Tuesday, April 7, 2015 Real Estate By Ken McCord
Fannie Mae is now offering mortgage loans with a maximum 97 percent LTV (loan to value) ratio to qualifying first-time homebuyers. Such a mortgage can be obtained through Fannie Mae with a three percent down payment under Fannie Mae’s standard offering or its My Com- munity Mortgage product if one of the co-borrowers is a first-time homebuyer. In addition, homeowners with
an existing Fannie Mae mortgage who are not eligible for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) can refinance their loan up to the level of 97 percent LTV if they meet eligibility require- ments.
Planned giving is VPCSF seminar subject
The Villa Park Community Services Foundation will host an informational seminar regard- ing “planned giving” at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21 in the Villa Park Civic Center. The event is free and open to the community. Jeff Swanson, vice president of the Orange County Community Foundation's Philanthropic Ser- vices, will be the featured speaker. Swanson has served as a re-
source to donors, nonprofits and professional advisors for the last 22 years, helping to facilitate stra- tegic and effective giving. Swan- son is the former associate vice president of development at Cal Poly Pomona. He earned a B.A. degree from Loma Linda Univer- sity, an M.A. from La Sierra Uni- versity, and is a Certified Special- ist in Planned Giving. Local financial advisor Steven Pollack will also speak. Pollack is active in the Villa Park commu- nity, having served on the city’s investment committee and twice as VP Rotary president. He has been a financial advisor
in the area for 14 years, focused on investment management and estate planning. He received his B.S. in business from the Univer- sity of Arizona and is a Certified Fund Specialist, as well as a Cer- tified Annuity Specialist.
Bargains and collectibles
for sale in OPA
Treasure hunters and bargain shoppers are invited to discover both treasures and bargains at the Orange Park Acres Women’s League annual garage sale, Thurs- day, April 23 and Friday, April 24 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday, April 25 from 8 a.m. to noon at 11141 Meads Ave. A huge selection of furniture, antiques, clothes, jewelry, baby gear and plants has been collected for the sale. If you have items to donate or
need further information, contact Kathy Manulkin at (714) 639- 8686. Proceeds from the garage sale support OPAWL’s philan- thropies, including maintenance and beautification of the park and trails, a scholarship to Rancho Santiago College, and support to Beverly’s House.
For MCM loans, Fannie Mae
will now allow reserves to come from gifts, and only one buyer has to be a first-timer. This is fantastic news for both homeowners and sellers, as the primary barrier to homeowner- ship is saving money for a down payment and closing costs. When you factor in the rising rents in Orange County, this will certain- ly help many renters to finally make the plunge into owning. Sellers of all price ranges
should benefit as lower-priced properties will sell in greater numbers and move-up buyers take advantage of the current interest rates to purchase higher- priced homes.
First-time buyers have great opportunity to buy with new low-downpayment loan Many buyers were not able
Additional beneficiaries are homeowners with high LTV ra- tios who may now be able to refinance more easily, and those wishing to dump FHA mortgages with Draconian mortgage insur- ance premiums. Some interesting thoughts I
have on how the market will be helped or, shall we say, boosted! FHA loans were the only low down-payment game in town for a while, but the needed mortgage insurance was quite expensive.
to use FHA financing to pur- chase condos or townhomes, as the complexes were not FHA- approved. Another challenge some buyers faced was getting an FHA offer accepted. A num- ber of sellers/agents absolutely did not want to face the unknown of an FHA appraiser inspecting their really old property or fixer- upper, and learn what they might be required to fix before close of escrow.
Foothills Sentry
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So what does this financ-
ing help mean in the upcoming months to would-be buyers and sellers? I would expect more of- fers for sellers, and some added appreciation. Buyers can lock in a nice low rate (while they last) and even have some money in their pockets to fix up their new castles -- and maybe even get that new big screen TV to put on the wall. I just love when everyone gets
a win. Now if we could just get help with a little rain.
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