CONAPEPANAMA

Archive for July, 2008

Despite widespread doom and gloom concerning the performance of the economy in the next 18 months, Darling remained cautiously optimistic about the chances for recovery under his stewardship. He argued that with the radical measures lined up by his government, the economy could be kick-started quicker than predicted.

Two of the countries leading lenders have already agreed to pass on the rate cut savings to their customers on Standard Variable Rate mortgage customers. Both Lloyds TSB and HSBC said that they would pass on the full amount to mortgage holders.

A jumbo loan (also called a nonconforming loan) is a loan that exceeds the conventional loan limits set on an annual basis by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). So, Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, the largest buyers of mortgages and other government agencies do not back jumbo mortgages.

Though the location of jumbo loan housing is not typically a tough sell, the large mortgages attached serve to make these loans a big risk because it is usually harder to sell such a home to the average homebuyer. This is especially true if you are not in prime real estate areas. Since jumbo loans are riskier than conventional loans, it usually takes great credit to be able to qualify, especially in tight credit times such as these. The rule of thumb has been that you may need a credit score of 680 to qualify for a jumbo loan.