Debby Thompson- Homestead Realty REALTOR® Wisc

In the past week I have had 2 buyers ready to write an offer. I like my buyers to present the offers with a pre approval from a lender. Not a pre approval like we have had in the past. But one that you know all the numbers and documentation of income assets and work history has been verified.

But this week I have run into issues where the buyer was not able to get PMI to qualify for the loan. One I had a non warranted condo. And when the lender who was willing to do the loan with 5% down and a 15% second and an 80% first. When trying to get the PMI insurance the lender said no because one of the condos in the complex was in foreclosure. This deal was almost dead in the water. Luckily my buyer was able to be gifted an extra 5% so then they were able to put the loan together.

Next on I had. Where my buyer was getting a guaranteed over time from is employer. Well again we were trying to get PMI. This buyerwas going to put 10% down on a home and get a 10% second and an 80% first. Again they were not able to get PMI no deal.

Yes it is harder to get a loan though. You had better do your homework up front. Don't take anything for granite that it will go through. Make sure that you are working closely with your lender. Before writing an offer make sure you have everything in order. It is never fun to get to the end and everything is falling apart. Always make sure the lender you or your buyer is using knows what they are doing.

I had a loan office telling my buyer that he could go FHA on a non warranted condo that was still with the developer. This complex was not completed. This lender pulled my buyers credit and at the end could not do it. Well that shouldn't hurt anything however every time your credit is pulled and you are not able to go with that lender guess what when the next lender pulls your credit scores they are lower. Every time they go down you have less possibilitiesfor a loan or better rates. So if you know that you might has as issue with a loan it is best to tell your loan officer everything up front. Talk over what might be available for different programs. It is fine to shop around for a loan but protect your social securitynumber. Make sure of their fees up front. Make sure what you are trying to do can be done. Programs change for a condo, single family home a duplex or a multi family. Plus things are changing by the minute.

Why do agent like working with certain loan officers. Well they like to work with them because they know they can trust what they say. It is not pleasant to have people with moving trucks in front of a home and you are sitting at a closing table and things are not working out. There is no money from the lender to close the deal. Make sure your loan office shows up at your closing. If you have any questions or something is not right they are there to fix it.

You may say I don't understand all this. Well make sure you are working with people that take the time to help you understand. Never sign anything that you are not sure what you are signing. Make the person explain until you do understand.

Be prepared things are harder out there as far as new rules. Ask you loan officer if you decided to change what you are buying. Make sure it will still work for what you are qualified for. Just because they give you a number that you can buy does not mean the property will work with that loan.

So ask question!!!

Could it be true that Milwaukee real estate market is really heating up. WOW is isn't even spring yet and the homes as receiving multiple offer on them. Could this be true. Yes it seems that everyone has stopped waiting on the side lines an has decided to jump in. However we have a few areas that have been an issue. It is the lending side. Buyers without 20% down seem to be where we are running into the problem. You may ask WHY? Well the problem is the private mortgage insurance. The PMI companies are really clamping down. Again you may ask WHY? Well they were the ones left holding the bag on the loan that have gone belly up. They insured the loans lets say on a 95% loan where the buyer only put 5% down they insured the money from the remaining 15% where it would bring the banks rick down to 80%.

So you may ask what does this mean to me? You want to be working closely with you loan officer as a real estate agent and as a buyer. Make sure all your ducks are in order before you settle on a home or duplex or multi family home. Know what you are going to have to need for a down payment. How it might effect the interest rate. Everyone needs to work as a team. That way at the end you will receive the key to your new place and everything will go smoothly.

So welcome back buyers in the Milwaukee area. Happy house looking. But just remember the Milwaukee market is not like the rest of the country. Yes there are still deals to be had but they are going fast.

The mortgage business and rules are changing by the minute. Not to long ago we were able to get loans though pretty easy. Those days are gone. I spoke with one of my lenders today and she told me that we need a direct line to the top of the country to see what the rules are right now.

It appears that the red phone is need to see what is allowed and what isn't. Yes we are working harder to get a deal done.

This you can do if you are thinking about looking for a new home.

