Jeff Belonger -- The FHA Expert.com -- FHA Loans -- FHA mortgages - USDA loans

Do you remember where you were when first hearing the news? What was your first thoughts? I still remember to this day, exactly where I was. I was at a red light, just about to make a left turn, about 500 yards from my office. My first thought was what kind of idiot would fly that close and hit a building. Was it a mistake? Did the pilot fall asleep? My mind was racing. As I drove up to the parking lot, there was another news flash that another plane just flew into the South Tower. At this time, I knew it wasn't an accident and my adrenaline was rushing strong.

I ran into the office, a few of my co-workers just settling into their seats, not knowing what happened. I ran into my bosses office and turned on the tv. We sat there watching for about 45 minutes. It wasn't more than about 10 minutes later, when two of our processors went back to their desks to work, when I yelled out, "OMG, OMG... one of the towers is collapsing. Just after watching the South Tower to fall first, I just sat there with my hands in my face, tears streaming down. I just didn't know what to think.

Just thinking about all of those families and how they lost their loved ones, just because of some group that has hatred for all that are alive. It just makes me sick to my stomach. We just need to remember all those that lost their lives that day, their families, and those that sacrificed so much to help others. And also to remember those that lost their lives and sacrificed after the fact, searching for those terrorists and bringing them to justice.

All I know and remember after 9/11 was watching the news coverage 6 to 8 hours a day. Mainly into the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes going to sleep at 3 am or 4 am. Just watching so many families asking for help, to find those loved ones that haven't called home yet. I was so fortunate because I didn't know anyone that was killed in these attacks. But I did have a few friends that lost others. My only concern was when the attacks first took place was to make sure that my brother-in-law was okay. He worked in Manhattan and use to work in the South Tower a year previously. He was moved to midtown, which was like 20 to 30 blocks away, and I am so grateful for that.

I can also remember when we first invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, that maybe I should go back into the Army. See, I served from 1986 to 1988, and I am proud to be an American. And I was very close to the cut off date to enlist. There was a part of me that wanted to give back and help. Just as those 411 emergency workers who lost their lives trying to help and save those that were trapped in the Towers. We need to remember all that were involved and those still struggling with their losses.

The Sphere, which is symbol of what happened on 9/11/01. I got to vist that Sphere - The Sphere

And for those of you who might have missed this from last year, Yvette Smith tells her story. 9-11 A Day I won't forget This is a must read. Just have a tissue handy.

9/11 - REMEMBER IT FOREVER

How smart do you think you are? Do you think you can outsmart people, just because you read some good advice, yet it failed to share with you the opposite side of things. That has been one of my biggest fears and pet peeves when it comes to blogging. And another? That many blogs are opinions, not facts, yet they sound like facts.

Janet Guilbault wrote this interesting post that makes a good point : Outsmart the crowd : Skip the $8,000 tax credit & wait to buy - She talks about skipping the first time homebuyers tax credit in hopes that you could get the house of your choice for $20,000 less. She adds that winter is around the corner and the market should be slower, which could get you that price reduction. Again, some good food for thought, yet forgetting some very key points to her opinion. And just for the fact, in my opinion, this is a risk. Are you willing to chance your $8,000 tax credit? Let's look at this further....

RISK – CHANCE – HOPE – LUCK – FALSE HOPE

Again, Janet states that you should skip the $8,000 tax credit, because you could get a better deal on a house in the winter months. And because there wouldn't be as many buyers in the market, because of the first time homebuyers tax credit of $8,000 would not be available. Overall, I feel really strongly against this kind of advice.

Here are my thoughts on why you should be careful of such advice :

• Reduced property values - You got the house for $20,000 cheaper, and based on a $250,000 mortgage, that would save you $120 a month. So you didn't get the $8,000 tax credit. It would take you 5.5 years to save that tax credit with your monthly savings.

• Interest Rates - Do you have a crystal ball? Do you know where mortgage rates will be in December? You get that new house for $230,000, yet the rate increased .375 of a percent. Your new savings will now only be $64 a month. That means that it would take you 10.4 years to save that $8,000.

• Real Estate Market - Do you know how appraisals truly work? Do you understand that an appraisal is an opinion from a certified appraiser? Not one house is the same and in many cases, not all appraisals of that same house are the same. I could give you many examples of specific homes in recent months, having a few different appraisals that could vary from $3,000 to $20,000 in value.
  

