Conforming loans are those that satisfy the criteria that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set regarding what kinds of loans they will buy. Besides certain credit-related guidelines like debt-to-income ratio, one major constraint the maximum loan amount. Barring any upcoming changes (see below), the current limits are $417,000 in the continental US (AK, HI get $625,500).

Because they can be so readily sold to these psuedo-government entities, conforming loans are usually very competitively priced. Non-conforming loans have to be sold elsewhere or kept in-house, so they usually end with higher rates. But as recently as July 2007, the added cost for a non-conforming loan might have been only 0.20%. However, due to rising default rates and skeptical investors, the premium is currently around a full 1%. This has led to the increasing popularity of replacing a jumbo loan with two loans - a conforming one and a second loan to make up the difference.

Example. Let’s say you wanted to buy a $600,000 home, with a 20% down payment ($120,000). This leaves $480,000 to be financed, which is over the $417,000 conforming cap. With a single Jumbo loan, here’s your scenario. (I’ll use estimated mortgage rates based on current market conditions.)

But, here’s what happens when you split it up into a $417,000 conforming loan and a $63,000 second loan. The second loan usually has a higher interest rate, similar to that of a home equity loan.

By restructuring, you have lowered your effective interest rate nearly 50 basis points .from 6.5% to 6.01%, which in turn lowered the mortgage payment by $127 a month ($1,524 a year). To find the blended rate, I used the this Dinkytown calculator.

The Fine Print:

• This works best with small 2nd loans. Kind of obvious, but the less you have to put on the 2nd loan with higher interest, the better your blended rate would be. As the loan amount rises, there will likely be a point when the plain Jumbo loan will give you the lower payment.
• The second loan can be structured in a variety of ways. It could be a completely separate loan from a different lender, it could be a home equity loan from the same lender, or it could be a home equity line of credit.
• You might have balloon payments. In my case, I was offered a equity loan amortized over 30 years, but with a balloon payment due after 15 years. So I would need to either pay off that $63,000 within 15 years, or refinance before then.
• Possibly higher closing costs. The second loan may incur closing costs, but they should a lot smaller than the first loan because things like appraisals have already been paid for.
• Conforming limits might change soon! The pending economic stimulus package legislation which is almost on Bush’s desk, proposes to temporarily raise the conforming limits to as high as $729,750 in “high cost” areas based on median home price. It is unknown how soon this will take effect, but probably too late for me. (Google News)

The Legend of Zelda - Skull Kid Collectible Statue @$79.90 for collectors limited edition

Features

* Edition size: 2,500 worldwide
* Artist: Par 'Pelle' Tringstorm
* Height: approx. 19cm without base
* Hand cast and hand painted
* Individually numbered and comes with an Authenticity Card

Source: Play-Asia

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Credit to groch, this is a repost because the other is flagged dead and it's back in stock. Move quick!

groch said:

---

Amzn now has the Roku R1000 stand alone internet radio Model R1000 for $150 with free shipping. This radio originally sold for $400 and sells nearly everywhere for $300.

This stand alone radio has a built in sub, AM/FM in addition to internet radio and WPA/WEP wireless compatiblity.
No Aux input for your Ipod, but Yes SD card input to play MP3s from flash memory.

The reviews have overall been excellent. I considered buying one a few months ago, but the $300 price pushed me to a Sangean.

Upside: sounds great, has remote, very capable with a fine display.

Downside: Questions about durability (power supply problems) and the health of the Roku Company (no firmware updates in quite a while). However, the founder (Anthony Wood?) is leaving NetFlix and returning to Roku, so who knows, things could turn around.

A great deal on what seems to be a fine radio, though I would like to hear from owners. I think Amazon is the only place to get it this cheap (still $300 on the Roku site) so if you want one, act fast.

---

original deal

Frys.com has the Seagate 1TB hard drive for $234.99. Retail kit with 5 year warranty. Also in the ad for the Renton, WA store, so it might be available chain wide.

Ripped from SD, credit to dood56, Slick Eazy, and Reikon

BN.com is having a 50% off sale of HD-DVD discs here. Prices range from 14.99-19.99, 99 titles available. Members get an additional 10% off.

However, this deal can be made hotter with a coupon and a free shipping link.

If you link to BN from this Visa page, you get free shipping. You do not actually have to pay with a Visa, you just have to link from the page.

Then, when checking out, add a coupon:

Non Members T3E9J3V 20% off
Non Members Y4R4K7D 25% off

Members M4Y8X4J 20% off
Members T4W3P7J 25% off

With the combined 25% off, member discount, and free shipping link, a 14.99 movie is only 9.74.

Just go here and look in the upper-right hand corner. Click on the graphic that is flashing and says bonus and go to the secret page to download it:

click below..
http://www.how2-makemoneyonline.com/new/?thankyou=1965

Linkazon