Today President Bush signed into law a massive housing bill that is to offer affordable government-backed mortgages to homeowners at risk of foreclosure, and to bolster Fannie and Freddie with a temporary rescue plan and a new, more stringent regulator. To get all the details, please click on the link below.
President Signs Housing Bill
Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
"Last Lecture Professor" Dies
I'm not sure if you read my post in March about one of the most inspiring people I have come across in my life, Randy Pausch. If you haven't, please take a few minutes to read and view the video from my earlier post.
Randy Pausch Post
It is with great sadness that I report that Randy passed away today at his home in Virginia. Many times in life we get wrapped up with our daily struggles and aren't really aware of what is really important. Thank you Randy for teaching me and millions others what life is all about.
Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com
Randy Pausch Post
It is with great sadness that I report that Randy passed away today at his home in Virginia. Many times in life we get wrapped up with our daily struggles and aren't really aware of what is really important. Thank you Randy for teaching me and millions others what life is all about.
Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
FHA and VA Loans
In today's South Florida real estate market, we are seeing more and more FHA and VA loans. I will go into much greater detail about these loans in a future post in this blog. For now, here is some basic information. A person DOES NOT have to be a first time buyer to qualify for an FHA loan, and a person MUST have served in the military to qualify for a VA loan. Both FHA and VA loans allow the home buyer to put down a much smaller downpayment than a conventional loan. This is the main reason more and more people are doing these types of loans today. If you do decide to ask your bank or mortgage broker to see if you qualify for one of these loans, below is a list of items that hold up FHA and VA (government) loans as well as some recommendations on making them smoother transactions.
1) Tax returns must be SIGNED and DATED even if they were filed by an accountant or online. (Full return w/all schedules must be included)
2) Bank statements must include NAME of the bank and the customer, Account number, and cover a 30 day history. If they are online statements they must be printed directly from a secure website indicated by “https” at the bottom of the printout. If they are provided by a bank employee, ALL pages must be signed, dated, and stamped.
3) A pest inspection must ALWAYS be done for VA loans and submitted to the lender for approval. If the inspector comments on items like rotted wood, be prepared to fix them in order to close the transaction. Also, if the inspector “calls for action” by checking a box or making comments be prepared to fix those items before closing. (example - soil line is too high, wood to ground contact, etc.)
4) Contract must be signed and dated by all parties, as well as all changes initialed/dated by all parties. This can no longer be taken care of at closing.
5) Do not put items in the contract such as “Seller to pay buyer $500 for repairs.” Anything the seller is paying to the buyer must be “towards closing costs” or paid directly to a third party vendor. (example - handy man, home warranty, etc.)
6) You should not leave for vacation during the process or the day after closing. Delays that are out of control happen with government loans.
7) As noted above, delays happen many times on government loans. Don't set up appointments with movers, contractors, parties, etc. for the day after closing. The mortgage company understands and cares that customers have obligations but sometimes delays are unavoidable. Don't schedule appointments a week after the closing date.
8) Turn in the contract as soon as possible to the lender. If there are changes required that must be initialed, sellers can get very irritated when they have to tend to the contract again a couple of days before closing.
9) The worse the credit, the more documentation required.
10) Government loans require a lot of documentation so don’t allow yourself to become frustrated. It is imperative for everyone to cooperate fully in order to have a smooth government transaction.
11) All VA applicants must have their Certificate of Eligibility (COE). If they have never used their VA benefits before, the lender can generally obtain this online instantly. If you have used your benefits before, this process can take SEVERAL WEEKS! Make sure this is taken care of before you find a home, so you can close on time.
12) All FHA/VA applicants must have 2 years of work history. School/College does count. If the customer does not meet this requirement, they will have to provide a satisfactory letter of explanation telling us why.
13) An offer letter is not sufficient to show income for FHA/VA loans. You must provide a pay stub including 30 days history prior to closing, NO EXCEPTIONS!
14) If you receive a gift for down payment and closing costs, you must show this transaction properly by way of a gift letter. There should be a paper trail proving transfer of funds from the donor to the recipient (example - Gift letter filled out by both parties as well as a copy of the cancelled check. Sometimes donor will be asked for a bank statement to prove ability to gift funds.). This is very important.
Please print this information and refer to it as a checklist, and I can guarantee you that it will save you a great deal of stress and heart ache that previous home buyers had to go thru.
Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com
1) Tax returns must be SIGNED and DATED even if they were filed by an accountant or online. (Full return w/all schedules must be included)
2) Bank statements must include NAME of the bank and the customer, Account number, and cover a 30 day history. If they are online statements they must be printed directly from a secure website indicated by “https” at the bottom of the printout. If they are provided by a bank employee, ALL pages must be signed, dated, and stamped.
3) A pest inspection must ALWAYS be done for VA loans and submitted to the lender for approval. If the inspector comments on items like rotted wood, be prepared to fix them in order to close the transaction. Also, if the inspector “calls for action” by checking a box or making comments be prepared to fix those items before closing. (example - soil line is too high, wood to ground contact, etc.)
4) Contract must be signed and dated by all parties, as well as all changes initialed/dated by all parties. This can no longer be taken care of at closing.
5) Do not put items in the contract such as “Seller to pay buyer $500 for repairs.” Anything the seller is paying to the buyer must be “towards closing costs” or paid directly to a third party vendor. (example - handy man, home warranty, etc.)
6) You should not leave for vacation during the process or the day after closing. Delays that are out of control happen with government loans.
7) As noted above, delays happen many times on government loans. Don't set up appointments with movers, contractors, parties, etc. for the day after closing. The mortgage company understands and cares that customers have obligations but sometimes delays are unavoidable. Don't schedule appointments a week after the closing date.
8) Turn in the contract as soon as possible to the lender. If there are changes required that must be initialed, sellers can get very irritated when they have to tend to the contract again a couple of days before closing.
9) The worse the credit, the more documentation required.
10) Government loans require a lot of documentation so don’t allow yourself to become frustrated. It is imperative for everyone to cooperate fully in order to have a smooth government transaction.
11) All VA applicants must have their Certificate of Eligibility (COE). If they have never used their VA benefits before, the lender can generally obtain this online instantly. If you have used your benefits before, this process can take SEVERAL WEEKS! Make sure this is taken care of before you find a home, so you can close on time.
12) All FHA/VA applicants must have 2 years of work history. School/College does count. If the customer does not meet this requirement, they will have to provide a satisfactory letter of explanation telling us why.
13) An offer letter is not sufficient to show income for FHA/VA loans. You must provide a pay stub including 30 days history prior to closing, NO EXCEPTIONS!
14) If you receive a gift for down payment and closing costs, you must show this transaction properly by way of a gift letter. There should be a paper trail proving transfer of funds from the donor to the recipient (example - Gift letter filled out by both parties as well as a copy of the cancelled check. Sometimes donor will be asked for a bank statement to prove ability to gift funds.). This is very important.
Please print this information and refer to it as a checklist, and I can guarantee you that it will save you a great deal of stress and heart ache that previous home buyers had to go thru.
Amit Bhuta
Real Estate Helper
Kendall Village Homes
(305) 439-3031
www.DadeCountyMLS.com
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