What Are Reasons to Buy, No Matter Whether Interest Rates are Unpredictable?

View towards San Pedro

 One of my most popular posts was on the cost of waiting to buy, posted several years ago. 

And it's still an important reason to make a move -- 

Renting vs. Buying. Waiting for better interest rates can result in long term higher costs. Renting has zero equity growth and offers no tax benefits of homeownership.

It's important to watch the shifts in the local market, and stay ahead of the changes, not behind them where you're playing catch-up.

There's been talk of when the interest rates will drop -- but look at the local market--in spite of interest rates dropping and then rising again, the local single family market and condo market has still risen when comparing October 2023 to October 2024.  The demand is still strong, and that's helping the overall upward surge in prices. Here's a scenario from my post back in 2009, you can substitute in current asking prices and slightly higher interest rate, but the point is still the same:

Let's make an assumption that the prices may still decline 5% more before they start appreciating again. If while a buyer was waiting for the price on a $250,000 to go down 5% to $237,500, and the interest rate goes up one percent from 5.25% to 6.25%, which is entirely possible, the buyer's monthly payments will increase almost $79 per month.

If you're a first time buyer (meaning you haven't owned property in the last years), look into the buyer programs offered through various banks.

If you're holding back because you think interest rates will drop again, or again, just think about how you could be gaining equity, and saving on  tax deductions.  Not every home that's come on the market is selling, and reasons vary, but think again about your goals towards homeownership.

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Back to Reality--No Using the $8000 Tax Credit for Down Payment

This has already been addressed in many other quarters, but just for the record, I'm including it here: Apparently, the HUD letter ML 09-15 has been rescinded as of last Thursday morning because it violated a federal law effective as of October 1, 2008, and now there's just a big blank space on NAR's site where the announcement used to be. The fact is, FHA loans do not allow for down payments that in themselves are loans, but may allow for gift down payments from certain sources as spelled out in FHA guidelines.

So the $8000 credit-as-down-payment is NOT going forward. And, for the ML 09-15 proposal to occur, there would have to be in place:

--State agencies approved WITH MONEY for the downpayment
A change to the HUD guidelines on the timeframe that is allowable for a loan….currently must be amortized over 10 years with no balloon.
--A change to the IRS guidelines allowing your refund to be assigned to a state or non-profit entity.
Source - Tara Ryan, Primacy Mortgage

In the meantime Buyers, you have until December 1, 2009 to otherwise utilize the $8000 tax credit.

Long Beach First-Time Home Buying Assistance

Good news for first time buyers in the Long Beach area: The buyer affordability index is higher than it's been in several years--in Los Angeles County it's up to 40% or higher. Condo prices in particular have softened a great deal, and house prices are lowering also.

One of the best bets for first time buyers right now are FHA loans because of 3% or 3.5% down payment, flexible credit score guidelines, and somewhat more forgiving debt ratios. For a few people with FICO scores over 740 who plan on buying a single family residence, there might be minimal opportunities for a 5% down loan. Otherwise, buyers will need to have 10% down payment or more. Additional programs (requiring specific lenders) is the California Housing Finance Agency, a program that may work in combination with loans.

Down Payment Assistance Program

The City of Long Beach, however, does have a second mortgage assistance program for first-time buyers who purchase a primary residence in the City and in certain areas, with as little as 1% of the purchase price out of their own funds, and who meet certain eligibilty requirements, as of October 1st.

The borrower must currently live or work in Long Beach or show evidence of a job offer in the city, and household income for two adults cannot exceed $57,400, for example, or $71,800 for 4 adults. The maximum sales price for the City's program is for condos under $332,500 and single family residence with a sales price under $500,650. For example, today, in the Southern California MLS, there are over 475 active listings for 2+ bedroom condos or houses priced at $350,000 and under in Long Beach. Not all of these fall within the areas specific to the City program, but, for example, if you enjoy the downtown area and adjacent sections, this program could be for you. First, you must be pre-approved with a qualified lender for this program. If you contact me, I can help you find a lender working with this City program.

