Register Real Estate Advisors

SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Express-News) – New Federal Housing Administration (FHA) rules will effect many first-time homebuyers as well as many current homeowners.

One rule, which took effect yesterday, disqualifies first-time homebuyers with more than $1,000 in medical or other collections from getting an FHA-backed loan. To qualify for the loan, the buyer must pay off the debt or show that three months of payments have been made.

Meanwhile, all homeowners who have FHA loans will have to pay more in mortgage insurance starting next Monday.

They’ll have to pay 1.25 percent of their mortgage balance annually, up from 1.15 percent previously. And up-front mortgage insurance, which is paid at closing, will increase from 1 percent to 1.75 percent of the loan.

I liked this article below about renters paying more money a year on housing than homeowners.  I encourage everyone I know to buy a house instead of renting.  Why pay someone else’s taxes, insurance, and mortgage?  I even have a rent vs. buy calculator.  Call me today and I can tell you how much money you could be saving by buying a home instead of renting.  Call me today at 281.288.3500 and we can discuss your options for purchasing a home.

Posted By susanne On October 25, 2011 @ 3:59 pm In Consumer News and Advice,Home Owner News,Real Estate News,Real Estate Trends,Today’s Marketplace

In today’s real estate market, there are many different mortgages available for you to choose from. If you are thinking about purchasing a home, you can call RREA’s in house lender today to see what type of loan products you qualify for. Our in house lender, Terry Traylor, can help you determine your mortgage limit, interest rate, and what product will best meet your home purchasing needs.

There are a variety of mortgage loans available. There are Jumbos for loans over $417K. There are loans for investors that allow homes to be flipped before the 90 day limit. For first time home buyers, there are Down Payment Assistance Loans that help with closing costs. For Foreign Nationals that are non-U.S. Citizens there are loans that allow them to purchase second homes in the U.S. With the 203K Loan people can make improvements before or after closing. The HomePath Program was designed for Foreclosed Fannie Mae owned properties. The REO Extended Lock Program helps homeowners purchase a short sale or REO property by allowing an extended interest rate lock. The credit 580 Program increases the FHA guidelines to include borrowers with credit scores between 580-639. Dissipating Asset Programs provide asset-rich clients the ability to qualify with no income up to a maximum loan amount of $5 Million while the Pledged Asset Mortgage allows borrowers to pledge eligible assets in lieu of a down payment, second mortgage or a home equity loan to cover normal down payment requirements. And you thought there were only FHA, Conventional, and VA Loans! Today’s lender has lots of options for you to take advantage of. Call today to find out more -281-288-3500.

What are the steps that I need to take to purchase a home? Where can I find a Realtor? What programs are available for first time home buyers?
Are these some of the questions you may ask? Well I have the answers for you! Please come out to the Buyer’s Seminar that I will be hosting
on Saturday, November 19Th from 1:00p – 3:30pm, located at 505 North Sam Houston Parkway, Houston, TX 77060. There will be information provided on
the purchase process, from getting pre-qualified to closing. There will also be refreshments! So please come out or spread the word to someone you know that may be in the process of purchasing a home. This would be the first step to take to start the new year off of getting into your brand new home. For more information, please call me at 832-380-1508.

Join us this Thursday from 6-7pm at Register Real Estate Advisors for a Home Buyer Seminar. This seminar is for both first time home buyers and repreat home buyers. These can be resale home buyers and new construction home sales. If you have thought about purchasing a home you need to know about representation in the real estate market. You also need to know the process for buying a home. If you know someone that will benefit from a real estate seminar, please forward this information to them. The seminars will be held at 1614 Louetta Rd. Ste I Spring, Texas, 77388. These informative seminars will be hosted by Realtors and will sometimes have guest speakers such as Title Company Representatives, Lenders, Inspectors, Appraisers, and other industry experts. We hope you will attend and bring your questions!

(Excerpt from an Article in the September 2011 Realtor® Magazine)

Active duty personnel, veterans, retired members of the
military, and employees of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of
Homeland Security are eligible to apply for up to $5,000.00 in down payment and
closing costs in the purchase of a first home.
The national nonprofit Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation is
offering the assistance through its Dream Makers program and says the grants
can be applied to a mortgage from any financial institution.  More info is at http://www.pentagonfoundation.org/.  Click on the “Dream Makers” link.

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle)
– Centex will open a development this summer featuring 208 homes with
prices starting in the $90,000s.

Parkside will be at Airport Rd. and SH 288 near the Houston Amateur Sports
Park.

First-time homebuyers are the target market for this development.

“A 95 percent occupancy rate in Class-A apartments in the Parkside area
demonstrates the need for new home construction for the first-time buyer,”
said Scott Sim, vice president of sales for Centex in Houston. “With
the accessibility to a variety of employment, recreation and transportation
corridors, we expect a lot of buyers coming from apartments, especially those
from Gen-X and Gen-Y generations.”

Do you know about C.L.U.E. Reports?  If you are purchasing a home, you should be familiar with the term.  A C.L.U.E. Report is a Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange Report that provides details on insurance claims filed in the past five years.  These details may include wind, water, or mold damage.  They are property specific, not people specific, and impact the cost of insuring the home. 

How does this impact buying a home?  If you want to purchase a home and it has had damage in the past five years, you insurance company will know about it before they insure the home.  They may choose not to insure the home for reasons listed above.  So it is possible you could find the home you want and not be able to insure it, even though you have never had an insurance claim on a property.  Not likely to happen, but it could.  Always check into an insurance policy before you purchase a home to make sure it is insurable.

DALLAS (Dallas Business Journal) – The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is offering $45 million to consumers through its first-time homebuyer program.

“Despite all the negatives we hear from other states, the fact is that the Texas economy — and the demand for homeownership — both remain quite healthy,” said Michael Gerber, executive director of the state agency. “Many families want and are ready to take that exciting step toward homeownership, and TDHCA wants to help them achieve their dreams through safe, reliable lending products offered through the state, coupled with responsible homebuyer education.”

 The Texas Mortgage Credit Program will help reduce borrowers’ tax liability by offering a credit in exchange for taking a certified homebuyer education class. Homebuyers could save up to $2,000 in annual taxes.