Is the First Time Home Buyer Credit Coming Back?
August 30, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
With the precipitous 27% drop in July housing sales, the first time home buyer credit is getting renewed interest from some heavy hitters in Washington, including Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, according to The Hill. Though admitting that just one month of numbers was too little data to say whether the credit [...]
FHA Loans Getting More Expensive – Again
August 10, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Bill HR 2981 was passed by both the House and Senate, paving the way for higher charges for FHA borrowers. The majority of FHA loans are 30 year mortgages with a loan-to-value of at least 96.5%, which will see an increase in the monthly fee from 55 bps to a whopping 90bp, but on the [...]
Mortgage Rates Hit Historic Lows: Should I Refinance?
July 16, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Back in 2008, I wrote a blog post about refinancing, and given that rates are once again reaching (new) historic lows–in the 4.5% range for 30 year fixed money up to $729,750!–I thought it was time to revisit, and update, the post. When deciding whether to refinance, the best thing to do is calculate the [...]
Washington, DC, & Northern Virginia Real Estate Market Update: July 2010
July 6, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Summer is upon us, and with it, a slowdown in the market. Though the tax credit certainly has had an impact, it is NOT unexpected to have a slow down in summer. We’ll need to wait another month or so to really compare apples to apples once the May and June data are out. Looking [...]
Potential Extension of June 30 Settlement Deadline & FHA Loans About to Get More Expensive–AGAIN!
June 14, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has co-authored a proposal to extend the June 30 settlement deadline for the first time buyer credit until September 30 to give lenders more time to process the incredible volume of contracts trying to close. The surge in loan volume has created delays around home appraisals and the usual delays [...]
Financing Condos in a Mixed Use Building
February 12, 2010 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
As if condo buyers didn’t have enough headaches trying to buy a condo with the new FHA rules in place, many are also running into troubles with “mixed use” buildings, i.e., condos that have residential units but also commercial space (usually on the ground floor or street level), as is common in urban areas like [...]
Will the New FHA Rules Kill Arlington Condo Sales?
February 10, 2010 by Katie Wethman · 1 Comment
On February 1, HUD and FHA rolled out major changes to the condo approval process. Previously, buyers wishing to use FHA financing had two options: If the condo was listed in the FHA’s “Approved Project” database, you were good to go. But if it wasn’t, buyers had the option of going through the (now in [...]
VHDA Loans Allow Financing of Down Payment
December 15, 2009 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
The Virginia Housing Development Authority has extended its Homebuyer Tax Credit Plus program to match the deadlines of the Federal First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit. VHDA’s program lets borrowers use a second mortgage to finance up to 5% of the sales price (enough to cover FHA’s 3.5% down payment requirement) by using the $8000 first time [...]
FAQ: High Investor (Low Owner-Occupancy) Ratio Condos: How Can I Buy or Sell?
December 2, 2009 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
One of the most common issues a condo buyer or seller faces in obtaining financing is meeting the owner-occupancy ratio required by lenders or the FHA. Owner-occupants means the units are actually occupied by their owners as primary residences, rather than those owners who choose to rent out their units. Renting units out is particularly [...]
Should I Refinance?
December 30, 2008 by Katie Wethman · Leave a Comment
I’m getting a lot of questions lately about whether or not to refinance. I’m looking into it myself, actually, so thought I’d share some thoughts. First, let’s talk about rates and the elusive 4.5% that some government agencies announced, then recanted, as a ‘target’. First, that rate may never get here. Second, it may have [...]
