Borrowers who have steady income and good credit, but not much money in the bank, will find that it recently became easier to buy a home. By Mark Fahey @CNNMoney Down payment requirements, which rose after the subprime mortgage crisis, are easing again as lenders and mortgage backers try to draw in new buyers. “It’s one of the things that’s inhibiting first-time homebuyers,” said Rob Chrane, president of Down Payment Resource. “There are a lot more people who can qualify for a home that don’t realize that they can.” FHA cuts insurance costs The Federal Housing Administration has long backed loans for borrowers with lower credit scores and with down payments as low as 3.5%, but until this year it also required hefty insurance payments. FHA monthly insurance premiums dropped dramatically at the beginning of 2015. The change, from 1.35% to only 0.85%, will make FHA loans a better choice for some borrowers after years of prohibitively high premiums, said Anthony Hsieh, chief executive officer of loanDepot, one of the largest FHA lenders in the country. “We’re starting to get back to what’s reasonable,” said Hsieh. “The crisis has shaken the market so much that there is no doubt there was an overreaction.” Fannie and Freddie Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantee more than half the country’s mortgages. At the end of 2014, the two government-backed companies announced plans to
The new 2015 Loan Limits could affect millions of homeowners, and they might not even know why. But before we get to why, let’s talk about what… What are loan limits? In this case, we’re talking about the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits for 2015. These are the highest loan amounts that the 2 giants will purchase, also known as conforming loans. This is a built in demand for loans that fit these specific guidelines, which typically yields the best rates and terms. More recently, FHA and VA have simply adopted Fannie and Freddie’s limits as well, making these figures even more important. In all 46 Counties hive increased loan limits for 2015. 4 of those counties are here in CA. You guessed it, San Diego is one of them! Ok, so now the WHY, why does is matter? The impact of the increased limits could be very substantial. In fact, it’s a mistake to think it simply effects home buyers and those seeking refinances. Here’s a short list of all the things that new loan limits could effect: 1- Home Buyers 2- Sellers 3- Real Estate Agents 4- Refinances 5- Home Values The most surprising consequence will be to those folks that are not currently selling, buying or refinancing. Everyday homeowners could have options open up to them that could save thousands of dollars simply by taking
When shopping for a Condo there are several things you must look out for, so that your lender will not reject your loan. One of the most common obstacles is the Occupancy Rates for Condos. This is also known as the % of owners that own as their primary residence or 2nd home vs those that are investment properties. Many lenders will restrict you to a minimum primary residence ratio of 51%. If it’s below that they simply will not lend you money to buy that property. Not at The GreenHouse Group! We have a handful of lenders that will allow you to buy a condo in a complex with low Occ Rates if you meet certain criteria. One of the most important is that you are buying the home as your primary residence. If you are, then we can waive that requirement. It’s also important to know that there are a few other things that can blow your loan up. Condos are a unique beast, so it’s important to know what to look out for before even making an offer. To learn more about these things click here, and send me an email with the subject line – CONDO OCC RATES QUESTION. I’ll respond with some more info on what you need to know. Have a great week! Jeremy Beck Mortgage Planner Condo Purchase Specialist
Occasionally we find ourselves in unexplainable situations earnestly looking for answers and what we find is a series events that lead to these situations but they don’t necessarily provide any clarity on what will happen next. This describes the slow 2014 real estate market. There a lots of people giving their opinions about the current state of the market and while they are never technically wrong they are not exactly right either. Maybe not enough time has passed. Maybe we won’t know what to call this market until we’re beyond it. Maybe we’ll look back on 2014 sometime next year with some perspective that will make it all clear. The truth is that it’s never one thing. It’s a combination of several factors with each factor weighted differently and all of them constantly in motion. One thing I’ve been hearing since the financial meltdown is that banks are not lending money and this has left many credit-worthy borrowers on the sidelines. It got me thinking, is that true? I think it’s about as true as southern California’s drought. Meaning, for the past 13 years that I’ve lived here I can’t remember there ever not being a drought. While I do practice conserving water I think the “sidelines” talk as well as drought talk is boiler-plate language at this point and simply a mandatory talking point that doesn’t have any teeth. If
The GreenHouse Group is excited to announce we now offer conventional financing up to 90% LTV with no Private Mortgage Insurance. The loan structure is a 1st & 2nd combo using our available second-mortgage product. The loan structure will be 80/10/10 which means an 80% first mortgage, a 10% second mortgage, and 10% down payment. Here are the features of this loan product as well as some guidelines: Primary owner-occupied properties only – no second homes or investment properties Single family detached properties only – no condos or attached units Purchase transaction only – no refinances 740 minimum credit score Both fixed rates and adjustable rates available To find out more contact me directly by clicking on my name to send me an email or feel free to call my direct line. David Hughson 858-863-
