Spanish Mortgages is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

Si está hacienda planes de obtener un préstamo en español (spanish mortgage), póngase en contacto conmigo hoy. Yo le ayudaré con mucho gusto.

Uno de los prestamos más populares para la compra de casa en Arizona es la hipoteca FHA, la cual tiene criterios de calificación muy favorables.

• Las hipotecas FHA en Arizona no requieren un puntaje de crédito FICO — puede ser un historial “no tradicional”, conocido en la industria como un “Non-Traditional Mortgage Credit Report”. Si tiene un historial de crédito escaso, se pueden agregar elementos “no tradicionales” de crédito como pagos de utilidades.
• Si tiene referencias negativas en su reporte de crédito, FHA le da la oportunidad de explicar lo que le paso y el FHA en Arizona se enfoca en el año más reciente de su historial de crédito.
• Otra gran ventaja de FHA en Arizona es que requiere un enganche muy chico de solamente un 3.5% del precio de compra. Arizona FHA permite que el vendedor le da un crédito de hasta 3% al comprador para cubrir todos los gastos de cierre.
• FHA en Arizona también permite que el enganche y los gastos de cierre sean fondos recibidos de regalo.

He tenido la oportunidad de ayudar a mucha gente comprar casa in Español desde hace muchos años. Después de vivir en el Ecuador por un largo período de tiempo, regresé de los Estados Unidos y comencé a trabajar como un prestamista de FHA en español para un banco nacional en donde ayudé a miles de personas en español hacer solicitudes para préstamos FHA para comprar o refinanciar sus casas. Ahora, sigo prestando servicio a los muchos que hablan español que están comprando casa o refinanciando su casa, y me siento mucho satisfecho al hacerlo. Entiendo la importancia de proporcionar un servicio de alta calidad a mis clientes de hipoteca que hablan español.

El español es el idioma principal hablado en casa por más de 34 millones de personas en los EE.UU. Aun cuando muchas personas en los Estados Unidos hablan muy bien inglés, ellos prefieren manejar sus negocios en español.

Glosario de Términos en Español – Inglés

Steve Lines

480-329-3346

I have had the opportunity to assist hundreds of Spanish-speaking home owners in Arizona and across the country apply for Spanish mortgages to buy or refinance their homes for many years. Today, I continue to help people obtain a mortgage in Spanish.

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Getting Pre Qualified Is Not The Same As Getting Pre Approved is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

Getting pre-qualified is not the same as getting pre-approved when applying for a mortgage loan.

Getting pre-approved means that you have spoken with a loan officer and provided the loan officer all of the documentation that he requested to get a loan approval. Generally speaking, the loan officer will verify your documentation and run your information through the Automated Underwriting Engine (referred to as Desktop Underwriter or DU) and gotten an approval.

Getting pre-qualified means that you have spoken to a loan officer and told him your income, asset and credit score information and he has essentially taken your word that everything you said to be true is indeed true. You have not “proven” any of the items to him by providing documentation.

Getting pre-qualified it good, getting pre-approved is better because it lets you have a much better idea about the details of your loan transaction when the time comes to finalize the details of your loan.

Just a few reasons that getting pre-approved is a great idea before starting the home buying process:

You will know based on your income and current debts how much of a house you can buy.

When shopping for a house, it is a good idea to have a range of homes that you can confidently say you can afford. If after speaking with a loan officer, your find out your range is $150,000 to $175,000 then you know even if your ideal home you will find will be $150,000 – you can stretch up to $175,000 and still be able to afford the house.

You will know what your approximate monthly mortgage payment will be.

In the process of getting pre-approved, you can find out what your monthly mortgage payment will be (approximately) including principal, interest, insurance and taxes — and even mortgage insurance if applicable.  If you got a range from your loan officer, you can even break it down to terms such as “this house will cost me $125 more per month than the other one” — which is easier for some people to make cost/benefit choices when put into monthly payment terms rather than total loan amount terms.

You will have a good idea of how much money you will need to come to close with.

Depending on what loan program  you choose when working with your loan officer, you may be able to bring zero money to close or may want to bring 20% to close. The major factors to consider that determine how much you will want to bring to close include what loan program you will be qualifying for and what role mortgage insurance plays in your selection.  This is an area that an expert loan officer can help you with making the best decision for your situation.

Getting pre-approved or pre-qualified take about the same amount of time – the difference is in getting your documentation together. But regardless of whether you get pre-approved or pre-qualified – speaking to a lender before you begin your home search is an excellent idea.

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Case Shiller: Property Prices May Fall Another 45% is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

Predictions.

Maybe they will come true, maybe they wont – but here is one from a fairly credible source that says property values still have a ways – a long ways – to fall.

According to the guys at Lender Implode, the 10 major cities in the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index have risen 5% from their April low, but the index is still predicting a massive 45% fall from today’s values.

One insightful comment came from “John L” who appears to live right here in Phoenix:

The predictions pointed out in the article can be confirm by an analysis of the change from lax credit underwriting for home buyers starting in late 90’s, which created an undue stimulus on the demand for real estate, back to the traditional credit underwriting standards for home buyers.

Incomes have not risen for years. The amount of the mortgage a home purchaser is qualifies for is determined by their “documented” income. Home prices will have to decline to a level to match the buyers purchasing ability.

The more curious fact is the continued government intervention in the market for the benefit of the FED, FNMA, FHLMC, Wall Street firms and banks.

The use of below market interest rates, tax credits, grants to “non-profit” organizations for down payment assistance and in Arizona silent seconds (no interest, no payment, debt forgiven after 15 years) for 22% of the purchase price, have the effect for new home buyers of their overpaying for their homes and artificially increasing the value of real estate.

When the government’s money (our money, our children’s and grandchildren’s money) runs out, the undue stimulus and creative financing will finally be eliminated from the market leading to a sustainable lower value of real estate.

Will property values here in Phoenix rise or fall in 2010? I don’t pretend to know for sure – but if the Case Shiller model holds any weight, I wouldn’t bet the farm on them rising too much from their current levels anytime soon.

That said, the guys at Calculated Risk have an expanded analysis of this – not quite as nerve-wracking.

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A Little Effort Can Go A Long Way is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

Ok, so everyone is a little more focused on saving money in a down economy. Pretty much everywhere I look, people are wondering what they can get for “less” or just generally looking for the best deal.

And when you are buying a house, sometimes I feel like people look in all the wrong places to try to cut $10 off their monthly mortgage payment.

I can’t tell you how many people agonize over whether-or-not-the-should-lock-or-float their rate — and when the ask me, I just tell them that rates could go up, down or stay the same — and then what I think will happen, but I never offer a “sure bet” when it comes to interest rates.

I am a little too wise for the “I know what interest rates are going to do tomorrow” game.

And one question that rarely (if ever) gets asked by someone I am working with is “do you know of any way that I can save a few bucks on my monthly payment?”

But if they did ask… here is what I would say:

Take the time to shop around a little bit for the cheapest insurance quote that you can possibly find.

I can’t tell you how many times I ask someone if they have shopped for home insurance and they say “no, not yet…” and then they just contact one company and go with that company.

I am shocked – SHOCKED – at how different insurance policies can be from one company to another — and in today’s economy where everyone seems to be trying to make their dollar go farther…

A little effort can go a long way.

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Phoenix Home Search: Realty Executives Team III is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

It seems as though every real estate website in the Phoenix real estate market offers ways to search the Real Estate Phoenix MLS. In a sense, each of these real estate websites leave the job of searching for homes up to you – they offer you the job of doing your own search. Some Realtor websites even have maps with hundreds of pin points and even a wide area radius search for a home on the Phoenix MLS. But whose job is it really to search the MLS?

There’s one real estate group from Realty Executives called Team III, headed by Duane Washkowiak who think it is their job to do the searching on the Phoenix MLS on your behalf. You will find the Real Estate Phoenix MLS service on their website, but they know that to get home buyers who with them to buy a home they know they need to bring all of their training, knowledge and experience to maximize the MLS tool to find their home buyers the best Phoenix real estate they can find.

Team III invests their time and real estate search skills so you can do what you need to do during the home buying process like: ensure your mortgage financing goes through without a hitch, think about how your home will look once you own it, and enjoy your evenings with family and friends. When it’s time to begin and complete that Phoenix real estate MLS search you should consider working with Duane Washkowiak and Team III from Realty Executives. They know Phoenix real estate as good as anybody.

