FHA 203k Renovation Loans in Florida are attracting First Time Buyers November 9, 2009
Posted by flmortgageloanrates in Renovation Loans.Tags: FHA 203k Renovation Loans, First Time Home Buyer Tax Credits, First time home buyers, Florida, Florida Loans
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FHA 203k Renovation Loans in Florida are attracting First Time Buyers more today then in recent years as the Government is trying to encourage the use of the FHA 203k Loan and the FHA 203k Streamline Loan. The FHA 203k renovation loan became much more popular over the last 2 years as loan options for first time home buyers from FNMA and FHLMC became tougher to qualify for due in part to the Federal Government having to take over the two large government entities that were set up by congress to back mortgages. Instead of helping first time buyers with low down payments most programs backed by FNMA and FHLMC started requiring a much larger down payment. When it came to renovation loans the down payment requirements increased as well.
The down payment went from 5% down to either 10% or 20% depending on the part of the country that you were looking for a loan in. In Florida 10% down was required for a conventional renovation loan by those lenders who offered it. Many did not. Also credit scores increased as well. This resulted in the increase in popularity of the FHA 203k renovation loan and a new program the FHA 203k Streamline loan. The FHA 203k Streamline loan was created by FHA in the early 2000’s in an effort to help control some of the costs that made the program less attractive to First time buyers and home buyers who were looking at a home that didn’t need much work and the repairs were non structural in nature.
The FHA 203k Streamline loan can have up to $35,000 in repairs. This is up from $15,000 in repairs when the program was first rolled out. It was a popular program when it first came out and has continued to grow in popularity now that the conventional renovation options are less attractive to a larger number of potential home buyers. Of course the FHA 203k and the FHA 203k Streamline are for primary residences only and thus more likely to be used by First time home buyers. In the Florida market where many homes are sold to 2nd home buyers and investors, the conventional renovation loan is the only option. The buyers of the Florida 2nd homes and investment properties will not have an option of using the FHA 203k renovation loan or the FHA 203k Streamline renovation loan. If they want to take advantage of the huge number of bank owned properties and short sales that liter the state of Florida and the properties are in need of repairs then they will have to be better qualified with higher down payments and higher credit scores.
Lucas
Loans for Florida First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit is Extended November 8, 2009
Posted by flmortgageloanrates in First Time Home Buyer Credit.Tags: First Time Home Buyer Tax Credits, Florida Loans
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Loans for Florida updates the First Time Home Buyers Credit expansion. This week the President extended the First Time Home Buyers Credit until April 30th 2010. Not only was the credit extended, it was enhanced with some nice features. They include the increase in the income limits for those seeking to take advantage of this great program. The biggest gem of an enhancement however is that in certain cases you do not even have to be a first time home buyer to qualify! The state of Florida will greatly benefit as many of the homes are being bought in the lower price points of the market. The new income limits should allow more Florida home buyers to take advantage of this valuable tax credit.
The enhancement available to other than First Time Home Buyers is for people who now own a home and have owned it for at least 5 years of the last 8 years and now want to buy a new primary residence anywhere in the US including Florida. Another great aspect of the bill that showed some forethought was that the Tax Credit was good for all contracts signed before April 30th. The buyers would then have 2 months to close. This eliminated the guessing of when the last day would be to buy the house and still be able to safely navigate the rocky mortgage landscape. Florida home buyers have seen mortgage closings taking longer and longer as Florida mortgage lenders have been reluctant to hire the additional employees needed with the fear that rates might rise quickly and the First Time Home Buyers Credit may have not been extended or both!
This credit has mortgage companies, real estate agency’s and builders breathing a huge sigh of relief. In Florida, I know many of these people had been looking at an ugly month we were about to experience as the pressure to close before November 30th was fast approaching. Many can now enjoy their turkey dinners without the fears of a truly black Friday and following Monday as the month end crunch was looking ominous.
Overall this is money very well spent in my mind. Especially when you look at the cost of further bailouts that may have been needed if Florida real estate had taken another leg down. Many banks would not be able to survive if that were to happen.
Lucas
