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Displaying blog entries 411-420 of 435

Mt. Hood Manufactured Homeowners

Thursday, December 18, 2008
by Liz Warren

Attention manufactured homeowners in the Mt. Hood area from Rhododendron, Brightwood, and Welches! I have been notified from a mortgage broker that manufactured home financing may be going away because the secondary market investors are backing away from these loans even though they are FHA and VA approved.

If you currently own a manufactured home there could be serious consequences for you if you need to sell! I'll keep you posted if I hear any other additional information on this issue.

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What Today's Lower Rates Mean

Tuesday, December 9, 2008
by Liz Warren

Rates are incredible right now! If there ever was a time to take advantage of low interest rates, this is it. A 30 year fixed at under 5.5% is historic. Yes, this is incredibly GOOD NEWS!

Now we are somewhat lucky on the mountain because we don't have THAT many foreclosures and sub-prime loans. The larger picture in the country paints a different picture though. Tightening underwriting standards and a larger increase in homeowners who are "underwater" in their homes has presented a problem. About half of the people who need to take advantage of these low rates can't due to the standards and plummeting home values mostly in Arizona, California, Nevada and Florida.

How many are in this pickle? According to Zandi of Moody's Economy.com there are around 12 million homeowners in trouble. Step back to the end of 2007 and only 6.6 million were in trouble and at the end of 2006, only 3 million! Things happen quickly as we know.

To qualify for a $400,000 30 year fixed loan you would need a credit score of 680, a downpayment of 10% and a debt to income ratio of 45% or less. Jumbo rates are still high at around 8% interest per annum.

So, if your house hasn't dropped 40% in value recently and you have a good credit score and a job, you are in good shape and you may very well be able to take advantage of these incredible interest rates!

Price reductions on the mountain are coming in by the bushel full so call today to make that investment in rental property, primary homes or second homes!

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Saving 10% on a house in ONE WEEK!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008
by Liz Warren

How do you cash in on one of the best deals on the mountain right now? Looking for homes in Government Camp, Rhododendron, Brightwood or Welches? The current drop of around 1% in interest rates this week presents great opportunities. Rates went from 6.5% to around  5.5% and under.

TWO GREAT THINGS COME OUT OF THIS:

1. A buyer with borrowing power this week with a similar  payment as last week using their purchasing power to buy a house for 10% LESS with the rate decrease.

2. One other way to look at it is a buyer now can buy 11% MORE house than last week.

This has improved purchases in some areas but when will rates be this low again!

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UNBELIEVABLE RATES!!!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008
by Liz Warren

Investors! Take note, or first time home buyers, the rates have dropped substantially over the past couple of days. They haven't been this low in a long time!

 

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FICO Scores are VERY important these days!

Monday, November 24, 2008
by Liz Warren

How important are FICO scores these days? Extremely. If you are purchasing anything and need credit your FICO score will determine if you can get credit and what interest rate you'll pay. Credit scores range between 300 and 850.

Scores under 680 are on the fringe of scrutiny with lenders. Some will charge a much higher interest rate to borrow so it will cost you more in the end on your credit cards, your mortgage rate, and your car loan.

FICO scores come from a combination of your debt load, payment history, amount of credit you are using and other miscellaneous factors such as foreclosures or other debt defaults

A good resource to learn how to increase your FICO score and other questions about how this scoring works, go to www.myFICO.com

 

 

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New Restrictions on Condo Lending

Friday, October 10, 2008
by Liz Warren

If you are looking at condos in the Welches, Rhododendron, Brightwood and Government Camp areas you will need to know the new future lending requirements on Condo projects. This may affect Golden Poles, Thunderhead Lodge, Eidelweiss, Sno-Bird, Collins Lake and Grand Lodges, Fairway Estates, Clear Hills, and Shadow Hawk condo units.

Rules are coming down the pike that if investors own more than 49% of the units, in other words, if they are not owner occupied or second homes, the project may not qualify for convenetional financing.

I am not sure of trhe exact date this may happen but be advised that we may see many owner carried contract sales in the future.

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Even More HELOC issues

Wednesday, September 17, 2008
by Liz Warren

Many buyers of Mt. Hood properties in Welches, Government Camp and Rhododendron use HELOCS to obtain downpayments and purchases of second homes and investment properties. With a pinching off of HELOC funds, this could impact sales in our area.

Do you have a home equity line of credit? Well, be sure and check if you think you do because many banks are pulling these and notifying owners after the fact. Some homeowners are writing checks on these equity lines and finding their checks have bounced even before the notification.

Housing prices are adjusting downward all over the nation. Home Equity Lines of Credit are based on home valuations. Depending upon what state you live in, the amount of your total home debt can be 65% or 75% of your home value. The "home value" is determined by a computer model the banks use.

If you read the small print of your agreement the banks have a right to pull this at any time the home value reaches a certain amount and they can immediately freeze your ability to use this line of credit.

Turmoil in the banking industry will cause even further tightening of credit for Helocs over the next 24 months as they sort out the sub-prime mess and capital issues.  Just be aware that this instrument to gain funds may not be there for a while!

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Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae

Monday, September 8, 2008
by Liz Warren

Well, with the Feds bailing out these two institutions it means REDUCED RATES!

Buyers, take advantage right now because it may be the best possible senario with low rates and BIG inventories!

Recent rates have dropped to 5.875% for 30 year fixed!!!!!

Don't hesitate!

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FHA lending is changing this summer!

Monday, May 19, 2008
by Liz Warren

Many home buyers are going for FHA loans vs. conventional loans recently. In fact, over the past six months FHA lending has doubled!

Major changes are happening in FHA. The big difference will be in the insurance premiums and interest rates for the loans. If you are a high risk borrower your premiums will be higher and your interest rate higher. This of course is based on your FICO score (credit score). If you have a good FICO score you will pay a lower premium (currently 1.5% of the loan which is rolled into your total loan package)

Low FICO score will pay 2.25% fee

High FICO score could pay 1.25% fee.

Depending on your downpayment and FICO scores there are many variables with rates and fees. So, game has changed again. This is significant because the FHA program has been the same for nearly 75 years. This model is more in line withthe similar  PMI (private mortgage insurance.

In any case, look for new FHA rates to appear on the horizon. These changes will start this summer.

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EVEN MORE RULES COMING for INVESTOR LOANS

Thursday, May 8, 2008
by Liz Warren

Here is some more credit squeezing news. On August 8th of this year Freddie Mac is clamping down on invertor loans. The limit for multiple owner investment units will be a total of four vs. the ten they currently allow. Cash out refis on rental units will also be eyeballed closely with a high probability of higher interest rates.

An even larger looming problem is the PMI or private mortgage insurance issue. PMI is required when a downpayment is less than 20% of the total purchase price. Investor loans in declining or depressed markets will be completely out of luck, in other words, no PMI, no loan if less than a 20% downpayment. Shades of the 1980's! When I first started selling homes on the mountain we could not sell anything without at least 20% down because the lenders would not provide PMI for buyers in our area.

What does this mean as a buyer or seller in the markets of Government Camp, Rhododendron and Welches? So far we have not been declared a "distressed" or "declining" market for real estate sales so we have dodged that bullet. What it does mean is that there will be a shrinking pool of investment purchasers with credit restrictions and the probability of higher interest rates on those loans.

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Displaying blog entries 411-420 of 435

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