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Great article on Trulia by Tara-Nicholle Nelson.  I couldn’t have said it better myself

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Zero down loans are (almost) entirely a thing of the past. While many wanna-be buyers are tucking their down payment pennies away, many of these folks feel that they’re missing out on deals in the meantime!

Here are my top 7 tips for coming up with those critical down payment funds:

Know how much you need to save. We all know that to reach a goal, you have to set a clear target. So, first things first: figure out exactly how much of a down payment you actually need. If you have a credit score of at least 620, you may be able to qualify for an FHA loan that only requires a 3.5% down payment. (For a $200,000 house, that’s $7,000.) Check in with your agent and mortgage broker regarding (a) whether you qualify for an FHA loan and (b) whether you’ll be able to find a property that works for you and for the FHA within the realm of what’s affordable for you.

It’s true – the conservative lending guidelines on FHA loans will limit how much you can spend, and require you to pay monthly private mortgage insurance (PMI), if you put less than 20% down.  But PMI is tax deductible and eventually goes away.  So what this really means is that you’ll more than likely end up with a mortgage payment that you can easily afford to pay for a long time to come.  And it might be less house than you might be able to buy with a higher-down payment, less conservative loan, but less is more, people.  Less is more (especially when it comes to mortgage payments!).

Also, while no-down-payment loans are almost extinct, there is a little tiny exception for borrowers employed in a certain set of professions: doctors, lawyers, dentists and C-suite executives of Fortune 500 companies are all potentially eligible for zero down professional loans offered by a couple of small, private banks.  These loans do have the basic credit and income requirements, but they require ZERO down payment, because these professionals are perceived as posing a very low risk of foreclosure.  In some cases, pros can qualify for up to $1 million with no down payment!

Save your dough in a high-interest online savings account. Regular bank savings accounts are paying right around .10% interest right now.  Ally and SmartyPig are paying somewhere between 2 and 3 percent.  Every little bit helps, right?

Sell your junk. eBay, anyone?  Not only does selling the stuff you no longer need or use generate cash to put into the down payment kitty, it has the side effect of feeling almost like preparation for moving. Clear out your clutter, make room for your new life as a homeowner, and make a few bucks at the same time.  That’s what I call a #WIN.

Get a side gig – Blogging, weekend table-waiting, baking, dog-walking – it’s not overkill to get a second job or start a small side business to power your help you either pay down your debt or save up for a

Borrow it from your city or state.  The federal homebuyer tax credit is history, but many state and local governments still offer incentives for homebuyers in the form of down payment assistance programs. Most often, these are second mortgages with very low or no payments for 5, 10 or even 30 years (in Oakland, California, for example, the down payment loan doesn’t have to be repaid for 30 years or until you sell or move out).  And many will help not just low-income buyers, but also those with moderate incomes, or anyone buying their first home!

Google <your city> <your state> and <down payment assistance> to see what your local government has on offer, and what it takes to qualify.

Borrow it from yourself!  If you have a 401K or Roth IRA account and some years to go before retirement, you might be able to tap into it or even borrow against your own funds for your down payment.  Currently, you can take up to $10,000 out of your Roth IRA with no penalty to put toward the purchase of your first home.  And while you can’t similarly draw from your 401K, many retirement and pension plans will allow you to borrow the money against your funds, then repay it to yourself – at interest.  Hmmmm, pay your lender back with interest, or pay interest to yourself – choose you!  But first, get some advice from your CPA or financial planner.

Get the gift that keeps on giving.  Cash gifts from relatives are seen by many lenders as a legitimate resource for down payment funds.  There are guidelines, though – some lenders require that you put your own money on top of a small cash gift (less than 5% of the purchase price); but will let you use gift money exclusively if the gift is 20% of the home’s price or more.  Also, most lenders require a “gift letter” documenting that the giver is your relative and is not expecting you to pay the money back.

Check in with your mortgage broker for a briefing on gift-money guidelines.

If it seem like a “gift” is a hard thing to come up with – don’t dismiss the concept too soon.  I know more than a few now-homeowners who had no clue where their down payment money would come from until they were reminded about gift money as a strategy, then cashed in long-ignored offers of help from parents, aunts and uncles. 

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Have questions on downpayments for home loans in the Tampa Bay area?  I help you get the answers you need.

Elsa

The front page headlines in one of our area newspapers this past Saturday irked me so much I just had to vent here.  I know they say that negativity sells newspapers but what I’m hearing from a lot of people is that’s not what they want.  We are tired of doom and gloom.  Everyone has been touched by the current state of the economy and we are ready to start concentrating on the more positive side of things.

 As a Realtor I am well aware of the housing situation.  This news article in particular titled “Bay area home sales lag” could have included the following facts:

-Bay area home sales gain 11% compared to one year ago.

-236 more homes sold in Sept 09 than Sept 08.

-Number of homes sold each month in 2009 exceeds last year’s monthly sales

-Single family home prices remained constant for most of the year

-Inventory continues to decrease. (They did mention this in the second to the last         

   paragraph by saying if there has been one area of improvement it is the number of

   surplus homes on the market…they couldn’t even put a positive spin on this).

 I am not a Pollyanna, I am a realistic optimist.  It would be nice if the media could let go of negativity and write articles that slant toward the hopefulness we all want to feel.

I wanted to pass on this encouraging and realistic article from the Florida Association of Realtors.  It discusses a survey taken by the University of Florida which shows some very interesting trends in many areas of our state’s economy. 

