According to a recent National Association of Realtors publication and FHA.gov, the insurable loan amount cannot be more than 115% of a Market’s median home price. FHA aims to continue helping struggling homeowners refinance and to allow first time home buyer’s to take advantage of a great market.
In addition to these modifications, FHA is also now requiring 3.5% down rather than the traditional 3% down. A mere .5% isn’t much, but will make a difference. FHA continues to be the most liberal financing method and is an option for most home buyers (so long as the home fits FHA standards). In some cases FHA will loan on properties to borrowers with a credit score as low as 580.
Home sellers benefit greatly by positioning their home to fit the FHA guidelines – most newer homes conform, but older homes (such as those with peeling paint, abandoned oil drums, and old roofs may not.)
For more information or got get your questions answered feel free to contact me!
I found a great resource today. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Spokane Washington Site. I found some interesting information. The information is several months behind because it takes time and reporting to keep it up to date but the current information is good through the end of October. June through October the unemployment has dropped over 300 (currently 13,600 people unemployed for Oct 2008) (meaning over 300 people’s status changed from unemployed to some other status). This doesn’t mean they found jobs per-se, since the some of the defining factors for “unemployed”. The employment factor is based merely on those who are willing to work at the current market rate with reasonable skills have jobs.
Granted – I’m sure many of those 1000+ went back to work, it’s just not fair to say we created 1000+ jobs (although I’d like that). As studies have shown, Real Estate Sales & Employment are only linked in the short term, employment in an area has a profound effect on the volitility of an area’s Real Estate Market. We are seeign some of the ramificatinos of that here in Spokane.
The hardest markets hit (This data is preliminary as of the end of November) were Professional & Business Services down 6.1% in the last 12 months, Leisure & Hospitality down 2.8% over the last 12 months & Natural Resources/Mining/Consturction down 2.8% over the last 12 months. The information industry has grown 3% over the last 12 months and the government sector has grown 2.2% in the last 12 months. The two largest employment sectors in Spokane are Trade Transportation & Utilities at 45,000 jobs and Education and Health Services at 37,000 Jobs both of which have dropped .9% and 1.3% respectively.
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about this list so I wanted to take this opportunity to explain the list and how the process works.
The list I send out every Friday is the Notice of Sale (click here if you want on the list)which is recorded at the court house and cannot be less than 90 days from the date of the sale. A lot can happen between now and the sale (postponement, loan restructuring, etc.) so it’s important not to get TOO excited about a property until about two weeks prior, but you really have to do your homework to make sure you purchase wisely. I can be of assistance on this – feel free to contact me and I’ll explain.
You’ll also notice the column on the spreadsheet listing the Trustee. The trustee is given authority by the mortgagor (the entity that gave the mortgage) and many times information on postponement and opening bid prices are on their websites. The most common one is Northwest Trustees (http://www.northwesttrustee.com/) , the others can usually be found by simply googling their name. This way you can keep up on the properties and find out when they are being postponed and more information on them.
There is a whole gamut of research you must complete prior to making your cash bid on the steps of the courthouse. Like anything – there’s always risks (the primary being that you don’t get to inspect the property prior to buying it, or even see it for that matter – unless it was listed on the MLS prior to the auction and you could secure a showing.) Nevertheless – if you get this far and want me to help you get the research you need, give me a shout or an email.
When your research is done, you can check the day of the auction for the opening bid. I suggest getting to the courthouse early to see if any other liens have been recorded on the property and one last check. You need to bring Cashiers checks made out to the Trustee in which you are buying from. Most people take one full check for the amount they are bidding (starting bid) and subsequent checks in $100,$500,$1000 adding up to their top number. When you win the auction – you sign paperwork and pay the person crying the auction.
