When you are getting ready to buy a house and are meeting with the lender. Here is a list of items to bring to save time.

• Address to your place of residence (past two years)
• Social Security numbers
• Names and location of your employers (past two years)
• Gross monthly salary at your current job(s)
• Pertinent information for all checking and savings accounts
• Pertinent information for all open loans
• Complete information for other real estate you own
• Approximate value of all personal property
• Certificate of Eligibility and DD-214 (for veterans only)
• Current check stubs and your W-2 forms (past two years)
• Personal tax returns (past two years), current income statement and business balance sheet for self-employed individuals
In addition be ready to pay for your credit report.

These days one of the biggest impediments to closing a Reno/Sparks real estate sale can be the buyer’s ability to get a mortgage.

Here are some tips for anyone who hopes to land a loan:

• Turn to the government. The biggest source of loans these days is the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Veterans Administration (VA). These programs accept borrowers with lower credit scores and allow them to put down as little as 3.5 percent of the purchase price.

• Document, document, document. Borrowers will need bank statements, brokerage statements, W-2 forms and tax returns.

• Boost credit scores. Borrowers should avoid having more than one-third of their maximum borrowing capacity outstanding on one credit card. If necessary, rotate the debt among several cards.

• Work your connections. Comparison shopping is easy online, but if your customer has an established relationship with a local bank, suggest they try that lender first.

Source: BusinessWeek.com, Christopher Palmeri (01/23/09)

Being a Reno/Sparks real estate consultant I always appreciate any question or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate or any of the articles I post.

Send all questions to chance@ballard-company.com

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• What is a “streamline” mortgage? (zillow.com)

• A 3% down payment, as opposed to a 5% down payment on traditional loans
• Low monthly mortgage insurance
• Low closing costs, which are regulated by HUD
• No credit score requirements
• Qualify for a loan two years after a bankruptcy
• Qualify for a loan three years after a foreclosure

• Conventional Fixed Rate Mortgages are set for a certain amount of time at a specific interest rate. The interest rate never changes, which means that your mortgage payment remains the same throughout the life of your loan except for fluctuations in property taxes and homeowner’s insurance. Fixed rate mortgages are usually not assumable and often have a prepayment penalty. Fixed rate mortgages are good for people who plan to own their home for a long period of time.
• Conventional Adjustable Rate Mortgages are set for a certain amount of time, but the interest rate changes over the lifetime of the loan. Usually the interest rate is a fixed for the first three or five years, but after that period of time the interest rate will rise and so will your mortgage payments. Adjustable rate mortgages are good for people who plan to stay in their home only for the amount of time that the interest rate is fixed.
• Hybrid Mortgages are similar to adjustable rate mortgages, but the fixed-rate time period is usually longer. For example, a hybrid mortgage may have a fixed interest rate for the first ten years and then the interest rate will increase. Hybrid mortgages are good for people who plan to spend many years in their home but know that they will eventually move into a new home.
• Jumbo Fixed Rate Mortgages are specifically for borrowers who are seeking a mortgage for $333,700 or greater. It is risky for a lender to finance a mortgage this high, so jumbo fixed mortgages are designed for large mortgages that are set for the lifetime of the loan, and the interest rate is usually higher than a conventional fixed rate loan.
• Balloon Mortgages are when a borrower makes smaller payments at the beginning of the mortgage and then pays off the entirety of the loan at a later date. This is good for people who know they will have a large sum of money in the future, or for people who need a lower payment now but expect to make more money in the future.
• Relocation Mortgages are available for people who need a loan to relocate to a new home while their existing home is for sale.
• Bridge Mortgages are similar to relocation mortgages; you can purchase a new home prior to the sale of your existing home. You will have a larger mortgage payment because you will pay for both homes until the existing home sells. However, if there is a home you want to purchase immediately and you are afraid that it will sell while you wait for your existing home to sell, then you can purchase the home with a bridge loan.
• Equity loans allow you to take a loan out on your home based on the existing equity percentage of your home.
• Self-Employed Income Mortgage Loans are available for people who are self-employed, and thus have difficulty showing proof of a steady stream of income.
• The VA’s Home Loan Guarantee Program for veterans is very similar to FHA loan programs. Veterans can get loans through the FHA to buy a home with no down payment, and get money to make home and energy-efficient improvements to their new homes.

These are just some of the many loans available for people who are looking to purchase a home through the FHA

Being a Reno/Sparks real estate consultant I always appreciate any question or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate or any of the articles I post.

Send all questions to chance@ballard-company.com

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• What is LPMI? (azmortgageguru.com)
• What’s the difference between a Fixed Rate and an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? (ARM) (eddieoneverything.com)
• FHA Mortgages Rising (homeloans.org)
• Mortgages: Help for First-Time Buyers (nytimes.com)

Being a Reno/Sparks real estate consultant I always appreciate any question or comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate or any of the articles I post.

Send all questions to chance@ballard-company.com

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• Younger people have trouble getting credit (money.cnn.com)

Qualification Guidelines

• A first-time homebuyer is someone who has not owned or co-owned their own residence within the past three years. If purchasing in a Targeted Area there are no restrictions on former home ownership.

• Total gross household income must fall within the Maximum Income Limits set by NHD.

• The purchase price of the residence you wish to buy may not exceed the Maximum Purchase Price Limits for the area in which it’s located.

• Assets, including without limitation, may not exceed 50 percent of the purchase price of the residence being purchased, unless disabled or elderly and such assets are the primary source of income. There is a lower asset test for down-payment loans — maximum $5,000.

• Income must support the repayment of the loan pursuant to the underwriting criteria applied by FHA, VA, RHS, or Fannie Mae, as applicable.

• Credit must meet the underwriting criteria applied by FHA, VA, RHS, or Fannie Mae, as applicable.
  
• Successfully completes a HUD approved in-person 6 to 8 hour Homebuyer Counseling Course.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate consultant I always welcome any comments or questions on the Reno/Sparks real estate or any of the articles I posted.  You can email me directly at  chance at ballard-company.com