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FHA 203k Streamline: Contractor Requirements is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

When using the Arizona FHA 203k streamline to finance your home, you will usually need to get a contractor to perform the work. The general process of finding a contractor and working with the lender and contractor looks like this:

1. Lender reviews the contractors license, bonding, insurance and credentials
2. Contractor estimates and provides the lender estimates that clearly state the nature and type of repair cost for labor and completion of the work.
3. Lender reviews the estimates. The lender may call the borrower, loan officer and/or contractor to discuss the estimate and ask any additional questions they may have.
4. Lender then can accept the estimate or ask for more estimates.

While it may seem like a long process – it really isn’t all that bad. Most lenders require that you use contractors to complete the rehab work unless the borrower can provide proof that they can perform the work (for example, if they are a general contractor, that is always a good sign they are capable…) but when the borrower is the one who completes the work the following apply:

• Borrower must provide documented proof of expertise required to complete the work
• Borrower ensures that the work will be completed within a “timely manner” (generally no longer than 3 months)
• Borrower must execute a “self help” agreement
• Borrower provides written estimates of supplies required to complete the work and must include labor in cost estimate in case a contractor is hired to complete the work.
• Borrower may not be compensated for his/her labor. No “sweat equity” is allowed.

Is it possible for a borrower who is capable of doing the work be allowed to do the work?

Yes.

And now you know the rules of what will be required by the lender!

Related Posts

• FHA 203k Streamline: How Much Money Can You Get?
• FHA 203k Streamline: How Do Payments Work?
• FHA 203k Streamline: Why Choose The FHA 203k Streamline?
• FHA 203k Streamline or HomePath Renovation Loan: Which Is Best?

FHA 203k Streamline: Why Choose The FHA 203k Streamline? is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

As more and more bank owned properties are bought here in Arizona, many people are starting to become aware of the various loan programs designed for homes that are in need of repair. The most popular ones are the FHA 203k Streamline, the FHA 203k loan and the Fannie Mae HomePath loan programs.

When it comes to the two FHA loan options, many people ask me “why would someone want an FHA 203k Streamline loan vs. a FHA 203k “regular” loan? And the simple answer that I give is this: if the cost of repairs is anywhere close to the $35,000 allowed by FHA for the FHA 203k streamline program, go with the streamline.

If it is much, much more than that – you will need to pick the “regular” FHA 203k loan program.

But the answer is really slightly more in-depth than that — and here are just a few other reasons people choose the FHA 203k streamline loan program:

• Architectural exhibits are not required with the FHA 203k streamline
• The lender is responsible for making sure the cost to repair is reasonable
• General contractors and/or consultants are not required
• Some lenders don’t require that you get at least $5,000 in repairs (some do)

Now there are certain situations where it is clear that you are going to need far more than $35,000 to rehab a house – but I have found that in most cases, the $35,000 for repairs is more than enough – which makes choosing the FHA 203k streamline an easy choice.

Related Posts

• FHA 203k Streamline: How Much Money Can You Get?
• FHA 203k Streamline: Contractor Requirements
• FHA 203k Streamline: How Do Payments Work?
• FHA 203k Streamline or HomePath Renovation Loan: Which Is Best?

Using Mediation to Resolve Real Estate Disputes in Arizona is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

Conflicts in real estate transactions are inevitable. As long as there have been real estate transactions there have been issues.  Disputes in real estate can include repair issues, disclosure issues, earnest deposit, agency issues and many others. Going to court to settle a real estate dispute is always an option but most would rather try to settle with less costly methods. Most people think of alternative dispute resolution options to include only arbitration. However using a mediator is also an option.

Typically when real estate disputes are involved, they can take months or years to work out in the court system. Time is usually a very important factor in most real estate transactions. People who are in the field like contractors, realtors and inspectors do not want to risk damage to their reputation by having unfavorable allegations raised in a lawsuit. A bad ruling could limit this person’s ability to continue working in the field.

The mediation process offers a solution to these issues and concerns. Mediation is a confidential process which uses a neutral third party to help the parties resolve the conflict in a mutually agreeable manner. Mediation can be used as soon as the conflict arises and can often be finished in a few days rather than a few years. Compared to going to court, mediation is very inexpensive. You do not need to have an attorney to participate in a mediation. If you want to have an attorney with you at a mediation you can but it is not a requirement. A benefit of mediation is that it can repair relationships and the professionals may even continue to get referrals from once disgruntled clients. Mediation has a track record for success. Most mediations result in an agreement. Just because the agreement wasn’t attained in a courtroom does not mean that it is not binding.

If you are entering a real estate transaction, ask your Realtor or Professional if the contract they are using contains a mediation clause in it. Most states have them but you should still check just to make sure. The Arizona Association of Realtors offers mediation services to every case that is appropriate for arbitration. For more information on mediation in Arizona go to AZmediator.com.

This Article is designed to be of general interest and should not be considered legal advice. The specific information discussed may not apply to you. Before acting on any matter contained herein, you should consult with your personal legal adviser

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102% Financing at 4% Available Now. No Tricks. Here Is How. is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

I know, I know – everyone already knows that you can get 102% financing at 4%.

Wait.

You can?

Yes. You can.

Right now.

No catch.

And I am going to look super smart for telling you this next part about how you actually get this deal…

You buy a house that is designated rural according to the USDA rural database (hint: you might be surprised at how rural it doesn’t have to be) and then by default, you are eligible for the USDA loan program which allows you to finance up to 102% .

Ok, so not that big of a deal you might be thinking.

But if interest rates are at 6% today for this program, how do you get it at 4%?

It is called a 2/1 buydown.

No, a 2/1 buydown is not new – they have been around for years. In fact, back in 1995 (give or take a year) I used a 2/1 buydown on my first condo. To keep it short — basically, a 2/1 buydown is where you set aside a small pile of money (yes, you can finance it or get the seller to pay for it) and for the first year of your mortgage, your payment is amortized at a 4% interest rate. The second year of your mortgage, your payment is amortized at a 5% interest rate. Then the remaining 28 years of your mortgage, your payment is at 6% (or whatever the market rate is at that point).

Someone once told me that a good magician never reveals his tricks.

Lucky for me, I am just a loan officer.

Want to learn more about the USDA rural home loan program and how you can borrow 102% of the appraised value of a home at 4%? Call us.

Related Posts

• USDA Loans in Arizona
• 102% Mortgage Loan Financing In Gilbert Is Available

Can The 8000 Tax Credit Be Used As A Down Payment? is a post from: Arizona Mortgage Team

Can you use the 8000 tax credit as a down payment for your home?

Not yet.

But that may change soon.



Yesterday, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan gave a prepared speech at the National Association of Realtors Real Estate Summit. He said something that was probably beyond interesting when he mentioned that FHA was currently working on a proposal that may involve people being able to use the 8000 tax credit as a down payment.

An excerpt from that speech regarding FHA’s position on the 8000 tax credit being used as a down payment:

And we are taking action to further help the housing market recover. I’m excited to announce here at NAR that FHA’s policy on the “monetization” of the first-time homebuyer tax credit will soon be published. I know that you’ve been waiting anxiously to hear FHA’s position on the matter. We, like you, believe that this new tax credit is not only a tremendous opportunity for first-time homebuyers, but also an enormous benefit for communities struggling to deal with an oversupply of housing. According to estimates by the National Association of Home Builders, this new tax credit will stimulate 160,000 home sales across the nation – 101,000 of which will be first time buyers who will receive the credit. Another 59,000 existing homeowners will be able to buy another home because a first time buyer purchased their home.

We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment. So FHA will permit trusted FHA-approved lenders and HUD-approved nonprofits, as well as state and local governmental entities to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. We think the policy is a real win for everyone, ensuring that borrowers can tap into the numerous organizations that are already part of the FHA network to receive this additional benefit. FHA will be publishing the details shortly.

Enabling first time homebuyers to use the 8000 tax credit as a down payment would be a big win for the market – it would allow many more people to move into a home who currently may not have enough for a down payment.

We will be sure to keep you posted on developments in this situation as the happen.

(h/t Mark Madsen at MyFHAMortgageBlog for sharing the video about the 8000 tax credit being used as a down payment and the guys at ThinkBigWorkSmall)

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