Chris McCarty, survey director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research said, “I think Florida consumers are buying into the argument that the worst of the recession is over and we have avoided a complete meltdown.  This month’s three-point rise (in consumer confidence) follows a four-point revised increase in August.  Of the 5 components that make up September’s index, three rose one decline and one was unchanged.” 

These are signs the economy is improving.  As a Realtor I always like to look and see how the Florida real estate market as a whole is fairing.  The article states that “Once again the median price of a single family home is virtually flat compared with the previous moth, and “UP” for the year, suggesting that housing prices in many areas of Florida have bottomed out.  Although foreclosures are still high, the rate seems to be declining.”

To take a look at the full article please go to:  http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?id=224270.

Do you know of anyone looking to buy a first home or someone who wants to buy and hasn’t owned a home in 3 years?  There is a good chance they would qualify for a First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit.  WOW ! Up to $8000 back to them as an IRS tax refund or reduction on taxes owed.  This DOES NOT need to be paid back like last year’s $7500 loan from the IRS.  What a deal!  But they must act fast.  They need to close on a home before December 1, 2009.

Think a large down payment is neccessary?  All of my 1st time homebuyers this year qualified for an FHA loan where only 3.5% of the purchase price was needed as a down payment.  In many cases the seller will even help with the buyers closing costs.  Low prices, low interest rates and lots to choose from makes this an excellent time to buy.          

For more information about homes in the Tampa Bay area you are in the right place, just click this link on the left: “A great SEARCH engine for Tampa Bay homes” and take a look at homes in the area.  Working with 1^st time home buyers is my specialty.  Making the home buying process understandable and offering terrific service to help guide my clients in getting a great deal is my goal !

To get more information about taking advantage of the tax credit go right to the source, click here:  http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html

Many homeowners in Florida are unaware of the deep discounts they may qualify for on their property insurance.  A Wind Mitigation Inspection will help determine if your home meets certain construction standards.  If your home qualifies you could receive substantial REDUCTIONS to your annual premium.  The more standards you meet the more your discount can be!  If your home was built before 2001 you should check into this.  I can recommend 3 companies who provide these inspections.  A quick phone call will determine if your home is a good candidate and if so they come to your home for the inspection.  The fee is $125, well worth it if you save hundreds on your property insurance each and every year.  Email me for more info on these companies.  You can bet I recommend this to my clients. One of my buyers saved $600 on his premium!

I want the articles in my website to be a source for everything about homes in the Tampa Bay area;  home buying, selling and ownership.

As a homeowner have you ever struggled with the landscaping around your home?  Now that we are “kind of” out of the drought situation here in the Tampa Bay area  what a great time to get ideas about making the most of your landscaping.  To help your yard look like an oasis you should visit this great website.  It’s interactive with design suggestions along with flower and shrubbery selections all based on sun exposure and water requirements.  There is also an encyclopedia of plants that grow especially well in this area.  You don’t have to be an expert gardener or landscaper to create a Florida-friendly yard. All it takes is a willingness to learn and a desire to build a beautiful yard that helps protect Florida’s environment.

So if you are tired of planting and replanting only to have your flowers and shrubs die a slow death get some great tips here!   http://www.floridayards.org/index.php

photo credit: eron_gpsfs

With the first post to my new blog I wanted to forecast a “turning of the tide” that I am beginning to see in the Tampa Bay home sales. As a Realtor who specializes in residential sales I need to keep track of the changes in the market.  Of course for my clients I study this information at a very localized level but for general information and since I love numbers (this is a fun exercise for me) I’m happy to pass my findings on to you.

We have some good news here!!!  So far this year the inventory of homes for sale in Tampa area has REDUCED every month.  Pending sales are INCREASING every month and actual closings are INCREASING every month.  It’s huge that in June (last statistics available) Realtors sold 446 more properties than in May.  (1756 vs 1310)

I am hoping that this market has found its low price and that was back in April ($167,348).  Since then the average sale price has GAINED $10,000.  In May and June it held STEADY at about $177,300.  I know this is nothing like it was back in 2005 but am I seeing a trend here??!!  Like the tide the Real Estate market has its cycles.

In a normal, balanced market there is 6 months of home inventory.  In June we had 8.5 months but this is an improvement over May with 11.5 months in inventory.  (January had 22.2 months!).  A balanced market means it is no longer a buyer’s market or a seller’s market.  We are not far from that.

So what does this mean?

For the buyer –Don’t miss out on this buyers market while it’s still here…  Low interest rates, great deals, FHA loans require only 3.5% down and for 1^st time home buyers the $8000 tax credit.  Don’t do it alone, work with a Real Estate Professional who is looking out for your best interest.

For the seller – If you can’t wait out this market, price your house right (have your Realtor present a thorough Market Analysis) and put your home in tip top shape.  Neat, clean and uncluttered homes always get more attention from Realtors.  Make sure your listing is correct, that the Realtor has put in lots of positive public remarks and that there are lots of pictures.

I heard somewhere that in Tampa short sales (home owners who must sell due to hardship and find the money they owe on their home is more than it’s worth) consist of about 50% of the sales right now but I believe that number might be closer to 60%.  Short sales will be with us for a while but based on the statistics we are getting closer to a balanced market.  I think prices will remain where they are for the next few months and then begin rising as the inventory continues to decrease.  I can’t wait for what the July numbers show us and to see if this “turning of the tide” I’m predicting becomes a reality.