4619 Hawkes Bay in Sailview – Open Today 1-4 PM

$525,000 with Deed Boat Slip Behind the Home!

7372 Sedgebrook Drive West – Open Sunday 1-4 PM

$245,000 - Immaculate!

7175 Windy Oaks Drive on a Large Lot with Unfinished Basement!

$323,302 in Windy Oaks

7260 Aldwych – Full Brick Two Story with Basement

$253,900 in Windsor Forest

135 Micah Lane in Amity Creek on Acreage

$338,100 in Amity Creek!

Time is ticking away!  Low, Low Interest Rates and Great Prices!

$1,350,000 on the Shores of Lake Norman

Bank of America has cut interest rates on jumbo mortgage loans in the hopes of expanding its share of what the bank sees as an underserved market for loans too big for purchase or guarantee by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Not everybody will qualify for the 30-year, fixed-rate loans of up to $3 million that Bank of America has been offering at reduced rates since January, with interest rates currently in the high 5 percent range.

In order to qualify, borrowers will need strong credit (a 720 FICO score or above), down payments of 20 percent or more, documented income, full appraisals, and assets sufficient to cover six months of payments, said Bank of America product management executive Vijay Lala.

But Bank of America thinks its fixed-rate jumbo loans will prove to be attractive to qualifying borrowers, because many competitors will be hard-pressed to match its rates.

Jumbo loans have become more expensive and harder to come by since September 2007, when rising delinquencies gave investors who fund most home loans through the purchases of mortgage-backed securities cold feet about “private label” securities that don’t carry the backing of Fannie and Freddie.

Unlike some lenders who must securitize and sell the loans they originate, Lala said Bank of America has plenty of room on its balance sheet to fund jumbo loans and hold them for investment, and is “putting the pedal down on our pricing and going after this market.”

Lala said Bank of America and Countrywide Financial Corp., which it acquired last year, funded $16.12 billion in jumbo loans in 2008. Although jumbo loan funding dropped to just $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter, Bank of America is already seeing “very nice volume” since introducing its more aggressive pricing.

Bank of America will only offer the loans directly to consumers — and not through independent mortgage brokers — through retail bank branches and Countrywide Home Loans (which will be re-branded Bank of America Home Loans on April 22). Lala said he expects many borrowers will be existing Bank of America customers.

The loans are aimed not only at homebuyers, but homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) jumbo loans who are looking to refinance at better rates. For both purchases and refinancings, the loan-to-value ratio can’t exceed 80 percent on loans up to $1.5 million, or 70 percent on loans up to $3 million.

While some other national lenders, such as ING Direct, offer jumbo loans, in many markets small community banks that lend against local deposits have been the main players, said Dan Green, a Cincinnati-based loan officer for Mobium Mortgage Group Inc.

Many of those lenders are able to aggressively price jumbo ARM loans but may not offer fixed-rate jumbo loans at all, Green said, because they are more sensitive than Bank America to changes in interest rates that affect lenders’ own funding costs.

Although niche lenders are offering rates on 3-year or 5-year jumbo ARM loans of around 4.5 percent that carry significantly lower monthly payments at the outset, some borrowers may prefer the certainty provided by the higher rate offered by Bank of America on its 30-year fixed-rate loans, Green said.

“It’s nice there’s an outlet, and I suspect there will be competition soon,” Green said. He said Bank of America’s underwriting standards “aren’t the loosest or the strictest — they’re right down the middle of the road.”

After the secondary market for jumbo loans seized up in 2007, lawmakers raised the loan limits for Fannie, Freddie and FHA loan guarantee programs. For most of 2008, the $417,000 conforming loan limit was allowed to stretch to 125 percent of the median home price in high-cost markets, with a ceiling of $729,750.

Assuming that the jumbo loan market would be on its way to a recovery by now, Congress mandated the limits would step back down to 115 percent of median home price on Jan. 1, with a ceiling of $625,500.

The $787 billion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress in February, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, restored the limits in place during most of 2008 for the remainder of this year.

By Matt Carter, Friday, March 20, 2009.

Inman News

- Pay stubs.
- Tax returns.
- Financial statements (one that is less than 60 days old).
- Copies of additional monthly payments such as car loans, credit cards, student loans, etc.
- Any additional information (such as proof of additional income) that you think will help your banker to positively evaluate your credit request.

(As Reported by Rismedia)

Take the Time to Map Out How to Get to Your Destination!

1.  Start by learning about the $8000 Tax Credit and how it can help you.  There is a ton of information on the internet and here on my blog that can assist.

2.  Find a reputable lender.  I probably should take one step back here.  If you find a GREAT Realtor first, they should be able to assist with the rest.  Typically, Buyers only begin to work with Realtors at the point, that they are ready to start touring houses.  An experienced Realtor can make this process alot easier.  Often the best place to find a great Realtor is through word of mouth.  If several of your friends have had great experiences with a certain Realtor, you are likely to as well.  Use the Same techniques to find a great lender.

3.  Use the Lender to get a PRE APPROVAL, not prequalified.  Turn in your paperwork upfront and have a PRE APPROVAL on paper from the lender telling what you can afford.  This gets all of the surprises out of the way upfront.  A great lender can help you look at any problems on your credit report and correct them.  They can also advise you on cash that will be necessary to close on your new home.

Now your ready to look at those new homes!

3 Cherry Way - A New 55 and over Community Coming to Denver, NC!

If you were waiting for the bottom, I think we are there!

30 Year Fixed - 5.25%

30 Year  Fixed JUMBO – 6.125%

GOVERNMENT LOAN PROGRAMS                                         

FHA 30 Year Fixed  - 5.25%                        

VA 30 Year Fixed  – 5.375%                                                                            

USDA 30 Year Fixed – 5.375%

Hunters Bluff in Denver, NC - A Great First Time Home Buyer Neighborhood

Short-term bridge loans are now available from a variety of lenders so that buyers can tap the benefits of the $8,000 Federal Housing Tax Credit for First-Time Home Buyers upfront. If your clients are eligible for the tax credit, these bridge loans will enable them to use the money for their down payment and closing costs with the credit as collateral. Consumers will have to pay the money back after they’ve filed their tax return and received a refund.

 There are essentially four sources for this type of financing, and their terms can vary considerably.

 1. State HFA Bridge Loans

As of early June 2009, 10 state Housing Finance Agencies offered tax-credit bridge loans, and more were planning to do so. The easiest way to learn whether one is offered in your state is to get your HFA’s phone number through a Housing Finance Agency list maintained by the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA). NCSHA also maintains a list of HFAs that already offer the bridge loans. The HFAs with loan programs already in place are Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

 If your state HFA offers the loans, you should be able to get more information about them on the agency’s Web site. Look for “tax credit advance loan” or some variant of that, or else look for information on the HFA’s regular mortgage program, which should include info on the tax-credit advance loan somewhere. Although each state HFA loan differs, here are some typical characteristics:

•  You’ll need to make a minimum downpayment from your own funds, probably around $1,000.
• You’ll have to go through local lenders approved by the HFA to actually originate the loan, since HFAs are not originators.
• In some cases, the loans are interest-free; check with the state HFA to find out.
• The HFAs have set aside a limited amount of funds for the loans, so they tend to be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
• You’ll be expected to use HFA-backed financing for the mortgage on your home purchase. This financing typically comes with a below-market interest rate and usually requires borrowers to meet eligibility criteria. These criteria will vary greatly, but they often require borrowers to be first-timer buyers and meet income-eligibility requirements. For the bridge loans, there’s a good chance the criteria will be similar to what’s required for the tax credit.

 Since the bridge loans are made in tandem with your HFA’s financing products, you apply for the loans when you apply with the HFA-approved lender for your mortgage financing. You should be able to find a list of approved lenders on the HFA’s Web site.

2. Local Government or Nonprofit Loans
If your state HFA doesn’t offer the loans, you can ask an HFA staff person to direct you to local nonprofits or state or local government agencies that do. If that person can’t help you, a good place to start a search is with a national nonprofit group called NeighborWorks, which maintains a list of more than 200 local affiliates that provide housing assistance. The loan programs for each of these affiliates differ, so you or your client will need to check with them on their underwriting standards and loan terms—and even on whether they make bridge loans repayable with the tax credit.

