November 9, 2009 by corinneguerra
President Obama signed the bill on Friday which extended the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit and Advance Loan Program to April 30, 2010 – giving more consumers more time to receive the refundable tax credit when buying a principal residence.
New features make the extension attractive to homebuyers, including:
New Deadline: Sales contract must be in place by April 30, 2010 – but homeowners have an additional 60 days to close
New Dollar Amount and Eligibility: Up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers OR $6,500 for current homeowners who have lived in their current residence for 5 consecutive years and are purchasing their next property.
New Income Cap: maximum $125,000 (individual) or $225,000 (married couples). Increases in the cap make the measure available to a broader group of customers. (used to be $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples)
Purchase Price: $800,000 maximum purchase price
You still must live in the new home for 3 years or be required to repay the credit.
Advance Loan Programs provide down payment and closing cost financing assistance in some states so that homebuyers can use the credit before their closing. We don’t have this program for Illinois buyers at this time.
If you are thinking about purchasing a home in Illinois, contact me for a free pre-approval and consultation today. Office: 847-512-2775 or corinne.guerra@rwfmortgage.com.
RWF Mortgage is a direct affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
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November 9, 2009 by Lynn Briskin
Bright and spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath duplex home features granite and stainless kitchen, breakfast bar, in-unit laundry, large deck and one car parking! List price: $264,900 Assessments: $174/mth Taxes: $3389
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November 2, 2009 by Lynn Briskin
Bright and intimate 2 bedroom, 1 bath vintage condo on a beautiful neighborhood street in walking distance to everything. Generous room sizes, a huge kitchen and flowing light throughout. Bring your pets and settle right in! List price: $249,900 Assessments: $353/mth Taxes: $4506
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October 26, 2009 by Lynn Briskin
Rare, custom 2 bedroom, 1.1 bath townhome in gated community features hardwood floors thru-out, gorgeous new designer kitchen, high-end fixtures, private den, in-unit laundry and one car parking. Short sale, sold as-is and in excellent condition! List price: $224,900 Assessments: $130/mth. Taxes: $4905
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October 21, 2009 by corinneguerra
Short sales are different than foreclosures and can be very frustrating for a buyer.
If a home is in foreclosure, the bank already owns the it and is ready to get rid of it. On a short sale, the seller is still involved and is most likely up-side-down on the mortgage. But this doesn’t necessarily mean they can no longer make their payments.
When the home is listed as a short sale, the lender has to approve the seller for the short sale by verifying that they have no means of making a mortgage payment or covering the difference of the sale by writing a check at the closing. For example, if they sold at market price and were short $10,000 to pay off their mortgage but they had $15,000 in a savings account, the bank most likely will not approve them. Especially if they don’t have a major financial drawback that would keep them from being able to make payments on the home (loss of job, divorce, or illness).
Now, the bank won’t decide that the seller is approved to do the short sale until they have an offer on the home so they have to wait for a buyer to make an offer, then the bank will request their financials and can take 4 weeks to 6 months to tell them if they are approved or not. If they aren’t, then the deal falls apart and they have to either pay the balance of the mortgage with their savings, walk away from the home and go into foreclosure, or decide not to sell at all.
Unfortunately not many buyers or agents have had these experiences first hand so they keep trying to put offers on short sales but after waiting several months for an answer, they typically end up moving on and walking at the expense from their earnest money.
To sum it up: if you are a buyer looking at a short sale listing, be very flexible, patient and open to the possibility that it may not close for several months if at all. If you are a first time buyer, don’t let a short sale experience frustrate your desire to own real estate.
Are you trying to sell your home with a short sale next door and wondering how you are going to compete?
Keep in mind is that the short sale or foreclosure doesn’t affect the value of your unit directly because it was sold in financial distress. Appraisers will not use it as a comparable sale so the only way it affects your value is if a buyer is willing to take the chance on a short sale instead of buying your unit knowing they can close on it within 60 days or less.
Does that make sense? I guess what I’m saying is that it’s not the end of the world that you have a short sale next to you, it just may take some time for buyers to realize the value in your unit over the short sale is that they can actually close on yours.
For more information or to get pre-approved for a mortgage in Chicago, Evanston, Cook, Lake or Will County, contact me at 847-512-2775 or corinne.guerra@rwfmortgage.com
RWF Mortgage, LLC is a direct affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
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October 19, 2009 by corinneguerra
This article was in the Wall Street Journal last week regarding the $8,000 tax credit.
WASHINGTON — Analysts and lawmakers are voicing concerns about the cost and usefulness of the tax credit for first-time home buyers, a piece of federal housing-market aid that Congress is considering extending or even expanding.
The measure, adopted in the February economic-stimulus package, gives first-time home buyers an $8,000 tax credit. It was intended to give a jolt to the moribund real-estate market, at least through its scheduled expiration in November. Some analysts and many in the housing market call it a vital prop.
A number of House Democrats, however, are expressing reservations about a big extension or expansion of the credit, particularly one that isn’t offset with tax increases or spending cuts.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) favors only a one-month extension for now, said his spokeswoman, and wants Congress to offset any new cost.
“I don’t think there’s a majority in Congress ready to sign onto a very large unpaid-for extension or expansion,” said Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.), an influential member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Some more-liberal Democrats, meanwhile, worry about expanding the credit beyond first-time home buyers. Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.), for instance, says he favors extending it but doesn’t see the need to expand it.
