Insider home loan tips

Book Review
Title: "Decoding the New Mortgage Market"
Author: David Reed
Publisher: AMACOM, 2009; 256 pages; $17.95

With the dawn of 2010, just about everyone I know committed to smarter, savvier, more strategic decision-making -- especially in the realm of personal finances. When it comes to mortgages, though, all the resolve in the world won't create smart decision-making if you don't understand the rules: insider secrets and all.

In his new book, "Decoding the New Mortgage Market: Insider Secretes for Getting the Best Loan Without Getting Ripped Off," mortgage loan officer David Reed offers to help you crack the code.

Like similar "new rules of the mortgage market" titles, Reed begins with the now-ubiquitous breakdown of the housing crisis and how it came to be: subprime, secondary markets and stated income, oh my. Moving on, though, Reed distinguishes "Decoding the New Mortgage Market" by providing new, useful tidbit of information after new, useful tidbit of information.

First off, Reed displays a deep knowledge of the federally backed loan programs, from FHA and VA loans, to Fannie- and Freddie-backed conventional loans, and even USDA loans -- the latter of which turn out to be potentially much more widely applicable and available than you would think.

He painstakingly hunts down and nails for readers what is now the Holy Grail of loan programs: the very rare zero-down loan. (It does still exist, in the VA and USDA programs.)

Unlike similar titles, which barely touch on these loans (if they mention them at all), Reed details these programs at just the optimal level of detail: enough nitty-gritty to know if you might be a good candidate, but just short of the minutiae that numbs the minds and glazes the eyes of the average borrower.

This is good, since between FHA/VA and (who knew?) USDA loans and conventional loans that will be resold under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, these loans will comprise the vast majority of the mortgage loans available to buyers in 2010. ...CONTINUED

All rights reserved. This article may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.