Time Dwindling Away for Down Payment Assistance in Austin

In less than 37 days FHA down payment assistance will be a thing of the past. If you are a buyer looking to buy a home in Austin and are seeking “gift” money in order to buy your home, you’d better act fast.  I thought I would give you a friendly reminder.

To recap, on July 30th the President signed a new into law a bill known as the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.  The purpose of that act was to restore confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, provide taxbreaks for first time home buyers, and to help homeowners who are facing forclosure. The debate is still out whether it truly helps consumers or not however change is here to stay.

What happens after October 1st for FHA loans?

• Down Payment Assitance programs such as Nehemiah, Genesis, Ameridream and others will no longer be able to process gift funds. As an alternative you may be able to seek out state and federal downpayment assistance programs which are not affected by the law at this point, otherwise you will have to pony up the downpayment in full.

• Downpayment requirement will increase from 3% to 3.5%

• Increased counseling education for homebuyers to provide stable ownership

You must have your loan in underwriting prior to October 1st in order to still be able to use downpayment assistance. This includes new home builders as well!

Instead of using your money as a downpayment, why not keep the liquid cash for personalizing your new home? This would be a good strategy for aquiring a HUD home!!

So if you are sitting on the fence, you may want to jump down and get in while you can. From what I have experienced with clients and talking with colleagues, there has been a spike on buyers rushing to beat the gun. Will you be one of them?

Would you like to beat the gun? Simply contact me to get started or search Austin Properties now!

Christopher

RE/MAX Capital City

Credit Reporting Kiss and Tell

In our office we have an in house lender who shares trends on our change by the hour mortgage industry. Recently she mentioned how quickly news can get out about you applying for a mortgage and how it can end up costing you in the end if you act casually. I thought I’d share.

The story was regarding a client that she had who applied for a loan and was approved to buy a home. The buyers credit score was above 700 and was good to go. The buyer’s agent advised the buyer to shop around to have his buyer get the best rate. The buyer did shop around but ultimately allowed much time to pass by.  After analyzing the loan offers, the buyer found that the original approval had the best offer. Meanwhile,  the credit bureaus notified collections agencies that the buyer had applied for new credit, collections then reactivated claims to the agencies, and their credit scored plummeted to the 660’s. The buyer was then faced with a higher second lien rate which was originally at 7.5% to a disheartening 9.5% by the time he was in a contract to buy a home.

The impact could mean the difference between buying now or having to rent longer if the buyers credit was marginal.

This was a case that the buyer did take a long period of time. Typically if a buyer acts timely this may not be a factor.

The advice?

First and foremost monitor you credit and check your credit 6 months ahead of your plan to purchase.  There are a lot of changes and knowing where you stand ahead of time can make secure your stake in being able to buy or not. Here you can also make sure that those old collection demons can be taken care of once and for all.

If you are approved comparison shop for a lender quickly and do not let your credit report expire. If you do let the report expire, you could end up seeing a dip in your score and it could be the difference in rate or being able to buy. You have about 90 days to get a loan and buy a house until your report expires. Use that time wisely.

So if you are able to get a loan initially, remember the credit bureaus will and do kiss and tell. Act!

For more information regarding your credit simply e mail me or call me at 512-744-4553.

Christopher

RE/MAX Capital City

FHA Loans Limits Increased Again for Austin- March

Still looking for solutions to both the lagging national home market, the sub prime mortgage hangover, and economy fears, the government backed FHA loan program gets a beneficial boost yet again for third time in several months to an unprecedented high of $288,750 for single family homes and $369,650 for 2 family homes which will undoubtedly benefit Austin. FHA loans, which to some lenders and Realtors was a hassle in the past due to its strict guidelines for properties and heavy paperwork for consumers in order to qualify, will be the go to program once again since many conventional loan programs are a thing of the past especially to the credit challenged.

While credit score is still the measuring stick in obtaining loans, there are other methods involving FHA available such as manual underwriting for those whose score is numerically challenged. Manual underwriting simply requires that you have one year of clean history, meaning no late rent payments, on time utilities, no judgments against you and a debt to income ratio up to 41% to name a few criteria.

The biggest news is that the increase will benefit both the Austin Buyer and Seller. Sellers whose homes are listed above the previous limit of $218,595 will have another avenue for prospective buyers to be able to purchase their home. There are still some requirements in order for homes to qualify for financing through FHA.

As of this second on the MLS the increase in loan amount potentially opens up more than 250 homes to buyers from the previous limit of $218,595 to the new limit of $288,750 for buyers. Condos, lofts, and townhomes saw an increase of 135 more homes potentially available to choose from. Of course as I mentioned before those properties must meet specific FHA guidelines in order to meet financing requirements, however the increase is a sign of greater choice for prospective buyers.

I can’t begin to say how great an opportunity for Real Estate in Austin this is. It seems that Austin, never apart of the national housing bust, seems to keep benefiting from these announcements. This along with the constant migration of people into Austin stands to see our market continue to out pace the nation and keep it ever desirable.

For more information, feel free to email me or call me directly at 512-744-4553 to get started in buying or selling your next home.

Christopher

RE/MAX Capital City