Most people know about using a reverse mortgage to refinance their home. But did you know that you can use a Reverse Mortgage to BUY a home? It’s true! This is the perfect solution for folks looking move into a new home but who don’t want the new large payment. I’m here to help you learn how to use a Reverse Mortgage to Buy a home. Did you know that the population over 55 now accounts for 25% of the US population? You can read more about that here. Many folks approaching retirement start planning ways to reduce their monthly spending in order to stretch their savings and live more comfortably. Now you can do this even when moving and downsizing is in the plans. Now there are some things you need to consider. You must have an equity position in the home. This means a down payment is required so that the Reverse Mortgage can then do it thing. But other than that, there is not a terrible amount of qualifications needed. I have a couple cool calculators and more info. If you’d like to see those things or learn more, please send me an email by clicking here. Jeremy Beck Reverse Mortgage Planner Advocate for the Aging
We all know how important a home is to a family. It’s a place where memories are created and a sanctuary for growth and safety. Along with many other things, a divorce can disrupt this feeling by forcing a sale of the home. For most families, their home is their largest asset, and therefor is typically needed to be split during a divorce. Well, now there’s a new loan product that can help those in this situation – Divorce Loans. Ok, they’re not really called Divorce Loans, but you get the idea… The benefit is that you can more easily pull out equity from the property to help divide the assets of the family. This is done by loosening the parameters and requirements under which the loan is given. Normally when you pull cash out of a home it falls into the “Cash Out” Category, limiting your loan amount, increasing your rate, and restricting your borrowing power. These new loans can now avoid some of those restrictions and improve your chances of keeping the home. I sincerely hope that you don’t find yourself in this situation. But if you do, we’re here to help. To learn more about how this program works and if it’s right for you Click Here, and in the subject write “Info about the Divorce Loan”. I’ll send you more details about what you need to
Interest rates hit their lowest levels The average interest charged to borrowers for a 30-year, fixed rate loan fell to 4.21% from 4.29% last week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage rate report. Rates have not been this low since the week of November 7, when they were at 4.16%. The 15-year, fixed rate mortgage, a popular loan for homeowners refinancing existing mortgages, hit 3.32%, down from 3.38% last week. But continuing strict lending standards has limited the positive impact of low rates on the housing market recovery, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. “The low rates are very good for people with high credit scores,” he said. “But credit is still very tight for borrowers with lower scores. Many people would like to buy, but can’t obtain financing.” New York (CNN Money) David Hughson 858-863-
Every week I get a call from someone who would like for me to quote them an interest rate over the phone. While I’m happy to provide this information I know once I do it will be the last time I speak to that person. This is not how you shop for a loan because no matter how many phone numbers you dial there is always one more place you didn’t call. This happened again last week when a man called in looking for “your best rate on a 30-year fixed loan”. Before providing him the information and then wishing him well on his journey I paused and asked him what would happen if the rate I gave him was the best/lowest he found. He reacted like it was a rhetorical question and I guess to the uneducated person it might appear that way. He mumbled something about just wanting to see what rates were doing and went on to say that if I was the lowest he would want to work with me. After digging a little deeper I discovered he was looking to buy a home but was not currently in escrow on any particular property. That’s right, he was calling around trying to find a good loan source based upon the lowest interest rate for a home that doesn’t even exist yet. This is what I call a
For those Veterans eligible for VA Loans I have some great news – VA Loans just got Better! If you’ve seen any of my videos or posts before, you know that I’m a huge advocate of the VA Loan. There are too many reasons to list here, but the primary reasons are * Lower than Conventional Rates * Ease of Process * No Money Down * No Monthly/Annual MI Ok, so how could it get any better? Well, one thing is that the VA has something called Non-Allowable Fees. These fees cannot be charged to the Veteran. Sounds liek a good deal right? How could that be a problem? The problem is that some of these Non-Allowable Fees are standard fees for services required in a Real Estate transaction. For Example, the Escrow Fee. Escrow is part every Purchase and Refinance transaction in CA. However, the Veteran is technically not allowed to pay for it. So in the past the Veteran Buyer had to ask the Seller to pay those fees which had a potential impact on whether their offer would be accepted or not. Now that’s no longer a problem. We now have several options to combat this. The most amazing being a Lender that pays ALL of the VA Non-Allowable fees for the Veteran. Imagine that, a Lender that pays your fees for you! I’m excited to see Lenders finally moving
The GreenHouse Group INC is a full service Real Estate & Mortgage Planning Firm located @ 3111 Camino Del Rio North, Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92108. We'd love for you to drop by and say "hello" to us here at our beautiful offices in Mission Valley. Or, if you'd prefer to drop us a line you can call us anytime @ (858) 863-0261. We look forward to meeting you!
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