Existing Home Sales Rise More Than Expected in March

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose more than expected in March, a trade group said on Wednesday, raising cautious optimism a recovery may be in sight for the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said sales rose 3.7 percent month over month to an annual rate of 5.10 million units after an upwardly revised 4.92 million unit pace in February. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise 2.5 percent to a 5.0 million-unit pace from the previously reported 4.88 million unit rate. Sales have now risen in six of the past eight months.

Is a 60 amp fuse panel ok for FHA?

Is a 60 amp fuse panel ok for FHA?

1. May be either circuit breakers or fuses.

2. Appraisers should examine the electrical box to ensure that there are no frayed or exposed wires.
3. Existing 60-amp service is acceptable if it appears that this is adequate amperage for the appliances present in the property, or those considered "standard" if the present appliances appear to be less than found in the "standard" home.
4. Knob and tube wiring is acceptable if found to be in good condition and a minimum of 60-amps.

B: Mechanical Certifications: Electrical, plumbing and/or heating certifications may be called for by the appraiser when he/she cannot determine if one or all of these systems are working properly. An appraiser should not arbitrarily call for such certifications as they are still responsible for checking on the adequacy of these systems at the time of appraisal.
The certification must be done by a home inspector, an inspector from the local building department, an FHA compliance inspector, a professional in the specific field (e.g. electrician, plumber) or any individual deemed to be qualified by the Direct Endorsement underwriter. (Also see "Utilities Not On")
C: Heating:  

1. General: ALL habitable rooms must have a heat source. This does not mean that each room must contain a heating device but that each room must receive sufficient heat. (Exception: Homes located in the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Florida counties of Lee, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Palm Beach, Collier, Broward, Monroe and Miami-Dade do not require heat if, the lack of, is "typical" for the market area and does not adversely affect the marketability of the property. 2. Wood Stoves and Solar Systems: Dwellings with wood burning stoves or solar systems as a primary heat source must have permanently installed conventional heating systems that can maintain at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit in all living areas and those containing plumbing systems. These systems must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.
3. Floor Heaters: Due to the inherit dangers of a floor heater it is highly recommended that floor heaters in need of repair be replaced with another permanent heat source.
4. Non-Conventional Heating Systems: All non-conventional heating systems, such as space heaters and others, must comply with local jurisdictional guidelines. Often these are not acceptable as the primary source of heat.
5. Propane tanks must be a safe distance from the dwelling. Leased tanks are acceptable when not offered for sale. Propane fired furnaces located in a crawl space area is not acceptable.

Posted by gilkerk ( General, FHA, Government Home Loans, Home Loan application, Downpayment, Housing Bottom, Crystal Lake Real Estate Agents, Agonquin Real Estate Agents, Cary Illinois Real Estate Agents, Mortgages, fha 203ks, 203k, Gil Kerbashian, Illinois Home Loans ) :: Comments (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)

Expanded FHA

Expanded FHA

1) Expanded FHA Program for Tier 1 Borrowers With 700 Plus Score

2) Home Purchase Akin to Having a Baby
3) Sock! Pow! Zok! How Bad Can Subprime Get?.. Actual Case Study

1) Expanded approvals for home buyers and I'm offering them now..

Example: Borrower makes $5000 a month in income with $600 a month in credit debts (car, student, etc).

How much home can the above borrower buy with various FHA overlays?:

Regular book FHA: $175,000
Big Bank FHA: $197,000
Gils Expanded FHA: $257,000

Don't let your borrower lose the bigger deal because the bank is afraid to lend. Economy is improving and we're bright on the future.

2) Is Buying a home akin to having a baby?

You dream about how nice it would be to have one and all the things you'll do with it over the coming years. You make the decision to have a child (buy the house). You get pregnant (secure an accepted offer). You let the doctors poke and prod you (the home inspection). You finally go into labor (the loan) and you are in a state of high anxiety and pain. The baby arrives (closing) and you are ecstatic.

I work hard to make the delivery less painful and as short as possible.

 

3) Even Batman would have been exhausted fighting the Subprime Duo...

"Please Gil, I need you to get this one closed for me".

Condo A cancelled
Condo B closed

1) 1st lender (BofA- Agents inhouse lender) loan officer directly deposits borrowers appraisal payment to Loan Officers own personal account (against Federal laws). Deposit for appraisal now considered void because it was inappropriately handled by original Loan Officer with BofA.

