Mortgage Resets – Here comes the next wave

Mortgage Resets

I know everyone really wants to believe the housing market is going to get better in 2010. I know we’ve all had enough of the gloom and doom, but it appears we have to brace ourselves for more of the same, at best.

We’re so used to turning the channel when we get bored with what’s on. We expect to drive up to the window and have our food ready. We swallow a pill in anticipation of instant headache relief.

But, from the looks of this graph, we’re going to be in this one for a while. It’s better to know ahead of time to be prepared. Stop spending. Save what you can, when you can. Scale back, downsize, reuse, recycle.

The real estate market will come back strong. It always does. We’ll just have to be patient a while longer.

So, what’s the good news?  There’s never been a better time to invest in real estate.

If you live in the Triad area of North Carolina, we’d love to help you with your investing.  Check out our Triad Master Mind. It’s a great group of local investors and we’re all working together to help each other profit through real estate.

Don’t wait to invest, invest and wait!  Huge returns will be there to reap in your future.

Happy investing!

Buying a Home in a Grocery Store

Remax

Wait.  What? Seriously?

Apparently.  At least in New England.  Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire to be exact.

ReMax has signed a 5 year contract to open “micro real estate offices” in New England Stop & Shop stores.  Up to 17 of these micro offices are expected to open this year.

I think it’s kind of funny.  I can’t imagine trying to conduct such serious business as a real estate transaction in the chaos of a grocery store, carts clanking, announcements blaring.  And, not much privacy, huh?

I guess they figure if its good enough for a bank, its good enough for a real estate endeavor.

New times call for new thinking.  Would you be comfortable buying a home in a grocery store?

Shopping Cart

USDA Rural Development 100% loans available

USDA

ZERO down payment assistance programs are available from the government through the USDA.

Section 502 Loan Guarantee Program loans are primarily used to help low-income individuals or households purchase homes in rural areas. Under the guaranteed loan program,  a loan guarantee through the Housing and Community Facilities Programs means that, should the individual borrower default on the loan, HCFP will pay the private financier for the loan.

Under the terms of the program, an individual or family may borrow up to 100% of the appraised value of the home, which eliminates the need for a down payment. Since a common barrier to owning a home for many people is the lack of funds to make a down payment, the availability of the loan guarantees from HCFP makes the reality of owning a home available to a much larger percentage of Americans.

Eligibility requirements include:

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What Does It Mean to You, the Buyer, that You Have to Go “Full Doc”

Guest Post

Following is another Guest Post. This one was written by Lisa Delzompo. Lisa sells real estate in Temecula, CA. I appreciate her allowing me to re-post her article here.

What Does It Mean to You, the Buyer, that You Have to Go “Full Doc”

Over the past year, lending guidelines have tightened so much that, if you’re paying attention at all you know, buyers have to qualify “full doc” for loans. That means, full documentation of the buyer’s income, debts, and assets.

It is to the point that I provide my clients an overview letter, explaining the buying process in detail, including the fact that you’re going to be asked for information up front, during, and at the end of the loan process.

That sounds straightforward, but let’s take a look at what that means. First, keep in mind that if you provide an item of information, it needs to be Legible. I capitalize the word to point to its importance. The item you provide will be faxed or scanned another time after you send it to your loan officer; the people receiving that last copy are the underwriters, the ones whose job it is to sign off on every item of the checklist for your loan, saying you fulfilled that condition. Their job is on the line; they don’t know you from anyone; they don’t trust you; and they don’t distrust you. It simply is their job on the line to make sure that the loan they approve contained each item required on their checklist. If an item is blurry enough that they can’t read enough of the important details there, they will not sign off on that condition. If you have provided the same copy several times, and they are still saying they cannot read it, then you should go get a new, clean copy and send it in, asap. If you take several days to provide items you’ve been asked for, the process will take that much longer. In this age of internet and fax, it is common for clients to be able to provide items within minutes of being asked for them.

Let’s get to more details:

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90 Day wait period to sell properties waived – Hooray!

Clock

Recently, HUD enacted a ruling that a property could not be purchased and resold in less than 90 days. Well, you could, but the property would not be eligible for FHA insurance meaning the buyer could not qualify for FHA backed loans.

Effective February 1, 2010, this 90 day waiting period is waived.

There are conditions, of course. Some of them include:

  • the transactions must be arms length. There must be no interest between the buyer, seller and/or any other party to the transaction.
  • no additional flipping activity exists during the previous 12 month time frame for the subject property
  • the property was marketed openly
  • if the sales price is more than 20% above the sellers purchase price, increase in value must be justified by supporting documentation and appraisal as well as inspection

Why is this unnecessary 90 day wait period finally being waived (even if temporarily)?

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