With all the changes in the mortgage industry and guidelines getting tougher and tougher FHA loans are one of the last loans out there for many buyers who don't have the required 680 credit score or 20% down. It's a 30 year fixed rate, very competitive loan that requires only 3 1/2% down, and all the down payment can be a gift.
Appraisers are required to comment on a lot more details of a home than your regular 30 year fixed. It makes sense if you think about it. You've got a person putting minimal down. This usually means they don't have excess cash lying around if the roof is going to be needing replacement soon. So to avoid a borrower incurring high home repairs right after purchase, they want the home to meet certain requirements.
I've got a copy of the check-list FHA appraisers use when they inspect a home. If you are wondering if a home you're listing will have problems, check out the list. If you're working on getting a listing, explain to the sellers the importance of FHA loans in selling their home and what repairs would need to be done for the property to meet FHA minimum property standards.
If we're all proactive, you'll sell more homes, loans will go smoother, and more people can make their dream of home ownership a reality.
Shoot me an e-mail and I'll forward this appraiser checklist to you.
Let's work together to sell more homes!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
FLOOD MAP TIP OF THE DAY!
I found a pretty cool link today while trying to research whether a property is in the flood plain or not. Cut and paste this into your browser.
http://wi-lacrosse2.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=1088
you can pull up a map index that will give you an idea of what panel to go back and open, or you can click on FEMA MAP SERVICE and type in the address.
All lenders have to use an independent flood determination company to give us the final determination as to whether or not a property requires flood insurance, but this will give you a heads-up on your listings or if you're on the buyer-end of it, you can let your buyers know they will need to figure flood insurance into their monthly payment.
It's amazing what you can find out there if you know where to look!
http://wi-lacrosse2.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=1088
you can pull up a map index that will give you an idea of what panel to go back and open, or you can click on FEMA MAP SERVICE and type in the address.
All lenders have to use an independent flood determination company to give us the final determination as to whether or not a property requires flood insurance, but this will give you a heads-up on your listings or if you're on the buyer-end of it, you can let your buyers know they will need to figure flood insurance into their monthly payment.
It's amazing what you can find out there if you know where to look!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
POSSIBLE PROBLEM-TYPE PROPERTIES
Did you know you may have some trouble selling a certain type property these days?
Loans that are long-term fixed, lowest rates, least down are CONVENTIONAL LOANS that, even though they may be serviced by local lenders, are SOLD on secondary market. If you've ever heard the term Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Gennie Mae, these are where the bulk of the funds come from for today's mortgages. When lenders do a 30 year fixed rate loan, they use their own money to do the loan, then the loan is sold and they are reimbursed their funds so they can do more loans. The buyer may continue to make their loan payments to that lender, even though the loan is sold, or they could be paying someone else. A lender sells the loan, but can choose to retain the "servicing" or the handling of the loan payments. Loans can be sold at any time during their term.
In-house loans are loans where the lender uses their own funds and does not sell them. You will not get a 30 year fixed. Most likely, it will be a 1-3 year adjustable rate (ARM) or loan with a balloon payment that is due in 1-3 years. They will not tie up their funds for 30 years. It's not good banking business.
To get these long term, fixed rate, low rate mortgages they need to meet the requirements of secondary market, or as I like to say, borrowers have to JUMP THROUGH THE HOOPS. Believe me, there are a lot of hoops these days. Secondary market, to simplify, only wants cookie-cutter homes that will sell easily and fast if they need to foreclose on them. The hoops are their way to ensuring the chances of getting that loan back minimal.
Because of the continual tightening of mortgage guidelines, properties that may be difficult to get the secondary market loans on these days are:
1) Investment property - 1-4 unit non-owner occupied income/rental properties need 25% down, a high credit score, and unless the borrower has had a 2 year history of being a landlord, they probably won't let them use any rental income to help qualify them for the loan. Most people need that rental income to qualify.
