Affordable Housing and Financial As

Make you dream of homeownership happen!

Are you tired of hearing that now is the time to buy Real Estate because you don’t have the money saved for a down payment and your credit is less than perfect? It may not be as impossible to buy in this market as you may think.

There are a number of programs available that offer down payment assistance! Some of them use the new FHA guidelines when qualifying you for their program. This is important because the FHA guidelines allow people with scores in the upper 500’s to qualify for a loan

The Pima County Bond program is available for the purchase of homes in Pima County. The guidelines require that the borrower has not owned a home in the past three years. The household income for 1-2 persons cannot be more than $66,000 nor more than $77,000 for a household of 3 or more persons. The bond program provides a small second loan to cover the down payment and closing costs while providing a cap of 5.99% interest rate on the first mortgage.

There is a USDA Rural Housing program that allows 100% financing on the sale price of a home in specified rural areas such as parts of Catalina, Marana, Oracle, Sahuarita, Vail and Picture Rocks. There are income limits: for one person cannot earn over $49,550, 2 persons $56,600, 3 persons $63,700 and 4 persons $70,750. Credit score should be over 620 but some exceptions allowed.

These programs can be combined with other non-profit down-payment assistance programs such as Ameridream , Nehemiah, and TMM-provided assistance to help you move into a new home with very little money from your own pocket.

Contact TMM Family Services, Inc at 520-322-9557 TODAY to begin your quest to purchase a new home. They will make sure you meet the qualifications and will work with you and a lender to put the loan package together. It couldn’t get much easier, so pick up that phone NOW!

Then call me and lets look for that home together. 520-400-5978

Good News for the First Time Home Buyer

In spite of the bad news regarding the real estate market the media is promoting, this is an excellent time to buy a new home! Much of the information the media is using is based on inaccurate or misleading statistics! I could go into that at length, but I would rather talk about the positives of this market.

First, the local market has not seen the drastic price drops that some areas of the country have experienced. The fact that the prices have dropped modestly locally makes more homes affordable for the first time homebuyer and the larger than average inventory of homes allows for a good selection of homes to match your taste and needs.

Second, interest rates are still quite low at the present time although they are not expected to stay low much longer. Low interest rates mean more house for the same money that you can afford to pay as not as much is being applied towards interest payments.

Third, down payment assistance programs are available from non-profit organizations that will help you to afford your new home. TMM Family Services, Inc offers a First Time Home Buyer program which provides education and counseling on the entire home buying process as well as down payment and closing cost assistance ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. However you must be pre-qualified by the agency BEFORE you enter into a contract to buy a home.

The five step process is as follows:

1. Call TMM to request an application

2. Attend TMM’s Home Buyer Education Session

3. Search for your new home or buy a TMM home (Hopefully here is where I come in!)

4. TMM provides you with grant money to help you buy the home you choose

5. TMM provide you with post-purchase counseling

A similar program is offered by another non-profit agency Family Housing Resources which offers education and down payment assistance to first time home buyers.

If you would like more information about either of these programs, please give me a call or e-mail me with your questions and I will gladly answer your questions and give you contact information regarding them.

How About Foreclosures?

The media has built up great hype over the rising number of foreclosures throughout the country. Buyers expect this means great bargains available for them. The truth is that is not always the case for several reasons.

First, the foreclosed property is now generally owned by a large bank. Although the bank is not in the business of holding real estate, its bureaucracy does not usually handle the sale of foreclosures efficiently so the process can drag out a long time. Another factor to consider is that most properties are not in good condition, perhaps destroyed by the frustrated owner moving out, or vandalized while vacant for several months. And the bank sells the property "as is", meaning don't expect them to make any repairs. This adds to the problems for the buyer trying to get financing, especially FHA financing which has set standards that a property must meet to qualify for FHA loans. There are exceptions, of course, but it takes patience and time to find them.

Foreclosures can be good buys for investors who have trade people working for them who can make the repairs. They can be a good buy for homeowners who have a place to live while they lovingly rehab a property they want to call home.

Another type of sale that takes time but can be worthwhile is the pre-foreclosure sale. The owner may still be living in the property trying to avoid foreclosure and is willing to sell at a loss to avoid having a foreclosure on their credit record. This type of sale is usually a short sale, meaning the lender has to be willing to take less money than the seller owes them to avoid the high cost of foreclosure to the company. There are many of these properties available at the present time. But again the problem is generally the frustration of finding the person at the bank who has the ultimate authority to make the decision to agree to the sale. This means that the sale is not a sure thing until it actually closes.

Affordable Housing and Financial As

Joyce Barnes