ShareThisBuyers: Days On Market Not Always a Red Flag
Several years ago, a home listed for sale developed a stigma if it didn’t sell within a month or two. Today, many sellers have homes listed that have been on the market for six months or longer. In fact, it’s so commonplace for it to take a significant time to sell a house that it is no longer a disgrace if a listing doesn’t sell right away. Because of the large supply of houses for sale even good properties are accumulating a lot of days on the market. Don’t let the amount of days a property has been on the market stop you from viewing it. You could miss out on a gem!
CDA Lowered Their Rates!
Effective February 1st CDA rates were dropped to the following;
0 Points-Â 5.875%
1 Point -  5.75%
2 Points-Â 5.625%
3 Points-Â 5.5%Â Â Â Â Â
Wednesday’s Rate Cut Was Needed!
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday January 30, 2008, cut a key interest rate for the second time in just over a week. In a brief statement explaining their decision, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues said that “financial markets remain under considerable stress.” The rate cut marked the fifth time that the Fed has cut the funds rate since it started with a half-point cut on September 18, 2007.
The latest Fed action was expected to be quickly followed by cuts in banks prime lending rate, the benchmark rate for millions of consumers and business loans. If the economy does not get its needed boost by this rate cut I believe we will see another one in the near future
Free Home Buyer Seminar at Dr. Nathan A. Pitts Ashburton Elementary-Middle School
On Friday February 1, 2008, I will be conducting a free Home Buyer Seminar for the employees and staff at Dr. Nathan A. Pitts Ashburton Elementary-Middle School along with Faraji Mason of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. This will be the first in a series of seminars we have planned for the Baltimore City and Baltimore County school system. If you know any organizations that would like to receive free homeownership information please have them contact me. We would love to assist them.
Free Home Buyer Seminar!
On Wednesday January 30, 2008, I will be conducting a Free Home Buyer Seminar along with Corrie Ivey of Wachovia Mortgage Corporation. The seminar will be held at the Perry Hall Library 9440 Belair Rd. Perry Hall, Md. 21236 from 6:30-8:30pm. We will update you on the current real estate market and the available GRANT PROGRAMS.
I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta First Time Home Buyer Program is back in Maryland starting this month. The First Time Home Buyer Program (FHP) provides matching funds for down-payment and closing cost assistance to low and moderate income home buyers. In partnership with member financial institutions, The First Time Home Buyer Program awards up to $10,000 Per household and distributed to eligible home Buyers on a first come, first served basis.
The member financial institution may request up to five dollars of First Time Home Buyer Program funds for each dollar of home buyer cash, with a maximum of $10,000. The Buyer must contribute at least $500 in cash toward the purchase of the home and occupy the home as their primary residence for at least five years. The Buyer must complete a homeownership education program that addresses mortgage financing, credit worthiness, household budgeting, home maintenance, and avoidance of predatory lending.
Contact me for a list of participating lenders.
FHA Loan Limits for Maryland Counties
Did you know that FHA has loan limits for each Maryland county? What that means is anyone who uses FHA financing can only purchase a property up to the maximum sales price allowed for that county. The buyer can make up the difference between what is allowed and the sales price. For example if the sales price for a property is $370,000 in Baltimore County the FHA loan limit is $362,790. The buyer would have to pay the difference between the sales price and the loan limit to be able to use FHA financing. These are the loan limits for Maryland counties as of January 8, 2008;
Anne Arundel $362,790, Baltimore $362,790, Baltimore City $362,790, Calvert $362,790, Caroline $200,160, Carroll $362,790, Cecil $292,685, Charles $362,790, Dorchester $200,160, Frederick $362,790,
Garrett $332,500, Harford $362,790, Howard $362,790, Kent $248,588, Montgomery $362,790, Prince Georges $362,790, Queen Anne’s $362,790, Sommerset $225,150, St. Mary’s $282,000, Talbot $282,150,
Washington $275,500, Wicomico $225,150, Worcester $332,499
FHA Is Back!
From 2003 thru early 2007 it was very difficult to get sellers in Maryland to accept a contract in which a buyer was using FHA financing. FHA stands for the Federal Housing Administration. Traditionally this type of financing was great for first time home buyers but once we got deep into a sellers market FHA became a dirty word for most sellers, and this is some of the reasons why.
1. FHA recommended that the buyer should have a home inspection by providing a form that states “For Your Protection Get A Home Inspection.” Conventional loans did not.
2. FHA requires their appraisers to look for major deficiencies with a property like a leaky roof or damp basement. Conventional loans did not.
3. FHA only requires a buyer to put 3 percent of the purchase price in the transaction and that can be a gift from a family member. Most Conventional loans require 5 percent to 20 percent down except if the buyer is using 100 percent financing.
During the sellers market Conventional Contracts were accepted over FHA contracts 99 percent of the time. FHA contracts were discouraged because the sellers did not want to be obligated to do any repairs. Conventional buyers were thought to be better buyers by the sellers. Most sellers did not know that a lot of buyers were doing sub-prime Conventional loans.
Now FHA is Back! Buyers can finally start to take advantage of some very good FHA programs. Enjoy!
What Is A Short Sale?
For the past week I have been forwarding properties to my clients with the following remarks in the listing, “property subject to third party approval- short sale.” Some of my clients have called me wanting to know “what is a short sale?” This is what I explained to them.
For homeowners who can no longer afford to keep mortgage payments current ( because of either a job loss, divorce, or an option ARM that’s resetting higher) their are alternatives to bankruptcy or foreclosure proceedings. One of the options is called a “short sale.” A short sale in real estate means the lender is accepting less than the total amount due. Not all lenders will accept a short sale or discounted payoffs, especially if it would make more financial sense to foreclose. Also, not all sellers or all properties qualify for short sales. Just because a property is listed with short sale terms does not mean the lender will accept your offer, even if the seller accept it.
Over the next couple of years I believe we will see a lot of properties subject to third party approval-“short sale” but lenders are smart stay tuned for the details…
Saturdays Home Buyer Seminar Highlights
Guess What? The majority of Saturdays attendees were already homeowners. They came for information on obtaining second homes and investment properties. The most popular question was “is it a good time to buy?” I explained to them the 4 reasons why now is a good time to buy. 1. Low interest rates. 2. Stable prices. 3. Sellers contribution. 4. Inventory is plentiful. The next most popular question was about renovation loans. Faraji Mason of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and I went into detail explaining how this program works. Everyone said the seminar was very informative. Stay tuned for dates of future seminars and workshops.
