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First Home Mortgage is excited to roll out a new program to assist first-time homebuyers, community partners, and veterans with down payment and closing cost assistance. The FHLB program provides loans up to $7,500 to homebuyers that can be used towards the down payment and/or closing costs of their new home. These loans are forgivable […]

According to The Institute for College Access & Success, about 65% of college seniors who graduated in 2017 had student loan debt. In Maryland, the average amount of debt was $29,314. Many potential homebuyers think with a mound of student debt it will be nearly impossible to purchase a new home. Luckily, there are options […]

Buying a home may seem a bit complicated, and sometimes it can be. It is important to understand what to expect when preparing to buy a home, and what to expect during the home buying process. Below we’ve provided a short outline of the five main milestones of the home buying process. Pre-Qualification You’re ready […]

This time of year is always a special time of year. The holidays are right around the corner, and it’s time to celebrate! One of the biggest joys of the holiday season is getting to spend time with family and friends. If you are hosting a company for the holidays, the key is to prep […]

A pending sale means the seller has accepted an offer but the deal hasn’t closed yet. A property is placed in pending status when the contract is executed; when the contract is executed, in other words, the property is no longer defined as an active listing. A home will remain pending until all legal work […]

Time to dress up your lawn! Halloween is right around the corner, so break out your most spook-tacular decorations! Getting into the holiday spirit and decorating can be a fun activity for the entire family. Whether you want to keep it simple with a few pumpkins, or totally transform your entire yard, let your imagination […]

Homebuyer education, also called housing or pre-purchase counseling, helps homebuyers prepare for the process of purchasing a home and the challenges of being a new homeowner. Some loan programs, like the Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP), require homebuyer education courses. Recently, the Maryland Mortgage Program has made updates to their homebuyer education requirements to simplify and […]

Home decorating trends are constantly changing and it’s hard to keep up with every new fad that emerges. Floral prints may be popping up everywhere at the moment, but those millennial pink kitchen appliances you bought at the beginning of the year are “so out” now! So, which trends should you follow and which should […]

A gig economy refers to a workplace in which temporary or flexible jobs are the norm, such as freelance or contract work, as opposed to permanent, full-time jobs.  There is no fixed salary, so income may be irregular and sometimes it may not even be documented.  Future income is also unpredictable while working freelance or […]

Living large doesn’t necessarily mean owning a mansion and filling it with an abundance of possessions. Just ask those who have joined the tiny house movement. You may be asking, what exactly is the tiny house movement? The latest trend involves homeowners downsizing to a home, generally measuring 400 square feet or less. Small, right? […]

E-mail hacking and wire fraud schemes are on the rise in the mortgage industry. In the past few years, homebuyers have been schemed into losing thousands of their hard-earned dollars, and unfortunately, a lot of that money has not been recovered. So what exactly is wire fraud? It’s a crime in which a person (hacker) […]

You have found a few properties online that you love and notice they are having open houses soon, great news! The pictures certainly make the house look perfect, but seeing the house in-person will give you an opportunity to see its true appearance. When attending an open house, it is important to look past the […]