Everyday I am asked questions that make me sit back and wonder why that person did not know the answer to the question. Usually after a brief discussion it isn't they did not know it, it is they were unsure with what they did know. Same thing happens to me all the time, I get asked a question, I give an answer, then the second question comes and the moment of doubt.
Today, I want to give you some useful information in the form of links that I hope will help you as Realtors.
Over the past five or six years with the availability of no doc loans, Government loans (FHA and VA) saw a downturn in the number of loans these agencies placed yearly on owner occupied housing. Now with tightening credit guidelines we have seen an increase in FHA and VA loans which I believe is very good for the consumer. Condos seem to present the biggest problem. It is absolutely imperative the condo project have FHA and or VA approval. In order to know where to start you must first establish whether the project is approved. This really should be done while you are researching for the listing. Here are two links to help:
For VA condo approvals: http://condopudbuilder.vba.va.gov/2.2/frames.html
For FHA condo approvals: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm
Of course the most important link is the one with the loan officer you have a developed relationship. All loan officers are not alike just like all Realtors are not alike. Having a team relationship with your loan officer can help you when you are the selling agent and yes even when you are the listing agent.
Teamwork makes it happen and we are here to help.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!
Kevin M. Breeland
General Manager
Residential Mortgage of South Carolina, LLC
427 Johnnie Dodds Rd.
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
www.residentialscdailyrates.com
Competitive by nature...the Best by choice!
How many times as a kid did you ask your mom that question. If your mom was like mine she would tell all the things you wanted to hear and none of the stuff that would make not eat it. Here is a question to ask yourself, What is in the FY 2010 Budget?
Below is a link for the Budget the President is proposing to Congress. At first I thought I would just follow the news about the budget like I always do. This morning on the news it was reported there was a website where the President was taking comments from you and I about his proposal. I thought to myself, I don't want to read a 1000 page document. I looked anyway and even though I have not found the website to comment I do have the budget proposal....all 142 pages. I am including a link for everyone so you can open it, look at it, download it, and read yourself.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/fy2010_new_era/A_New_Era_of_Responsibility2.pdf
I don't know about you, but for me when my mom now tells me something is good for me I look into a little deeper. We are at critical crossroads and this time I am going to read the budget, comment about it, send emails to my Congressional Delegation, and I encourage everyone to do the same....you see, we have been asked to eat many things and many of us don't like the taste.
We elected the people in Washington because we wanted change, a change that may or may not be happening. It occurred to me if we really WANT CHANGE, it is WE who MUST CHANGE. WE MUST READ THIS BUDGET AND GET INVOLVED, OTHERWISE OUR OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE WILL PASS. The President can't give us change, only we can give ourselves change and that change starts with us telling Washington what we like about the budget, and what we don't.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!
Kevin M. Breeland
General Manager
Residential Mortgage of South Carolina, LLC
427 Johnnie Dodds Rd.
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
www.residentialscdailyrates.com
Competitive by nature...the Best by choice!
This is a question almost every customer I ever had over my 30 yrs as a loan officer has asked at some point and time. Frankly, it is not an easy question to answer and I have never approached this question lightly. It is disappointing to me when "mortgage professionals" answer this loan based on what products they have available and not on what might be best for the consumer.
Here is an example, not every lender is FHA or VA approved. Why, well there are a number of factors but the main reason has to do with net worth of the lender. Other factors could be personnel, background of the owners, or lending area. If the FHA loan limits aren't high enough for the median priced home in your area then FHA loans are hard to do. VA loans allow the Fannie/Freddie loan limits so they are available even in high cost areas. Again, the lender has certain financial requirements, personnel, and of course solid backgrounds to be approved VA.
In a tightening credit environment FHA and VA are proven programs that will allow for more potential homeowners to qualify than standard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs. With tightening credit criteria for Mortgage Insurance, absolutely required with less than 20% down, FHA and VA should possibly be the first choice instead of the second, third, or not offered whatsoever. I could go on and on about the merits of FHA and VA loans compared to Conventional Conforming loans but just think about this...FHA requires 3.5% down payment, VA requires ZERO....Conforming Conventional minimum down payment if you can get MI is 5%. Here is another point, overall debt ratio for FHA and VA is 41%, in energy efficient homes it climbs to 43%. Conforming Conventional is overall debt ratio is 36%, energy efficient homes its climbs to 38%. Think about this as well, if you customer has the average credit score of 692, Conforming Conventional Loans have FICO adjusters, FHA and VA does not.
Conventional wisdom is property requirements are tougher FHA and VA, that is not completely true. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require Health and Safety issues to be corrected prior to closing, the same as FHA and VA. However, if you are in a declining market you can't do Maximum Conforming Financing but you can with FHA and VA. Property standards are such that if your client is buying a foreclosure that has been gutted, needs major work, then none of these loan programs will work. Most properties will qualify FHA and VA....if your lender is not offering you should be asking yourself why....the truth might surprise you. To do the best job for your clients a Mortgage Banker who offers Conforming Conventional along with FHA and VA will provide you and your client the best opportunity for success.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!
Kevin M. Breeland
General Manager
Residential Mortgage of South Carolina, LLC
427 Johnnie Dodds Rd.
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
www.residentialscdailyrates.com
Competitive by nature...the Best by choice!
Believe it or not, this is the second attempt today to write this blog. My first attempt ended with me inserting my picture at the end and the entire blog went away....
Today I read a report that frankly surprised me. Whether you agree with the actions taken or not you should acknowledge that the Federal Government has more ownership of private business then any other time in our history.
Somewhere in the process we have taken the Federal Government, you know By the People For the People, and turned it into a Joint Venture Partner. Right now as I am writing this blog Secretary Geithner and Fed Chairman Bernanke is explaining to the House Finance Committee why another oversight organization needs to be developed so the Government can take control of large businesses on the verge of failure, like AIG. It would give the Government more, yes I said more, authority and oversight of companies similar to what they do with banks now.
Think about this, the Federal Government is now a major shareholder in all of the nations biggest banks. For a short-time Citigroup's stock price dropped below a dollar. I remember back in January when one of the economic outlooks I follow stated the price of Citigroup has now dropped below the price of a Chicken Chalupa Grande at Taco Bell. In an effort to have a "soft landing" we have slowly allowed our Government the position of a socialized economy. Now before I receive hate mail, I am not saying we are there. What I am saying is when are we going to stand up and say "we will take it from here"? My concern is no one is looking past the summer.
Today, not only is the Fed Chairman and Secretary of the Treasury testifying, The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that in January housing prices increased 1.7% nationwide. Really? Are you kidding me? What markets? For those of you who don't know the FHFA was formed by a legislative merger of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) mission team. FHFA regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. This was done on October 27, 2008. They are reporting, like I said, a 1.7% housing price increase in January. Here is the link for the report...just the Pacific region experienced lower prices, http://www.ofheo.gov/media/hpi/MonthlyHPI32409.pdf, so judge for yourself.
I am not sure what is going to happen tomorrow but I leave you with this thought. I generally have been in favor of the actions taken. I am wondering now if we are assuming the Government will just step in and fix it and we don't have to do anything. I realize this is just one report on Housing and it was a good report. It is also being prepared, published, and supplied by our largest Joint Venture Partner without us preforming any audit. We should be asking questions and lots of them before we pass to the side of no return.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!
Kevin M. Breeland
General Manager
Residential Mortgage of South Carolina, LLC
427 Johnnie Dodds Rd.
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
www.residentialscdailyrates.com
Competitive by nature...the Best by choice!
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