Down payment assistance programs like The American Dream Down Payment Assistance are all but outlawed for use with any government insured loan programs.

It’s about damn time!

I can hear you now, “What’s wrong with charities helping home buyers by giving down payment assistance?”

In a word, it’s a scam…that’s why!

Mortgage approvals are getting harder and harder to come by…even for the previous “good” borrower.

Lenders and the automated approval systems they use to approve borrowers underwent a major overhaul this month. On first blush one might think this was a knee-jerk reaction to the credit crunch, but there is more on deeper inspection. I also suspect that this is only the first salvo in an increasing tightening of mortgage lender standards across the board.

ResMAE, a large stated income lender, announced a year ago the discontinuation of all their stated income loan programs used for self-employed borrowers. Since then virtually all sources of loans for the self-employed are all gone.

Bad credit mortgage loans are for borrowers who have credit issues and do not fit traditional mortgage credit standards. Bad credit mortgage programs are also known as B paper or subprime loans.

The 100% mortgage programs are really popular right now. The 100% mortgage is a loan program which requires no down payment. Therefore, trouble may be brewing.

Now on the surface a 100% mortgage this seems like a great idea. Since most surveys show the number one reason for not buying a home is no down payment, a 100% mortgage allows thousands the opportunity to be home owners. That is the pro for these no down payment loans. Now for the cons.

The best mortgage is never found by collecting a handful of Good Faith Estimates or by calling around getting mortgage rate quotes. Yet this is THE shopping method for most.

If you define the best mortgage as the loan having the best mortgage rate, the lowest costs, and the one that fits your financial circumstances in both the short and long term…then standard comparison shopping methods will not work.

FHA home mortgage programs are currently under threat of extinction. The FHA home mortgage could die a needless death if reforms don’t pass Congress quickly and correctly.

Due to a number of reasons, the long-standing govenment FHA home mortgage programs are quickly becoming irrelevant. So much so, on the floor of the US Congress a few years back, their was a proposal to discontinue them altogether. Before we discuss the reasons, let’s refresh your memory on the basics of these mortgage programs.

The stated income mortgage is getting harder to find these days. Stated income mortgage lenders are going under in droves and the ones remaining are curtailing the program effectively trapping borrowers who now can’t refinance away from rising payments.

The 40 year mortgage is sold to folks who want or need a lower payment. Many home owners are seeking a monthly payment even lower those provided on standard 30 year fixed loans. A 40 year mortgage is less in monthly payment because the loan is amortized over 40 years instead of 30…at least in theory!

In a divorce, mortgage lates can cause long lasting catastrophic problems for your credit. You can’t ever rely on verbal agreements during a divorce when it comes to your home. I can’t stress that enough. You may think as long as you are out of the home you are not responsible for the mortgage payment…but that is a mistake.