• Freddie Mac is loosening their income documentation guidelines for social security, retirement, survivor and dependent benefits, long-term disability, and public assistance.  They are now only requiring proof of receiving the income for two months.  Alimony and child support will only require the most recent six months of verification, although they will still require proof that the income will continue for the next three years in order to be counted.
• VA is tightening their credit guidelines.  Although no specific guidelines were given in terms of credit score, it appears the system will “refer” more loans on borrowers with less than 680 credit scores.  The changes are scheduled to take place in automated underwriting on or around Dec 17, 2011.  Loans run through automated underwriting after that date may receive a “refer” status even if the loan was approved prior to that date. 
• USDA has apparently added an automated underwriting condition into their algorithm that’s not in their written guidelines that may cause borrowers with authorized user accounts to “refer”. 

For complete details, check out the full article:

Article at MLImplode.com

The way the bill is currently structured, energy costs would be factored into a buyer’s debt-to-income ratios for qualification purposes and documented energy-efficency savings for homes could be used to adjust the value of a home upwards. 

The bill will have to undergo the normal legislative procedures before having a chance to be passed into law, which could easily result in significant changes, assuming it were to pass. 

Article from Ken Harney

• Single Family Homes
• Town Homes
• Duplexes
• Triplexes
• Four Plexes
• Condos (some restrictions on owner-occupancy and location)

Other program highlights of the Regions Bank 100% Financing Program for Doctors:

• 100% Mortgage Financing for stable markets (at this time, Dallas and Fort Worth Texas are considered stable markets).
• Valid employment agreement or contract is required – If self-employed, must have three year history (tax returns) of self-employement.
• No upfront or monthly PMI (mortgage insurance)
• Taxes and insurance are escrowed for all loans greater than 80% loan-to-value ratio.  Escrows may be waived for loans with less than or equal to an 80% loan to value ratio.
• Owner occupied properties only up to 100%.
• Regions has other programs available for second homes 90% LTV with no PMI up to 1.5 Million.
• Student loans excluded from debt-to-income ratio calculation if currently in deferment. 

Loan Terms available from Regions Bank on the 100% Mortgage Loan for Doctors:

• 3/1 ARM
• 5/1 ARM
• 7/1 ARM
• 10/1 ARM
• 15 and 30 Year Fixed Rates

Is The Regions Bank Doctor Program Available in other areas besides Dallas?

Yes!  Regions services 16 different states in the US:

• Texas
• Arkansas
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• Iowa
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Tennessee
• Mississippi
• Alabama
• Georgia
• Virginia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Florida

If you are a doctor and would like to find out if you qualify for the Regions Bank 100% Mortgage Program for Doctors, contact John Olson for a free consultation and pre-approval. 

Obtaining pre-approval from a competent and knowledgeable loan officer should always be the first step of the homebuying process.  John is a veteran mortgage loan officer and has many other specialty programs to fit your needs!

 Contact John Olson at 214-678-2541 or 214-563-0171 or email him at john.olson@regions.com.   You may also complete the contact form below for priority processing:

In addition to CPAs, other professions eligible for the BBVA Compass Professional Program include:
• Attorneys
• Doctors / Physicians
• CEOs, CFOs, COOs or Chairmen of publicly traded companies.
• Executives in direct report to the CEO or Charman of publicly traded companies.

Is the BBVA Compass Professional Program available in other areas besides Dallas?

YES!  BBVA Compass offers this program in seven states:
• Texas
• New Mexico
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Alabama

Obtaining a quick pre-approval for a mortgage should always be the first step when shopping for a home. BBVA Compass has a very quick and easy pre-approval process. Their automated approval system allows for quick and streamlined loan pre-approvals with no application fee.
Please call Susan Hiatt at (214) 310-6066 to consult with her about this program and obtain a quick pre-approval. Or you can email her directly at susan.hiatt@bbvacompass.com .  Completing the contact form below will ensure priority processing.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are my own and are not reviewed approved or endorsed by BBVA Compass or any affiliate.  I have no affiliation with BBVA Compass and am only providing this information as a service to doctors/physicians and other professionals that may benefit. If you are a Dallas area physician in the market to purchase a home, please call me today at (972) 978-3553 or email me at johnjonesrealtor@gmail.com .

Qualified military personnel, foreign service workers and members of the intelligence community have until April 30, 2011 to secure an executed purchase contract and until June 30, 2011 to close the transaction.

This special program for veterans and military servicemembers was signed into law as part of the original extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit that went into effect on November 6, 2009.

DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED SERVICEMEMBERS
Per the legislation, a “qualified servicemember” means a uniformed servicemember of the military, a member of the U.S. foreign service or the intelligence community who was called to an extended period of oveerseas service for at least 90 days between December 1, 2008 and May 1, 2010.  (For those that were not called for extended service, the deadline to execute a purchase contract was April 30, 2010 and the closing deadline is September 30, 2010.)

A member of the military, foreign service or intelligence community who was called for extended duty of at least 90 days but was unable to complete this term due to medical reasons MAY still qualify for the extended deadline.

Consult with a licensed tax accountant to make sure you qualify.  I am not an attorney or a CPA and cannot give legal or tax advice!

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE VETERANS $8,000 FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT:

• The amount of the tax credit is the LESSER of $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price of the home.  For example, a qualified individual who purchases a home for $68,000 will receive a tax credit of $6,800, not the full $8,000. 
• The home purchased must be a primary residence.
• The income limit to qualify for the tax credit is $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for married filers.   Single and married filers who make more than this may qualify for a reduced tax credit amount.
• Home must be priced at $800,000 or less.
• Must be a first-time homebuyer (meaning cannot have owned a home in the last three years).
• Non-first time homebuyers may qualify for the move-up tax credit of $6,500. 

QUALIFIED VETERANS:  This opportunity to get the $8,000 tax credit will end on April 30th.   All qualified veterans must have a home under written contract by April 30th but do not have to close the transaction until June 30, 2011.

For more information or to set up a customized home search, please call John Jones at (972) 978-3553 or fill out the quick contact form:

LINKS TO ADDITIONAL INFO:

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/home.html

In some instances, the home may be in a state of pre-foreclosure.  Other times, the seller may be current on their payments but may have to sell their home for some reason other than not being able to make the payments, such as a relocation or divorce where the seller does not have the money to pay the difference between the amount owed on the property and the likely market sales price. 

There are several reasons why short sales may take several months to close, but the main reason boils down to the fact that many lenders are simply short-staffed and are unable to handle all of the requests for short sales in a timely manner.  Banks basically view short sales as a business decision, i.e., will the bank fare better selling the home for less than the amount owed or would simply foreclosing on the home be in the lender’s best interests. 

The approval process for short sales varies from one lender to the next, but the main steps are essentially the same: Lenders typically require the seller to submit a hardship package with financial information showing the seller is unable to pay the short amount.  Then the lender will perform certain actions to assess the value of the property, which can include having brokers submit price opinions and having one or more appraisers perform a market appraisal.

Read more in The Dallas Morning News

This is why a competent real estate agent will not verbally negotiate a contract in Texas.  They simply aren’t enforceable. 

There is some basic data and information that is needed in order to complete a written purchase offer in Texas.  For starters, the buyer needs to decide on an offer price, including how much they wish to have the seller pay towards closing costs and prepaid expenses.  Some loan programs have limitations as to how much the seller is allowed to pay towards these costs.

A real estate agent should prepare a CMA (market analysis) of the property to show what similar properties are selling for in the area.  Although this is not an appraisal, it should give the buyer a good idea as to a likely value range. 

Additionally, there are other blanks in the promulgated real estate contract that must be completed.  A good buyer’s agent will advise the buyer as to what is reasonable and customary for each item. 

The Dallas Morning News wrote a good article on struturing offers as written contracts.  But they left off ONE VERY IMPORTANT DETAIL: The buyer needs to either be pre-approved for a mortgage or have proof of funds if paying cash.  This letter of pre-approval or verification of funds is normally transmitted along with the written offer to the seller or seller’s agent. 

Read the Dallas Morning News article for additional tips and information about submitting a written real estate offer.

This essentially means the middle of the three  credit scores must be at least a 640.  Over the last two years, the minimum credit scores required by most lenders has slowly increased.  FHA does not have a minimum credit score requirement per se, but lenders have what are known as “overlay guidelines”, which are guidelines that are separate from what FHA requires. 

Essentially this is a move to clamp down on early payment defaults, which cost lenders millions of dollars per year.  Even though FHA insures mortgage loans against default, lenders can still incur a significant amount of losses if the loans default, especially if they default in the first year.

Recently, some data was released showing that 75% of early payment defaults were from borrowers with credit scores between 620 and 639.  Lenders often analyze data from recently funded loans to see which factors are contributing to delinquencies; and not surprisingly, there is almost always a direct correlation between higher defaults and lower credit scores. 

Some banks may still advertise that they allow credit scores below 640 for FHA loans, but they likely will require a significant amount of compensating factors, which are other strong supplimental reasons for approving the loan.  An example of a compensating factor might be a significant amount of cash reserves or significantly low debt-to-income ratios on the part of the borrower.  

In my opinion, lenders will likely move to a minimum credit score of 680 for FHA loans at some point in the near future.  As more and more borrowers default in this tough economy, lenders will continue looking for ways to cut their losses.  Unfortunately, credit score is typically the easiest metric by which to set a benchmark.  I expect this trend to continue until the housing market has truly stabilized, which won’t happen until unemployment begins to change for the better, foreclosures start to dwindle and the glut of home inventory begins to wane.

But quite often, sellers misjudge certain aspects of the selling process, or simply fail to make good decisions at the beginning of the process, which can result in tanking a transaction that could have sold their home.

Article from Realty Times

Article from Realty Times