$8,000 and how to get it:
Remember when rumors were running amuck about how the government would give $15,000 for any first time homebuyer that purchased a home before December 1st? That shrunk down to 8k. Then there were rumors you could get that 8k at the closing, as opposed to getting a tax credit. Those rumors are, well…still rumors. Supposedly this might get passed for FHA loans, but for now the only way you are going to get this money is on your tax return. I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything new. More rumors that are just rumors: I never tried out for American Idol, I don’t wear a toupee, I have never appeared on Judge Judy, and that was not me that got arrested streaking across Wrigley Field in 1988.

Cassette tapes, VCRs, Pagers, and FHA spot approvals:
The first 3 on this list are extinct. The 4th – FHA spot approvals – will join that list shortly. According to HUD, effective October 1st - lenders will now decide if they want to do FHA loans in condos. Basically the bank will approve of the entire project (this will last for a maximum of 2 years and then have to be re-approved) themselves for FHA.   There’s a little more red-tape involved, but we’ll go over that another time.

Quote of the Day:
“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” – The Beatles, The End.

Rates:
Three weeks later I’m still suffering some sticker shock from the dramatic increase in rates, however they have come back quite a bit. 30yr fixed is around 5.25% today. As usual, this can fluctuate based on equity in the home, what type of home, and credit score.

Trivia:
Congratulations to all of you last week that guessed Elizabeth Hurley. The first ten people to guess today’s question correctly will win a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. Email me the answer to this Who Am I? question: “I turn 62 today. My early credits included writing jingles for Band-Aid (I am stuck on Band-Aid, ‘cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me!”) and State Farm Insurance (Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there…”). Besides jingles, I guess I’m known for the way I dress too – because in the movie Breakfast Club, Bender asks Vernon if I know he raids my wardrobe.

Inspirational Quote of the Day
“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.” – Paul Valery

Did’ja know
Want to keep your credit scores high? Don’t max out your credit cards. If you have 3 cards all with 10k limits and two are at a zero balance and the third one is maxed at 10k, this will bring your scores down. However, if you had 3k on each card the scores would not go down; this is because you would be showing that you are using less than half of your credit limit on each card.

Rates
Incredible that rates go up the same week I gained 4 pounds – could there be some magical correlation? Rates are at 5.375% for a 30yr fixed. I will do my best to diet this week in hopes it will sway the rate gods to correct what they did to us last week. As usual, just use this as a ballpark. Rates can fluctuate based on credit scores and equity in the home, what type of home, etc.

Inspirational Quote #2
“Is it the frank, or the beans?” – Mary’s Dad (There’s Something about Mary – 1998).

Did’ja Know 2
A reminder that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac want at least 70% of new construction condos (and condo conversions) under contract or closed in order to lend on them. I still have one bank out of my 312 banks that will lend even if your client is the first one to close (or anyone else when it’s less than 70% sold).

Trivia
Congratulations to all of you who guessed last week’s answer, my ex-girlfriend Angelina Jolie. (‘ex’ only because of a silly little restraining order). Okay, guess today’s trivia right and win a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. Just email me or call me with the answer. Who am I: “I turn 44 today. While most models start their careers in their teens, I got my first big break in 1995 at the age of 29 when Estee Lauder made me a spokesmodel. That was the highlight of 1995. The lowlight was when my boyfriend cheated on me. I mean, I’m beautiful. I’m sure I’m not the only one who asked him what the hell was he thinking?”

Interest Rates
A lot of you want to know what in the H-E- double hockey sticks is going on with interest rates. In a nutshell, financial reports come out every single morning (unemployment, consumer confidence, new home sales, Lana spending (this tracks how much my wife spends each day), etc. When these reports are good for the economy, they are bad for rates. When they are bad reports for the economy, rates go down. In the last week it seems that every report that comes out beats the estimate (in a positive way) that the economists had predicted. The Fed is trying to fight the improving market and keep interest rates low. To do this the Fed is going to buyback treasury and mortgage securities today, and purchase treasury notes on Thursday. This will (knock on wood) help bring rates back down, but I don’t know if this will bring them back down under 5% again. The effectiveness of the Fed’s buyback program has been with mixed results. It has helped keep rates low, but they are higher now than when the program began in March. And it’s only taken $480 billion to get here!

More on Rates:
Here’s a well written article (and it even has a quote from Ken Perlmutter, the Prez of PERL Mortgage) from the Chicago Tribune. Click HERE

Trivia
Congrats to everyone who guessed Todd “whachu talkin’ ‘bout, Willis” Bridges last week. See me for your prize next time I am in the office. This week I am offering a mystery prize valued at over $6.00. and you will NOT want to miss out on it. How do you get it? Simply email me the answer to this question: Who Am I: “Tomorrow I turn 34 years old. My dad and I have both won Academy Awards, but we don’t talk so who really cares. The only family member I like is my brother who I shared a long kiss with on TV. Maybe he’d be a better husband than my first two husbands - I divorced them both and have no plans to marry my boyfriend now because we both think marriage is the pits.

