About Flagstaff's Flagstaff & Surrounding Areas

Getting Pre-approved for an FHA Mortgage

With the popularity of FHA mortgages and the fact that they make up the majorityof home purchases under $346,250, I felt it worthy to provide this very important information. Below you will be enlightened to the FHA mortgage pre-approval process. Getting pre-approved for an FHA Mortgage is a must if you are going to shop for a home. Not only does it provide you information on the proposed terms and conditions of an FHA Mortgage, it also ensures to your Real Estate Agent that you have taking the initial steps and have spoken to a Mortgage Loan Professional and you are indeed able to buy a home. The Getting Pre-approved for an FHA Mortgage process is not a difficult task and usually only takes a few minutes. The steps and requirements are below:

Steps required for Getting Pre-approved for an FHA Mortgage

You will need to contact a mortgage professional that is licensed to do FHA loans and begin the application/pre-approval process. A Full Eagle, FHA approved, Mortgage Banker is what I recommend and is also the title I posses. The label of Full Eagle affords the lender to in-house underwrite for FHA and produces a quicker close and lower interest rates. Once you have found a lender of choice, contact them and ask them to be pre-approved. I offer this at no charge and you have the ability to do this all online by completing a short application. Click on: Kevin Reiser's website and complete a short application or you can simply call me (602)-821-7812 or email me kreiser@amerifirst.us

You will be asked a series of questions to complete what we term a mini-application. The questions are as follows and apply to all of the applicants on the loan:

• Your full name as it appears on your driver's license and social security card.
• If you are married or if there will be co borrower on the mortgage. (Please note if you are pursuing an FHA mortgage and you are married but do not want your spouse on the loan, their monthly obligations will be considered in your debt to income ratio and the lender will need access to their credit and their credit history).
• Date of Birth
• Social Security number to pull credit. You will also be asked for your mother's maiden name or driver's license number as verification that you are giving permission to pull your credit.
• Information about your credit. You will be asked "How is your credit"? Please provide open disclosure as they will be reviewing your credit so there is nothing to hide when you are speaking with them.
• Present address. A two year history is required so they will need all addresses for the2 year period and thecorresponding dates of when you lived there. They will also need to know if you paid rent, owned, or lived with family members.
• Employment information. You will be required to provide a two year history of employment and also the monthly or annual gross income you receive. The income is reported as gross income. This is the amount of money you make before you pay your taxes. If there are any employment gaps, these will need to be addressed and explanation of the reasoning for them will need to be provided.
• Asset information. You will be asked to provide the dollar amounts of any liquid assets you have which will be used to determine your ability to make the down payment and pay any closing costs. Bank accounts, retirement, investment accounts, and gift money are items you need to provide information on.

Once the above mentioned information is obtained, I will go to work to Getting Pre-approved for an FHA Mortgage. I will take your information and input it into my loan generation software. This will provide your credit information and outline of the necessary variables required to gaining FHA approval. I will review the information from the system and then submit your profile to approval engine to ensure you are pre-approved. This is a necessary step and one that solidifies the content of the pre-approval you and I will be providing the real estate agent. This takes less than 30 minutes to complete. Once this automated approval is obtained, I will complete the Pre-Qualification form and send it to you and your Real Estate Agent. You now have the ability to not only shop for a home, but if you find one, be in a position to make an offer.

My name is Kevin Reiserand I have been in the residential mortgage profession for over 12 years. I am proficient in FHA Mortgages and I am also state certified to teach Continuing Education to Real Estate Agents on theTopic of FHA Mortgages. I look forward to assisting you in your mortgage needs.

In January of 2009, 38 Single Family Homes, Condos and Townhomes were sold in Flagstaff and surrounding areas. (Data source is the Northern Arizona MLS and does not include For Sale By Owners).

The average price of our sales was $335,000 while the average price per SF was $174.00.

In the final quarter of 2008, the average price per sf of condos and townhomes only was $175.77, while the average price per SF of single family homes was $183.63. If we combine the two, the average price per SF of homes, condos and townhomes in the fourth quarter of 2008 was $179.7. (This does not include manufactured homes!)

In January of 09, the average price per SF of total sales dropped 3.3% from the last quarter of 08 (while the last quarter of 08 does not include manufactured homes)

Interpretation?

Sales in Flagstaff Arizona will be posted daily (or almost daily) on www.TheFlagstaffWebsite.com. We will have to watch this first quarter in order to see whether prices are dropping, or if this is an indication that we have stabilized. January is considered "slow" or "slower" season for Flagstaff. I am starting to receive more calls and inquiries on my website than in November and December, which, I am sure we all hope, is an indication that the 09 Buyers have come out and are starting their search.

For personalized reports reflecting comparables for a particular neigborhood or home, contact me! For a PDF of this report, please see The Flagstaff Daily Market Report

Based on information from the Northern Arizona Association of REALTORSr , Inc. (alternatively, from the Northern Arizona Association of REALTORSr, Inc. MLS) for the period (date) through (date). This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the Northern Arizona Association of REALTORSr or its MLS. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.