2) Unique properties - Secondary market doesn't like unique properties. If it's unique they may have trouble selling it if they foreclose on the property. Also, to be acceptable on secondary market, there needs to be 2-3 comparable sales that have sold in 30-90 days. Unique properties are an appraiser's nightmare and hard to appraise. Unique properties are Dome houses, earth homes, log homes, 1 bedrooms, multiple out buildings, holding tanks, 2 homes on one lot.
3) Manufactured homes - Loans for manufactured are VERY DIFFICULT these days. Borrowers are most likely going to need a substantial down payment, and won't be able to get a fixed, long-term loan. Don't get manufactured confused with MODULAR. Modular are not as tough. Make sure you let your lender or Realtor know upfront you are selling or buying a manufactured so you avoid problems. Make sure you know the obstacles involved with manufactured homes.
4) Acreage - We're back to minimum acreage again. Years ago, no one liked loans with excessive acreage (more than say 5-12 acres). Over time, as long as there were comparable sales, 40 acres was OK. Not any more. The land value can't exceed 30% off the total value. You may need to plan on splitting off the house and 5-10 acres and buying the excess acreage separately.
If you have a unique property you're tyring to sell, give me a call and I'll walk you through some possible options.
Have a great day.
Loans that are long-term fixed, lowest rates, least down are CONVENTIONAL LOANS that, even though they may be serviced by local lenders, are SOLD on secondary market. If you've ever heard the term Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Gennie Mae, these are where the bulk of the funds come from for today's mortgages. When lenders do a 30 year fixed rate loan, they use their own money to do the loan, then the loan is sold and they are reimbursed their funds so they can do more loans. The buyer may continue to make their loan payments to that lender, even though the loan is sold, or they could be paying someone else. A lender sells the loan, but can choose to retain the "servicing" or the handling of the loan payments. Loans can be sold at any time during their term.
In-house loans are loans where the lender uses their own funds and does not sell them. You will not get a 30 year fixed. Most likely, it will be a 1-3 year adjustable rate (ARM) or loan with a balloon payment that is due in 1-3 years. They will not tie up their funds for 30 years. It's not good banking business.
To get these long term, fixed rate, low rate mortgages they need to meet the requirements of secondary market, or as I like to say, borrowers have to JUMP THROUGH THE HOOPS. Believe me, there are a lot of hoops these days. Secondary market, to simplify, only wants cookie-cutter homes that will sell easily and fast if they need to foreclose on them. The hoops are their way to ensuring the chances of getting that loan back minimal.
Because of the continual tightening of mortgage guidelines, properties that may be difficult to get the secondary market loans on these days are:
1) Investment property - 1-4 unit non-owner occupied income/rental properties need 25% down, a high credit score, and unless the borrower has had a 2 year history of being a landlord, they probably won't let them use any rental income to help qualify them for the loan. Most people need that rental income to qualify.
2) Unique properties - Secondary market doesn't like unique properties. If it's unique they may have trouble selling it if they foreclose on the property. Also, to be acceptable on secondary market, there needs to be 2-3 comparable sales that have sold in 30-90 days. Unique properties are an appraiser's nightmare and hard to appraise. Unique properties are Dome houses, earth homes, log homes, 1 bedrooms, multiple out buildings, holding tanks, 2 homes on one lot.
3) Manufactured homes - Loans for manufactured are VERY DIFFICULT these days. Borrowers are most likely going to need a substantial down payment, and won't be able to get a fixed, long-term loan. Don't get manufactured confused with MODULAR. Modular are not as tough. Make sure you let your lender or Realtor know upfront you are selling or buying a manufactured so you avoid problems. Make sure you know the obstacles involved with manufactured homes.
4) Acreage - We're back to minimum acreage again. Years ago, no one liked loans with excessive acreage (more than say 5-12 acres). Over time, as long as there were comparable sales, 40 acres was OK. Not any more. The land value can't exceed 30% off the total value. You may need to plan on splitting off the house and 5-10 acres and buying the excess acreage separately.
If you have a unique property you're tyring to sell, give me a call and I'll walk you through some possible options.