1. Start to get your finances in order. Make sure you are paying your bills on time. Some programs can use your rent or a cell phone bill for a credit line. But they must be paid on time.
2. Start to save some money to put down on a home. 100% financing is really hard to come buy. We had one program which was a rural program where 100% financing was available but they are currently out of money.
3. Talk with a loan officer. They can guild you in know what it will take to purchase a home. They have guidelines that each program offers. Make sure that you are not in a program that may be gone tomorrow.
4. Work with people that know what they are talking about. If your not sure of the right questions to ask find a real estate agent that can help you.
5. When to start looking for a home? When you know that you can get a loan. It is important to know what you can afford and that you can get a loan before you start going out with an agent. Any agent taking you out more then once with out having the information about what you can afford is wasting your time. There is no point in running around looking at homes if you don't know all the facts.
6. Looking on the Internet is a great place to start. At least you know what is available if you are even interested in what is available.
7. Remember when figuring out your payment include taxes and insurance in the payment.
8. If you have any outstanding judgments or child support that needs to be paid this will have to be paid before you can purchase a home. When paying off an old bill this bring it more current and at first this hurts your credit but it will improve your credit after possible a few months.

To determine is the time right to buy a home is when your credit is in order. Not to say if you have had a bankruptcy you won't be able to buy a home. Yes you can but there is a time frame that you will be working with. You mortgage loan officer will be able to help you with that.

So buying a home can really be exciting and fun. But the main thing is to have things in order so you are ready and the process can go smooth.

So for now we need to keep that red phone near as so many changes keep coming. We will be a stronger credit worth county at the end of all this mess.

So happy house hunting there are plenty of deals out there we just have to be ready to buy!

I just showed a home on the south side of Milwaukee that was a foreclosure. It is assessed for 224,000 and is currently on the market for 149,900. This home needs to be updated. It is mostly stone on the out side. Needs a new front door. This home offers 4 bedrooms and a dining room, living room. And even a stone fireplace. It has 1903 in sq feet. It also has hard wood floors. The kitchen is large but also dated. However they have put ceramic tile on the floor in the kitchen and dinette. I really though that this home offered a lot if someone was willing to do some sweat equity. It has a large room over the garage that could be used as a media room. The buyer I took there is not one for doing the work so this home did not work for him. But if you are looking for a home like this give me a call I would be happy to show it to you or email you the information about this home to you. There is good deals out there but sometimes it takes some work to get a great deal.

If the home is priced to sell the buyers are back in full force. This week end I showed homes that my buyer liked. We talked with the listing agent and 2 of the homes that were on his list had multiply offer on it. When have we seen this. Not for a while.

So if you price your home to sell right now in the Milwaukee area the buyers are out. We have fought the sub zero cold. We have driven on snow covered streets. We have jumped over snow. But they are back. Everyone has been waiting for this. Spring and sprung in January.

Things buyers should do so they are ready.

Talk with a lender so you know what you can afford.
You may use the mortgage calculators but remember to make sure you add in the taxes and insurance to the payment. If you are looking at a condo also add in your condo fees. Get you total payment. Add a little to the interest rate just in case it goes up.

Put together your wish list.

number of bedrooms
number of baths
size of rooms
if you need to have appliances included
area you want to be in
if you need a garage and how big.
do you want an attached or will you be OK with a detached garage
do you want central air
How big of a yard do you want
if you want hardwood floors
what is under the carpet

Make sure you talk to your agent while you are looking at homes. Tell them what you like and what you don't like. That will help your agent to narrow down the search.

Take notes while viewing the home. You may not remember them if you see a bunch of homes.
Spend time in the home so you can get the feel for it. Don't spend time if it is one you would not even consider.

If the home needs work find out from your lender what type of repairs the lender will except. If it need a roof or had an issue with the basement will this lender give you a loan on it. This maybe be an issue if you are looking at a foreclosed property. FHA does not like homes that have flaking paint on it. Has the electric been updated. Is it in an area that has a code compliance on it? Will the seller do the repairs? There is a lot to buying a home and you need to work with someone that will help you though the processes.

Happy house looking. And I am sure glad that the buyers are back.