What you Should Know about FHA loans

Loans can be underwritten by an approved lender which includes most of the major banks in the country.  FHA has the some high loan limits as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (which have been extended to the end of 2010).  You can buy a home with a 3.5 percent down payment as compared to at least 10 percent down for a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae home.  You can get your loan scored for approval through a variety of underwriting engines including Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter and Freddie Mac's Loan Prospector.



 Linda Shank is a Real Estate broker in the Phoenix Southeast Valley Gold Canyon area.  She can be contacted at www.ISellAZsunshine.com

FHA Finance & Condos

Here's what you need to know about getting an FHA loan for a condo:

FHA requires that a condo is FHA approved.  You can go to the FHA-approved condominium projects site at:  https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm   Put in the Condo project name or other details and you will be able to determine the FHA approval eligibility.  If the condo is approved, then a condo questionnaire must be submitted to the Homeowner's Association for completion.  This will determine if the project meets the investor guidelines such as owner occupancy ratios, association minimum reserves, HOA fee delinquencies and any potential or pending lawsuits within the project.  If the Project isn't an FHA approved project, then that's something you could discuss with your lender or Realtor.








Linda Shank is a Real Estate Broker/Owner in Phoenix's Southeast Valley Gold Canyon.  She can be contacted at www.ISellAZSunshine.com

HOMEOWNERS CUT BACK ON REMODELING

Homeowner spending on home improvements will continue to trend downward into the first half of 2010, according to a recent Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report issued by Harvard
University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The study forecasts annual decline in remodeling activity to hover at approximately 11% for the next several quarters.  While there are some positive developments in the industry, such as low financing costs for home improvement projects and rising home sales in some markets, the study finds that the overall outlook going into 2010 remains bleak due to weak home prices and decreased cost recovery for some types of remodeling projects.

Buy a Fixer Upper with A FHA 203K Loan

The FHA 203K loan is a little known tool that many real estate and loan professionals have been using for many, many years.  A FHA 203K is very similar to the traditional FHA 203B loan...the only real difference is that with the FHA203K the home buyer is adding money upfront to their loan amount to finance any repair/improvement costs.  The traditional FHA203B loan requires that certain repairs to be done before the loan is made and the FHA203K loan allows the home buyer to purchase their fixer-upper and complete the repairs/improvements after the transaction closes. The other traditional FHA qualifications...appraisal guidelines, seasoning rules...still apply.  However, with the FHA203K loan the home buyer can fix up his/her home and not have to worry about the additional out-of-pocket expenses for the repairs/improvements.  A Fantastic Way to buy a Fixer-Upper!  Contact me on my blog site if you would like more info or check with your lender as there are two types of FHA203K loan programs.