Useful Links | The Workshop Team

all kinds of useful info

Link library…

Throughout our site, we’ve linked to a number of useful outside resources, forms and information. We’ve also linked to some, well, less useful things. We’ve corralled all of these outside links here.

Notice: You are leaving the Workshop Mortgage Team / Equity Mortgage Group site and entering a site not maintained by us. We’ve provided this link as a courtesy but do not endorse it and are not responsible for the content, links privacy policy or security policy of this website. It’s scary out there…be safe. We’ll keep a light on so you can find your way back.

General reference & tools

This is terrific site for creating and tracking a budget:
https://www.youneedabudget.com/

For properties within Portland city limits, portlandmaps.com will blow our mind with endless information:
http://www.portlandmaps.com/

To calculate a monthly payment or figure the interest on a loan, you need an amortization calculator. Here is our favorite:
http://bretwhissel.net/amortization/

FEMA’s flood insurance site, with information and risk and cost estimators:
http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/

The 10-year Treasury bill is the bellwether for mortgage rates and a great way to track the market:
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=%5ETNX+Interactive#symbol=%5ETNX;range=5d

Loan programs

The Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) is a tax credit program loan for low-to-moderate income buyers in the City of Portland. Here is general MCC program information:
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/phb/61008

And MCC program eligibility details:
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/phb/article/430027

If you have an MCC and sell within 9 years of buying, there is the potential for a recapture tax:
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/phb/article/443384

The Oregon State Bond Program (OSB) is a below market rate loan for low-to-moderate income first-time buyers. General program information and current rates:
http://www.oregon.gov/ohcs/Pages/SFF_OregonBondHome.aspx

OSB Program eligibility details:
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/phb/article/430027

The OSB Program affidavit you’ll sign at closing, does a great job of summarizing things:
http://www.oregon.gov/ohcs/HD/
SFF/forms/oregon-bond-form-affidavit-addendum.pdf

The Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a below market-rate program for qualifying veterans. General program information can be found here:
http://orvethomeloans.com/

Details about VA eligibility:
http://orvethomeloans.com/eligibility/

And here is the form you’ll need to establish your VA eligibility:
http://www.oregon.gov/odva/docs/pdfs/loandocs/0409-me_eligibility.pdf

The USDA program offers low-to-moderate income homebuyers in rural communities a government guaranteed loan with zero down. Map of eligible areas and an income eligibility tool here:
http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do

Sample forms & documents

The form you use to present your offer to a seller is a Purchase and Sale Agreement (aka Earnest Money Agreement). Here is the form for Oregon:
http://www.orefonline.com/docs/
formschange/
2014/OREF-001.pdf

And for Washington:
http://www.realtyassociation.com/files/
purchaseagreement.pdf

Most sellers will provide you a disclosure statement. Here’s how it looks in Oregon:
http://www.orefonline.com/docs/
formschange/
2014/OREF-020.pdf

and Washington:
http://www.cityclosers.com/pdf/
17_SellerDiscl.pdf

Once you find a home, we’ll put your loan and closing costs onto a Good Faith Estimate:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/
hsg/ramh/res/gfestimate.pdf

At closing, the final, official itemization of all costs comes on a HUD-1 settlement statement:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/
hsg/rmra/res/hud1.pdf

The detailed financial terms of your loan will wind up in a promissory note, which you’ll sign when you close. Here’s an example for a fixed rate mortgage:
http://www.freddiemac.com/
uniform/doc/3200-MultistateFRNote.doc

And an adjustable rate mortgage:
http://www.freddiemac.com/
uniform/doc/5531-Multistate
ARMNote%28A-AIP%29.doc

At closing, a trust deed will be recorded in public record, connecting that attaches the mortgage to the property you are buying in public record is a trust deed. Here’s an example of one for Oregon:
http://www.freddiemac.com/uniform/doc/
3038-OregonDeedofTrust.doc

And for Washington:
http://www.freddiemac.com/uniform/doc/
3048-WashingtonDeedofTrust.doc

And a warranty deed, when recorded in public record, is what makes the property yours:
http://www.stevensness.com/
store/examples/
633_prvw.pdf

IRS information & tax forms

We will verify your prior two years’ tax filing with the IRS using form 4506-T:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf

Most homeowners are able to itemize deductions on their tax returns. Here is general information about itemized deductions:
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc500.html

And the specific rules for mortgage interest deductions:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p936.pdf

And a Schedule A is the form you file to itemize:
http://http://www.irs.gov/uac/Schedule-A-%28Form-1040%29,-Itemized-Deductions

If your mortgage came with a Mortgage Credit Certificate (lucky you!), here’s the form to file to claim it:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-8396,-Mortgage-Interest-Credit

But remember that you may owe a recapture tax when you sell, and here’s the form for that:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-8828,-Recapture-of-Federal-Mortgage-Subsidy

If your new property is a rental or vacation rental, here are the IRS rules:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p527/

The form you’ll use to report your rental income is a Schedule E:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Schedule-E-%28Form-1040%29,-Supplemental-Income-and-Loss

Most people don’t owe tax on the profits from the sale of a primary residence, but nonetheless, it is good to know the capital gains tax rules:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/Reporting-Capital-Gains

And more specifically for the sale of your home:
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc701.html

Capital gains tax on the sale of an investment property can be deferred through a Like-Kind Exchange under Section 1031 rules: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Like-Kind-Exchanges-Under-IRC-Code-Section-1031

After you close…

Here’s a link that’ll help you cut down on all junk mail that rolls in after closing (and spam and unwanted phone solicitations):
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0262-stopping-unsolicited-mail-phone-calls-and-email

If you are paying for private mortgage insurance on a monthly basis, you’ll want to cancel it as soon as possible. Tuck this information away for future reference:
http://www.mgic.com/pdfs/71-42554_cancelling_MI.pdf

After your loan closes, the bank collecting payments from you is called your loan servicer. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has put together a nice FAQ on loan servicing:
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/
search?selected_facets=category_exact:
mortgages&selected_facets=tag_exact:servicer