Should you shop around before choosing a mortgage?

Think for a moment about all the big ticket items you've ever purchased. Sure, there are a few high dollar purchases you made without too much thought, but for most of them, you did your homework. You shopped and compared before you made your final decision.

So why should it be any different with probably the biggest item you'll ever buy? Your home mortgage. You DO have to think of it that way. You're not just purchasing a home; you're purchasing a home mortgage, so you can purchase that home. So why not shop around for the best home mortgage you can find? Why settle for what your bank offers?

Stay tuned. Over the coming days and weeks, I'll be giving you tips on what you should look for when shopping for that home mortgage, and why to look for them.

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Is the Housing Market Slowing Down?

From the reports I've seen lately, the housing market may be slowing down again.

• Home Values continue to fall.
• Foreclosures are up.
• New Residential sales are down over 32% from this time last year.

These are not good signs. Investors and first-time home buyers; this is your market.

Fannie-Mae has relaxed the minimum credit rating to 600, so hopefully that will help get some buyers into some of these foreclosed homes that are just sitting there. Now if only the other lenders would loosen up a little.

In Florida, this is not the time of year to have empty foreclosed homes sitting around without the Air Conditioning running. The houses start rotting from the inside out. And we are at the peak of Hurricane season too. It could get ugly.

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The FDIC and it's deal with IndyMac and OneWest Bank

Check out this video on the deal the FDIC made with IndyMac and OneWest Bank and thier investors on buying up foreclosures and short sale mortgages. After watching this, you'll probably need a large container of Gold Bond Medicated Powder.

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• OneWest CEO Laughlin to join Bank of America (marketwatch.com)
• We're from Wall Street, we're here to help (msnbc.msn.com)

Sell My West Palm Home Market Report

Just a short report on the Palm Beach County real estate market.

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Interesting article on the Home Loan Credit Crunch

An interesting article on the home loan credit crunch, and why banks are denying home buyers credit.

Top Seven Reasons Banks are Denying Home Loan Requests RISMedia

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