Scott Dovala Santa Rosa Mortgage and Home Loans

With the passing of the stimulus bill now behind us, in a few short weeks Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA will release their new guidelines on loans above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. Although this will help to stimulate refinances and home sales, there are two things that homeowners looking to sell during this time must remember. The first is the bill is only effective until the end of the year, and second you will be competing with 1000's of other homes on the market.

Now is the time you must sit down and create a plan of action on how you are going to differentiate your home from all the others. What is going to make a seller choose your home over all the others. There are several ways of accomplishing this. The first and most important is renovating. The degree of renovation you choose can end up costing you a few hundred dollars, to the extreme with an entire home makeover. But before you go and start pulling out the sledge hammer and start tearing down walls, you must create a plan, because not all renovations will give you a higher return when you go to sell your home. For a better idea of what return you may expect on your renovation project click on Renovation Calculator to get an idea of what your return should be when you sell your home. Remember, when you decide to renovate, it doesn't always mean 1000's of dollars. Just simply re-painting the interior of the home is enough. Paint that blue and red living room a more neutral color. That bright purple bedroom a neutral color. Although those who are into bright colors might find neutral boring, it will open up a multitude of selling opportunities that would not have been there had you left the bright colors.

Another way to entice buyers is by incentives. What do I mean by that? Offer to pay the closing costs for the buyer, or offer to lower their interest rate by buying down a point on their mortgage. Make sure you have a Home Warranty that covers any repairs that might need to be made once the house has been sold. These few ideas may sound simple, and I am sure other sellers will try offering cars and vacations to sell their homes. But on average people who are looking to buy a home are not looking for a new car or vacation. They are looking for a home that has the least amount of renovating they must do once they occupy the home, and they are also searching for a home that their family will be happy and feel safe in.

With the new stimulus package being nearly passed by the President, now is the time to start thinking about refinancing out of those higher interest option arm rates or purchasing a new home.

We all know how California has suffered through this housing slump, mainly because of our higher median home prices. The majority of Californians could not even think about refinancing their homes due to the fact that our homes are still to far above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. While we sat and watched many parts of the country such as the Midwest and Southern portions of the US refinance into lower conforming rates, we were basically held hostage by the secondary markets where loans are bought and sold. Since the credit crisis became news, the secondary market has virtually closed down the jumbo loan market by hiking the interest rates in some instances up to 11%.

For homeowners and future homebuyers, the new package will raise the current conforming loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from $ 417,000 to $729,750. Most importantly, for those homeowners with less than perfect credit scores, the package will also raise the loan limits on FHA loans from $362,790 in California to $729,750. Now with these changes Californians looking to refinance out of those high adjustable rates hovering between 7.00% to 11.00% will be allowed to apply for a lower rate. First-Time Homebuyers along with previous homeowners will now be able to purchase a home, seeing how this change should settle down the fluctuations in home prices.

One thing that both future and current homeowners must be made aware of however, is that the days of applying for a stated income/stated asset loan have all but gone to the wayside. Yes, there still are some stated income loans around, but the requirements are much stiffer then when borrowers previously applied. Fico's for most of these programs will not allow a borrower to be approved with less than a 720 credit score and 25% down. What will this mean when applying for a loan? You must be prepared to be fully documented. When applying for a loan a borrower or co-borrowers will have to supply 2 months of their most current bank statements along with 30 days of their most current pay-stubs along with 2 years W-2's. Those that are self-employed will also have to supply 2 years of 1040's. As the loan progresses the underwriter may ask for additional paperwork if clarification is needed, but most times, depending on your credit score, the above initial paperwork is all that is needed to achieve approval. For those with lower credit scores, FHA is the way to go. FHA is far more forgiving when it comes to a borrowers credit problems and misfortunes. A word of warning though, make sure the lender that you use to apply for an FHA loan is approved to close FHA loans.

For those wishing to learn more about the above programs or those looking to get a nife no-obligation pre-qualification, please call Scott Dovala, Branch Manager at Ascent Home Loans in santa Rosa CA toll-free at 877-392-0674 or 707-494-8532. Scott can also be reached by email at sdovala@ascenthomeloans.com, or visit my website at Ascent Home Loans.

With the new stimulus package being nearly passed by the President, now is the time for Mendocino Homeowners to start thinking about refinancing out of those higher interest option arm rates or purchasing a new home in Mendocino CA.

We all know how California has suffered through this housing slump, mainly because of our higher median home prices. The majority of Californians could not even think about refinancing their homes due to the fact that our homes are still to far above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. While we sat and watched many parts of the country such as the Midwest and Southern portions of the US refinance into lower conforming rates, we were basically held hostage by the secondary markets where loans are bought and sold. Since the credit crisis became news, the secondary market has virtually closed down the jumbo loan market by hiking the interest rates in some instances up to 11%.

For homeowners and future homebuyers, the new package will raise the current conforming loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from $ 417,000 to $729,750. Most importantly, for those homeowners with less than perfect credit scores, the package will also raise the loan limits on FHA loans from $362,790 in California to $729,750. Now with these changes Californians looking to refinance out of those high adjustable rates hovering between 7.00% to 11.00% will be allowed to apply for a lower rate. First-Time Homebuyers along with previous homeowners will now be able to purchase a home, seeing how this change should settle down the fluctuations in home prices.

