HOME & GARDEN GUIDE #2 My Community!
SANTA ROSA, CA. ~ Spring has sprung.
April
showers have dampened the ground, but the drought con- tinues. The offi cial kickoff of the home buying season has begun. With tighter restric- tions on water use I know the challenge to get the curb appeal with less water.
The
big lush lawns will be a thing of the past and bright colorful drought tolerant land- scape will be the new trend that wows.
During the peak of the hous- ing crisis, when distressed properties dominated the mar- ket, it was the brown lawns that stood out. Behind every brown lawn was a good deal to be made. With every good deal there was less room to negotiate. If the property was distressed and sold for less than what was owed, it was hard to get the seller to make any concession to make any re-
pairs or credit back the buyer. This was truly an “as is” trans- action. Most of those bargains went to the “all cash” buyer and left many fi rst time home- buyers standing at the curb. As we enter this 2015 home buying season, I wanted what
to programs
highlight are
available for the fi rst time homebuyers. The defi nition of a fi rst time homebuyer is someone who has not owned a home for the last three years.
This means that those caught in the core of the crisis and lost a home to foreclosure or short sale and were sidelined from purchasing a home, are now able to re-enter the market and take full advantage of the fi rst time home buyer programs. “My Community Mortgage” is a loan program designed to help low-to-moderate income
May 2015 • 10
households to get into their fi rst home.
by Barry O'Meara •
barryo@stearns.com Under the guide-
lines of this program, at least one of the buyers needs to be a fi rst time homebuyer and at least one of the buyers needs to complete an approved Home- buyer Education and Counsel- ing Certifi cate course.
These
courses are offered online, usually take about an hour, and charge a fee.
This program has an income
limit. Low-to-moderate in- come in Sonoma County
i s $76,900 or
less. You can get into your home for as little as a 3% down payment.
To help you
to qualify for this program, it has reduced Mortgage Insur- ance premiums. If you’re not familiar with Mortgage Insur- ance, it is the necessary dues you pay the lender when you have less than a 20% down payment. As an example of
We have Positive Solutions to
Unforeseen Interruptions! From time to time mini fender benders and accidents occur when you least expect them. And they do happen. We are a positive solution to these annoying interruptions. We hope you don’t have to call us. But if you do... We’ll be ready!
JOKES & Humor # 4
this benefi t, compared to a regular conventional loan, a borrower with a 719 credit score on a $300k loan amount would have monthly premium of $200. If the same scenario was used with a Regular Con- ventional loan the monthly premium would be $327. “My Community Mortgage” program is an alternative to the FHA loan program. “My Community” is a Fannie Mae program and offers a lot the same advan- tages as FHA for a low
down payment program.
You can use gift funds and down payment assistance pro- grams. The biggest advantage over FHA is there is no steep Up-front Mortgage Insurance Premium of 1.75% of your loan amount.
This fee can be
paid up-front or fi nanced into your loan. What this fee does to your APR (Annual Percent- age Rate) can distort a low note rate. The note rate might say 3.75% but the APR will show 4.75%.
When getting approved for a home loan you need to look at all your options so you can make the best decision and choose the loan program that will work best for you.
The
pieces of the puzzle needed will
be: documenting your
income, verifying your credit and debts and sourcing your funds to close. Getting a loan is not impossible it just seems that way.
A guy discovered that he had a fl at tire and pulled to the curb. He realized that he had stopped in front of the local mental health sanitarium when a patient ambled up to the fence and began teasing him. He ignored the patient’s catcalls and insults while he carefully took each lug nut off and placed it in the hubcap as he removed the tire. While trying to install the spare, he inadvertently knocked the hubcap, which spilled the lugs and all fi ve nuts fell into the nearby storm sewer, falling beyond his reach. The patient howled with laughter as the
guy, at the end of his patience, began to vent about being stuck there until a tow truck could arrive. The patient told him, “I can help you.” The guy glared at him and said, “Sure you can.” The patient said, “No, really, I can help.” The guy reluctantly asked how. The deranged patient then said, “Take one nut off of the other three tires and put the spare on with three lugs. Then you can safely drive to a garage for the other nuts and get your tire fi xed.” The guy thanked him and asked, “How did a guy like you ever think that one up?” To which the asylum patient replied, “Well, I’m just crazy, not an idiot”
5800 Guerneville Rd Sebastopol • 829-2477
10 • May 2015 • UPBEAT TIMES A bad grade is only one letter in the Essay of life. ~Lee Drake
The Mortgage Coach
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