Hello there and happy (much) cooler Sunday!
Ok…I don’t know about you, but I am SO much happier with the cooler weather! The super heat is so not my friend… it messes with my hair and makes me look like Fi-Fi the wonder poodle! Oh…all right, I do have better reasons than that… the super heat just drains me, and seems to trigger more migraines….Air conditioning is my friend… LOL Luckily, we don’t have heat like that often, and for that I am grateful. My oldest daughter loves the heat…she is crazy, but again…she is almost 19 so that goes without saying. 🙂 My son (who turned 16 this Wednesday…you have been warned) is more like me and is not a fan of the big heat. He is a good boy, but he had better be since my insurance almost doubled by adding him. The two and half year old doesn’t really care…she is a simple soul…food? good! Drink? good! People to adore her? Well…obviously!! LOL Got to love kids…
I hope you were able to stay cool this past week…. As for me and mine…it is time to convince the older two to watch the younger one so my husband and I can celebrate our 20 year anniversary…. 😀
We do have a class today at the Parsley Center (4100 Plomondon Road, enter in the door by the swimming pool) from 9am-12pm. We know that not everyone has Saturdays off, so we try to offer a Sunday class at least every other month.
Now…on to real estate…. when the heat gets crazy like it has been (and you thought I didn’t have a point), people always look more for homes with AC. Not that I can argue as I love my AC, but there are other ways to get AC into your home without going into a bidding war for a home with a heat pump when the weather hits 90+. You think I am talking about window air conditioners, don’t you? 🙂 Well, yes and no. Window air conditioners are wonderful as again we don’t have heat like that often, and we used them before we got a heat pump, however, there are other ways as well. There are portable AC units you can purchase for your home, or you can call the Clark PUD after you buy your home. Why?? The Clark PUD has some wonderful programs for homeowners. If you purchase a home with metal windows, you can contact Clark PUD and talk with them about newer, vinyl windows to increase energy proficiency in your home. The PUD will offer a low interest loan that they can add to your monthly payment. The Clark PUD can also help with additional insulation if you don’t want to do it yourself, and the Clark PUD offers ductless air conditioners. Yep…you read that right. Say you buy a home with ceiling heat….contact the Clark PUD about a ductless heat pump. It is very efficient and works wonderfully. We are starting to see them in more and more homes, and it is a great program. It is a program similar as with the windows. There are a lot of programs available for homeowners….another bonus! 🙂
I know I was going to talk about the difference between Inspection and Appraisals, but I am going to put that off for next week. I had a couple of questions this week that I thought you might enjoy instead. The point of this is to answer your questions, and to help you after all… Please contact me if you have any other questions, or if there is anything I can help you with! I hope this helps…
“It seems that a lot of the houses I like are either cash only or FHA 203K loan, and so I’m really starting to consider a FHA 203K..Do you know if it is possible to do the housekey loan for down payment assistance with the FHA 203K loans? Are the banks even doing FHA 203K loans right now?”
Yeah….cash and 203k loan types of homes sell for less….because less people can do them.
First answer….I don’t know of any of the state loan programs that will consider a 203k loan. The reason why is that with the state loans, the home must be in a safe and livable condition. In fact, in April of this year they changed their rules so that any home purchased with a state assistance loan has to include a copy of the home inspection for the bond underwriters to approve. They do not fund fixers…. One of the reasons that they don’t is because most first time home buyers do not have the funds to do repairs, and if they did have the funds to do repairs, they would not qualify for the state loan programs. To qualify for the state bond assistance programs you can’t have money of your own…the loan is for people who need their money, not for people who just don’t want to use their own money. The second reason why the bond does not fund fixers is because if, for some reason, you were to default on the loan, they don’t want to be stuck with a home that can’t sell because it needs to much work. The bond is fairly strict about the homes condition….maybe not as strict as VA loans, but stricter than regular FHA….and remember that FHA has strict qualifications for the condition of the homes that they will fund.
Second answer... it is harder for a 203k loan. For a 203k loan to work the buyer needs to have cash, and needs to be prepared that the repairs will end up costing more. For more information on a 203k loan, call Chris Berg at Pinnacle Mortgage at 503-320-0925…however, what I have been told is that most 203k loans end up falling apart before closing….all of them costing the buyer money with no home to show for it. It may not be as much of a gamble as waiting on a short sale, but it is still a gamble. Most banks say that they can do them, but few actually do. Make sure that if this is the path for you that you are speaking with a lender who knows what they are doing with them….and that the lender gives you all the information on it…including the potential pitfalls and cons.
