Mississippi

What a game! Unforgettable Super Bowl 44--CONGRATULATIONS, Saints

An odd thing about this post--I hope Google Spiders look on it kindly because some folks are actually going to be looking for it. So, I took a leap of faith and told them to use search strings with Long Beach, MS in them. We will see how that works:-)

Hey, if you move to Long Beach and a high school student is in your family--well, it might be time to be grateful. We are a level 5 school. You may hear complaints from students that we are poor school district.

OK, once my daughter actually complained about LBSD being "poor". She named off a few deficiencies. "Well, dear--I think we should pack right now. We can move." Come to find out--though the building has issues and some "things" are a bit dated; most of her teachers and most of her friends are irreplaceable. So, now the deal is that we cannot move until Skye graduates, and probably not then, either.

Well, it depends on how you look at things. Long Beach is a separate independent school district. Of course we are part of Harrison County, but Long Beach Schools are not a part of the Harrrison County School District. Despite funding challenges because of being so independent (sounds like, me), Long Beach time and again scores high in testing and frequently scores highest marks in competitions of all kinds.

Thank you--dedicated Long Beach Teachers!

Posing with Mom's permission.

I will post more photos later, for now--I want to get this up to Congratulate New Orleans' Saints.

PS: I learned an interesting tidbit today from a visiting couple. Ironically, of all the people in the crowd to speak to, I chose the ones who were visitors. Come to find out, they are from Pennsylvania and (pay attention here) had learned about the parade when the stopped at a rest center on I-10. ...Just in case you have ever wondered about advertising at visitor's centers.

Long Beach usually has more people turn out ,but this time we had some of the media stating 1PM and some of the media stating 2PM as the beginning time.

One awesome aspect of living in the Gulf Coast is that you scenery can change quickly, as well as methods of relaxing. Incidentally, your cellular service may also change quickly. Along Highway 90 and town areas North of I-10 you should have no problems with signal strength.

When you get into the rural areas of Hancock and Harrison Counties, you should plan in advance for lack of signal, particularly if you are AT&T subscribers. I hear from locals who have lent me their phones when my AT&T signal is nonexistent that Verizon, Cellular South and Boost Mobile are better choices for rural areas.

(Most services work well near the coast, even out on the water from what I hear.)

Do not expect AT&T service in rural Hancock and Harrison counties.

I hope others will comment here about their cellular experiences in South Mississippi.

PRE-APPROVAL LETTERS - Can you get or even give one in today's market?

There is a lot of confusion with Lenders, Loan Officers, Home Owners, and Realtors in regards to the sweeping new Good Faith Estimate rules and how they apply to the industry.

A LITTLE PRE-APPROVAL LETTER HISTORY
Years ago, the standard way of buying a home was a potential buyer met with a Real Estate Agent, and wrote a financing contingency into the offer. After the offer was accepted, the potential buyer went searching for financing. Assuming all was well, the buyer got a home loan and closed on the home. Unfortunately, some people didn't qualify, and after a few weeks, the home was put back on the market.

The Pre-Approval Letter was seen as a way to eliminate having the house off the market, and give comfort to both the listing agent and seller that the buyer could actually get a home loan by having their financing reviewed PRIOR to making any offers.

Many of the original pre-approval letters were written with a maximum approval dollar amount; "Mr. Homebuyer is APPROVED for up to $200,000". While this served the purposed, over time, most pre-approval letters changed from a maximum dollar amount, to the actual property address; "Mr. Homebuyer is approved in an amount significant enough to purchase 123 Main St". This was done to retain the buyers negotiating power. For example the customer can afford a $200,000 home, but is making an offer on a home listed at $190,000 and they are offering $180,000. If the listing agent and seller see an approval letter listed for $200,000 and a purchase agreement saying $180,000 - the sellers had an unfair advantage.

In theory, this sounds like a great industry practice, smart for both buyers and sellers. The pre-approval letter, if done correctly by the Loan Officer is still valid today. Of course a pre-approval letter, is still only as good as the person writing it, and is NOT binding on the lender.

Because some lenders don't do a proper and real pre-approval process, many Real Estate Agents now ask for "Commitment Letters". A Commitment letter is supposed to be issued AFTER a full and complete application has been submitted to underwriting, and should include a review of the appraisal and title. This document is supposed to tell the seller that everything has been finalized with the lender, and they are just waiting for the closing date. Commitment letters are also NOT binding on the lender!

FYI TO REALTORS: Lenders do NOT care or pay any attention for "Commitment Dates" written into purchase agreements.

WHAT HAS CHANGED?
The Good Faith Estimate provided by mortgage companies is NOW BINDING. Without knowing all the property details (purchase price, taxes, seller paid closing costs), the mortgage lender is taking greater risk by providing a BINDING Good Faith Estimate without all the transaction details.

The new rules require lenders have six (6) main items, including PROPERTY ADDRESS, to be mandated to provide the binding Good Faith Estimate.

PRE-APPROVAL LETTERS TODAY
Can you, and should you continue to get a pre-approval letter today? YES. There are no real changes to the basic theory of the pre-approval letter. The difference is that smart Loan Officers will tell Realtors they DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE PROPERTY ADDRESS until AFTER a successful offer has been made!

Once the successful offer has been made, and now knowing all the exact transaction details, the mortgage lender will have three days to provide the buyer with their binding Good Faith Estimate.

IN THE END
All the changes will simply mean that the days of a pre-approval letter WITH A PROPERTY ADDRESS are GONE. They will be replaced by either generic pre-approval letters with no address, or pre-approval letters with a dollar amount. I have instructed the Real Estate Agents I work with when calling for the pre-approval letter to give me the OFFER price only (no address). I will then re-verify the buyers offer price fits within the buyers pre-approval parameters (debt-to-income, loan-to-value, etc), and write a pre-approval letter saying "Mr. Homebuyer is approved for $200,000".

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Joe Metzler is a Certified Minnesota Mortgage Specialist, and provides financing for homes in MN and WI only. Visit his main website at www.MinnesotaBestRates.com

An exciting new program is making funds available for Mississippi homebuyers to purchase bank owned foreclosures throughout the state. The program, "Home Buyer Advantage" hasn't received a lot of press, but it is a tremendous opportunity.

Don't confuse this program, which is funded by the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) through Congress's Neighborhood Stabilization Program with the $8,000 Federal Tax Credit. They are two separate homebuyer incentive programs. And guess what? You could be eligible for BOTH credits!

The "Home Buyer Advantage" is designed to prevent neighborhood decline from having too many foreclosures. The requirements are relatively simple, but the highlights are as follows:

• The foreclosure you wish to purchase MUST BE your primary residence. This is not a program for investors.
• Current homeowners ARE eligible (as long as they occupy the foreclosed property).
• There are household income limits based on the county in which the property is located. For Madison, Rankin, and Hinds Counties, the income limit cannot exceed $47,650.
• Applicants must spend eight hours in a pre-purchase homebuyer education class (through a HUD-approved counselor).
• You must qualify for a mortgage.
• The purchase price of the property must be 1% BELOW the current appraised market value.
• The purchase price cannot exceed $238,000.

For further information, visit MS Home Corp or contact this Realtor.