• $8,000 tax credit in your pocket - You now have the $8,000 in your pocket 2 months after settlement. What could you do with that monies?

- Use the money to fix up the house.

- Use the money to pay off some credit cards, which could save you more money in the long run.

- Possibly pay back some debt to those that helped you get into your new home.

- Save for any housing emergencies that could happen at any moment.

- Ryan Shaughnessy, in comment # 11, states that you could use the tax credit to pay for 12 months of your mortgage payments. Imagine that, no mortgage payments for a year.

• Waiting for a possible increase to the tax credit, possibly a $15,000 tax credit - So you take Janet's advice and say to yourself, maybe they will extend the tax credit or raise it to $15,000. Ouch, in my opinion, that is a huge risk. If you are actually in the market now, why play the market? If you come across your home now, but it now, don't roll the dice.
  

• Real Estate Market - Each real estate market is different. In my opinion, even the experts can't truly predict what the housing market will do. Some have said that we have hit bottom. Some say it could be a year. But then again, in some markets, prices have increased already. In Janet's post and in a few of the comments, some people have stated that there will be a correction to this. Again, it's an opinion, not a fact.
  

• $20,000 reduced value - You don't physically see this money. You don't get 20k in hand. And what happens if the house was over-priced to begin with? What happens if values don't increase in 5 years? The only equity is that equity that you build yourself. In 5 years, you knocked your principal balance down by $16,000.
  

• Mortgage Programs - you can buy now, but could you buy 3 months from now? You have a 659 credit score and what happens it goes to 660, mandatory? No more home. Steve Kappre talks about this in his blogs.
  

Conclusion : Janet ended her post with this ... "If you save $20,000 on your house, do you care if you sacrifice an $8000 tax credit? Probably not. (But don't expect anyone in the real estate industry to talk about this until AFTER the rebate ends)."

Well, I will still be talking about it, no matter if the tax credit continues or ends. I am all about educating the consumer, sharing both perspectives on real estate and mortgage issues. And yes, I would care if I sacrificed the tax credit, especially based on what I stated above. Especially if interest rates went up a half of a percent by December. In my opinion, I can go to Vegas and or Atlantic City to gamble. But why gamble on free money, money that you don't have to pay back. We are in a very tight economy now. I don't think many of you have money to gamble with as you did several years ago. (I don't want to get into the statement of free money, because yes, as tax payers, we are paying for that)

Lastly, excellent time for first time homebuyers. Home values are lowest in the last 5 years, with interests being close to the lowest in several decades, and $8,000 given to you if you qualify.

IMPORTANT REMINDER – The $8,000 first time homebuyers tax credit ends on November 30^th, 2009

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- Energy Efficient Mortgages -

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Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For more information about the 2009 Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers : 2009 Tax Credit

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags !!!!

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Belonger of Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc

…… 1 - 2 - 3    you struck out

How many of you are sports fans? Or just that you understand how it works sometimes. And that's when you rave about your team or a specific player. Yet something happens or that person goes into a slump.  Now you drop them like a sack of potatoes.

Well, in the real estate world of things, this seems to happen more than we would like at times. People can tend to be creatures of habit. When the tough get going, they go.... but wait, is it really even that bad? Do emotions get involved in too many cases? And it distorts your thought process?

A true partnership, whether they be your referral source (realtors giving loan officers referrals) or your borrowers that you would hope would be your clients for life, can't be complete without 110% satisfaction, right? Maybe we should define satisfaction.

In my opinion, there is a delusion of those that expect perfection and satisfaction.  And this can't be achieved with each and every client and or transaction. And sometimes these transactions can't be complete without everyone becoming a team player. How many times must one stand on their head to make everyone happy?

Conclusion :  Do we all have to be the Cal Ripken Jr's of baseball? The Michael Jordan's of basketball?

• Just a few months ago I helped a client that was originally with another lender. Closed this FHA loan in 12 business days - They had their doubts of closing in time. Well, we closed they were more than happy. They told me that they would refer anyone and everyone. Just about 3 weeks ago I get an e-mail from them, stating that their homeowners insurance was never paid for. The bottom line was that this was on our closing instructions and we must have missed it on the HUD statement. But they knew it had to be paid. I asked them to call me about this 3 times. I never heard back from them, except in an e-mail telling me that they weren't happy about this. I guess I'll never see a referral now. Sad, yet so true.

• I had met a realtor through a transaction. She was extremely pleased with what I did, that I attended the settlement, and that her clients praised me on several occasions even after settlement. She then referred me 2 more clients and she was still extremely happy. All of a sudden, she just fell off the face of the earth. I ran into her about 4 years later and acted as if I was just a person that she knew from the past. hhhhmmm

• I met a client who found me online, after actually going through 12 other loan officers.  Yes, 12...  some making promises and dropping the ball at the last minute. I did my research and found a way to get his mortgage done. He was beyond excitement. I then did his next property and he was just as pleased. Then onto the 3rd property. Well, guidelines started to change and this was already a tough loan and a tough property. His realtor put some doubt in his mind and told him to use his guy. My client didn't want to listen to me because he wanted to get this done, at all costs. Well, that's exactly what happened. I had worked out the problem, but it was too late. And the other lender messed things up, to where it killed my side of the deal. The funny thing, this client blamed it all on me.

These are just things to ponder when you are searching for that loan officer or realtor to help you as a borrower or to refer people. We shouldn't always be judged based on our last transaction. Learn the facts before you make judgment.

                                                                                               FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

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- Energy Efficient Mortgages - 

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- Mortgages -

Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For more information about the 2009 Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers : 2009 Tax Credit

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags !!!!

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Belonger of Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc

Time is $$ Money $$

How many times have we heard that time is money??? One thing that I keep hearing is how long it takes to close FHA loans. Just the other day, Michelle Gibson wrote : FHA loans approved & closed in 15 days? -

I have been doing mortgages since 1992 and my first FHA loan was in 1993. On average, up until this past year, they could easily be done in 30 days or less. The typical time was 3 weeks. There are too many bad rumors that surround how FHA mortgages work and what they are all about.

The main problem is that it's not rocket science and it never was, but that many loan officers never did FHA loans up until the last 12 months.

On another note, it doesn't matter if it's a FHA loan, a conventional loan, a VA loan, or a USDA loan.... it all starts with the loan officer, period. Here are some things to keep in mind....

The loan officer....

• - needs to be on top of today's mortgage related changes on these programs.

• - needs to not only educate the borrower, but the realtor about the different types of mortgage programs.

• - needs to communicate with all parties involved. That means speaking to the borrower, their agent, and possibly the listing agent and the title company. With the new recent changes regarding time of new disclosures, this alone could and will delay some closing in the future. I wrote about the MDIA changes, the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act.
  

• - needs a good processor, reliable underwriting staff, and closing staff. Not every company is equipped at this spot, even some of the larger mortgage companies such as B of A or Wells Fargo. Those companies are more volume driven.
  

• - most importantly, needs to take an very good mortgage application. When it comes to qualifying the borrower, that loan officer needs to ask more than just the basic 3 to 5 questions. Questions that should be asked when qualifying a home buyer.

Now my biggest issue…..

The whole real estate and mortgage process should be a team effort. It shouldn't matter if your realtor referred you to your loan officer or if you found them on your own. But when things go bad, people want it now, not tomorrow.

Just the other day I had a closing in which I actually won the loan over Weichert Financial. I was referred by another loan officer, because he couldn't do loans in Long Island, NY. Overall, I was able to reduce this borrowers closing costs by $2,100. We ran into an issue with the appraisal, that had comps with above ground pools. We had to reduce the appraisal by $5,000. The realtors were up in arms and the borrowers lawyer was all over my case, telling me that pools cost money. This is a lawyer who does not understand HUD and FHA loans or appraisal requirements.

Secondly, now all parties involved where yelling at me and bothering me every day, wanting this taken care of now, yet nobody offered suggestions. I told them to schedule the closing for next week. They said they wouldn't until the issue was resolved. I said we could run into problems if a date is not set. Nobody wanted to listen to me. And the lawyer questioned the buyer, asking him how he found me, that I was going to delay this closing until the rate expired, and then raise his rate. He put this in an e-mail.

Conclusion : Let me skip to the end..... the borrower calls me after closing, thanking me up and down. The end result was that we had to reduce the sellers concession by $5,000 because of the appraisal issue. I gave a lender's credit of $1,000, that actually cuts into my commissions. But during this whole process, the realtors never offered a solution, let alone a small piece of their commissions. Hey people, I don't believe in giving up commissions in the beginning, but in order to make a deal work, this is a business decision. Besides, do the math. This was a $390,000 purchase price with both sides receiving 3%. Do you really think $500 from each side would have made them sink and swim?

