Inspections

Home Owners Associations

Homeowner’s Associations are a huge issue with short sales and REO properties. Many times escrow is presented with a contract, negotiations are complete on the short sale or the REO, escrow proceeds and closes – a few weeks/months later escrow is contacted by the new owner who has received a bill for delinquent dues and transfer fees. Owner wants to know who will pay. Sellers in both types of transactions have no money with which to pay these ‘after the fact’ bills. Short Sale sellers know if there is an HOA, so they need to be questioned about this subject. REO sellers, however, may or may not know if there is an association, so this is where the Realtor’s experience comes in. You may know the neighborhood, so, please, if you do know there is an HOA, mention it to escrow so the information can be followed up on.

The “Secrets” of Buying a Home Using a 203k Renovation Loan

As someone looking to purchase a home or as a realtor looking to help your client find a home, it is no small secret that the first question is:  How much do you qualify for or how much do you want to spend?

More often than not, people have a number in their mind, say $150,000 for our example.  So again more often than not, people in this case would  go looking at every house listed around $149,000, right?

So then what people find is say 50 houses ”in their price range” and they go and look at 2/3rd’s of them and none seem to fit what they are really looking for.  The realtor gets tired of driving the buyers around and the buyer starts getting more and more frustrated as the search seems to go on and on….

Ok, so here is the secret:

Look at houses $10, $20, $30, $40, and $50,000+ LESS than you are qualified for, but in the neighborhoods you want, with more square footage, number of bedrooms, and on a larger lot than you thought you would ever dream of owning.

The deals are out there right now, no question about that, but the “problem” has been that these houses you might be looking at “need too much work” - i.e., the kitchen is from 1978, the green shag carpet has holes in it, the A/C units were stolen, or maybe you just don’t like the pink tile in the master bathroom.

The “secret” of the 203k renovation loan is that it allows you to KEEP YOUR MONEY IN YOUR POCKET and roll a majority of those COSMETIC and other items that need to be repaired to get the property up to FHA minimum standards (health and safety issues) into the loan.  With only 3 1/2% down (which really is actually taken care of in many cases for you by Uncle Sam because of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit now being allowed to be applied directly towards the down payment), buyers are now also simultaneously improving the value of the property by bringing it’s finishes “into our decade”.

So again, what is the real secret?

Pick your new carpet.  Pick your new kitchen.  Pick your new paint colors.  Then go find the house.  Imagine the possibilities…….

It may seem kind of strange to bring up a quote from Gandi in an article about 203k renovation loans, but he said “Be the change in the world you wish to see.”

The 203k renovation loan was brought back to help restore pride in our local communities and eliminate the catch-22 of buying a home and then not having the cash to “customize” the property the way someone would want it (within reason and comparable to the neighborhood).   The 203k is the means by which the FHA is allowing each of us to contribute to the “change in the world (each of us would) wish to see” in our own homes and communities as well.

Please visit www.HowToFixTheEconomy.info for more details.

Getting a Home Inspection, Is it a Necessity?

With so many bank owned properties today sold in As-Is condition, some buyers are asking, “why bother with an inspection?” The reason? Some of these properties are damaged beyond a buyer’s visual view. Your inspector will climb on the roof, inspect the attic, check the plumbing, etc. Maybe the roof looks decent from ground level. Maybe the inspector discovers it needs to be replaced and that’s an additional $7000 you weren’t counting on. The inspection gives you understanding of the material issues that can affect your bottom line and your quality of life.

Give us a call with your questions or to schedule an inspection.

Kent Dean

Inspector Budget Home Inspection

6501 E. Greenway Pkwy, #103-243

Scottsdale, AZ 85254

480-718-5539

Washington Report: Appraisal System

I’ve warned of this before and so it begins…Higher appraisal costs are already here.  Be sure to explain to your buyers that this increased cost and the required up front payment for services not yet rendered will probably be required on most all of your purchases.  And this is NOT an added cost that lenders are just arbitrarily adding to their GFEs.  Our elected officials have found yet another way to increase the cost of doing business while simultaneously reducing the level of customer service to our clients across the nation.

How long will it be before our government tells us where we can get title services or credit reporting?  Then we can all look forward to paying 5 or even 10 percent in closing costs one day.  Hooray for us…NOT!

Washington Report: Appraisal System
Last week saw the official kickoff of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s mandatory new system of appraisals nationwide, and some mortgage and appraisal groups are up in arms over sharply higher costs for consumers.

Roy de Loach, CEO of the brokers group, cited one member’s experience — where total appraisal fees for a routine FHA cash-out refi ballooned to $1,068 to the consumer.

Home buyers and realty professionals need to be aware of these sharply escalating fees — and their controversial use on FHA loans that are supposed to be exempt from the Fannie-Freddie code.   (Watch out for these guys! – Spencer)

Full Story: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090511_washingtonreport.htm

Spencer Anglin
Velocity Financial, LLC
Sr. Mortgage Planner
480.287.5719  Direct
602.705.6293  Cell
866.589.5742  eFax
Email: spencer@velocityfinancial.com
Website: www.spenceranglin.com