Click here to see some great examples of new “green” houses!
If you’re interested in LEED certified or new “green” homes in Portland, call me today, 503-421-2407, and I’ll email you a list of homes that fit your criteria.
Want to know more about homes offered for sale by HUD?
HUD homes are sold via an online bidding process. The process is very exact and particular and can be fairly cumbersome as a result. However, most of these homes sell for 20% – 30% below market value so it’s possible to get some pretty good bargains if you successfully jump through all of the hoops.
Call or email me today if you’d like a list of available HUD properties and more information about the bidding system. I’d love to assist you with your purchase!
Phyllis Ghazi
RE/MAX Signature Properties
503-421-2407
Phyllis@PointClickandPack.com
The following article was written by Matt Polsky who is a guest author from VA Benefit Blog, a blog focused on providing veterans and service members with news and information on the benefits they have earned through serving our country.
The VA Home Loan
The VA home loan program was created in 1944 by the Department of Veteran Affairs to honor veterans and active duty service members returning from World War II. The program’s first design was to provide the dream of homeownership without having to jump through hoops to get financing.
Similarly to today, the program still provides the dream of homeownership, but is specifically designed to meet the financial and lifestyle needs of our service members. Many service members have seen frequent moves and long deployments, which consequentially hurts credit scores and savings. With the VA home loan program, soldiers and veterans can receive low interest rates, flexible loan terms, and save on large out-of-pocket expenses not found in conventional programs.
The VA Loan Process
The VA loan process was designed to be simple and hassle free. In fact, obtaining a VA is so easy that eligible military members can expect to finance a home in as little as 60 days by following these five steps:
1. Contacting a VA Loan Specialist
2. Submitting Their Certificate of Eligibility
3. Finding a Home
4. Filling Out a VA Home Loan Application
5. Closing the Loan
Using a VA Home Loan in Oregon
One of the greatest benefits to soldiers is the VA loan program’s optional down payment. This is useful for service members who have moved many times and not been able to build the large down payment required by traditional loans. Oregon VA loans also offer high loan limits. Applicants in Oregon can purchase a home up to $417,000 without putting anything down.
In addition to high loan limits, the VA home loan offers many other benefits that veterans and active duty service members may not have been able to obtain with a conventional loan program including:
* Zero down payment
* No mortgage interest required
* Higher debt to income ratios allowed
Who is Eligible for a VA Home Loan?
Not only do VA loans offer incomparable benefits to make homeownership affordable, but they also have more lenient eligibility requirements to make homeownership more easily accessible. In order to qualify for a VA home loan, military members must submit a Certificate of Eligibility and have:
* Served for 3 months on active duty during war time or 181 days on active duty during peacetime
* Served for at least 6 years in the Reserves or National Guard
The VA home loan program has no income or credit requirements; however, potential borrowers should be aware that most lenders require a credit score of at least 620 to secure financing. If an interested borrowers’ credit is imperfect, they are still encouraged to apply for a loan as even those with a history of bankruptcy or foreclosure have been approved in the past.
As of April 1, 2011, all residential properties, (including all rental units), being sold must have carbon monoxide detectors installed in addition to smoke detectors. The purpose of this new legislation is to reduce deaths and poisonings from carbon monoxide which is an odorless gas that is non-detectable by people without this device.
Here is a link to the statute. If you are buying or selling a home that closes after March 31, 2011, please make sure a carbon monoxide detector is provided by the seller.
As always, I’d love to assist with your next Portland, OR purchase or sale. You can reach me at 503-421-2407 or Phyllis@PointClickandPack.com.
With many cities experiencing shortages of rental properties, extremely low interest rates and high inventory of homes for sale, now is a good time to buy. There are a few special financing programs available including a 100% financing loan with Key Bank and HomePath loans which offer bank owned homes for 3% down, no mortgage insurance and no appraisal.
I’d love to assist with your Portland purchase! Call me today to discuss your options, 503-421-2407.
Check out this article posted on yahoo.com by Les Christie of CNNMoney.com:
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/rents-could-rise-10-in-some-cities.html
Believe it or not, I’ve found a local bank that is offering a 100% financing program in Portland, OR. This program is exceptional in that there is no mortgage insurance, no prepayment penalties and it’s a 30 yr fixed rate!