Have a great day.
Do you know someone selling a home?
Good morning –
After my BNI (Business Network International) meeting this morning, I thought I’d give you something to think about. I usually ask people to refer buyers to me because what I do is help people get a home loan. I think I can be of as much, if not more, help to sellers. Chances are I won’t benefit directly from this contact, but it can help make their home sell faster, help Realtors and potential buyers, and it’s good Karma for me. (Did you hear about the dog named Karma – it always comes back to bite you)
If you have someone you know who is thinking about selling their home, have them give me a call. I can help them understand the current mortgage industry, and some of the hurdles buyers have to jump over these days. It may help them understand what can make their home more saleable than others on the market.
I can explain to them….
> 75% of the buyers can only manage the minimum down payment or don’t have the required 680 credit score, which leaves FHA loans as a very viable option. There’s a good chance someone looking at their home will be an FHA buyer these days. FHA doesn’t mean a borrower is a looser. You can have perfect credit and have a credit score under 680. Young buyers who don’t have a long credit history have this problem as part of the credit score is based on how much credit they have and how old the credit accounts are. A longer credit history means a better score. And let’s face it – it’s hard to save 5-20% down these days.
> What property minimum standards there are with FHA loans
> How offering incentives like paying closing costs for the buyer may help a buyer get a loan and be able to purchase their home vs. the competition
> What can they do to get their home ready to sell so they avoid problems like peeling paint when they get offers.
> Does their well and septic meet the distance requirements that FHA has.
> How fast can they expect to close once they get an offer accepted.
> How reliable is an "approval letter" these days.
I would like to help them be pro-active and sell their home faster, whether I benefit or not. Just having them call makes it worth my while!
Forward on my blog, or have them contact me. I'm here to help.
Office: 608-779-1519 Cell: 608-498-1959 e-mail: joelfke@umc123.com
Have a great day!
Jolyn - your Motgage Expert from Universal Mortgage
After my BNI (Business Network International) meeting this morning, I thought I’d give you something to think about. I usually ask people to refer buyers to me because what I do is help people get a home loan. I think I can be of as much, if not more, help to sellers. Chances are I won’t benefit directly from this contact, but it can help make their home sell faster, help Realtors and potential buyers, and it’s good Karma for me. (Did you hear about the dog named Karma – it always comes back to bite you)
If you have someone you know who is thinking about selling their home, have them give me a call. I can help them understand the current mortgage industry, and some of the hurdles buyers have to jump over these days. It may help them understand what can make their home more saleable than others on the market.
I can explain to them….
> 75% of the buyers can only manage the minimum down payment or don’t have the required 680 credit score, which leaves FHA loans as a very viable option. There’s a good chance someone looking at their home will be an FHA buyer these days. FHA doesn’t mean a borrower is a looser. You can have perfect credit and have a credit score under 680. Young buyers who don’t have a long credit history have this problem as part of the credit score is based on how much credit they have and how old the credit accounts are. A longer credit history means a better score. And let’s face it – it’s hard to save 5-20% down these days.
> What property minimum standards there are with FHA loans
> How offering incentives like paying closing costs for the buyer may help a buyer get a loan and be able to purchase their home vs. the competition
> What can they do to get their home ready to sell so they avoid problems like peeling paint when they get offers.
> Does their well and septic meet the distance requirements that FHA has.
> How fast can they expect to close once they get an offer accepted.
> How reliable is an "approval letter" these days.
I would like to help them be pro-active and sell their home faster, whether I benefit or not. Just having them call makes it worth my while!
Forward on my blog, or have them contact me. I'm here to help.
Office: 608-779-1519 Cell: 608-498-1959 e-mail: joelfke@umc123.com
Have a great day!
Jolyn - your Motgage Expert from Universal Mortgage
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
when you get an offer on your listing, call me right away
Hey beloved Realtors! When you get an offer on one of your listings, find out what kind of loan the buyer is trying to get call me and I'll give you some things to check on to make sure you won't run into last-minute issues that could delay your closing.
