Silver City, NM

Definition: A loan made by an approved lender in accordance with the FHA's regulations and insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

From "About.com":

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) runs several programs to promote home ownership. In most cases, FHA loans are mortgages obtained with the help of the FHA. With a small down payment, buyers can purchase a home. FHA loans make it easier for people to qualify for a mortgage, but they're not for everybody.

What is an FHA Loan?

An FHA loan is a loan insured against default by the FHA. In other words, the FHA guarantees that a lender won't have to write off a loan if the borrower defaults - the FHA will pay. Because of this guarantee, lenders are willing to make large mortgage loans.

Who Can Get an FHA Loan?

Almost anybody can get an FHA loan. There are no income limits - like you may find with first time home buyer programs. However, there are limits on how much you can borrow. In general, you're limited to relatively small mortgage loans relative to home prices in your area. To find the limits in your region, visit HUD's Website.

To qualify for an FHA loan, you'll need to have reasonable debt to income ratios. In general, you have to be better than 29/41. In addition, you have to have decent credit. You don't need wonderful credit to get an FHA loan; it just needs to be decent.

Why are FHA Loans so Great?

FHA loans are not for everybody. Nevertheless, they are a great help to some borrowers. FHA loans allow people to buy a home with a down payment as small as 3%. Other loans might not allow such a low down payment.

FHA loans offer a few other bells and whistles:

• Easier to use gifts for down payment and closing costs
• No prepayment penalty (a big plus for subprime borrowers)
• An FHA loan may be assumable
• Possible leniency during financial hard times

Also check out the following websites:

http://www.hud.gov/buying/loans.cfm

http://www.fha.com

http://banking.about.com/od/mortgages/a/FHALoans.htm

Today's Saying: He who fails to plan, plans to fail.

Here are a few photos from around Silver City.

Since there are 2 Copper Mines in our area, it is common to see Mine Equipment used as Lawn Ornaments. This Ore Car is on a Business's Lawn on Gold St.

Ranching country means wells for water and that equals Wind Mills. This one is located north on Swan St.

Silver City has a thriving arts community. This mural is located on the wall of the Silver City co-op off of Historic Bullard St.

Definition: A right, privilege or interest limited to a specific use or control purpose which one party has in the land of another party and which run with the land and are not a personal right of an individual.

Discussion: When a property has an easement, it means that the described entity has the right to use that part of the property for a given purpose. Example: a "Utility Easement" along the south line of a property means that the Utility Company has the right to go onto that part of the property and maintain the utilities therein. The property owner may not block access to that part of the property that has an easement on it. Nothing permanent may be legally placed into / onto the easement.

A legal easement will be recorded with the deed. So when you buy a property, the title search will reveal this. The survey will also show any legally recorded easements on the property.

Today's Saying: Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.

Linda Ferrara - Associate Broker

Coldwell Banker Enchantment Realty

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Cell: 575-519-9249

Definition: The limitations in the deed to a property that dictate specific ways that a property must or must not be used.

Discussion: Deed restrictions are similar to covenants in that they are rules of what can and cannot be done on the property. They run with the land no matter who owns the property. Typical restrictions may include "no manufactured homes" or "land may not be divided into less than 5 acres parcels."

The Seller's Realtor should have a copy of the restrictions available for a potential Buyer. Occasionally a deed restriction is not known about until a title search is performed. So this can become an issue depending on what the Buyer wants to use the property for.

Today's Saying: We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~Japanese Proverb

Linda Ferrara - Associate Broker

Coldwell Banker Enchantment Realty

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Jamie Rhein wrote a great post about 'camping green' in the Gila. Here it is reposted:

Apr 22, 2010 12:41 - By: Jamie Rhein

The Gila Wilderness offers earth friendly lodging

Earth Day makes me think of places like the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico. It's a perfect spot for an environmentally friendly hiking/primitive camping trip combo. It also offers non-fussy adventure in the midst of beauty.

My trip to the Gila National Forest, where the wilderness is located, was the most environmentally friendly one I've ever been on-except for two years in the Peace Corps in The Gambia, West Africa, but that's another story.

My husband, then boyfriend, talked me into the Gila Wilderness camping trip by touting it as his most favorite place in New Mexico -someplace he really, really, really wanted me to see. A hiker, but not much of a wilderness camper type gal- frankly, NOT a wilderness camper, I bought it.

So off we went, parking our car at a designated parking lot, lacing up our hiking boots, doning our backpacks and heading off on a trail to our overnight spot where we would pitch our small, two person tent.

The Middlefork River

I was glad I let him talk me into heading out of my comfort zone. The Gila Wilderness is indeed gorgeous. With its distinction as the first designated wilderness in the U.S., the area remains one of the largest remote and untouched national forests. Our companions were the douglas firs and aspens that cover the mountains and bordered the river and streams we traversed.

Yes, crossing the river and streams several times over the course of two days was on the hiking menu. My husband, then boyfriend, promised the crossings weren't that many. Not that many turned out-by my count-to be nineteen-or was it 100? If you do take such a trip, be prepared. One good thing about the river crossings is that I was cured of my fear of wading across water. We followed the guidelines of green camping by packing out our trash, not cooking meals (although I do recall a hot cup of coffee in the morning thanks to an itty bitty stove) and not bushwhacking it through vegetation. We didn't put soap into the stream either.

Green lodging in the woods

What I discovered is just how glorious the woods are when no one else is around and that one doesn't need much to have a grand time. Sure, I was glad, thrilled actually, to arrive back at the car, but I can still picture the way the sun shone through the trees and hear the sound of the water as it passed near the spot where we pitched our tent as if we headed off to the Gila just yesterday.

If you're interested in enjoying the Gila National Forest, you don't need to find a spot in the woods on your own. The Gila National Forest does have campgrounds that range from RV friendly with electric hook ups and dump stations to the primitive camping version with a toilet nearby.

If you head to the Gila in New Mexico, make your way to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument where Mogollon people lived in cave-like recesses in the mountain rock several hundred years ago.

The Gila National Forest website is a helpful resource for organizing your trip. Here is the link to the dispersed camping sites. If you head out away from designated campsites, you don't need a permit.

As a word of warning, bring plenty of drinking water with you.

Gila National Forest
3005 E. Camino del Bosque
Silver City, NM 88061-7863
(575) 388-8201