As part of your homebuyer education, it's important to find a good loan officer; yes, internet research helps with some basic information, but one of the pitfalls for many buyers is in making decisions or coming to conclusions about financing based on random internet searches that only tell part of the story. Lending guidelines have changed radically during 2008; keeping your information updated and developing contact with an experienced financial person is crucial to your home purchase.

Are You Wanting to Buy, But Waiting?

Trulia just completed a survey on homeownership:

The results from our national American Dream Housing Study conducted by Harris Interactive are in. “70 Percent of Non-Homeowners Have No Plans To Purchase a Home in the Next 12 Months; Nearly Half in 18-34 Age Group Say It’s Too Costly to Purchase a Home in Today’s Market”.

If you're one of the people who are believe that too, (it's true, homes cost more than a nickel) just remember, there are programs to take advantage of (it might put you into the 30%):

Tax Credit - Find out if you qualify for the $7500 tax credit

FHA Loans - Hope for Homeowners Act of 2008

California Housing Finance Agency - First mortgage loan and down payment assistance programs, including teachers.

County of Orange Mortgage Assistance - First time homebuyers in Orange County areas.

Los Angeles County Home Ownership Program - Down Payment assistance program, buyer education

Long Beach Housing Development - Help for first time buyers with down payment assistance as a 2nd mortgage.

Veterans Administration - For active and retired miliary personnel. No down payment for loans under $417,000, see site for all requirements.

Acorn Housing Organizaton - For moderate-to-low-income buyers with lower credit scores, maximum loan amount $500,000.

National Homebuyers Fund - For first time and repeat buyers. Allows for non-traditional credit and flexible sources of income.

Schools First Credit Union - Located in Orange County, but open to all public employees and their family members anywhere in California. Can use credit union-approved lender only. Cannot own a property in the last 3 years.

CalPERS - California Public Employees Retirement System - Offers a 95/5 program allowing 5% personal loan borrowed against retirement account.

CalSTRS - State Teachers Retirement Servie - Allows for FICO score as low as 620.

Other city and local housing programs include those for Anaheim, Bellflower, Buena Park, Chino, Corona, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Irvine, La Mirada, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Orange County Redevelopment Agency, Westminster Redevelopment Agency. Call me for contact information.

NOTE: The Nehemiah, HART and Ameridream programs are no longer in effect.

Buyer Affordability--Loans vs. Price Decrease

The good news is that more buyers don't need as much annual income in order to qualify, but what about loan qualification?

First of all, price drops are out there, especially with condos. If a condo is for you, this is the time to start examining your options. Right now, a qualified buyer could find a one-bedroom condominium in Belmont Heights for as low as $190,000 with dues at $252/month, and downtown prices start even lower at $75,000 for a studio with dues at $126/month. If you prefer a single family home, try a lovely 2 bedroom/1 bath home in Lakewood's Carson Park area (no REO or short pay) for $349,000.

The really good news is that the qualifying income needed is also much lower than a year ago: $62,870 annual income will now buy a home selling at $329,000, so even less income will be needed for that one-bedroom condo. See the August 19 affordability report from California Association of Realtors for the second quarter of 2008.

But next, suppose you don't have a lot of cash saved up for down payment. Let's face it, mortgage lending is returning to more traditional parameters, with the departure of lenders both large and small, the Bank of America takeover of Countrywide being one example. But 3% down is still possible for an FHA loan, which will also allow a family member (only) to assist on the down payment. Otherwise, the vast majority of conventional loans are leaning towards 10% down payment. On the other hand, there are still-valid down payment assistance programs through local cities such and Long Beach, Los Angeles, Bellflower, Buena Park, Irvine, La Mirada, Westminster, plus other sources such as ACORN, NHF Access, CalSTRS, CalHFA, and various neighborhood housing services and credit unions in Los Angeles and Orange Counties--keep in mind these programs are often driven by income levels and geographic location. However, programs allowing down payment contribution from the seller, such as the HART, are no longer allowed after the end of September.

If you would like to find out how you might be able to qualify for a loan, and one of these programs, call or e-mail me.

Money in the Wind--No More Seller-Assisted Down Payment Programs

The House of Representatives has voted, with the Senate soon to follow, giving $300 billion in assistance to FNMA and Freddie Mac.