If it's an FHA loan, there's lots of guidelines the property has to conform to. Better to know them upfront and if you can meet the guidelines right away. I can share my 23 years of FHA lending experience with you that most lenders don't have. A lot of lenders are getting on the FHA band-wagon now, but don't know what to watch out for when doing these loans.
With the ever-tightening lending guidelines, about 75% of the buyers are shut-out of getting a 30 year fixed CONVENTIONAL loan. You can't get a loan with a credit score under 680 unless you have 20% down. How many home buyers do you know that have 20% down these days - not many! You can have a credit score as low as 620 and have access to FHA loans. You can have a very low score and possibly get a Rural Housing (GRH) loan. These are great fixed-rate loans that most buyers qualify for. There is NO INCOME LIMITS for FHA loans so anyone can get an FHA loan as long as they have at least a 620 credit score. But....with FHA, there are certain requirements for properties, and when most of the buyers out there are using FHA, we need to know if your listings are suitable for FHA financing.
Call me - even though I may not be doing the loan for the buyer, I can help you make sure your closing goes smooth. We all hate last minute problems!
Talk to you soon!
Jolyn Oelfke - Mortgage Expert
Universal Mortgage
608-779-1519
If it's an FHA loan, there's lots of guidelines the property has to conform to. Better to know them upfront and if you can meet the guidelines right away. I can share my 23 years of FHA lending experience with you that most lenders don't have. A lot of lenders are getting on the FHA band-wagon now, but don't know what to watch out for when doing these loans.
With the ever-tightening lending guidelines, about 75% of the buyers are shut-out of getting a 30 year fixed CONVENTIONAL loan. You can't get a loan with a credit score under 680 unless you have 20% down. How many home buyers do you know that have 20% down these days - not many! You can have a credit score as low as 620 and have access to FHA loans. You can have a very low score and possibly get a Rural Housing (GRH) loan. These are great fixed-rate loans that most buyers qualify for. There is NO INCOME LIMITS for FHA loans so anyone can get an FHA loan as long as they have at least a 620 credit score. But....with FHA, there are certain requirements for properties, and when most of the buyers out there are using FHA, we need to know if your listings are suitable for FHA financing.
Call me - even though I may not be doing the loan for the buyer, I can help you make sure your closing goes smooth. We all hate last minute problems!
Talk to you soon!
Jolyn Oelfke - Mortgage Expert
Universal Mortgage
608-779-1519
Thursday, August 13, 2009
would you like to make a pumpkin pie from a pumpkin?
As most of you may know, I love to cook. I'll get a picture of my Kitchen for you on my blog soon. I'm sure you've heard about my "CLOSING COOKIES". I've been making them for my home loan closings for over 20 years.
I'm in the planning process, but I'd like to give cooking classes at my home. I'm thinking small groups of about 6, (wine may be included). I'm going to start this late October, maybe early November with my HOW TO MAKE A PUMPKIN PIE FROM A PUMPKIN class. I'm growing the pie pumpkins now (yes - there are specific pumpkins better for making pies). I'll have you make the pie crust, prepare and bake the pie, drink some wine, and send you away with the finished pie, the recipe and instructions, and another pumpkin so you can amaze your family with your cooking abilities at Thanksgiving. How many people do you know who can say they made a pie from a pumpkin.
Let me know if you'd be interested. If there's something else you'd like to know how to make, I can arrange a class on that.
Just went to the movie Julie and Julia with Melissa Bakkestuen Wednesday. If you like to cook, you'll love the movie. Cooking isn't hard - it's fun to learn.
Some other class ideas:
How to make a Thanksgiving Turkey
How to make an apple pie
How to make stuffed french toast (OMG! You'd love this recipe!)
Homemade Jam
Making Quiche
Making a rich chocolate cake from scratch
How to make homemade puddings and cream pies
Bar-b-que ribs that just fall off the bone
The list goes on and on. I LOVE TO COOK.
I could do a class on how to prepare an entire breakfast or dinner.