Lastly, more interesting, which it all makes sense now, to why I was thrown under the bus once the appraisal problem occurred. The realtor referred this borrower to the her lawyer. I just found it unprofessional, especially if you read his e-mail to the borrower. Things happen and we all need to work together. The funny part, Weichert's approval? It expired a month ago and never mentioned any appraisal conditions what so ever. hhhhmmmm... The main question... Who had whose main interest at hand? I always have my buyers best interests. Now I have a client for life who has already referred me to another buyer.

REMINDER : FHA loans can be done in 30 days. I closed one a month ago in 12 business days. So it can be closed in 15 days. But each borrower is different and this won't happen all of the time. And you need a loan officer that is on top of their game and not just an order taker or one that makes promises, but who truly understands communication.

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

- FHA Loans - USDA Loans - VA Loans -

- Energy Efficient Mortgages -

- Conventional Loans - 203 k loans -

- Mortgages -

Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For more information about the 2009 Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers : 2009 Tax Credit

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags !!!!

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Belonger of Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc

Do you think you are helping the situation, but actually hurting the situation by answering a question??

I am sure many of us want to help answer a question, giving our honest opinion and such. Hoping that it could give some good insight to helping that person with their question. But how many times could this actually turn against the person seeking help, answers, and some guidance?

I bring this up, because I signed up for Trulia questions a few months ago, and I see so many realtors answering questions that should be handled by a professional loan officer. And I am sure that there are some loan officers that answer questions that should be handled by a realtor only. But what about those that answer questions asked by someone in a specific state, but someone 1,500 miles away gives an answer, but it could be different because of the market area??

Here is the question that was stated on Trulia...

"If the appraisal comes in lower than the offer price why would the buyer pay the difference if the price is lower? For instance, if the house is offered at 150,000 and the appraisal comes in at 140,000 and the seller does not want to lower the price, why would the buyer not benefit from the lower price, why would he put more money down on a lower sale price?" - From Homebuyer in New Jersey

Here is an answer from a realtor in Texas.....

"In this market I really will not recomend you to pay the difference between the appraisal value and the sellers asking price, negociate with the seller if they do not want to lower the price, get another property, This is a Buyer Market. There are a lot of properties available in the market."

I have a few problems with this answer.

• Each real estate market is different. - in some areas of the country, prices have bottomed out. In some areas, prices are expected to go down another 5%. But there is no guarantee of both. And what about values increasing in the next 5 years.
  

• You need to have goals when buying. - How long do you plan on being in the house. Are you buying in area to be in a good school system and baring any work related transfers, could you be there for 4 to 10 years because of your kids? Are you moving up, into a bigger home, need the room. Are many of the homes in the area, smaller on average, so you love this big home?

• It's a buyers market, with many homes on the market. - This realtor said this, and said don't buy, look at other homes. Again, each market is different. And we need to remember a few things. This could be the buyers dream home. When collectors buy coins or diamonds, aren't the values determined by those that give their opinion? What about appraisers? Don't the buyers usually dictate the price in many cases? Isn't the value determined by an appraisers opinion, using comps of other like sold properties in the area? Keeping in mind that not one house is the same.

• What about comps or the subject property. - How long has the property been on the market? Does it have an unique feature? Is the property hard to comp? Do we know what the seller needs in order to sell the house?
  

Conclusion : Sure, negotiating with the seller can be a good thing. You could get a lower price. But how much do you really want that new home? What if 5 appraisers appraised this home, 1 that came in 5k more, 2 that came in at the asking price, and 2 below the asking price. What happens if you got the appraiser with the lowest opinion that ended up with the lowest appraisal.

As I mentioned, you need to have goals, even though they can change from time to time. In many cases, you shouldn't be buying a home just to buy, right? And what about those realtors that give answers to a FHA question or a mortgage question? Just because your loan officer told you, doesn't mean it could be the right answer. In fact, I have read many misleading answers to mortgage questions..... even by loan officers. As a person asking questions, just beware... do your research and be careful.

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

- FHA Loans - USDA Loans - VA Loans -

- Energy Efficient Mortgages -

- Conventional Loans - 203 k loans -

- Mortgages -

Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For more information about the 2009 Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers : 2009 Tax Credit

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags !!!!

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Belonger of Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc