Joe Blogs Boston

Yes, that’s right, it’s back!

A program that was incredibly popular for millions of borrowers from (roughly) 2003-2007 is back again…that is if you are looking to buy a condo or single family home (SFH) as your primary residence in Massachusetts.   Needless to say, like all mortage programs, you must fit the eligibility requirements which, as I type this are at minimum, a solid credit score and a healthy debt to income ratio as well not exceeding the max income requirements for the borrower(s) on the application.  And if you can put 3% down, the lending guidelines relax quite a bit taking a lower credit score (down to a 660) and a higher debt to income ratio.  Finally, if you are looking to buy a two-family, the program allows for a min 3% down-payment and 5% down if a 3-4 family owner occupied property.

In addition to this program there are other programs out there with low (3%) down-payments for qualifying borrowers / qualifying property types too.

Metropolitan areas across the country have had to deal with a blanket “declining market” status even though it may have just been a particular section or where they just couldn’t determine if it was or not because of the mixture of properties.

Well, we no longer have to worry about it in regards to having to put down that extra 5% in a declining area.

Read here for full story from Inman news. Realtors at work.

Just Listed:

Great entertaining layout for this two bed two bath home in premier concierge building with parking, pool and 40 foot balcony accessed from living area and master bedroom. Conveniently located 1 block from the C line and close to Longwood Medical Area. This blank canvas offers unbelievable potential to create your ideal home. Walk to Trader Joe’s & Coolidge Corner. By appointment only.

Reading the globe Real Estate section this morning I have to say that I was impressed with the articles. It states what Realtors, like myself, have been telling our clients for months now. You may lose a bit on the sale of your condo, but you can now afford more house in the desirable area that you want to be in when you purchase. 

The perfect scenario:

Take, for instance, a house that was worth $500,000, but declined by 10 percent to $450,000 - the seller is out $50,000, at least theoretically, said David W. O’Neil of Century 21 Spindler & O’Neil Associates in North Reading. Many potential sellers would look at that and decide to stay put. But on the other side of the equation, if the house that homeowner covets was once $800,000 and is down the same 10 percent, it can be had for $720,000, a savings of $80,000.

This may not apply to all buy/sell scenarios, but it doesn’t hurt to at least check it out and work with your Realtor to see if it makes sense for you.

Source: Is it the right time to sell, with the market still soft? Boston.com

When myself and the other loan officers at Greenpark Mortgage heard the news on the proposed stimulus package, we quietly celebrated that if this got passed, it would be a win-win for all.  Not only would this help stimulate the slowing real estate market, but we could also help clients purchase or refinance in to lower rate mortgages as well.  Bottom line…business would pick up all around the industry.

The stimulus package did a couple of things.  It increased the conforming loan limits around the country (which for a single family home or condo was any loan for 417K or less) to a new, higher limit based on your geographical location adjustment.   It also increased the FHA loan limits as well.  Thankfully for FHA…which has been around for a long time, the program is one of the few saving graces for our industry right now, as it allows for a low down-payment (3%), less than perfect credit scores and way to decrease your PMI payments that would accompany your mortgage (since 20% was not put down on the purchase).

Unfortunately, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac (our nation’s two largest mortgage finance lenders) have imposed large “rate adjusters or hits” if you borrow more than the previous conforming loan limit (417K) or more than the FHA max loan limit (362K).   That said, the adjusted rates are more of a prohibiter for borrower’s looking to purchase or refinance, at the same current rates that we could offer for conforming loans, but now for higher loan amounts.

Thankfully if you are looking to borrow the higher loan amounts, Greenpark has partnered with a few banks that can assist with much more aggressive “jumbo” rates for those loans going over the old loan limits.  These banks portfolio their own loans, which means in essence they can make up their own rules outside of what Fannie or Freddie regulate and don’t have the Fannie / Freddie rate adjustments.

Finally, at this point the stimulus package is due to expire at the end of this year.  So even if it was more than just a marketing pitch to give the perception that help was on they way, it currently isn’t going to be around long enough even if it could do any good.

I have recently completed an 8 hour class going over Short Sales, Foreclosures and Auctions. As we know there are a lot of people feeling the decline in the market and their equity is not there any longer. A lot are also feeling the pain of the adjustable rate mortgage adjusting.

I can help. If you, or someone you know, is having difficulty paying their mortgage or is looking for an alternative to just flat out losing their home and ruining their credit to the extreme, call me today. You have options.

I am Loss Mitigation Certified and can help you through the long process. The sooner you get help the better it can be.

So, I was talking with my mortgage broker today and the discussion lead to the new conforming jumbo loan limits. Apparently there is more than meets the eye to what appears to be a great thing…another government marketing ploy?!

Maybe my mortgage broker would like to comment on that.

NAR has long-supported GSE reform, and has led the support for increasing the conforming loan limits. In his testimony, Vince Malta, Chair, NAR Public Policy Coordinating Committee and 2006 President of the California Association of REALTORS, urged the Senate to increase the national conforming loan limit to no less than $625,500 and to make the conforming loan limit increase for high cost areas, as provided in the economic stimulus legislation, permanent. -from Realtor.org

This could mean great things for those high cost areas of the country. Currently, the conforming loan limit is $417,000, temporarily set a bit higher depending on your area thanks to the stimulus package. This permanent increase would allow more families to buy homes because their loan would have a better chance of not falling into the Jumbo Rate arena and in return their interest rate would stay lower.

Interest rates hit a 2-year low at 5.5% for a 30yr-fixed mortgage. This is a great opportunity to refinance or lock your rate.

Contact Rob Veneziano today! Rates are subject to change without notice and may vary depending on credit scores and other factors.

We have all heard about the down-spiralling mortgage market.

Massachusetts banks are trying to help…check out the story below.

Also check out this website for more information: www.MortgageReliefFund.com

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston