Do you have customers who bought their home with a VA loan? Then they may qualify for an even lower-rate VA loan that can reduce their monthly payment or move them from an ARM to a fixed rate loan. It requires minimal paperwork and offers more relaxed underwriting standards than conventional loans, making it a great financial tool for active military and veterans.
The VA refinance program goes by several names: Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan (IRRRL) or more simply, Streamline or VA to VA. Whatever you prefer to call it, it’s one of the most attractive loan programs on the market. In fact, from 2010 to 2011, the volume of VA refinances grew by 41%, spurred, in part, by historically low rates.
The main criteria for a VA Streamline is that it must reduce the borrower’s interest rate and monthly costs with two exceptions: refinancing from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate or choosing a shorter mortgage term.
VA Streamline Benefits:
- Closing costs, including the VA Funding Fee of ½ percent of the mortgage, can be rolled into the loan if a new appraisal is done.
- If the VA loan is already serviced with us, no appraisal is needed.
- 100% financing available, up to $417,000 in most states. Your loan officer can confirm for specific situations.
- There’s no income or employment verification in most states, so underwriting is simpler and faster.
- Credit score of 640 or higher qualifies. The homeowners must also have no late mortgage payments for the past 12 months.
Military homeowners and qualified veterans can save money on their housing costs, freeing up cash for other expenses, which is a welcome option in these economic times.
Your loan officer is an expert in working through VA Streamlines, and can ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. Let us help your military clients cut their expenses with a VA Streamline!
Source: veteransunited.com
HARP 2.0 is Here!
We are proud to announce that we are one of the select lenders who are able to provide this new, government sponsored program to help underwater homeowners. Learn more about how you can offer help to your past customers with HARP through us!
What is it?
This new program allows homeowners to refinance no matter how much they owe on their home; even if they owe more than their home is worth today! This program offers them the opportunity to refinance and take advantage of the historically low rates. Doing so will save homeowners a significant amount on their monthly payments, or reduce the term of their loan. In many cases, the home owner may not need a full appraisal saving them additional costs.
Who is eligible?
If your customer’s loan was sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac by May 31st 2009, your customer may be eligible for this great program. They also must be current on their mortgage with no late payments within the last 6 months, and only one late payment within the last 7-12 months.
I look forward to working with you to help your previous customers! Contact me today to learn more about this program and to see if any of your customers are a good candidate for this program.
HARP 2.0 Video Update
In this month’s Mortgage Minute Jill Belconis talks about the updated changes to HARP that go into effect on March 19th. The goal is to make it even easier for underwater homeowners to refinance their mortgage. Watch to find out more about HARP and how you can provide value to your customers.
Jill will also talk about the importance of personal branding, and share three key questions that can help you define your brand and make sure it’s still consistent with who you are and what you deliver.
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Flowers That Bring Cheer, and Buyers, to Your Listings
In every part of the country, people are looking forward to spring. Long sunny days, bright colorful flowers and foliage, and warmer weather! Appeal to that natural longing for spring and summer with landscaping that signals it’s on the way!
Some believe that yellow, the color of daffodils, is particularly symbolic of springtime, but there are many ways to bring a cheerful ambiance to the outdoor areas of a home and make it more appealing to buyers.
Here are flowers that have lasting color, are readily available, and are easy to maintain, making them a great choice for any home, but particularly one that is for sale and must look its best all the time.
1. Knock out roses: These vibrant plants bloom for a long time, have rich intense colors, and are resistant to a lot of the pests that other, more picky varieties are not.
2. Geraniums: These favorites come in tons of colors and are hardy bloomers. All they need is a sunny spot, water, and some deadheading to keep them at their best.
3. Petunias: With just a little attention, petunias will reward you with color from spring through the fall. They offer some of the most extensive color choices so you can create bold, dramatic beds or soothing, sherbet-hued areas along walkways or in hanging baskets.
4. Impatiens: These shade-happy flowers are one of the few options for brightening up a shady entrance or yard. Easy to grow in shades from white to hot pink, these cheerful flowers spread and by summer’s end, they fill the bed with a blanket of color.
5. Grasses: Tall and flowing or short and spiky, ornamental grasses come in many varieties and personalities. Many do well in very hot climates, and their rich green hues – from dark green to chartreuse – are a wonderful backdrop against other flowers.
