Joshua Lerette St. Petersburg Florida FHA/VA Mortgage Specialist

If you have been looking to refinance your existing mortgage only to find your value has dropped and refinancing was not an option, help has finanlly arived. In response to the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HARP), Fannie Mae's Home Affordable Refinance Program, or other wise known as Making Home Affordable, has finanlly been made available for home owners in need of refinancing. The Home Affordable Refinance program is available to any home owner with a current loan that was sold to Fannie Mae. To find if your loan was sold to Fannie Mae, visit http://www.fanniemae.com/index.jhtml.

Features of the Fannie Mae DU Refi Plus Program include:

• Loans must be a Full Doc loan with salaried borrowers submitting one paystub and self-employed borrowers qualifying off last year's federal income tax return.
• Up to 105% Loan to Value.
• No maximum Combined Loan to Value.
• All existing subordinate financing must be re-subordinated. New subordinate financing not allowed.
• No minimum credit score requirement.
• Standard conforming, and high balance loan limits are eligible.
• All existing loan types are eligible, as long as it was sold to Fannie Mae.
• No seasoning requirement.
• Salaried borrowers require one month paystub; self-employed borrowers require one year’s federal income tax return.
• If you current mortgage did not require Mortgage Insurance (MI), your new loan will not require MI.
• Program available to single family homes, 1-4 units, condos, townhouses, second homes, and investment properties

To find out more about the program and to see if you qualify, contact The Tampa Bay Mortgage Pro.

Joshua A. Lerette - Home Loan Specialist
The Tampa Bay Mortgage Pro
727-488-7355

With the number of REO properties increasing, Fannie Mae has decided to follow Freddie Mac in offering the HomePath Mortgage. HomePath financing is available for Fannie Mae REO’s with the HomePath logo found on HomePath.com. There are approximately 200 homes available in the Pinellas County Region today that are eligible for this financing. I’ve personally noticed a significant increase in questions about this financing so I thought I would cover the basics.

Here is a quick synopsis of the HomePath Mortgage:

• Minimum 5% down for primary residence, 10% down investment property
• Borrower can own up to 10 financed properties (but need 25% down if they own more than 4)
• NO APPRAISAL NEEDED
• NO MORTGAGE INSURANCE
• High balance (jumbo) and interest only products available
• Seller contributions can be 6-9% on primary residence (the larger the down payment, the larger the allowable contribution), only 2% on investment property
• This loan does price with a higher rate than your average 30 year fixed conforming loan. If you want an equivalent rate to the going 30 year fixed, this loan would price with an additional approx 1% to 3.75% discount points. Keep in mind, much of this can be covered by the seller and there is no mortgage insurance. Of course one can just opt for the higher rate in lieu of the discount points.
• Same basic underwriting requirements of a conforming loan, but without the property issues (appliances missing - no problem)

This program is especially perfect for seasoned investors or even first time investors. For anyone who has been in investing knows that guidelines for investment properties tightened greatly over the past few years. Now, you have the opportunity to buy very reasonably priced homes with as little as 10% down with fantastic interest rates and NO MI. I personally think this is a fantastic program that will help you take advantage of a wonderful market to buy your first home or buy your next home! Take advantage of a down economy and invest in your future.

Joshua A. Lerette - Home Loan Specialist
Innovative Mortgage Solutions, Inc.

Visit Me at www.TheTBMortgagePro.com

Tax Credit for Home buyers

First-time home buyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income.

The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.

Additional Housing-Related Provisions

Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs — This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.

Landmark Energy Savings — This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUD-Assisted Housing —This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs. Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section 8) to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.

Expanding Housing Assistance — This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.

More Help for Homeowners in the Future

Another thing to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is President Obama’s plan to help struggling borrowers before they are faced with a default on their mortgage.

According to reports, the Obama administration is discussing plans to help borrowers who are struggling to stay afloat, but who have not yet fallen behind on their payments. At this point, details are scarce; however, reports indicate that President Obama is looking to spend approximately $50 Billion to directly help homeowners before they face foreclosure and financial disaster.