3. Local HFAs
Another source, if your state HFA can’t help you, might be the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies. Local HFAs are much like state HFAs but with jurisdictions limited to their locality. To learn whether there’s a local HFA in your area, call NALHFA at 202/367-1197.

4. FHA-approved Lenders
If you’re unable to identify a state or local HFA or other governmental agency or nonprofit to assist you, you can tap bridge-loan assistance if you work with a lender approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to originate FHA-backed loans. HUD maintains a database of FHA lenders on its Web site that’s searchable by a number of criteria including city, state, county, and service area.

 In a difference with the assistance provided by state and local agencies or nonprofits, the bridge loans provided by private, for-profit FHA-approved lenders must be structured in the form of a personal loan or line of credit collateralized by the tax credit. The bridge loan can’t be structured as a second mortgage.

 Also, although FHA allows you to use the bridge loan to cover your closing costs or to buy down your interest rate, you can use it for the down payment only after you’ve covered the 3.5 percent minimum that’s required on any FHA loan. Thus, you’ll have to come up with the 3.5 percent minimum down payment yourself or else tap another source of assistance for it. That can include gifts from family. Seller-funded down-payment programs are not permitted. HUD provides complete details in a May 29 Mortgagee Letter on “Using First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credits” (2009-15) that went to its approved lenders.

 Since it’s the HUD-approved lender and not FHA itself that’s making the bridge loan, actual loan terms will vary. At a minimum, though, the bridge loan must meet certain restrictions, most of them imposed to weed out fraud or ensure borrowers aren’t getting in over their heads. These include:

• Loans can’t result in cash back to the borrower.
• The amount can’t exceed what’s needed for the downpayment, closing costs, and prepaid expenses.
• If there’s a monthly repayment, it must be included within the qualifying ratios and, when combined with the first mortgage, can’t exceed the borrower’s reasonable ability to pay.
• Payments must be deferred for at least 36 months to not be included in the qualifying ratios.
• There can be no balloon payment required before 10 years.

Start with the Deepest Assistance First

Since state HFA bridge loans are typically allowed for as much of the downpayment as possible (up to the credit limit of $8,000), your best bet is to start with the state HFA. If it doesn’t have a program in place, learn what you can from it about other state or local programs, including nonprofits. If these sources don’t pan out, your buyer can work with an FHA-approved lender. However, since HUD requires borrowers to put down a minimum of 3.5 percent, they can access bridge-loan assistance only for other upfront expenses such as closing costs, an interest-rate buy-down, or a portion of the downpayment above 3.5 percent.

 As Reported by Realtor Magazine Online.

Wellesbourne Lane off Island Pointe Road in Sherrils Ford - Waterfront at $900,000

30 Year Fixed Under $417,000 – 5.125%

30 Year Fixed Above $417,000 – 6%

FHA 30 Year Fixed – 5.25%

VA 30 Year Fixed – 5.375%

USDA 30 Year Fixed – 5.5%

Please note that USDA Financing can be used in ALL OF LINCOLN COUNTY!  USDA offers 100% financing, which is hard to come by these days!

Special Thanks to Suzanne Blackwell for her Weekly Updates!

7257 Drury Lane – New Construction with Basement – $339,900

FHA 30 Year Fixed – 5%

Windemere Island at Lake Norman

Mortgage Rates are Still LOW, Homes are more AFFORDABLE, More Inventory, and the $8000 Tax CREDIT – NOW is a Great Time to Buy!  For More Information about why now is a great time to buy, feel free to contact me!

30 Year Fixed Rate Conventional – 4.75%

30 Year Fixed Rate Jumbo (Over $417,000) – 6.85%

FHA 30 Year Fixed – 5.0%

VA 30 Year Fixed – 5.0%

USDA 30 Year Fixed – 5.0%

For More Information on these Loans, Contact:

Suzanne Blackwell

Mortgage Loan Originator

704-483-3050

6125 Hwy. 16 South

Denver, NC  28037

sblackwell@peoplesbanknc.com

One Stop Shopping for:  Conventional and Jumbo, FHA, NC Housing, VA, USDA, First Time Homebuyer Loans, 95% NO PMI Loans, 2^nd Homes, and Investment Properties.

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