Shameca Tankerson

When a homeowner sells his home and decides to buy a new one, there are 3 basic options for the residence -- sell it, keep it, or rent it.

Unfortunately, no matter which path they choose, move-up homebuyers in need of a new conforming mortgage will find qualifying for a home loan to be more difficult this season than in the past.

Mortgage guidelines are dramatically tighter for people "carrying two mortgages".

Among the changes this spring's buyers face:

Selling the primary residence
If you plan to close on your new home prior to the closing of your existing home -- even if it's only by a day -- both payments must be listed as monthly debts on your mortgage application. This will disqualify the majority of homebuyers.

Converting your residence to a second home
If your current home has less than 30 percent equity in it, your mortgage application for the new home will not be approved unless you can show 6 months worth of mortgage payments + taxes + insurance in reserves for the current home and new home combined.

Converting your residence to an investment property
If your current home has less than 30 percent equity in it, any rental income derived from a tenant is disallowed on your mortgage application for the new home. You must still count the mortgage payment + taxes + insurance as a monthly debt.

In other words, being a move-up buyer isn't as simple as it used to be. New lending rules make buying a new home an exercise in timing and financial planning. And the rules are expected to get tougher, too.

Therefore, if you expect to be a move-up buyer in the next 12 months, consider moving up your timeframe or -- at least -- planning ahead for it.

Understanding the new mortgage landscape and how they can influence your upcoming purchase may be the difference between getting approved for a home loan, and getting turned down.

While the mortgage market continues to generate a lot of chatter in both the media and in Washington, interest rates are currently near or at all-time lows. If you or anyone you know are looking to take advantage of these low rates, let me explain why now is the time to act.

Lately there has been talk about the 4.5% 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Will it become a reality though? Right now, no one really knows. Homeowners who could benefit from a lower interest rate need to know that even if 4.5% becomes a reality from Washington's actions, it would only be available to home buyers, not homeowners seeking to better their rate. If you need to refinance, you will be left out.

You also may have heard about Hope for Homeowners, which is a program approved by legislators to help distressed homeowners. However, regardless of its best intentions, the program has not been embraced by investors, and it is not available to many it could help.

The bottom line is, the Fed announced recently that they are going to buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed securities. This has already driven rates to historical lows. In January, the SEC is meeting and information may be released that could have a significant bearing on rates, potentially for the worse.

Waiting to obtain the best rate is only possible for those with loan applications already in process. Interest rates are incredibly volatile and fluctuations that used to take months are now occurring in just days or even hours. If you don't have an application in process, you could lose out.

We are already seeing lender backlog due to low interest rates. In 2003, with rates at these same low levels, we saw some lenders taking up to 90 days to close a loan.

Home loan rates are currently in the mid- to low-5% range. Home values are currently at 2003-2004 levels, coming down significantly from their high point. If you-or friends and family members you know-are contemplating seeking financing, now is the time to act.

With a first time home buyer tax credit of up to $7,500 and low or no money down programs available for many people today, now is a great time to buy a home.

If you have any questions about how we can help you, call us at 888-859-9853 today.

A family facing foreclosure inherently is facing many obstacles after the fact, as well. The homeowner will likely be without a home, have seriously damaged credit reports, and may still have trouble with other debts owed. It probably goes without saying that finding a new place to live must be the first priority when faced with foreclosure but after finding a place to live, it is time to get to work.

The first step is to take back control of household finances. One of the best options may be to work with a Financial Counselor, a certified professional who will help develop a budget, manage debts, and help plan for the future. Without proper planning it will be hard to stay afloat and properly rebuild credit. It is important to set realistic spending limits and stick with a budget.

Be realistic about what you can afford. If you will never be able to repay the debts that you owe, then you might consider debt settlement. You or your counselor may try negotiating with your creditors to come up with a repayment plan, and/or to alter the terms and conditions of your debts to make them more manageable.

Once a budget and financial plan is in place, then it is time to work on improving credit scores. The most important thing in re-establishing one's credit is to review all 3 credit reports. Knowing what items need to be paid, what items need to be corrected and what items are not important is the key.

The foreclosure will remain on the credit reports for 7 years. Fortunately, not all potential creditors put the same amount of emphasis on foreclosure, so work on making each score as strong as possible. Meet with a credit repair specialist. Not only can they help to clean up the damage on each credit report, they can advise on specific ways to rebuild the credit that has been lost as well.

The next step to rebuilding credit scores is to take out a credit card or two since this type of credit is easier to acquire than most others. Few situations are as damaging to credit as are foreclosures, so it may be difficult to get an approval for a traditional credit card. An alternative would be to apply for secured credit cards.

Secured credit cards require that the applicant put money down as a deposit before credit is extended, and allow for the cardholder to deposit a said amount of money into an account, thus establishing the spending limit of the card. Use the card(s) regularly and lightly, and each credit report will show improvement as consistent payments are made.

Recovering after a foreclosure is difficult, but possible with hard work and persistence. Work with a professional to get your finances in order as soon as possible, slowly but surely rebuild your credit, and find yourself getting beyond the burden your financial past. While it does take time, there is definitely life (and credit) after foreclosure. The key is to get the help and advice you need from professionals you trust.

The New Year is just a few weeks old but that's not stopping market "experts" from predicting what's in store for 2009.

The calls on housing and mortgage rates run the gamut:

• Home prices have farther to fall
• Home prices have touched bottom
• Mortgage rates will dip
• Mortgage rates will rise

Put it all together and it's clear that the experts have no better idea about the future than you or I. Their guesses are educated ones, but they're guesses nonetheless.

A terrific example of how poorly experts can predict the future comes from a Wall Street Journal performance analysis of 1,700 mutual funds.

In 2008, only one earned a positive return. That one fund represents zero-point-zero-six percent of all tracked mutual funds. Surely, the fund managers of the other 99.94% didn't expect to post negative returns on the year.

So, before you use predictions about the demise (or recovery) of the broader economy to make "personal economy" decisions, consider that the oft-quoted experts have a hugely better track record in analyzing the past than the future.

All we know for sure right now is that home prices are, in general, lower than at the time point last year, and mortgage rates are, too. By 2010, both could be lower still.

Or they may not.

If you're overwhelmed with it all, you may have a syndrome I call "Recession Obsession"