Web: www.mtg-info.net
Web: www.DCMilitaryVALoans.com
NMLS#217388

What's In The President's Plan To Help Responsible Homeowners and Heal The Housing Market?

I make my living in the housing industry. The whole country has suffered the past few years because of the problems created by the mortgage mess. The housing industry is still struggling to get back on it's feet.

In his State of the Union address and in subsequent speeches President Obama has been talking about his "Blueprint for an America Built to Last."

I got a copy of the plan to see what it is all about. To see a copy click on:

President Obama's Plan to Help Responsible Homeowners and Heal the Housing Market

While I want as much as anyone for the housing market to come back reading the plan I have to wonder if it's a plan for recovery or a political document to help with getting elected.

A big talking point has been the Homeowner Bill of Rights.

The first two points are:

Access to a simple mortgage disclosure form, so borrowers understand the loans they are taking out.

In 2009 the government designed and mandated that the lending industry use the current Good Faith Estimate now given to borrowers. I took hours of classes learning to complete it correctly and real estate agents took hours of classes learning the new HUD1 form. I'd welcome a simple form but blaming the industry for the current confusion is just wrong.

Full disclosure of fees and penalties.

It seems they don't know they also passed legislation holding lenders responsible for the fees that are disclosed to a borrower at application. A lender is financially responsible for under disclosingfees (even fees they don't control) including those charged by title companies and state and count recording fees. Anyone who has been to a settlement is familiar with "Charges That Cannot Increase, Charges That in Total Cannot Increase More Than 10% and Charges That Can Change."

The plan also calls for Moving the Market to Provide a Full Year of Forbearance for Borrowers Looking for Work.

Now don't get me wrong. This crisis has created a lot of pain for a lot of people and they need help. But is letting them not pay their mortgage for a year a solution to the problem or are we "kicking the can down the road" for someone else to worry about.

Who hasn't heard Congress and the President rail against the abusive loans that caused the crisis. (A side note: all the loan types weren't bad. They just got to liberal in underwriting and approving them)

The plan calls for Providing Non-GSE Borrowers Access to Simple, Low-Cost Refinancing. It has been proposed that "The refinancing program will be open to all non-GSE borrowers with standard (non-jumbo) loans who have been keeping up with their mortgage payments. The program will be operated through the FHA."

Simple and straightforward eligibility criteria. Any borrower with a loan that is not currently guaranteed by the GSEs can qualify if they meet the following criteria:

* They are current on their mortgage: Borrowers will need to have been current on their loan for the past 6 months and have missed no more that one payment in the 6 months prior. (Sounds reasonable to me.)

* They meet a minimum credit score. Borrowers must have a current FICO score of 580 to be eligible. Approximately 9 in 10 borrowers will have a credit score adequate to meet that requirement. (If you want to get a new loan most loan programs want a minimum 640 FICO score. By meeting certain criteria you can lower the FICO score to 620.)

Streamlined application process: "To determine a borrower's eligibility a lender need only confirm that the borrower is employed." (Sound's like the no-doc or no-income loan they have said were bad and don't allow any more.) "Those who are not employed may be eligible if they meet other requirements and present limited credit risk." (I'd love to know what those requirements will be.)

The program will be funded by "Creating a separate fund for new streamlined refinancing program. This will help FHA better track and manage the risk involved and ensure that it has no effect on the operation of the existing Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) fund." (So were taking loans that were made in the private sector and giving them a government guarantee and if they lose money well take it out of the left pocket instead of the right pocket? To me a loss is a loss)

Now to pay for the program the Refinancing Plan Will Be Fully Paid For By a Portion of Fee on Largest Financial Institutions: The Administration estimates the cost of its refinancing plan will be in the range of $5 to $10 billion, depending on exact parameters and take-up. The cost will be fully offset by using a portion of the President's proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee, which imposes a fee on the largest financial institutions based on their size and the riskiness of their activities - ensuring that the program does not add a dome to the deficit. (And do you thing "the largest financial institutions" are going to absorb that fee or is it more likely to be passed on to all consumers through higher fees and other cost. Are you aware the "Two month tax holiday passed in December is being paid with higher fees being charged by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA. The new fees will be in effect for 10 years to pay for a 2 month thx holiday.)

I've been getting a lot of questions about HARP2 refinancing program which was announced in November. It's my understanding that the automated engines used to underwrite these loans will be ready in mid-March. I still an waiting to get details of what the requirements will be.

I'd love to hear your feedback on the proposed Plan To Help Responsible Homeowners and Heal The Housing Market.

Your source for VA loan information.

My direct line is 240.813.0614. So let me hear from you! Remember...it doesn't cost a penny to talk...so call right now and I will answer all your questions.

Alan Gross

Senior Mortgage Consultant

PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company
704 Quince Orchard Rd., Suite 230
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Home Office: 240.813.0614
Email: agross@primelending.com
Web: www.mtg-info.net
Web: www.DCMilitaryVALoans.com
NMLS#217388