Village Thoughts

When should I get pre-approved for a home loan?

Many Homebuyers put themselves through unnecessary stress in their homebuying process by choosing their home before they choose their lender.  As a homebuyer you should always secure your home loan before you begin shopping for a home.  Getting a true pre-approval from a respected local lender not only gives you the confidence of a cash buyer, it also will ensure that you are able to choose the right loan for you and your family without added pressure that comes once a purchase contract is signed.  Additionally,over 90% of all credit reports contain some type of error that could delay your transaction or even worse cause you to not be able to close the home. No one like's delays and there are enough things to worry about when you are looking to move into a new home.  When obtaining your pre-approval you will be able to find out exactly how much you are qualified for and what your payments will be.  In my opinion regardless of what your lender says you can qualify for, you should choose a payment range that you and your family are comfortable with and that matches your long term goals.  Don't stretch yourself too thin.  Your home can be a great investment but it shouldn't be your only one.

First Time Homebuyer loan programs

Despite all the noise in the media about how hard it is to get a mortgage, there are still great programs available where perfect credit nor a large downpayment are not required. The two most popular programs for our clients include  a loan backed by the USDA  or "rural housing" as it's often called.  This loan program requires 0 downpayment and has more liberal credit guidelines, thus making it much easier to qualify for than a conventional mortgage loan.  Since this program is designed to serve within certain demographics it does have income and geographical restrictions.  However, most all first time home buyers qualify as well as many areas throughout the country.  For more information on eligibility and this program visit this link:

http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do

 

Another popular program that is also a government sponsored loan is FHA.  Since FHA like USDA has backing from the governmnt (Federal Housing Administration) then it too has more liberal standards for credit qualification.  This program does require a 3.5% downpayment though those funds can come from a family gift or a state certified non-profit grant.  Unlike the USDA program it has no income or area restrictions.  There are loan amount limits for each county with minimum limits at $271,050.  For more information about this loan program visit www.fhaloan.com

 

 

First Time buyer Tax Credit expires soon

If you are in the market for a new home you may want to consider the timing of your closing date.  The much publicized first-time homebuyer tax credit is set to expire at the close of business on Monday November 30th of this year.  There has been a lot of mis-information published about this tax credit and one of them has been this date.  We still hear a lot of people talking about "buying before the end of the year to get the tax credit." It is very important to know that any closing that takes place after November 30th will not qualify for this $8,000 tax credit as it stands now.There is talk of Congress extending this tax credit but I wouldn't want to bank on it if i had $8,000 at stake.  For more in-depth information on the first time buyer tax credit please visit this official site:  www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com .  It contains all of the information you'll need.  If you can take advantage of this opportunity, with very favorable market conditions, historically low rates, and an $8,000 free gift from the government there hasn't been a better time to become a new homeowner.  Also, contrary to what the media is preaching there are some great loan programs available that don't require perfect credit. (see our blog on First time buyer loans)