One thing that both future and current homeowners must be made aware of however, is that the days of applying for a stated income/stated asset loan have all but gone to the wayside. Yes, there still are some stated income loans around, but the requirements are much stiffer then when borrowers previously applied. Fico's for most of these programs will not allow a borrower to be approved with less than a 720 credit score and 25% down. What will this mean when applying for a loan? You must be prepared to be fully documented. When applying for a loan a borrower or co-borrowers will have to supply 2 months of their most current bank statements along with 30 days of their most current pay-stubs along with 2 years W-2's. Those that are self-employed will also have to supply 2 years of 1040's. As the loan progresses the underwriter may ask for additional paperwork if clarification is needed, but most times, depending on your credit score, the above initial paperwork is all that is needed to achieve approval. For those with lower credit scores, FHA is the way to go. FHA is far more forgiving when it comes to a borrowers credit problems and misfortunes. A word of warning though, make sure the lender that you use to apply for an FHA loan is approved to close FHA loans.

For those wishing to learn more about the above programs or those looking to get a nife no-obligation pre-qualification, please call Scott Dovala, Branch Manager at Ascent Home Loans in santa Rosa CA toll-free at 877-392-0674 or 707-494-8532. Scott can also be reached by email at sdovala@ascenthomeloans.com, or visit my website at Ascent Home Loans.

With the new stimulus package being nearly passed by the President, now is the time to start thinking about refinancing out of those higher interest option arm rates or purchasing a new home.

We all know how California has suffered through this housing slump, mainly because of our higher median home prices. The majority of Californians could not even think about refinancing their homes due to the fact that our homes are still to far above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. While we sat and watched many parts of the country such as the Midwest and Southern portions of the US refinance into lower conforming rates, we were basically held hostage by the secondary markets where loans are bought and sold. Since the credit crisis became news, the secondary market has virtually closed down the jumbo loan market by hiking the interest rates in some instances up to 11%.

For homeowners and future homebuyers, the new package will raise the current conforming loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from $ 417,000 to $729,750. Most importantly, for those homeowners with less than perfect credit scores, the package will also raise the loan limits on FHA loans from $362,790 in California to $729,750. Now with these changes Californians looking to refinance out of those high adjustable rates hovering between 7.00% to 11.00% will be allowed to apply for a lower rate. First-Time Homebuyers along with previous homeowners will now be able to purchase a home, seeing how this change should settle down the fluctuations in home prices.

One thing that both future and current homeowners must be made aware of however, is that the days of applying for a stated income/stated asset loan have all but gone to the wayside. Yes, there still are some stated income loans around, but the requirements are much stiffer then when borrowers previously applied. Fico's for most of these programs will not allow a borrower to be approved with less than a 720 credit score and 25% down. What will this mean when applying for a loan? You must be prepared to be fully documented. When applying for a loan a borrower or co-borrowers will have to supply 2 months of their most current bank statements along with 30 days of their most current pay-stubs along with 2 years W-2's. Those that are self-employed will also have to supply 2 years of 1040's. As the loan progresses the underwriter may ask for additional paperwork if clarification is needed, but most times, depending on your credit score, the above initial paperwork is all that is needed to achieve approval. For those with lower credit scores, FHA is the way to go. FHA is far more forgiving when it comes to a borrowers credit problems and misfortunes. A word of warning though, make sure the lender that you use to apply for an FHA loan is approved to close FHA loans.

For those wishing to learn more about the above programs or those looking to get a nife no-obligation pre-qualification, please call Scott Dovala, Branch Manager at Ascent Home Loans in santa Rosa CA toll-free at 877-392-0674 or 707-494-8532. Scott can also be reached by email at sdovala@ascenthomeloans.com, or visit my website at Ascent Home Loans.

With the new stimulus package being nearly passed by the President, now is the time to start thinking about refinancing out of those higher interest option arm rates or purchasing a new home.

We all know how California has suffered through this housing slump, mainly because of our higher median home prices. The majority of Californians could not even think about refinancing their homes due to the fact that our homes are still to far above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. While we sat and watched many parts of the country such as the Midwest and Southern portions of the US refinance into lower conforming rates, we were basically held hostage by the secondary markets where loans are bought and sold. Since the credit crisis became news, the secondary market has virtually closed down the jumbo loan market by hiking the interest rates in some instances up to 11%.

For homeowners and future homebuyers, the new package will raise the current conforming loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from $ 417,000 to $729,750. Most importantly, for those homeowners with less than perfect credit scores, the package will also raise the loan limits on FHA loans from $362,790 in California to $729,750. Now with these changes Californians looking to refinance out of those high adjustable rates hovering between 7.00% to 11.00% will be allowed to apply for a lower rate. First-Time Homebuyers along with previous homeowners will now be able to purchase a home, seeing how this change should settle down the fluctuations in home prices.

One thing that both future and current homeowners must be made aware of however, is that the days of applying for a stated income/stated asset loan have all but gone to the wayside. Yes, there still are some stated income loans around, but the requirements are much stiffer then when borrowers previously applied. Fico's for most of these programs will not allow a borrower to be approved with less than a 720 credit score and 25% down. What will this mean when applying for a loan? You must be prepared to be fully documented. When applying for a loan a borrower or co-borrowers will have to supply 2 months of their most current bank statements along with 30 days of their most current pay-stubs along with 2 years W-2's. Those that are self-employed will also have to supply 2 years of 1040's. As the loan progresses the underwriter may ask for additional paperwork if clarification is needed, but most times, depending on your credit score, the above initial paperwork is all that is needed to achieve approval. For those with lower credit scores, FHA is the way to go. FHA is far more forgiving when it comes to a borrowers credit problems and misfortunes. A word of warning though, make sure the lender that you use to apply for an FHA loan is approved to close FHA loans.

For those wishing to learn more about the above programs or those looking to get a nife no-obligation pre-qualification, please call Scott Dovala, Branch Manager at Ascent Home Loans in santa Rosa CA toll-free at 877-392-0674 or 707-494-8532. Scott can also be reached by email at sdovala@ascenthomeloans.com, or visit my website at Ascent Home Loans.