August 27, 2010
Now more than ever, there are large numbers of foreclosed properties that need repair and renovation. There are also many wonderful older homes in well-established neighborhoods offered at great prices to reflect their need for updating and repair. RE-buildUSA and its partners deliver the support, expertise and systems to allow you to more easily use the power of the FHA 203k to bring your home ownership dream to life.
Your REbuildUSA 203k Specialist™ is trained to provide the expertise and support to help you find a great home at a great price that can be improved through the use of the FHA 203k program and enjoy these benefits:
- Save Time & Money – Use one loan to buy and renovate a great home to meet your needs.
- Get More Home for Your Money – Take advantage of the excellent prices for homes that need repair and remodeling.
- Low Down Payment – Enjoy the benefits of homeownership with as little as 3.5% down.
- Easier Qualification – Less strict FHA qualification requirements benefit those with less than perfect credit.
- Make the Most of Your Investment – rather than paying a premium for changes made by previous owners, invest in improvements that suit your personal tastes and lifestyle.
- Earn Additional Equity – Professional installers do the work, and you can earn “sweat equity” in the process.
- Greater Financial Stability – Rather than experiencing a strain on your budget for major repairs later, you can pay for these improvements over time at a more affordable rate.
- Live in a More Desirable Location – There are many great homes in wonderful established neighborhoods that offer perfect FHA 203k opportunities.
- Invest in Your Future – You can use an FHA 203k loan to purchase a 1 to 4 unit property allowing you to renovate a home that also brings you rental income as an excellent long-term investment.
It’s Easy to Get Started
Your RE-buildUSA 203k Specialist will:
- Help you determine your buying power and get the process started.
- Help you locate the best home to be renovated for your needs.
- using the RE-buildUSA project portal, schedule your home inspection and introduce you to your personal Lowe’s renovation consultant
- Assist you in packaging your renovation bids and financial documents.
- Help you finalize the purchase to begin renovation of your new home
AND you can enjoy this support at NO additional cost to you! For more information about this program and real estate in the Triangle, please visit www.justcallpowers.com/contacts.html.
August 24, 2010
The link below takes you to a news article stating that New York has the highest closing costs in the country, averaging $5,623 on a $200,000 loan.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Exclusive-NY-has-highest-brn-3892778001.html?x=0&.v=1&.pf=real-estate&mod=pf-real-estate
But that’s not the point. At least it’s not the point I want to make. More important than that (unless you happen to live in New York) is the link to the specific amounts that it will cost you to close a $200,000 loan in your state.
Because I sell real estate in the Raleigh area of North Carolina, I think it would be very useful for you to look at our closing costs. The good news is that we in North Carolina are among the five states with the lowest costs for closing a loan. Our average for a $200,000 loan is $3,255, more than $2,000 less than New York.
Visit www.justcallpowers.com to start looking for a home in the Raleigh area.
March 15, 2010
Despite the best intentions of just about everyone, except maybe the banks, loan modification programs are only helping a very small number of people in trouble.
That means many homeowners are coming back to the dreaded short sale in an attempt to get out from under.
In theory the short sale should be a really good idea, but the bank departments handling them are plagued by high turnover, high stress and chronic overwork. What theoretically could take a few days or weeks can drag on for many, many months. Buyers give up. Agents spin their wheels re-submitting the same materials over and over. The bank can say yay or nay to any and all terms of the contract. And there’s no guarantee the property won’t go to auction anyway.
But maybe, just maybe, things will improve. The new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative program will run until Dec. 31, 2012. Among its provisions:
- The lender must offer a short sale in writing to the borrower within 30 days after the borrower either is ruled ineligible for mortgage modification under the HAMP program or has been ruled unable to sustain payments under a trial plan.
- A borrower may receive up to $1,500 to assist with relocation expenses.
- Incentives of $1,000 will be offered to lenders for each completed short sale. For each deed in lieu of foreclosure, in which the borrower voluntarily transfers the property to the lender, $1,000 will be paid to the lender.
