Joe Woodall

As we are all aware the number of foreclosures in our Nation still drag down home prices. What if more people could buy these homes? What if they could get help with down payment and special financing? Would that help keep values stable? This economy has put a great deal of pressure on bank REO departments to sell homes and we can all take advantage. Fannie Mae is selling foreclosed properties with special financing under a program called Home Path. They allow up to 97% financing, no mortgage insurance and no appraisal. They will even help pay up to 6% in closing cost and the 3% down payment can be a gift. Just go to http://www.fanniemae.com/homepath/financing/index.jhtml go get more information and find out what homes qualify. My office is a Home Path approved lender so let's close some. Freddie Mac has a similar program with special financing and will also be aggressive in selling homes. Just go to http://www.freddiemac.com/homepossible/hp97.html for more information on this Freddie Mac Version. My office is also approved for Home Possible Financing opportunities. Another bit of help comes from some Federal Funds called Neighborhood Stabilization Program. This program, similar to SHIPP, allows Federal Funds for use in down payment, closing cost and in some cases even principal reduction. This program used in conjunction with Home Path, Home Possible, FHA, USDA, VA or any conventional loan gives us another boost in buying power. Learn more about this and more available funds at http://www.santarosa.fl.gov/housing/ and Yes, again, America's Mortgage Experts is approved to help with these funds as well. As you can see Fannie and Freddie along with the Federal Government is pushing to help move these properties. Learn what you can and call us for any questions or to allow us to help your customer find that perfect deal.

As many of you are aware the Federal Reserve raised the discount rate by .25% yesterday. The discount rate is now .75% and marks the first time since June 2006 that the Fed. raised this rate. The media was very quick to point out that this discount rate was not the "short term interest rate" that effects rates such as Prime Rate for credit cards or mortgage rates. Well, is that true? I am looking at rate sheets for this morning and realizing how wrong the media is on a daily basis. What make us think the banks are going to pay .25% more to borrow money and NOT pass along the cost to the consumer? Either we really have nice, thoughtful banks that would never do anything to get the American people in a mess like this or we are just being fooled again. Let us not be fooled any longer and try and get the word out that great things are happening in real estate today. We all need to act quickly and get in on the ground floor. Yes, this was a true sign that interest rates will be moving up. I, however, do not believe that is a bad thing. It may serve us all very well. Think about the "fence setters" who have been watching for a sign of better times. Think about that young couple wanting to buy a home but waiting for rates to hit the impossible 3%. Will they move now on a new contract? Will that reluctant investor get off the fence and start buying? I think these questions are up to us in the real estate business. Will we market successfully against the main stream media and get the positive word out or will we all talk about the good old days and allow this opportunity to pass? I for one want to take advantage of this market and close many good loans the next few months. All I ask of you is help me market the truth about what is happening in real estate and of course send your customers here for a mortgage quote.

The mortgage industry is trying hard to find an identity to hold. Problem is, this is a ever changing market with influence in all different directions. We all need to be aware of changes and proposed changes that will affect future decisions. I want to discuss some of these changes so we can prepare. You may already be aware but as of Jan. 1st 2010 we started using a new Good Faith Estimate. This monster is just stupid and very confusing for customers. The government says they wanted to make the GFE easier to read and did just the opposite. For example, the new good faith does not itemize fees like the old GFE or a HUD-1. The new GFE does not include some important information like the old GFE. It does not give you a PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance) payment and does not mention the cash needed to close. In one hand, I like it because I do not have to explain every fee any longer the fees just do not show up anywhere but a total. One the other hand, closings will be a trick because that is when the itemized fees will show and there will surely be questions. The first week of January I just said "no big deal, I will give my customers the old GFE along with the new one the law requires." Wrong again, I was informed that HUD will not allow us to give out any form similar to the old GFE. I wanted to make sure my customer and realtors would see the itemized fees, PITI payment and the cash needed for closing but our government said I cannot show these items. This really does not make sense to me. The home buyer tax deductions for first time home buyers and non-first time home buyers is set to expire on April 30th. This is a change we all knew but now time is running thin. I wanted to remind everyone this date is getting close. Another date to make sure you are aware of is April 5th. On this day FHA will increase the up front mortgage insurance premium from 1.75% to 2.25%. This will raise payments and make qualifying just a little harder for some on the fence customers. The increase was needed to sure up the FHA insurance program against the current losses in the real estate market. Most everyone is aware of HVCC or Home Valuation Code of Conduct but did you know on February 15th all FHA and USDA loans will follow the HVCC guidelines? This will mean no matter what type of mortgage loan (Fannie, Freddie, FHA, VA, USDA, Reverse and Construction) no one will be allowed to pick a certain appraiser for any reason. This sounds on the surface like easy and a fair check and balance but dealing with the process for months now on conventional loans I will tell you it is a mess. As an example, all appraisals must be paid for by credit card. No checks at the door anymore. What if your customer does not have a credit card or does not have $425 in room on a credit card? No more lookups to see if the home would likely appraise. You either pay the full fee or don't. Other FHA proposed changes that currently do not have a date will include changing the maximum seller paid closing cost from 6% to 3%. This will force new home buyers to have that much more cash to close if the changes are approved. Another change being seriously looked at is raising the minimum down payment from 3.5% to 5% for high credit score borrowers. Those with credit scores below 660 will need up to 10% down payment for an FHA insured loan. Again these are proposed changes but will greatly impact a customers ability to purchase if acted upon. Wow, this is a rather long blog for me but there are dates and changes we all need to be prepared for coming up. We are still closing FHA loans with as little as 580 in credit score. Our USDA loans are still moving many people into new homes and Santa Rosa County has new SHIPP funds available. Please call me if you have any questions. Please send me some new customers so we can close before the changes.