Oregon First, Realtors® & Washington First Properties
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Mortgage Professor Advice and calculators from Jeff Guttentag, Professor of Finance Emeritus at the Wharton School. Includes guidance about FHA loans, reverse mortgages, when to rent and when to buy, mistakes to avoid when shopping for a mortgage, foreclosure alternatives, etc.
Mortgage Rate Trends An exploration of where mortgage rates might be headed from the folks at HSH.com®, the nation’s largest publisher of mortgage and consumer loan information.
What Moves Mortgage Rates? A (relatively) simple discussion of what causes mortgage rates to rise and fall, also from HSH.com®.
Credit Score Fallout An interesting article from The New York Times about how certain events, like foreclosure or short sale, affect one’s credit score.
Loan Fraud Protect yourself from predatory lenders — consumer information from HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
HOMEBUYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Portland Housing Center This great organization offers classes on home ownership and the home buying process, one-on-one counseling, down payment assistance, and a matched savings program.
Hacienda CDC: Camino a Casa Hacienda Community Development Corporation offers classes for first-time homebuyers, downpayment assistance programs, Spanish language support, etc.
Homeownership Opportunities Website Northwest A website of the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors in partnership with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon and other community-based organizations. Contains a lot of guidance, including a schedule of classes and a searchable database of programs that are out there to help people become homeowners.
VETERANS LOAN PROGRAMS
ORVET Home Loan Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs home loan program, an additional and distinctively separate benefit from the Federal VA Home Loan Guaranty Program.
Federal VA Home Loans VA Home Loans are provided by private lenders, such as banks and mortgage companies. VA guarantees a portion of the loan, enabling the lender to provide you with more favorable terms.