“Your biggest break can come from never quitting. Being at the right place at the right time can only happen when you keep moving toward the next opportunity.” – Arthur Pine. I have no clue who Mr. Pine is, but I like the quote. The best thing about the real estate market crashing was that it weeded out all the realtors who had no clue what they were doing. By reading this today you are at the right place at the right time. Your time is now! (for more inspiration, keep on reading…)

Mortgage 101: What is an ARM?
After seeing The Usual Suspects for the 3rd time I finally got the ending. After the first two times, I just had to fake like I understood when friends would talk about it. ARMS are the Keyser Soze of the mortgage world. People think they understand them, but most don’t know the whole story. In a nutshell, an ARM is a 30 year loan where the interest rate is fixed for a certain period of time (1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 years). The five year ARM is the most common. For five years the rate stays the same - and if you haven’t sold or refinance during that 5 years - the rate can adjust up and down the 6th year, 7th year, 8th year, etc. Most ARMs can adjust 5% over where they started (i.e. if you are at 4% now it can go as high as 9%). How do they adjust? By taking the margin (this is a percentage attached to the ARM that runs around 2.50%) and adding it to the LIBOR which stands for the London Interbank Offered Rate (not a bad acronym, although the best acronym belongs to the musical group Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and Annifrid). Banks offer better rates on ARMs because the interest rate is not locked in for a long period of time. I recommend ARMs for people who know they will not live in a home more than 5 years.

Rates:
10 year bonds got hammered last week and yesterday, but rates still remain under 5%. Many economists think we are going to come out of this recession sooner than later. This is bad for rates but good for the economy (which of course will lead to more home purchases).

Trivia
Like the SAT’s, I’ve thrown a lot of easy ones out there for you to gain your confidence, but now the questions get harder – hope you’re up for the challenge. Guess today’s question right and win a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. Just call me or email me your answer. Who am I? “I turn 44 today. I became the first African-American child actor to have a recurring role on a successful TV series, The Waltons. I also appeared on Little House on the Prairie, and in the landmark miniseries Roots. I appeared on a sitcom from 1978-1986 with two other kids whose personal lives were just as messed up as mine. In my 20’s I was addicted to cocaine. In 1988 I was arrested for the attempted murder of my dealer. My attorney Johnnie Cochran successfully defended me and kept me out of jail. It’s not easy making a living after being a childhood star, but I’ll milk it when I can – like appearing on VH-1’s Surreal Life or defeating Vanilla Ice on a 2002 episode of Celebrity Boxing. Contrary to popular belief, I do know what I’m talking about.

Good morning! Its 76 degrees, I’m getting requests for pre-approval letters faster than I can write them, and I’ve got a big bowl of Lucky Charms in front of me as I write this. Does life get any better? I submit the answer is no! Okay, here’s some stuff for you to know:

Do you remember your first time?
When you’ve been married as long as I have, you start to reminisce. Mine was back in the summer of 1995. At 29 I started later than my friends, but I’ll never forget that glorious night when I attended my first First Time Homebuyer’s Seminar. I was clueless back then about buying a home but I ended up learning a lot of cool things, and meeting my realtor-to-be at the seminar. There are a lot of potential first-timers out there who are ready to buy, but are unclear of what’s involved. That’s where you come in because there has never been a better time to run your own seminar - and Perl Mortgage would like to help! We can speak at the seminar, help you organize it, and pay for a good chunk of it too. If you are interested in this, please contact me at 773.413.6242.

Pulling credit:
I am still offering a free credit pulling service for those of you that A. are trying to find renters, and/or B. are curious about your own credit. I’ve been getting flooded with requests but do my best to get back to you in a timely manner. Weekdays will be faster than weekends, but if you need credit pulled quickly just call me on the phone and I’ll get it for you.

Rates:
have edged up this week. I don’t know what that means. Some people say the economy is showing signs of recovery (which is bad for rates) but a 30yr fixed remains under 5%.

Trivia
Last week’s answer: Little Stevie Wonder. This week — Guess who turns 63 today and win a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. Just email me your answer. Who am I: “My last name is Sarkisian. I’ve won Grammy, Emmy, and Academy awards. Since the economy was so bad last year I listed my Malibu, CA home for only $45 million. I’ve dated Warren Beatty, Gregg Allman, Elvis, Gene Simmons, Tom Cruise, and Val Kilmer. My heart though will always be with my ex-husband whose epitaph on his tombstone reads, “And the beat goes on.”