I don't buy hash browns, I make my own about every other day. My hubby eats very well.
I digress - if you have an interest, just let me know.
Have a wonderful day!
I'm in the planning process, but I'd like to give cooking classes at my home. I'm thinking small groups of about 6, (wine may be included). I'm going to start this late October, maybe early November with my HOW TO MAKE A PUMPKIN PIE FROM A PUMPKIN class. I'm growing the pie pumpkins now (yes - there are specific pumpkins better for making pies). I'll have you make the pie crust, prepare and bake the pie, drink some wine, and send you away with the finished pie, the recipe and instructions, and another pumpkin so you can amaze your family with your cooking abilities at Thanksgiving. How many people do you know who can say they made a pie from a pumpkin.
Let me know if you'd be interested. If there's something else you'd like to know how to make, I can arrange a class on that.
Just went to the movie Julie and Julia with Melissa Bakkestuen Wednesday. If you like to cook, you'll love the movie. Cooking isn't hard - it's fun to learn.
Some other class ideas:
How to make a Thanksgiving Turkey
How to make an apple pie
How to make stuffed french toast (OMG! You'd love this recipe!)
Homemade Jam
Making Quiche
Making a rich chocolate cake from scratch
How to make homemade puddings and cream pies
Bar-b-que ribs that just fall off the bone
The list goes on and on. I LOVE TO COOK.
I could do a class on how to prepare an entire breakfast or dinner.
I don't buy hash browns, I make my own about every other day. My hubby eats very well.
I digress - if you have an interest, just let me know.
Have a wonderful day!
Monday, August 3, 2009
When you trust me with your borrower's loan you're trusting me with your hardearned commission check and hoping I don’t screw it up.
When you give me your deal, I know you are trusting me with your commission and want to know I'll get the deal closed!
This is a challenging time we're in. I've been here before. I was selling Real Estate during the demise of the Savings and Loans. I remember the industry-wide panic all the changes when the Savings and Loans went into receivership. The government took control then like they are now.
One constant in this industry is change. Right now, we are going through the most changes to ever hit our industry. There are programs and companies that are gone and not coming back, so we need to move on!
There are no more NO DOC loans. There are no more 100% conventional loans and no 125% loans. The sub prime market as we knew it, is gone. I'm not going to cry about it, I'm moving forward - come with me. It's actually a great time to be a expert loan professional with 23 years of experience who's been through challenging times before.
We need to stop focusing on the programs we had the the way things used to be and find the people who are in need of the programs we do offer.
Lets stop listening to all the negative talk out there. There is still plenty business to be had. People are still buying and selling, transferring for their jobs, downsizing, buying that larger home, moving into nursing homes or becoming snow birds. Yes, the market is tougher and yes, deals are harder to put together, but people still need us and our services. Lets get out there and make them find us!
Trust your loans to an expert - Jolyn @ Universal Mortgage!
This is a challenging time we're in. I've been here before. I was selling Real Estate during the demise of the Savings and Loans. I remember the industry-wide panic all the changes when the Savings and Loans went into receivership. The government took control then like they are now.
One constant in this industry is change. Right now, we are going through the most changes to ever hit our industry. There are programs and companies that are gone and not coming back, so we need to move on!
There are no more NO DOC loans. There are no more 100% conventional loans and no 125% loans. The sub prime market as we knew it, is gone. I'm not going to cry about it, I'm moving forward - come with me. It's actually a great time to be a expert loan professional with 23 years of experience who's been through challenging times before.
We need to stop focusing on the programs we had the the way things used to be and find the people who are in need of the programs we do offer.
Lets stop listening to all the negative talk out there. There is still plenty business to be had. People are still buying and selling, transferring for their jobs, downsizing, buying that larger home, moving into nursing homes or becoming snow birds. Yes, the market is tougher and yes, deals are harder to put together, but people still need us and our services. Lets get out there and make them find us!
Trust your loans to an expert - Jolyn @ Universal Mortgage!
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