There are 2 ways to qualify for this loan:
1. The borrower’s household income level is below $56,900/yr with a 42% maximum debt to income ratio. Minimum credit score is 620.
2. The property is located in a low or moderate census tract. To determine if the home you want to purchase falls within this category, go to www.ffiec.gov/Geocode and type in the property address. Click Search then click on the Get Census Demographic on the next screen. Look in the Box for Tract Income Level. If this is Low or Moderate, the property qualifies for the loan regardless of the buyer’s income.
There are other features and limitations of this loan. For a full list of the loan details please call, 503-421-2407, or email me, Phyllis@PointClickandPack, today. I look forward to assisting with your purchase!
Here’s a great article from the New York Times website about condo financing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/realestate/mortgages/16mort.html?hp
A new rule for borrowers taking out loans backed by Fannie Mae went into effect on June 1, 2010.
This rule requires lenders to re-check the borrower’s credit just prior to funding to look for new credit that has been obtained between the time the borrower applied for the loan application and the date of funding. Examples of new credit include newly opened credit cards and new car leases.
When buying a home, it is usually best to wait to make major purchases, such as for appliances or new cars, until after the loan has funded.
I would love to assist with your next home purchase. Please call me today at 503-421-2407.
The FHA just increased their loan limits. This means that buyers will be able to qualify for higher-priced homes with as little as 3% down payment. The new loan limit for the Portland Metro area, including Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties is $418,750.
Please let me know if I can assist you with your purchase! I look forward to working with you soon. You can reach me at phyllis@pointclickandpack.com or 503-421-2407.
First, let’s start with some specific definitions of the rates that were lowered by .50% this week:
Federal Funds Rate
The interest rate at which a depository institution lends immediately available funds (balances at the Federal Reserve) to another depository institution overnight.
This is what news reports are referring to when they talk about the Fed changing interest rates. In fact, the FOMC sets a target for this rate, but not the actual rate itself (because it is determined by the open market).
Discount Rate
The interest rate that an eligible depository institution is charged to borrow short-term funds directly from a Federal Reserve Bank.
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This type of borrowing from the Fed is fairly limited. Institutions will often seek other means of meeting short-term liquidity needs. The Federal funds discount rate is one of two interest rates the Fed sets, the other being the overnight lending rate, or the Fed funds rate.
As you can see by these definitions, neither the Federal Fund Rate nor the Discount Rate has any direct reflection on mortgage rates and no one should believe fixed mortgage rates will go down as a direct result of the Federal Reserve’s actions. A “ripple†effect will be that the Prime Rate will go down by .50% to 7.75%. Again we need a specific definition -
Prime Rate
The interest rate that commercial banks charge their most credit-worthy customers. Generally a bank’s best customers consist of large corporations.
Default risk is the main determiner of the interest rate a bank will charge a borrower. Because a bank’s best customers have little chance of defaulting, the bank can charge them a rate that is lower than the rate that would be charged to a customer who has a higher likelihood of defaulting on a loan.
Many banks tie their Home Equity Loan products to the Prime Rate. If that is the case with your home equity loan, you could get a pleasant surprise when your next monthly statement arrives at your house. Additionally, many revolving credit cards are tied to the Prime Rate and they, too, will benefit from the Federal Reserve’s action. In the end, almost all mortgage banking firms price their long term (15-30 year) fixed rate products based on the activity in the Treasury Bond Market, but that lesson will have to follow on another day!.
Bottom Line – Don’t expect any reduction to 30-yr fixed rates as a result of this week’s Federal Reserve activity. In reality there’s been a slight rate increase since Tuesday, but when 30-yr fixed rates are in the low 6% range, how can anyone be unhappy??
I’ll be available all weekend so don’t hesitate to call – 503/970-9714
Bob Milano
Branch Manager/Sr. Mortgage Banker
Directors Mortgage Inc.
4550 SW Kruse Way, Suite 340
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Phone: 503.636.6000 Ext. 165
Fax: 971.327.2898 Cell: 503.970.9714
E-mail: bmilano@directorsmortgage.net
Website: www.homeloansbybob.com