2) BofA processed the file for over 30 days before declining the loan (case number decline follows borrower in FHA system for subsequent underwriters to view online) Borrower antagonistic regarding loan process and becomes a regular complainer early on.
3) Realtor requests rush underwriting review from Broker to make up for lost time with BofA.
4) Broker needs to make repeated attempts to get appraisal- BofA complicates appraisal transfer.
5) Entire loan file and supporting documents need to be rebuilt with Broker for new submission.
6) Borrower credit shows Bankruptcy plus credit late pays after Bankruptcy.
7) Borrower has numerous "cash" non-payroll deposits into bank accounts. Cash deposits can’t be sourced and are not useable.
8) Broker must arrange for additional down payment assistance gift from family to overcome cash deposits and low funds to close.
9) Borrower has 8 months on current job.
10) Debt ratios over FHA guidelines requiring waivers during period of underwriting retraction.
11) Borrowers credit score drops during processing delay at BofA. Borrower credit score now below requirements.
12) Broker needs to rebuild credit scores – loan underwriting delayed due to credit rescore process.
13) Condo association paperwork slow to come from Attorneys. BofA never ordered condo dox after 30 days of processing the file- BofA didn’t realize (even with appraisal in hand) that the property was a condo.
14) Loan underwritten and approved for property A but Freddie Mac doesn’t grant contract extension due to excessive delays from BofA.
15) Property A transaction cancelled. Realtor time and processing expenses lost.

16) Contract for 2nd property secured two months later.
17) Broker must directly secure condo association information on 2nd property.
18) New file being documented for 2nd property. Borrowers wife -Co-borrower goes on maternity leave for six weeks. HR information shows inconsistency with what borrowers initially claimed as maternity pay. Antagonism from borrower regarding “importance” of pay during maternity leave.
19) 2nd property file underwritten and approved but subsequently denied due to borrowers pay inconsistencies.
20) Repackaged loan and sent to next lender for review and approval. Approved 3 days later.
21) File clear to close but Freddie Mac places foreclosure moratorium on property.
22) Borrower calls six weeks later stating moratorium released, opened file with underwriter but later told moratorium actually not released.
23) Moratorium released three weeks later, file updated and prepped for close.
24) Broker clarifies closing procedures one week in advance of closing. Sellers and buyers attorney’s disregard Brokers instructions regarding closing cost prorations on delinquent homeowners association fees.
25) Condo association management did not renew HUD/FHA condo approval. Underwriter notifies broker that file must close the next day or loan is declined due to FHA condo approval expiriation. Broker contacts principles to expedite closing. Secures closing time with title company. Makes special request for rush to get dox to closing.
26) Broker calls Title company to confirm closing. Title officer states buyers told by their agent not to come to closing because loan dox weren’t there yet. Loan dox arrive an hour later but no one there to sign at 3pm.
27) Loan dox signed slowly due to argument regarding association assessment fee delinquencies from prior owner. Sellers should have paid but buyer was forced to pay because issue wasn’t resolved prior to closing. Buyers attorney thought he would “negotiate” fees down "at the table" or threaten to "walk".
28) Borrower calls Broker blaming Broker for HOA assessment fee claiming Association fee Brokers fault. Borrower must do drugs.
29) Loan documents slow to be signed and loan not funded at 6pm

30) Phone calls from Borrower to Broker into evening of the closing about matters that should have been easily rectified at the closing table. Traveling closer not communicating with bank funder.
31) At closing, borrower wants commissions reduced to pay for HOA delinquency fees. 6 Months of work hinges on what should have been a simple closing.
32) Next day: Loan dox missing signatures upon funding review.
‘traveling’ closers phone goes to voicemail at 9:30am next day. Documents need to be corrected but no one other than the Broker is following up to insure funding process executes
33) Everyone is notified of missing signatures, documents signed and loan funds.

Posted by gilkerk ( General, FHA, Government Home Loans, Home Loan application, Downpayment, Housing Bottom, Crystal Lake Real Estate Agents, Agonquin Real Estate Agents, Cary Illinois Real Estate Agents, Mortgages, fha 203ks, 203k, Gil Kerbashian, Illinois Home Loans )