Among its many provisions is a $7,500 tax credit for first time home buyers. The House passed the $819 billion stimulus plan, including this tax credit, in a vote late Wednesday. The Senate may vote on its version of the bill some time next week.

Technically, the stimulus bill is actually changing the terms of the $7,500 tax credit that was issued as a part of the Housing Recovery Act, which Congress passed last summer. That legislation required that the tax credit be repaid over 15 years, making it more of a no-interest loan. Not surprisingly, the measure had little impact on the market. The stimulus bill now under consideration would make that tax credit a true credit that doesn't need to be repaid.

Many in the housing industry believe this credit could do a lot to jump start the moribund housing market.

"Our economists have studied the effect [of the credit] and they say there could be a 10% increase in home sales if it's implemented," said Mary Trupo, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Realtors. "It gives people who are sitting on the fence or who have inadequate funds for closing costs an incentive to act now."

A 10% increase would yield an extra half million sales this year.

To be eligible, buyers cannot have owned a home for the past three years, and the new home has to be used as a primary residence. The credit phases out as income rises above $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for couples, and disappears entirely at $95,000 and $170,000, respectively.

Applying for it is easy, or at least as easy as doing your income taxes. Just claim it on your return. That's it. No other forms or papers have to be filed.

Both the Senate and the House versions of the new act remove the requirement that buyers repay the credit. The Senate bill applies retroactively to any purchase completed between January 1, 2009 and the end of August. The House version is also retroactive to the start of the year, and expires at the end of June. As long as buyers don't sell for at least 36 months, they keep the money.

And the credit is refundable, meaning that it can be claimed even if the amount of the credit earned exceeds the buyer's tax liability. So even if your total tax bill comes to just $5,000, you can still qualify for a full $7,500 refund.

The housing industry has been pushing this idea for many months, arguing that first-time homebuyers are the key to boosting home sales. First time buyers who purchase from existing homeowners free those sellers to trade up to bigger, better houses.

Right now is a great time to buy. Mortgage rates are still at historic lows while housing prices have dropped dramatically. With an inventory level as high as it is, the buyers market becomes stronger every day. Purchasing with little or no money down with rates in 5% range and a $7500 tax credit just for purchasing, why wait? For more information on how you can qualify for a low/no money down mortgage and get your $7500 tax credit, contact The Tampa Bay Mortgage Pro at www.thetbmortgagepro.com today.

We can only hold our breaths as DPAGroundSwell2 was launched January 16th to coincide with the introduction of H.R. 600, FHA Seller-Financed Dowpayment Reform Act of 2009, by Rep. Al Green (D-TX). H.R. 600 is the 2009 version of last year's bill (H.R. 6694) that would restore seller-funded downpayment assistance (DPA).

Reformed DPA will help stimulate the housing market by providing working-class Americans with a path to homeownership and generate $150 billion in home sales this year. Purchains a home now puts homebuyers in a position to build equity as markets recover.

The greatest part about DPA's is that it broadens the opportunities for sustainable homeownership without the government or taxpayer dollars.

The following statement was issued by Scott Syphax, president and CEO of the Nehemiah Corporation of America in response to H.R. 600, a bill introduced in Congress that would reinstate seller-funded downpayment assistance (DPA). Prior to the October 1, 2008 ban on DPA, Nehemiah was the oldest and largest provider of downpayment assistance.

"There is an overlooked solution to today's housing crisis and fortunately several members of Congress recognize the role DPA plays in getting us there. We commend Congressman Al Green [and additional members of Congress] for working tirelessly to support a bill (H.R. 600) that creates opportunities for sustainable homeownership, which serves as the cornerstone to strengthening a crumbling housing market and breathing life back into the economy. With foreclosures on the rise and banks maintaining their stranglehold on credit, DPA offers a simple solution without spending a single government or taxpayer dime according to the Congressional Budget Office. Further, it enables worthy families to take advantage of depressed home prices, therefore reducing the glut of homes on the market. We urge Congress to reach across the aisle and prioritize broadening opportunities for responsible homeownership in America by reinstating DPA."

Stay tuned for, hopefully, more fantastic information as the government may possibly get something right.