First-time Buyers and FHA Gift Money
First-time buyers in Los Angeles County will notice a key difference between conventional loans and FHA loans.  FHA loan guidelines allow the home buyer to receive 100% of the down payment and closing costs as gift regardless of your income.  Conventional loans do not allow gifted funds to close. They must be 100% verifiable borrower funds. Most conventional loans in Claremont, Upland, Pomona, and Glendora all require 10% down and have newer, tighter qualifying standards as well. FHA loans require 3.5% down and ALL of that 3.5% can be gifted funds from a relative, employer, church or other non-profit organization or documentable long-term family friend or partner. Those sources will also have to provide proof of the ability to give…in order to eliminate cause to suspect that any parties to the transaction have supplied the money, which is not allowed.  Most FHA home buyers who use gift funds do get them from a family member.
Continue reading...5. January 2010
Types of Federal Financial Aid
Now that we have entered into FAFSA season it is important for students to understand what they are applying for when they file their FAFSA. Some people are under the impression that the FAFSA only covers need-based loans, but the reality is that Federal Student Aid encompasses a lot more than that.
Continue reading...5. January 2010
Financial Aid Eligibility
If you have not already filed the 2010-2011 FAFSA you are probably getting ready to start it. Many people wonder what you have to do to be eligible for financial aid.
Continue reading...31. December 2009
New Jersey, NJ First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credits – Special Rules for the Military
We all know what great sacrafices the members of our U.S. military make each day. Missing out on the first-time home buyer tax credit should not be one of them. Thankfully, Congress has acknowledged the unique circumstances affecting qualified service members*, by allowing the following exceptions that apply to both the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and the $6,500 credit for repeat home buyers:  Exception - homes that are sold or cease to be used as a primary residence due to official extended duty within three years of the initial purchase are NOT subject to recapture of the tax credit.
Continue reading...31. December 2009
Ring in 2010 with a Private Student Loan
We are less than 12 hours away from the start of a new year. With the new year comes a new semester.
Continue reading...31. December 2009
Do I need to file a FAFSA for graduate school?
If you are planning on attending graduate school in the fall of 2010 you should definitely file a FAFSA this January.
Continue reading...
5. January 2010
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