- A lender with a second lien on the property will get up to $3,000 of the short sale proceeds, or can pursue a short sale outside the program if it doesn’t agree to share.
- The lender will not be permitted to reduce the real estate agent’s commission after an offer on a property has been received.
Short sale transactions are not for the faint of heart or anyone who has to be in a new home within a certain time frame. In many ways I think it is a whole lot better to skip these properties and go straight to properties that have already been through the foreclosure process and are now bank-owned.
If you’d like to discuss this in more detail, I’ll be happy to talk to you.
[Source: http://rismedia.com/2010-03-11/government-urges-short-sales-experts-arent-sure-theyll-help/]
November 14, 2009
The original first-time homebuyers’ tax credit was set to expire on November 30, 2009, but thanks to Congress it has been extended and expanded. President Obama signed it into law on November 9th.
Don’t forget the dates (and please don’t wait until March 30th to begin the home-buying process) –
Homes must be purchased (closed) before May 1, 2010. Typically it takes about 30 days to close a home in North Carolina. To take care of odd things that can go wrong and push the closing past 30 days, if a home is under contract by April 30, 2010, it will qualify for the tax credit provided it closes before July 1, 2010.
Who qualifies and what tax credit they qualify for –
- First-time homebuyers are defined as those who have not owned a home in the past 3 years. They may be eligible for up to $8,000.
- Homeowners who have been living in their current home for five consecutive years out of the last eight and are purchasing a replacement home. They may be eligible for up to $6,500.
- All U.S. citizens who file taxes are eligible to participate in the program.
Income limitations –
- To receive the full tax credit, single or head-of-household taxpayers must make less than $125,000 (modified adjusted gross income). For married couples filing jointly the limit is $225,000.
- Between $125,000 and $145,000 for singles and $225,000 and $245,000 for marrieds, homebuyers receive a partial credit.
- If single and married homebuyers make more than $145,000 and $245,000 respectively, tough luck. They don’t qualify.
Property limitations –
So long as the property sells for less than $800,000 and will be used as the buyer’s principal residence, it will qualify. This includes new and existing homes, and they can be single-family detached, condos or townhomes. The property cannot be a vacation home or rental property.
Click here to view the entire article from www.rismedia.com.
If I can help you purchase your new home in the Triangle, please visit www.JustCallPowers.com.
After you have purchased your new home and run up your credit card with all your new purchases, I can help you pay off your mortgage and all of your debt in about half the time. Please visit www.myhomefreeandclear.com.
November 12, 2009
Well, I suppose Clayton isn’t technically in the Triangle, but it’s close enough. And there are a slew of new jobs coming as Talecris Biotherapeutics expands production in the next few years.
Talecris is a large biotechnology company with 4,700 employees worldwide and 2,200 in the Triangle. They will be adding hundreds of new jobs at their plant in Clayton.
If this sounds like an opportunity that interests you, Clayton is a charming town in thriving Johnston County. I have a nice property listed in an established neighborhood in Clayton. There are also great communities outside Clayton, including the popular golf course community of Glen Laurel.
Visit my website, www.justcallpowers.com, to learn more.
November 4, 2009
When the real estate market slows down, sellers sometimes approach the task of selling their homes using alternative methods. One of these is the sealed-bid real estate auction.
What it takes to buy a property at auction:
- The seller does not have to accept any offer.
- The buyer pays a 10% buyer’s premium. This covers commissions and the auction fee.
- The auction firm represents the seller and cannot serve as a dual agent.
- The buyer pays the 10% premium regardless of whether they have a buyer’s agent or not, and it is highly recommended that they have a buyer’s agent.
- Auction sales do not allow contingencies for financing, inspections, etc.
- Financing must be approved and ready to go before submitting a bid.
- Before making a bid, “prospective buyers tour the home, study the inspection report and appraisal, then submit a binding offer and earnest money.”
- A prospective buyer should have a contractor with them to view the property if the inspection report shows repairs will be needed.
- Sellers can open bids when they want to. “About half the properties sell on or before the auction date.”
- If bids are close, the auction company might contact bidders to see if they are willing to increase their bids.
- If the seller accepts a buyer’s bid, the buyer must close or forfeit the earnest money.
If you would like to pursue one of these properties, please contact me at www.JustCallPowers.com.
[From The News & Observer, 10/23/09]
June 4, 2009
I’m a map person, and it can be difficult to find just the right map for just the right occasion. Here in one place is a wide selection of maps for Raleigh and Wake County, North Carolina — http://bit.ly/Zqvg1
I hope you find this site as handy as I have. It can be a big help to you if you happen to be searching for a place to live in this area. So too can my website — JustCallPowers.com
And if you’d like to pay off that new home in 1/3 to 1/2 the time without changing anything you are currently doing, please visit — MyHomeFreeAndClear.com
May 21, 2009
The Housing Opportunity Index shows that “72.5% of all new and existing homes sold in the first quarter of 2009 were were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,000, up from 62.4% during the previous quarter and up from 53.8% during the first quarter of 2008.” [Rismedia, May 20, 2009]
The downturn in prices has been horrible for current homeowners, but this is outstanding news for first-time home buyers. Couple this with the $8,000 tax credit, and this just may be the opportunity of a lifetime.
For help in buying your first home in the Triangle (North Carolina), please visit — http://www.justcallpowers.com
If you are currently underwater with your current home and would like to find a way to build equity even in a down market, please visit — http://www.myhomefreeandclear.com
December 4, 2008
There are five factors that comprise credit score ratings. They are listed below in order of importance, just as an underwriter would look at the score:
- Payment History: 35% impact. Paying debt on time and in full has a positive impact. Late payments, judgments and charge-offs have a negative impact. Missing a high payment has a more severe impact than missing a low payment. Delinquencies that have occurred in the last two years carry more weight than older items.
- Outstanding Credit Balances: 30% impact. This factor marks the ratio between the outstanding balance and available credit. Ideally, the consumer should make an effort to keep balances as close to zero as possible, and definitely below 30% of the available credit limit when trying to purchase a home.
- Credit History: 15% impact. This marks the length of time since a particular credit line was established. A seasoned borrower is stronger in this area.
- Type of Credit: 10% impact. A mix of auto loans, credit cards, and mortgages is more positive than a concentration of debt from credit cards only.
- Inquiries: 10% impact. This quantifies the number of inquiries that have been made on a consumer’s credit history within a six-month period. Each hard inquiry can cost from 2 to 50 points on a credit score, but the maximum number of inquiries that will reduce the score is 10. In other words, 11 or more inquiries in a six month period will have no further impact on the borrower’s credit score.
Remember, a computer that’s not taking any personal factors into consideration calculates your credit score rating. When a credit report is generated, it is simply today’s snapshot of the borrower’s credit profile. This can fluctuate dramatically within the course of a week, depending on the individual’s own activities. The borrower should be made aware of this when they enter into the loan process, and know that it’s not in their best interest to go out on a shopping spree. They need to make sure they are not creating a negative impact on the score while the lender is reviewing their file.
Secondly, it is often beneficial to compile a tri-merge credit report. This provides scores from the three credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. The lender should be provided with this rounded profile because these three scoring systems can vary in their results. The lender is going to look at the middle score and throw out the other two. In many cases, this works to the borrower’s advantage.
If you’d like more information about real estate in the Triangle, please visit — JustCallPowers.com
June 23, 2008
The Raleigh News & Observer has been working with the Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina police departments to put together crime maps of those areas. The data is kept up to date, and this is a terrific tool.
If there have been a rash of vehicle break-ins in your neighborhood, you might not know about it until you happen to speak to a neighbor who happened to speak to another neighbor who just happened to live next door to a victim. With this map, you can plug in your address and see if any crimes have occured nearby without waiting for the grapevine.
Or… if you are thinking of moving to this area, you can see what kinds of crimes tend to happen in what areas. From this, you can determine where you might not want to live.
http://apps.newsobserver.com/know/crime/index.php
To search for available listings in this area, please visit my web site — JustCallPowers.com