As a result of the concerns, “I’m not as optimistic about expansion as I am about extension, but I certainly haven’t given up on it either,” said Jerry Howard, president of the National Association of Home Builders.
Leading proponents of the credit would like to extend it at least to next summer, and make it available to all home buyers. They also want to raise the income limits to $150,000 for an individual or $300,000 for a couple. That would cost about $16.7 billion. Currently, the credit phases out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and married couples earning more than $150,000.
To keep the credit alive, some lawmakers are considering ways to offset its cost, for instance, by taking back unspent funds from the $787 billion stimulus bill, said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R., Ga.).
To persuade Congress to reallocate stimulus funds, supporters will have to show that the home-buyer credit would generate more jobs than the stimulus bill would, Mr. Pomeroy said.
Ted Gayer, a scholar at the liberal Brookings Institution, argued in a recent paper that the credit costs the government about $43,000 for each additional home sale it produces. That is because most of the two million or so home buyers expected to claim the credit would have bought a house anyway. Only about 350,000 were additional buyers. Expanding the credit to make all home buyers potentially eligible would swell the government’s cost per additional home sale to more than $250,000, said Mr. Gayer, co-director of economic studies at Brookings.
Economists at the National Association of Realtors said they don’t disagree with Mr. Gayer’s analysis of the existing credit’s cost to the government. But they said he plays down the impact the program is having in supporting home prices and related expenditures.
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A6
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September 21, 2009 by corinneguerra
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is now offering 5% down payments for condos in Cook County and some surrounding counties again.
This means that FHA is no longer the only low down payment financing option for city condominiums, which is great news for units in buildings that don’t have an FHA approval.
As of October 1st, FHA will no longer allow “spot approvals” on individual units. This means that if you are a buyer who was only qualified on an FHA mortgage, you will be limited to buying in a condo building that already has a “Project Approval” through HUD. Very few Chicago condos currently have a recent HUD approval. This new low-down payment program will allow you to buy in most condo buildings with just 5% down on a Conventional mortgage.
Here are the stipulations for obtaining 95% financing:
- minimum credit score of 700
- maximum debt-to-income ratio is 41% (income vs. debts)
- maximum loan amount $417,000, the conforming loan limit – purchase transactions only; not available for refinances
- available in the following counties: Cook – DeKalb – DuPage – Grundy – Kane – Kendall – McHenry – Will
Contact me for details or to get pre-approved for this program offered only through Wells Fargo at 847-512-2775 or corinne.guerra@rwfmortgage.com
RWF Mortgage is a direct affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
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August 31, 2009 by corinneguerra
Don’t have enough credit to qualify for financing? You still may qualify for a mortgage.
I just received an application from a client who wanted to purchase a condominium who had a 803 FICO* score but she didn’t have enough credit history on her report to qualify for a Conventional mortgage.
She can qualify for an FHA mortgage which is more lenient on credit history and FICO scores. Unfortunately she wanted to purchase a condo that FHA wouldn’t finance like so many other condo’s today.
I was able to get her approved for a Conventional mortgage by ordering an Anthem report through Wells Fargo’s credit company. An Anthem report builds up your credit history by using alternate credit sources to create new trade lines. In English- They contact 3 or 4 companies that you make regular payments to like your cell phone company, utility bills, or even your gym membership. They verify that you have made consistant monthly payments that were less than 30 days late for at least the past 12 months. This creates a history of credit that otherwise wouldn’t be reported to the credit bureaus.
A typical pre-approval takes about 24 hours if you have a sufficient credit history. A pre-approval with an Anthem report takes a little longer, about a week, since an underwriter needs to make a decision instead of the computer but it’s still a fairly quick process and opens up a world of possibilities for buyers with little credit.
Contact me for more information or to receive a pre-approval letter with an Anthem report at 847-512-2775 or corinne.guerra@rwfmortgage.com
RWF Mortgage is a direct affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
*FICO is a credit scoring system used for mortgages. FICO scores will differ from other credit scores recieved online or by other types of financing. An 803 FICO score is a very high score.
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August 25, 2009 by corinneguerra
Great News! Wells Fargo is now offering Conventional mortgages for all buyers!
For some time now, you needed 10% down or had to pay the expensive Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium of FHA to purchase a home. Only first time buyers could qualify for 5% down on a Conventional mortgage but they couldn’t buy a condo.
Now you can buy a condo or a house with just 5% down and you don’t have to be a first time buyer. It is available in Chicago and all of Cook County and including some surrounding counties.
It is also available for New Construction condominiums as long as they have a full Fannie Mae project approval on the building.
Contact me today for a free pre-approval in the opportunistic market with financing that is even more affordable now than it has been for a year.
RWF Mortgage is a direct affiliate of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Call me at 847-512-2775 or email me at corinne.guerra@rwfmortgage.com.
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August 5, 2009 by Lynn Briskin
Spacious and bright, 2 bedroom, 2.1 bath, two-story end unit townhome with two outdoor spaces! Hardwood throughout, large open kitchen with eating area, separate dining room and full, newly finished basement. 2+ car garage, visitor parking and walking path at your front door. List price: $244,900 Taxes: $5700 Assessments: $250
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President Obama signed the bill on Friday which extended the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit and Advance Loan Program to April 30, 2010 – giving more consumers more time to receive the refundable tax credit when buying a principal residence.
