Sunny Satchfield-Miceli & Kurt Satchfield

I received this recently from a friend, and thought I'd pass this great information along to you....enjoy!!!

Relationships are truly the spice of life. When we get to the end of our life who wants to be the richest man in the cemetery? Not me, but I do want to be rich in loving relationships.

Read the following commandments for getting along with people.

1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.

2. Smile at people. It takes seventy-two muscles to frown and only fourteen to smile.

3. Call people by name. The sweetest music to anyone's ears is the sound of his or her name.

4. Be friendly and helpful. If you want to have friends, be friendly.

5. Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure [make sure that it is].

6. Be genuinely interested in people. You can find something interesting about every person.

7. Be generous with praise ... and cautious with criticism.

8. Be considerate of the feelings of others. It will be appreciated.

9. Be thoughtful of the opinion of others. There are three sides to a conversation/argument: yours, the other person's, and the right one!

10. Be alert to give service. What you do for others is important.

Follow these commandments to improve your business and personal lives.

Please feel free to forward to a friend or reply back to me with your thoughts.

Be careful when listing a home, going thru the foreclosure process and is currently in a “redemption period”. A redemption period is the time given to the property owners to come up with ALL of the money to pay off the balance of their mortgage, the attorney fees and any unpaid interest.

Yes, you can sell the home during the redemption period, but the following conditions must apply:

1. Property must be in a state where it is common & customary to sell a home in redemption.

2. Title insurance must contain a specific exception for the right of redemption and insure against all loss arising out of the exercise of an outstanding redemption.

3. If redemption is exercised, the mortgage must be paid off directly out of the redemption proceeds with no further action or claim for repayment.

4. The lender must warrant that Fannie, Freddie, FHA and VA will not incur any loss.

Each state has its own laws regarding foreclosure and redemption --this can be a tricky

business.

FHA MIP vs. Conventional PMI – Which is better?

In recent years we have seen a large shift in the market toward FHA lending as most borrowers with small down payments had little to no options on the conventional side. However, the tide has been turning recently as many Private Mortgage Insurance companies have gotten back in the game and now offer qualified buyers many options that are better and less complicated than FHA.

FHA Benefits

FHA has always and continues to be the best option for borrowers with less than perfect credit and low credit scores. These borrowers will still find conventional financing more difficult because conventional financing options for these borrowers either is non-existent or so expensive that it is cost prohibitive.

FHA allows gifts for down payments and overall more flexibility with credit blemishes. The combination of the two is enough to open doors for many would be homeowners. However, FHA mortgage insurance costs are substantially higher than what they were previously. This has negatively impacted monthly payments and can have a negative impact on a buyer’s monthly budget. Remember this as well for refinance clients as although their rate may reduce due to lower interest rates, their payment may not be affected due to higher mortgage insurance premiums.

One other thought, maximum FHA loan amount is $271,050.00

Conventional PMI Benefits

There is a misconception in the market place that many of the PMI companies do not approve loans or do not offer PMI on loans with smaller down payments. Many of the PMI companies have expanded their guidelines and introduced different premium options for increased flexibility. Most PMI companies now offer options with down payments as low as 3% vs. FHA’s 3.5% cash investment. Generally it will require 5% down in our area.

Unlike the Government FHA program, Private Mortgage Insurance is available from a number of companies. Because there are numerous providers, the options can vary from one company to another. However, the number of options available is greater than the one size fits all approach offered by FHA.

In addition, unlike FHA which has both an upfront premium and a monthly mortgage insurance premium (MIP), conventional PMI has multiple premium options (Single Premium, Lender Paid Premium or Monthly Option) to assist clients in achieving their desired monthly payment. Some options allow for no monthly mortgage insurance premium at all!

Do not hesitate to call for further information. You want the best options for your buyers......

Paper Trail:

Rules for Verifying Gift Funds on FHA Loans

This is a continued issue please counsel your buyers:

One of the issues that always come up is how much money your clients plan to use for their down payment. However, what is rarely discussed is, "where is the money coming from for the down payment and closing costs?"

When working with FHA buyers and getting them pre-approved, if they say they are getting all (or part) of the money from a gift, FHA requires a "paper trail." I want to share with you exactly what is needed because this alone could hold up closing—or kill a deal. Remember this has to be done to get the loan approved.......so needed for underwriting.

Name, address and telephone number of the donor

The dollar amount of the gift

The relationship of the donor to the borrower

That no repayment is required

1. If funds are already in a borrower’s account…

a. Obtain a copy of the withdrawal slip from donor’s account

b. Obtain a copy of deposit slip and bank statement showing the deposit into borrower’s account.

2. If funds are provided at the closing table…most lenders will require this for underwriting

a. Obtain a copy of withdrawal slip from the donor’s account

OR, obtain a bank statement showing the withdrawal from donor’s account

b. Must be paid in the form of a certified check

3. If funds are going to be "wired" at closing…

a. Donor to provide documentation of the wire transfer and proof that the funds were available,generally a bank statement with NO recent large deposits.

4. If donor is borrowing funds...

a. Donor to document the loan

b. Funds were borrowed from an acceptable source—bank, credit union, home equity line of credit, etc.

c. Cash on hand is NOT an acceptable source of gift funds

Please call me if you find yourself working with FHA borrowers who mention they are getting money from relatives to help them buy a home. We’ll need to let them know what "paper trail" they will need to follow.

Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch.