First Stop 4 Home Loans

This is a common question now that rates have fallen to the lowest levels in well over 40 years.  This means you can get, as of today, rates around 4.5% for a 30-year fixed rate — WOW!  It would appear that everyone who has a mortgage should refinance because if you can get a lower rate, why wouldn’t you?  In some instances, I would agree; but, the answer is in the numbers.

Currently, I am telling all clients that there will be NO reason for them to refinance.  It won’t make financial sense; their rate is just too low.  As a homeowner, you may get solicitations to refinance because mortgages are public record.  Thing is, the lender doesn’t know your specifics, nor do they have your best interest in mind.  My current clients, from the last year or so,  know I won’t call them to refinance since I DO care whether they do the right thing.

So when does it make sense?  One general rule of thumb is the new rate should be more than 1% lower than your current rate.  This isn’t true for all people though.  If what you owe is less than $150,000, you may need the rate to be closer to 1 1/2% – 2% lower.  And if your loan is less than $100,000, I would say it almost never makes sense to refinance.  You’re better off making principal payments.

Why though?  Since you’re taking out a new loan, you will have origination charges along with all the fees involved with a new loan — title company fees, setting up your escrow account and county fees.  Sure, you may hear that there are no closing cost refinances, but I am here to say nothing is free.  Your charges are either added to your loan, covered with a higher interest rate or being paid out of pocket by you or a combination thereof.  It’s time to run numbers!

To get a true sense if a refinance is a sound financial decision, you’ll want to gather the following information:

• approximate value of your home (tax assessed values are actually higher than current values)
• your current loan balance(s) on any first, second or home equity lines of credit
• your current loan rate(s)
• annual property taxes
• annual homeowner’s insurance if a single family home
• current principal and interest payment
• your goals — reduce rate, take cash out, etc.
• type of loan, i.e. fixed rate, term or ARM
• occupancy of the home, i.e. owner occupied, second home or investment property

These will enable me to run figures and determine the “payback” time frame.  I recently had a past client do a refinance.  They were saving $200/month.  That’s a lot of money!  Their costs were about $4400 which covered lender fees, title charges and county charges.  Setting up the escrow is not figured into this equation.  Escrows are pre-paid expenses that cover future payments of taxes and insurance.  My client would pay for these regardless of refinancing or not. 

Anyway, the calculation I run is based on the savings per year – $2400 – divided by the costs of $4400.  He’s going to re-coup these fees in 1.8 years, so under two.  This is the second rule of thumb.  If it takes longer than two years to recoup the costs, then refinancing may not be the right move.  Now, going to a shorter term or going from an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) to a fixed may make sense even if the time-frame to recoup is higher.  Biggest question here … how long will you be in the home?  Though we never really know the answer, it will certainly help guide the financial soundness of the refinance.

For those of you with second loans or home values close to or  than what you owe, refinancing may just NOT be an option, regardless of the savings.  Long and short — “maybe” is the answer to the title question.  It’s not right for everyone.  And when you work with me, I will make sure you know whether it’s right for you or not.  I would rather give you the straight scoop than have you upset that you did something you should not have.  

Send me the answers to the bulleted items above.  Let’s see if refinancing IS right for you!!

Let’s get on our horse and ride out of here before all you-know-what breaks loose with the coming FHA changes.  Okay, that’s a little dramatic … more like a lot dramatic.  Let’s get a grip on reality.  First of all, if you don’t know it, FHA is known for minimum down payment loans.  Right now, and with no change in sight, their down payment requirement is 3.5%.  Being that FHA is federally backed, they have lots of rules and stipulations to follow.

How about we get the “bad” news out of the way first. Please note the quotes. Any FHA loan requires something called Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premiums (UFMIP). FHA is self-insured which means they don’t use private mortgage insurance companies (PMI) to cover a portion of their risk if the loan defaults. This UFMIP is financed into the loan size which is currently equal to 1.75% of the loan amount. The change?? Starting April 5th, they will be increasing that to 2.25%. Why the increase? FHA has had to take a lot of losses due to the high foreclosure rates. They are supposed to keep 2% in their funds for this insurance — they are down to 1/2% — ouch. Hence the increase. So what does this mean to you? Not a lot. It’s about a $5/mo difference in your payment, depending on your loan amount. Calculate that out. $5/mo over year is $60/year and let’s say you live there 5 years — so $300. Doesn’t that seem so piddly? Imagine though that most loans that have been originated in the past 2 years have been FHA. That adds up fast!

This next change is so lame because it will neither help or hurt anyone. Why they have it is beyond me. Currently, FHA doesn’t have a minimum required credit score. The new rule requires buyers with a 580 score or less to put 10% down. OMG, 10% down. Bet you’re questioning what I said regarding a 3.5% down payment from my earlier comment. Reality — it’s a mute point. No investor buying an FHA loan will take a buyer with a score under 620 and some investors are moving toward 640. So, can you say lame with me???

Here’s the doozie that WILL affect you — we just don’t know when. They are predicting Spring/Summer. As of right now, FHA allows the seller to pay up to 6% of the sale price toward your closing costs and pre-paid expenses. Hitting us like a brick in the head, they will be reducing this to 3%! This is huge. Typically, asking the seller to pay 4-4.5% of the sale price gets you what you need. Though the lower the sale price, the higher the seller paids percentage needs to be due to the fixed closing costs that aren’t tied to the loan size. In real terms, instead of just needing 3.5% down payment, you will need to up your investment to about 4.5-5%. Yup, this is really going to hurt in the pocketbooks and savings of the buyers. It’s putting FHA on par with conventional financing which has always limited seller paid costs to 3% (with less than 10% down). FHA does allow gifts for down payment and closing costs.

And, not all changes are bad! Here is the good news — phew!  Of course only 25% of the changes are positive.  Well, that is a bummer.  We just have to deal.  For instance, this change has been effective since Feb. 1.  FHA has temporarily suspended the anti-flipping rule. The term “flipping” has quite a bad rap.  It’s really due to people buying a house at less than market value and turning it to sell for more when the buyer did NOTHING to it to warrant the additional increase in price.  This term gets tossed around like a salad — “I want to buy foreclosed homes and ‘flip’ them” — Whether it’s from friends, the media or even those programs on TLC, almost everyone gets the concept.   The rule, which is suspended for ONE year, said that a purchase agreement on a home HAD to be 90 days away from the date the title transferred to the seller. Whoopie, right? Why is this even important to you?   It’s opened the door to many more homes that you, as an FHA buyer, can actually put in the running. 

That’s about it in a lengthy nutshell! To recap, the two major changes you need to be excited/concerned about is the removal of the anti-flipping rule which is in effect now and the change in seller paid costs with an effective date in Spring.  Just stay tuned for more updates as they come.  And let’s get off our horses and actually enjoy what has changed for the better and sweat about the projected changes when they come.

Most of us would like to think so.  I’ve watched that show a few times and have thought “I don’t remember learning that”.  Of course, that was over 30 years ago.  Wow am I old!  What I do remember as a 5th grader is breaking my leg and being the first person to ride in our new elevator.  Oh yeah, that was the coolest.  I had a special key and everything — such privilege!   Now, breaking the leg on a school event and being taken to the hospital in a bus… not so much!  I was heckled quite a bit during that time.  Hey, maybe that’s why I don’t remember learning certain things … I was too traumatized by the mean kids.  Ha!

So seriously, why start a post with this?  As a home buyer, especially those of you looking to buy for your first time, you “learn” a lot about the process, like what lender to use, what to ask when comparing loans and other wonderful tips, mostly from friends, family and co-workers.  I am here to tell you that though they may seem to know the ropes, it doesn’t mean their situation matches yours.  There are plenty of things you can teach them. 

For instance, you may be advised to ask what rates are when narrowing down what lender you want to use.  Knowing the rates is a very smart thing to do.  But, realizing why this question isn’t valid is smarter.  On any given day, rates can change.  One lender can be higher or lower than another and change positions within the same day.  There are many loan officers out there that will quote you an interest rate that “teases” you into wanting to work with them.  Truth of the matter is rates don’t matter one iota unless you have a purchase agreement accepted on a home and you can lock that minute.  Until that time, lenders can tell you whatever they want.  Notice I am being general here.  I am of the mindset that starting honest is a good thing — not only that, there is always a little fear I have, that indeed, you will call back (good thing) and I have to abide by my rate commitment (not so good if I under-quoted).  And so you know, many first time buyer programs have their own rates tied to them.  So regardless of what lender you use, the rate is the rate.  No variance.  This means even though you’re doing an FHA loan, you won’t be quoted an FHA rate, but that of the first time buyer loan program.  And, this also assumes the lender you called can and is willing to do these loans.  Many don’t and will give you bad information to steer you from something that may be the BEST deal for you overall.

Okay, if the rate is the same because you’re going with the first time program, then what else should you compare?  You may be advised to compare closing  costs by getting a good faith estimate.  Again, smart idea to check costs between lenders, but this isn’t the end all for making a decision.  Here’s a question … what is it worth to you to get your loan closed on time or at all for that matter?  Tough to answer since you might not be at that point yet.  I will say that it’s worth it’s weight in gold.  Trust me on this.  In the 16 years I have originated, I have had many people jump ship after I’ve spent hours educating and being there to answer their questions, just to save 1/8% in rate or $500 in closing costs.  And you know what?  I can honestly say that a good number of them call back complaining about one thing or another with the other lender stating they “wish they had stayed with me”.  Nice compliment, but they don’t pay the bills.  Compare your costs; go ahead.  Just remember it’s tough to put a dollar figure on reaching your dream of home ownership.

What else are you hearing?  Had anyone suggested working with a broker because they can “shop” to find you the best rate?  Or maybe they’re suggesting you go with a bank, a lender that does everything in-house.  All good advice.  Keep in mind; you are getting this advice due to that person’s experience with THEIR process.  Gosh, I can’t tell you how many people say to me during a meeting “my friend got this rate” or “my friend only needed to put xxx% down”.  Yes, their friend probably had that experience.  Back to it being THEIR process.  On conventional financing, for example, depending on the amount down and your credit score, you could pay a higher rate than someone whose score is higher.  It’s reality.  Or maybe they “financed” their closing costs so you should too.  Want the education here so you are smarter than the 5th grader — ie your friend, family or co-worker?  Closing costs cannot be financed in the way you may think.  The only way to “finance” costs is to have the seller pay them.  So why would that make them financed if the seller pays them?  As a good student, that is a brilliant question.  Let’s say the house you want is $100,000.  When you make your offer, you ask the seller to pay $3000 toward your costs; the seller agrees.  What did they just agree to?  Making $100.000 on their home or making $97,000?  You got it, the lesser figure.  Essentially, then, you could have paid $97,000 for the home, asking for nothing, and they would have agreed.  Indeed, you are “financing” the costs in this respect.

Okay, off subject on the last one.  It doesn’t necessarily matter what type of lender you choose.  You want someone reputable, honest, knowledgeable about the first time buyer programs, as well as forthcoming with information on them; and most importantly, you want your deal to go smoothly.  All lenders have their down sides.  A bank just offers one product.  A broker gives you options.  Sometimes, this really means the broker has more opportunities to make more money on your loan (which you won’t know and really don’t care if you’re getting what you want for terms and customer service).  Could you get all these things under one roof?  Of course you can!!  We, among a few other lenders, offer both– the security of having in-house processing and underwriting, so control of the process, along with options.  And when searching your options, don’t forget to ask about the first time programs.  If you really want to test their knowledge, let them know you’re a first time buyer and see if they offer programs that would suit your situation. If not, then I submit to you to take a pass on that lender.  They won’t be working in your best interest.

I know there’s more to being smarter than a 5th grader and plenty more scenarios I can throw at you.  Bottom line … make sure your questions are handled, options are proposed and the company has enough support to handle your loan through the process.  Oh, and tell your friends, family and co-workers “thank you” for their advice and let them  know you’ve got your situation handled.  There are other ways to put this, but if you still want to keep them as friends … you may want to tread lightly!  Oh, and one last thought. By no means am I saying to stop listening.  Some advice will be good; it’s just choosing what advice to listen to.  Good luck!

Lucky you!  There are many buyers these days getting financial  help from family.  I want to give you a few tips on getting gifts for your home buying process.  Not all programs allow gifts or have the same “rules” on the process.  In this tips & tidbits, I will address gifts for FHA loan types since these make up over 75% of my current business.

• gifts can only come from family members
• gifts CAN cover all of your down payment and closing costs, unless the program requires a minimum investment, like the Dakota County Bond Program
• don’t deposit gift money into your accounts until you’ve discussed this with your loan officer
• the funds for the gifts WILL be tracked — not only into your account, but proof will be requested from your family to prove they had the money to give you (there are specific guidelines to follow)
• cash is not an acceptable gift
• if demonstrated, gifts could come from a non-family member, i.e. fiance or partner (certain documentation will be required)
• unsecured, borrowed funds are not acceptable sources of gifts

These are a few things that come to mind when advising on gifts.  Maybe you’re asking why even address this?  Here’s the thing, in the 16 years I’ve done this, I’ve seen way too many times when a loan file gets hampered by doing the wrong thing with gift money.  It’s my goal to give you the best advice possible so this doesn’t happen to you.  It’s already a stressful situation buying your first home, it certainly doesn’t need to be worsened by having to create a paper-trail for something that already happened.  Better to know what is expected of you on the FRONT end of your home-buying process then coming to you and your family at the end asking for more paperwork.  Oh how fun!

Moral of this tip — please be upfront with your intentions to get a gift and hopefully you will be given the right advice the first time!

If it wasn’t great enough that we just got a new issuance of money in the Dakota County area; we now have NEW first time buyer money in the Minnapolis and St. Paul area under the City Living Program. This money is just available in the geographical limits of the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, so no other areas of Hennepin County or Ramsey.  Having this program available is such good news. 

How do you qualify for this?  First, you must be a first time buyer, someone who has not owned a primary residence in the last THREE years.  There are income limits you must fall under and HOUSEHOLD income is calculated off all members in the household over age 18.  Here are the limits:

83,900   1-2 person household

92,290   3+ person household

There is also a purchase price limit of $376,870.  You cannot go over $1 above this!  I don’t think you’ll have any problem since this limit is quite sufficient to handle any properties that are perfect for first time home owners.  The sale price/purchase price limit is $376,870.  Another thing to know is NO personal property can be included in your purchase agreement.  That means anything that isn’t attached to the home — applicances are the most commom.  Don’t panic though — you will still be able to get these things agreed upon.  You definitely want to make sure you’re working with a knowledgable agent in this area.  I have a few partners that I can highly recommend!

Want the REALLY, REALLY good news?  Rates … and it’s all about rates isn’t it?  It shouldn’t be; but again, that’s another post.  Please note that you still must qualify for a regular loan.  Here’s the way I like to explain this.  As a buyer, you need to qualify or meet the guidelines for an FHA, VA or conventional loan.  Let’s call this the “Cake” you’re dying to eat!  Once you’ve got this qualification, then we can see if you meet the guidelines for the City Living program, which we’ll call the “Icing”.  If you’re like me — cake is ONLY good with icing!  So, again, you have to qualify for the cake and then have to meet the qualifications to get the icing drizzled all over it.  Nummy.  The “Sweet” taste of this is a rate of 4.75% on a 30-year OR a rate of 4.99% WITH 2% of the loan amount to be used toward down payment or closing costs.  Another important point, you DO need $750 of your own  money into the transaction, which cannot be a gift. 

They will FORGIVE this second loan if you occupy the home for 7 years.  If you sell under this time, the full amount you got for the second loan is due.  Fortunately, this loan is 0% interest and NO payments are ever due during your loan.  It’s like getting a “loan” from Mom and Dad — “just pay us back when you’re done with it”.  So, you sell, you pay back.

Since this is a first come first serve program, you definitely want to make sure that you’re not only pre-approved with a lender that knows these programs, but also knows how to explain the important nuances of them.  I can help you navigate the waters and make sure you’re sailing strong  during your trip as a first time home owner!!!!!!!

Okay, so this isn’t new news.  This is the third go-round with the first time buyer tax credit.  The subsequent tax credits have been ”bigger and better” with new additions, making the most recent credit the “best”.  Remember last year — the tax credit that would expire at the end of November?  Wow were people hustling to get their home loans closed by that date. There was a call to action, an actual deadline.  Buy your first home now or lose money!  Let’s get real — you can’t lose money you don’t have, so that wasn’t a great way to get people off the fence and buy.  It was funny how first time buyers were coming out of the woodwork last fall to “cash-in”.  Many of those buyers are still waiting for their “check in the mail”.   It will come and that’s the good news.

But here’s the better news.  The government is willing, yet again, to pay you to buy your first home.  Oh, and if you’re not a first time buyer, no problem.  You get to reap the benefits too if you meet a few qualifications – you must have lived in your home for at least 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years.  For the non-first time home buyer, you can get up to a $6500 tax credit!  For the first time buyer, you could pocket up to 10% of the sale price with a maximum amount of $8000.  Seriously, I wish I was in the market to buy a home.  There are income restrictions, which most people will fall under, so it’s a mute point.  There has been some talk out there that you can use this tax credit as down payment for your home.  Hmmmm, wouldn’t that be nice … getting money for buying a home prior to actually buying it.  Essentially, this was ixnayed by most, if not all, non-profits because it was too risky to be fronting that kind of money.  Makes sense to me.

The current tax credit is the last tax credit, so they say.  When it’s done, it’s done.  No more Mr. Nice Government.  So what do you have to do to qualify?  Buy a house.  Yep, for the most part, it’s that simple.  Get an offer accepted on your first home, or subsequent home, by April 30th, 2010 and close by June 30th.  My guess is you would have already filed your taxes by the time you close.  Well, I hope so since taxes are due April 15th.  No worries.  You can complete a few forms, the 1040x amendment to your personal taxes and the 5405 which is the specific form for the home buyer tax credit.  This way, you won’t have to wait to file your 2011 tax returns.  Oh, the stuff you can buy to fix up your first home!  Not that you have to use it this way, but the government’s philosophy behind all this is that you will go out and “stimulate” the economy by buying goods and services.  It would sure help me if you did, but there is nothing wrong with using that money to pay off some debt or set aside savings — all are good uses of FREE money!!

But wait; there’s more — can you hear the infomercial music?  If you are a first time buyer, you can use a down payment assistance program and STILL get this credit.  There is plenty of money out there just waiting for you to use.  Best part about this money … it’s totally forgiven if you live in your home for three years as your primary residence.   That’s another blog on it’s own.

So, assuming the government keeps their word and doesn’t extend this tax credit, you do need to act NOW.  I mean, come on, houses at all time lows, rates at all time historic lows and money to help you fund your down payment.  Wowsers, can you say “incentive”?  I think I have beaten this topic a bit too much.  My advice is to ONLY buy if the time is right for you.  Sure, the call to action couldn’t be stronger.  But, if you’re not financial willing or able or have commitment issues, then wait.  There is no reason buying your first home or buying another home if your conscience is saying “don’t”.  I would hate that the pressure to “act now” pressures you to buy.

Feel free to give me a call or email if you want more information on this.  And please, only “act” on this if you won’t regret it later.