Bay Area Bloggers

I've been dealing with quite a few buyers who have been qualified for an FHA loan. The Question is who can qualify for an FHA loan, and how? The Secretary of HUD One stated that market shares have gone from 3to5% to 25%."We have money". Good news.

I've partnered up with Jesse Renteria, mortgage consultant with Pacific Western Bancorp, and this Dec. we'll be giving an FHA Seminar to those who want to know more on this program.

To look into to our seminar on FHA loans for your friends or yourself. Please see the FHA tab on our web site. Space is limited.

 Don

Just a quick note Deb just set me up with a new MLS search page! It is more user friendly. You can map out the area you want to search in, save any of your serches and get an updated e-mail on any new properties that may come up. Just go to our web site www.dforrester.com and click on to Search Bay Area Homes, just as simple as that.

Let me know what you think.

You may have notice that we're not with Century 21 any more. Yes there have been some changes but Don is still practicing real estate. Just real quick our broker went independent and scaled down his office. We decided to stay with him. We like the small family type business he has created in his office, and the knowledge he brings to the table(30 years Plus experience).Another thing, Don is now going solo, I'll still be in the back ground, just not as involved.

Deb

You apply for a mortgage or a refinance, all of a sudden you get a barrage of offers from other competing mortgage companies to new credit card offers, and everything in-between? Sometimes the calls start within twenty four hours of the application!

One reason maybe the newer and some would say invasive method is called credit triggers or a mortgage trigger'. Here's how it  works. Say your for example: you apply for a mortgage, the credit bureau will update competing companies that ask to be notified when a lender's report is pulled. Then they begin to contact you with their offers. Is this legal? Yes, it is. Is it right? It's up to the individual to decide.

 The Federal Trade Commission believes this  improves competition and keeps prices low. Breech of privacy? Well its believed that  you may get a better offer for your mortgage than the first and lower prices are good for the consumer. There are ways of opting out of these "mortgage triggers" - 

Go to your mortgage broker and get more information. Let them know this is not alright.

So much for privacy!

Don

WHEN WILL BE THE BEST TIME TO PURCHASE A HOME!!

     With rates looking to go even lower than they are right now and  home sales below last years market value and more than likely going lower....This is what buyers have been waiting for. There is no way to time the market perfectly, with the housing market looking like it's going to stabalizing in 2009, in the next few months and into the summer  may be a great time to buy so here  are 5 Creative Ways to Afford a Home!

1. Investigate local, state, and national down payment assistance programs. These programs give qualified applicants loans or grants to cover all or part of your required down payment. National programs include the Nehemiah program, www.getdownpayment.com, and the American Dream Down Payment Fund from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, www.hud.gov.

2. Explore seller financing. In some cases, sellers may be willing to finance all or part of the purchase price of the home and let you repay them gradually, just as you would do with a mortgage.

3. Consider a shared-appreciation or shared-equity arrangement. Under this arrangement, your family, friends, or even a third-party may buy a portion of the home and share in any appreciation when the home is sold. The owner/occupant usually pays the mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance costs, but all the investors' names are usually on the mortgage. Companies are available that can help you find such an investor, if your family can’t participate.

4. Ask your family for help. Perhaps a family member will loan you money for the down payment or act as a co-signer for the mortgage. Lenders often like to have a co-signer if you have little credit history.

5. Consider a short-term second mortgage. If you can qualify for a short-term second mortgage, this would give you money to make a larger down payment. This may be possible if you’re in good financial standing, with a strong income and little other debt.

We teach our children not to speak to strangers. But are you aware that with all the new technology their not as safe as you may think! Now anyone can find out where you live just by you giving them your phone number! This gives anyone the opportunity to find out exactly where you live!

How is this possible? Google now has a new feature which enables anyone to type a telephone number into the search bar and hit
enter. What they get is the person's name and
address. Then they are able to hit Map Quest, here they get a map
to the person's house. This is some thing everyone should be aware of! It's a nationwide reverse telephone book.

Just think if a child gives out his/her phone number, someone can
now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The
safety issues are obvious and alarming.
(Note that you can have your phone number removed or
blocked.)

With all the crazies out there this does not give me a harm and fuzzy feeling!!!!

Deb

Don and I have looked at a lot of homes this past month, and at that we've come across a lot of homes for sale that are what we term short sales. These are homes that are on the market but have no equity left. In these cases the lender or lenders have agreed to accept less than what is due on the loan(s), for go the term "short pay' or short sale.

So you may say to yourself: WOW great deal! But is it? From the surface it may look the same as a regular transaction, the seller is still obligated to furnish disclosures and sign off on the contract and other paper work …. But with a short sale now that the reduction in price has dipped into the Lenders pocket…. the lender now becomes the major decision maker. The Lender decides if they are going to accept the asking price or not. Not a Problem, right? Wrong!

The major problem, the time frame, it may take a lender 24 hours to 90 days to decide if they will accept the offer. With that said there are now 2 more problems that surface. In-stead of putting this possible transaction on a fast track to a quick decision….some of these banks are still on their own time schedule, therefore putting the property in jeopardy of going into foreclosure. The Banks are now adding to the problem that they already started!!! Problem number two; remember the buyer has a loan secured but the interest rate has not been locked in…..what happens in that time frame if the interest rate goes up? Or say the buyer’s credit changes for what ever reason……..  The buyer is out a home. All that wasted time, the buyer could have already been in their home. 

This is just one of the many problems that may occur.

But as a real estate agent this is what we look out for.

Deb

*****

Just a quick note! Mortgage loans are pooled together and are then sold to Wall Street investors. They then put forth contractual limitations on “modification of terms and short sales”. A third party then services these loans. The Third party has to work within certain boundaries when it comes to “ work outs ” ( a loan where a home owner may be having problems and they are trying to work things out ) anything outside these boundaries it then goes to the investors for there approval

Hence the long wait

Don