Mortgage Discussion for the Panhandle area

Without speaking in the negative we can all admit our nation has an abundance of foreclosures and properties that need some repairs. It is often difficult to get these seemingly good homes financed due to the repairs. Again agents and mortgage professionals alike forget that FHA has an answer to moving these properties on the market. A product called the FHA 203K Streamline is a FHA loan where up to $35,000.00 can be put into escrow for the repairs at closing. This is a huge advantage to the homeowner as they often buy the house below market value and still have the funds for the refurbishment. We use the after completion value on the appraisal and the rest of the loan looks and feels just like a standard FHA loan. This means only 3% required for down payment and the normal loose credit standards FHA allows. The Streamline has eligible repairs such as roofs, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, appliances, decks, windows, doors and septic as well as others. The 203K streamline does also limit repairs not allowing major remodeling, new room additions, landscaping, or work requiring longer than 6 months to complete. If you have any questions about what is allowed please feel free to call my office.

I believe this product added to your sales plan may open more doors to closed sales and happy clients. Any client we close in today's market with standing equity will be very happy to watch that equity grow in the near future.

Now to move on to some not so good news. As many of you are aware the President signed the housing bill in an effort to stabilize the housing market. Much of the bill in my opinion is media spin and false mirrors. Yes there are some good aspects to the bill but there are some worries as well. The first area of concern is the elimination of Down Payment Assistance programs such as Ameridream and Nehemiah from financing. This assistance is scheduled to go away October 1, 2008. This would mean to buy a house a customer would need cold hard cash. That can be a problem in a struggling economy. There is a hope though and I ask you to decide. House Bill 6694 has been introduced and that bill would keep Down Payment Assistance alive but only with the support of the American People. I ask you to think of any client you have helped get into a home and remember if they used any type of this assistance. FHA purchases use this type of assistance for about 40% of first time home owners so the numbers are huge. Please make your own decision and if in support please call or write your elected officials. You may also visit http://capwiz.com/nehemia/issues/?style=D to get more information and learn more than I can write here.

As always please call me with any specific questions and remember we also finance homes. We can close your FHA or Rural Development loans and have no minimum credit score requirements.

Joe

This week brings us all a lot of news and good news at that. First let us speak of politics. On second thought let's NOT. We did get some other good news though. The economy seems to be moving along with the Gross Domestic Product released yesterday at 3.3%. This was a better reading than the 2.6% forecast and almost two times the previous months estimate of 1.9%. This reading alone proves we are not in a recession and that the economy is picking up a little steam and moving forward. Good news for us all.

The second release was from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In this release HUD put a moratorium on the risk based pricing for FHA loans. Though this may all seem like Greek to you this is good news as FHA loans will be cheaper for those with lower credit scores come the October 1, 2008 start date. As I have stated before my company is one of the few mortgage lenders willing to close FHA loans with LESS THAN 580 CREDIT SCORES left around. These loans though closable under the current system FHA has is rather expensive. (about .25% higher in rate than a 620 credit score borrower) With the new pricing come October 1, 2008 these loans will be in line with all FHA loans no matter what the credit score. GOOD NEWS.

I also wanted to invite everyone out to the 16th annual Baptist Health Care Family Expo on Saturday September 6th. This will be a great time and very fun for the children. It is Free to the public and loads of fun. Please come visit our booth (#30) while there. I have attached a link to a flyer explaining the fun and activities. 

Family Expo 08'.pdf

Please call with any questions or if you would like to discuss a loan.