The legislation passed yesterday by the House would authorize Paulson to bail out Fannie and Freddie while placing few restrictions on them. Fannie and Freddie debt totals about $5 trillion, which would cause world-wide catastrophe if they failed, and the projected $25 billion cost to U.S. taxpayers over the next two years may not happen anyway, per the Congressional Budget Office, only a 50% chance, if you want to take comfort in that. Lawmakers said they expected the Senate to approve the measure later this week, and the White House said President George W. Bush would sign it into law.

Included in this is the elimination of seller-assisted down payment programs such as the HART, AmeriDream, and Nehemiah programs. These programs allowed a process where the seller could contribute to a 3rd party non-profit entity funds which were then sent over to the buyer via escrow, who could apply them for his/her down payment. These "seller-assisted" programs are now blamed for the loss of $4.6 billion in FHA's funding reserves, to the current level of $16.4 billion. Traditionally, down payment funds are from the buyer's own sources, but in these particular programs sellers were allowed to help the buyer who had little or no money. When buyers have less money in the deal, they are considered at much higher risk of loan default, and in still current down payment programs, a requirement is for the buyer to have a minimum of 1% of their own funds contributing to the purchase.

The current temporary loan limit of $729,000 would be changed to a permanent level of $625,000 for conventional and FHA loans, and allows a tax refund for first-time homebuyers of up to 10% of the home's purchase price, but no more than $7500, but the refund is basically a tax-free loan which must be paid back over 15 years.

There is much more to this proposal, which will probably be signed into law by President Bush who has dropped his opposition to it, and made effective possibly October 1.

How this bill can help you. Here's some of what homeowners need to know. Qualified borrowers must live in their homes and have loans that were issued between January 2005 and June 2007. Additionally, they must be spending at least 40% of their gross monthly income on all household debt to be eligible for the program. Click on the article to read more about eligibility for this FHA program which, if passed, will be available through FHA approved lenders.

Please contact me for more information.

Julia Huntsman, Broker Associate, e-PRO®, REALTOR®
All California Brokerage, Inc.
562-896-2609
mailto:ocean@surfside.net
http://www.juliahuntsman.com

http://www.longbeachrealestate.listingbook.com

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FNMA: California No Longer a "Declining Market"

Since last December, California was named a "declining market" by FNMA ("FannieMae"), but in the spirit of its original mission under its 1938 creation under Franklin D. Roosevelt to "help those who house America", last Friday, May 16th, it removed that designation.

So what does this mean for you? "The new national down payment policy will supersede the policy the company adopted in December 2007 that required higher down payments in markets where home prices are declining...", which means that once again 3% and 5% down payment conventional loan programs will be allowed in California (and other areas). For the last several months, no matter how good your credit was, a buyer couldn't get a loan unles he/she had 10% down funds of the purchase price. So if you were making an offer on a $500,000 home, you had to have $50,000 down payment funds, and many of the first-time buyer programs that might otherwise have been able to assist you are just not available right now. The new policy goes into effect June 1, so hopefully we will be seeing those loan options returning to the local market sometime after that.

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Buyer Down Payment Assistance

Many times the buyer needs extra cash to close, and many times the seller might be willing and able to contribute funds in order to sell his/her property.

The HART (Housing Action Resource Trust) down payment assistance program is one designed to do just that. Unlike certain other program geared strictly to first-time buyers, geographic or income limitations, this program does not place such requirements. Also, in most loan programs, the seller may not pay towards the buyer's down payment, however, the HART program is structured so that funds from the seller given to the HART program may be used towards the buyer's: down payment, closing costs, pre-paid taxes, or rate buy-downs.

This program now allows for funds up to $25,000.00 (updated info) to be given by the seller as agreed upon in the contract to the HART program when a homebuyer is working with a participating HART mortgage originator and the buyer is obtaining an FHA loan.

For instance, the funds could be used in all categories:

$3,000 (closing cost)
$5,000 (down payment)
$2,000 (pre-paids)
$1,000 (rate buy-downs)
Total: $11,000.

If you would like to qualify for a loan or speak to a loan representative, please contact me.

More information is available at http://www.hartprogram.com/.

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