There are a lot of great homes out there. The hardest thing for most people is seeing what homes are in their price range, and adjusting their expectations. The market has changed again since last year….there are more buyers, and not as much inventory out there. This has caused an increase in homes values…and prices. For a good home, in a good neighborhood, and that is at a good price…there is often the chance of multiple offers, and the home will sell quickly. In this market it really is a rule of thumb that if it looks to good to be true, then it probably is…..there is either something wrong with it that makes financing difficult (in which case it is listed cheaply and an investor will most likely purchase it. HUD homes fit into this category), or it is a short sale (in which case the listing agent just needs an offer to get the process even started…the listing price doesn’t mean a thing as the bank as not agreed to it. IF the bank does respond it will be about 6-9 months, and short sales are at about an 85% fail rate. IF the home is a bankruptcy, the bk court will require the buyer to bring in, on average, $15,000 to satisfy the bk court.).
Again…there are a LOT of great homes out there, and many homes that are in good shape, that will finance, and that people can (and do) purchase. These are homes being sold by regular sellers, investors, estates, bank owned properties (remember that there is no special list…if a bank owned home is for sale, it is on the rmls.com), etc….
I am sorry…I don’t mean to be a ‘debbie downer’, but I do believe in being truthful. I will do all I can to help you find a wonderful home that you can love, and be happy in…..but I can’t get you Widmer if all you can afford is Hams Beer. Please remember that this is your First home, but most likely won’t be your last….
“Do you know if anyone loans on manufactured homes in a community of manufactured homes or do they only loan on manufactured homes on land?”
I apologize for the bad news here…. To my knowledge, no lender will loan on a manufactured home in a community because the land is not owned. Manufactured homes are actually considered personal property, and not real estate property. When the land is not owned, the only way to get a loan is by private source (like owner carrying contract), or by getting a personal loan.
Now…it used to not be so bad if the manufactured home was on its own land, but loans have changed, and now it is almost impossible to get any type of loan on a manufactured home….on its own land, or not. I do know of a couple of lenders who say that they can still provide loans for manufactured homes, but they will require a high(er) credit score, will have a higher interest rate, and will require more of a down payment….none of the state loan programs will loan on a manufactured home. The problem is that manufactured homes, as nice as some of the are, are not built to last the way a stick built home will. Because of this lending on a manufactured home is considered more of a ‘risk’ to a lender. With banks it is all about risk….the higher the risk, the more difficult they make it….
Again, I do apologize for being the bearer of bad news…., but if you are still interested in manufactured homes, please let me know and I can provide you with the name of the 2 lenders I know who say that they can (or will) still do them.
Please let me know if you have any questions, or if there is anything else I can help you with! I am, as always, here to help in any way I can!
If you know anyone who is thinking about buying a home, our next classes are Thursday, August 23, 2012, at the Parsley Center (aka Bagley Center) located at 4100 Plomondon Road (just down from the main post office on Caples Road off of Fourth Plain from 5pm-8pm. With reservations, lunch is included…. 🙂 and because it is a two class week next week, our next Saturday class is Saturday, August 25, 2012 at the Vancouver YMCA located at 11324 NE 51st Circle (corner of SR-500 & 112th/Gher Road) from 10am-1pm.
Please call, email, text, or even facebook me (at Tracie DeMars Real Estate Q&A) anytime with any questions, or if there is anything I can do to assist you with your home buying adventure! As your buyers agent, I am, as always, here to help!! 😀
Thank you again for your business and for your referrals!
…as always…if you have already purchased a home, or no longer would like to receive these emails from me, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from receiving any more.
Thank you again for attending the home buyer education classes, and I hope that you will continue to refer the classes out to your friends, family, and co-workers. Upcoming class dates and times are located at www.freehomebuyerclasses.com. Just click on the link on the left hand side. Or you can go to www.learningtobuyahome.com and click the links.
We appreciate your referrals and word of mouth! Also, if you have somewhere that we can place the flyers at, please let me know….
:-D
Next Week: Inspection and Appraisal….What is the difference?
Last Week: Home Loans…Pros/Cons
Remember that you can always go to ‘Free Home Buyer Education’ on Facebook for all of my weekly blogs and upcoming class dates/times/locations. I post the weekly blogs on there as well.
Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,
;-D
