**FEDERAL TAX CREDIT EXPIRES APRIL 30TH 2010*

Ben Nicolas

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 5:14pm. 184 Views, 0 Comments.

The federal tax credit for home buyers is set to expire on April 30th 2010!!

Buyers and Sellers need to be in a purchase contract by this date and the transaction needs to close escrow by June 30th 2010 to qualify for this tax credit. 
 
This a hard federal government deadline and it will _NOT_ be extended!!

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2010 State Tax Credit for New and First-Time California Home Buyer

Ben Nicolas

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at 1:59am. 423 Views, 0 Comments.

 Guidelines for the 2010 Tax Credit for New & First Time Home Buyers have been officially posted on the California Franchise Tax Boards website:

http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/new_home_credit.shtml

Highligts:

• Max $10,000
• Starts for escrows closed after May 1st, 2010 and before January 2011
• Total amount of allocated tax credit for all taxpayers may not exceed $100 million for the New Home Credit and $100 million for the First-Time Buyer Credit
• State will allocate money for the tax credits on a first-come, first-served basis

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2010 Extension of the $8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit Explained

Ben Nicolas

Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 8:09pm. 1598 Views, 1 Comments.

Due to the success of the 2009 Homebuyer Tax Credit program lawmakers (on November 6, 2009) have extended and expanded eligibility for the $8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit into 2010. This popular rebate program proved to be an incentive to first time homebuyers and caused a direct increase in home sales at the end of 2009. The original program was due to expire on November 30, 2009. The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends this deadline for closing on the homes until April 30, 2010 or until June 30, 2010 for those buyers who have a binding contract in effect by the end of April 2010.

To qualify as a first time homebuyer the buyer must not have owned a primary residence in three years previous to the purchase date. Lawmakers…

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Changes to FHA Streamline Loan Underwriting Guidelines applicable as of 11-17-2009

Ben Nicolas

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 8:35pm. 1317 Views, 0 Comments.

The following changes apply to new case numbers assigned on or after November 17, 2009:

o        Seasoning:  At the time of application, the borrower must have made at least 6 payments within the month due on the FHA-insured mortgage being refinanced.

o        Payment History:  At the time of loan application, the borrower must exhibit an acceptable payment history as follows:

§         For mortgages with less than a 12 month payment history, the borrower must have made all mortgage payments within the month due.

§         For mortgages with a 12 month payment history or greater, the borrower must have 0x30 in the last 12 months, and made all mortgage payments within the month due for the three months prior to the date of the loan…

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Conventional-Conforming-Fannie Mae Mortgage Loan Underwriting Guideline Updates Los Angeles CA

Ben Nicolas

Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 1:20am. 1050 Views, 1 Comments.

With the changes happening to the basic underwriting guidelines of Conventional loan programs so quickly I thought I'd create this blog post to highlight *_some_* of the potentially deal killing details that I've come across in the course of my own business...

• MI for conforming loans on Condo's is on the verge of being extinct (consider FHA as an alternative).  41% max backend DTI for all MI companies.  Doesn't matter what DTI Lender will allow.
• Reserve Requirements when purchasing Investment Properties. 
  Fannie Mae Announcement re: borrowers purchasing multiple investment properties

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Impact of Loan Modification on Credit Scores

Ben Nicolas

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 4:04am. 909 Views, 0 Comments.

With the introduction of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) many homeowners that are not currently behind on their mortgages are being faced with a situation where they are being offered potential relief.

Obviously their first reaction would be to accept this relief but the government had done something smart (yes, give credit where credit is due).  They made it mandatory for loan servicers to report derogatory history to the credit bureaus for all borrowers who participate.  The creators of HAMP did this to weed out the people that can afford their payments but want a modification of their loan terms on the taxpayer dollar.  

Those in true financial need won't mind, they are most likely already behind on their payments and their credit…

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Condos owners now required to pay HOA dues and inside the walls insurance policy

Ben Nicolas

Thursday, August 27th, 2009 at 1:30pm. 138 Views, 0 Comments.

HO-6 Insurance Requirements for Condominium and PUD Properties 

HO-6-CONDOMINIUM UNIT OWNERS COVERAGE

Here is an excerpt from a memo sent to us by one of our biggest lenders: 

Borrowers must show evidence of hazard insurance coverage for all condominium projects with attached units, including two- to four- unit projects, that covers fixtures, equipment, and other personal property inside individual units if they will be financed by the mortgage.  Borrowers must show evidence of a “walls-in” coverage policy (commonly known as HO-6 policy) unless they can document that the master policy provides the same interior unit coverage. The master policy must include replacement of improvements and betterment coverage to cover any improvements that the…

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SB94 - New Loan Modification Legislation for state of California

Robert Seybold

Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 6:02pm. 147 Views, 0 Comments.

As I said in my last blog SB94 will have an effect on how consumers handle their mortgages SB94 has already passed the Senate and the community and now goes to the assembly there are many reasons to think this will help as well as many reason to think it would not, the bill it self is as follows 

                 DESCRIPTION   

          This bill would prohibit persons from charging advance fees to  
          borrowers in connection with a loan modification, and require  
          those who wish to charge a fee for loan modification services  
          (after performing them) to provide a specified notice to  
          borrowers regarding other options available to the borrower.   
          The violation of those…

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HOA Assistance Program for First Time Homebuyers in South LA & North Orange County

Ben Nicolas

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 2:04pm. 127 Views, 0 Comments.

HOA Assistance Program offered through PWR

HOA Assistance program offered through my local association of realtors (Pacific West Association of Realtors)

Program offered through Pacific West Association of Realtors for homeowners in Southern LA and Northern Orange counties.  Funds for this program are from a charity account setup by fellow Realtors and a grant from a California Association of Realtors fund.  The program will pay up to $250/month & up to $3000 per year to the Home Owners Association for the qualifying borrower.  This program has helped over 30 families since its inception in 2007

Be sure to check with our office for qualifying guidelines and available funds before applying.

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"Direct Lender" pre-approvals are a JOKE

Ben Nicolas

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 10:38pm. 144 Views, 2 Comments.

I really don't understand this whole new phenomenom about REO listing agents (and now short sale & standard transaction agents) requiring a pre-approval from a "Direct Lender".  Maybe I'm just bitter because my client who was told by a "Direct Lender" that their financing was secure and all they had to do was find a property.  So I found them a property and then 20 days later the "Direct Lender" denies the client due to credit/employment/income factors (layered risk) that were present prior to the client being issued their pre-approval.  Maybe its because for the most part the loan reps I see at Direct Lenders at the banking institutions I go to (Bofa, Chase, Wells Fargo) are young, seemingly inexperienced and likely unlicensed.  Many loan reps working at…

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