My New Blog

Today I got a call from a potential new home buyer but after reviewing her credit report, I found she will have to wait before she can purchase a home.

First, she had a late payment on a car loan in the past 12 months.  Generally, a borrower can not have had any late payments on a car or home loan in the past 12 months.

Second, she had a couple large collection accounts with outstanding balances.   Most programs will require these accounts (over $500) to be paid in full prior to closing on a mortgage loan.  Often the borrowers can find ways to do this (they have it in savings or a retirement account or they get a gift from a family member).  But not everyone has these resources.   In this case, the borrower could not pay off the accounts.  My recommendation, if you can't pay off the account(s),  is to contact each of the creditors and set up a payment plan.  If you have a payment plan for $X/month and you can show you have made the payments, on time, each month for the past 6 months then I can probably find a mortgage for you.   

I beleive every potential home buyer deserves to be treated with respect.  I am always happy to review a person's credit with them and give them direction on how to get on the right path.

   Nehemiah is an organization that will give a borrower a gift of up to 6% of the sales price to be used to pay for down payment and/or closing costs on an FHA loan.   It's quite an interesting program and I can help you use it effectively.  Call me or write Renee@NHmortgages.com and I'll fill you in on all the details. 

   Unfortunately, Nehemiah is in danger of disappearing soon.   Call your Congressman or Senator and let them know that you support programs like this (which don't cost us tax payers anything!).   It seems silly that in a down market like this, our government wants to take away programs that allow people to stay in the market.

Renee

That's right!  zero interest!!  NH Housing has a new construction initiative that will give a $20,000 interest-free second mortgage to qualified buyers purchasing at approved neighborhoods (all are new construction). 

Included in this are Brady-Sullivan's Moulton Cove in Laconia, NH and Cobb Hill's Bow Highlands in Bow, NH. 

Basically the $20,000 interest-free second mortgage effectively lowers your monthly cost of owning a new home.   This second mortgage can be combined with NH Housing's 4% cash assistance program which means a borrower can get into a new home with a cash investment of just 1% of the sales price!   So, if you were purchasing a new home at Moulton Cove for $159,900 then your required cash investment would be just $1600!!

You can check out the details at NH Housing's website www.nhhfa.org or give me a call at (603) 225-5626. 

When it comes to creative financing, I am an artist!   I love my work and you will too! 

Renee

Prior to August 2007, we were doing stated income loans for borrowers with no down payment and credit scores over 620.  Since then the mortgage industry has changed drastically and so have the programs available!! 

Today we can do a stated income/stated asset loan with 20% down if it is an owner-occupied purchase of a single family or 2-family home.  The credit score must be above 720.  The stated income must be reasonable for the type of employment.  For self-employed borrowers, we do need third party verification the borrower has been self employed for a minimum of two years.

Depsite these changes, we are finding ways to help most borrowers purchase a home.     There are still many excellent options out there. 

FHA saves the day again!  In the last 2 weeks, I have taken on two applications that had been denied for conventional and state housing financing and gotten  both of these loans approved for FHA.  In both cases, the borrowers were great people!  They had employment stability, some savings, and ok credit.  But their profiles just couldn't get approved with NH Housing or conventional financing. 

FHA is a great program.  It is not limited to first time buyers and there are no income limits (there are generous loan amount limits though).  These loans have low down payments (2.25%) and flexibility in underwriting.  FHA is the most lenient program when a co-signer is being used too. 

Want to know more about FHA or if it's a good program for you?  Give me a call at (603) 225-5626.  I'd love to tell you more about it. 

Renee

A REALTOR e-mailed me about my previous blog about finding low down payment loans for qualified investors who want to purchase multi-family properties.  She pointed out that there are many Sellers of properties who are willing to do seller-financing for qualified borrowers.  She sent me some expamples from the MLS (multiple listing service) of properties that are advertised with the seller's willingness to help with financing. 

Seller financing can be a great deal for both sides!  The Seller can earn a higher rate on a mortgage than they can if they invest the proceeds of their sale into a money market account!  The current asking rate for seller financing seems to be between 8 - 10%.   In this ever changing mortgage money market, the seller held mortgage is making a come back! 

Please post a response if you have something to add to this topic or E-mail me at Renee@NHmortgages or call (603) 225-LOAN.  I'd love to hear from you!

Investment properties are a favorite of mine!

Renee

   Merrimack Mortgage Company was the #1 lender in the State of NH in volume of NH Housing loans closed!   We pride ourselves on being the experts in this type of lending.  For more information on NH Housing, you can go directly to their website at www.NHHFA.org . 

   In most parts of the state, the NH Housing program is limited to first -time home buyers and home buyers who haven't owned a home in the past 36 months.   In other targeted communities, like Manchester, Concord and Laconia (there are others), the buyer can not own any other real estate at the time they use the NH Housing loan to buy a house.  So a person could sell their house and close on a new house in the same day using NH Housing in a targeted community. 

  NH Housing loans can be combined with other loans like FHA, Rural Housing and VA to create just the right loan for a buyer!!   The possibilities are many!  There is usually just the right fit for each buyer's situation. 

   Qualifying for a NH Housing loan is easy!  Just call me at (603) 225-5626 or e-mail me at Renee@NHmortgages.com    I need to ask a few questions about your employment, income, assets, and debt and I can then give you the options available that you qualify for.   My estimates are thorough and accurate.  I can e-mail them to you or fax them to you or put them into the snail mail.  Whatever is best for you!

   Our state housing agency, NH Housing Finance Authority, is one of the most innovative in the country!  The staff if full of top-quality dedicated professionals who care about providing affordable housing to the citizens of NH.   I am proud to be an originator of their mortgage loans.

  I have a borrower who is looking to purchase a 3-family home as an investment.  She is well qualified and has experience managing rental property.  She has very high credit scores but only 10% down.

 The changes in the mortgage market effect her greatly as I would have had a loan for her six months ago.  Today, the best I've got is 25% down.  Bummer.