6. Hostas: There’s a reason you see these in many landscapes… they lend nice texture to many different types of flowerbeds, and they thrive in shady spots.
7. Black-eyed Susans: These plants explode into bursts of orange later in the summer, just when other flowers are beginning a slow fade. They attract butterflies and are very long lasting, so you get a big bang for your buck. Like most ornamental grasses and hostas, Black-eyed Susans are perennials, meaning they come back on their own year after year!
To maximize your investment, purchase annuals early in the spring so they are in place and growing by the time the busiest part of the home buying season is underway. Perennials go on sale after July 4th, so you can find some nice discounts if the property can wait for them a bit longer.
Sources: RealtyTimes.com, Realty 101
Keeping Your Buyers Informed
It’s important to understand your buyers and where they are coming from. Below you will find some common perceptions that home buyers may have and how you can inform them so they make the right decisions.
1. I should wait until the housing market drops further before I buy a house. False. The truth is, no one can predict what will happen in housing, and with rates and home prices as low as they’ve ever been, it’s an incredible time for buyers to get into a home. That being said, buyers should first have their financial situations in order and find out how much home they can reasonably afford by becoming preapproved.
2. It’s better to build. It’s better to buy. So which is it? Depends. Both building and buying a home have advantages. When you build, you can custom order your home to be exactly as you want it, with the finishes, square footage, and layout you like. You don’t have that luxury when you buy an existing home. But then again, when you buy, you don’t have the responsibility of finding a lot, managing construction details, making hundreds of decisions on everything from faucets to grout color, and paying for extras that come from changes or upgrades you add. There’s no one “best” answer.
3. My monthly payment will never go up because I have a fixed rate loan. False. A fixed rate mortgage does lock in your principal and interest payment so that it will never increase, but your property taxes and homeowner’s insurance premium can increase, and often do. Because they are included in the monthly mortgage payment for most homeowners, it can increase the monthly payment.
4. I don’t need to read the mortgage closing documents. It’s standard stuff. False. A mortgage loan is one of the biggest obligations you will take on in your life. You agree to certain terms and conditions to pay the money back, so you should take the extra step of ensuring that the paperwork correctly details that agreement. Here are key documents that contain the main provisions of your loan and purchase:
- HUD-1 Settlement Form: Outlines all of the closing costs and charges to the buyer and seller. You can request this a day ahead of time so you can review and ask questions before closing. Compare the figures on this document to your Good Faith Estimate and ask questions if something is unclear.
- Truth in Lending Form: Check the interest rate, annual percentage rate, amount financed, monthly payment, and the total lifetime cost of the loan.
- Note: This is where you promise to pay back the mortgage loan according to the agreed-upon terms.
- Mortgage: This is the document that pledges the property as collateral for the mortgage loan and it is filed with the courthouse.
5. Location, location, location. True. But not just in the way you think. Choosing a home in a safe and desirable location is obviously important. But finding an area that also matches your lifestyle is just as important. Do you have kids and want them to have playmates in the neighborhood? Do you prefer more privacy and a quieter neighborhood? Do you enjoy walking to nearby stores and restaurants? If your lifestyle doesn’t “fit” your neighborhood, you might be surprised how quickly your dream home loses its luster.
Home Inspections: Most Common Problems
Many analysts believe there will be a resurgence in foreclosure and short sale inventory in 2012, which should open the door to outstanding opportunities for buyers, but also caution.
Because many bank-owned properties are sold as-is, foreclosure properties have to be carefully vetted to be sure their low price doesn’t grow because of unforeseen defects that are expensive to fix.
A home inspector can be a buyer’s best friend. Every home, including new construction, can have problems, but that’s even more true in foreclosure properties that were abandoned or are in disrepair.
Top problems inspectors find:
1. Water problems: Inspectors will tell you this is the number one issue they encounter in a home inspection. Leaky pipes, unseen leaks behind siding or in roofs, and water intrusion into basements and attics are common and expensive problems to deal with. In 36% of homes inspected, poor grading and drainage were observed, and they are a major culprit for water problems.
2. Roofing: The roof is a difficult part of the house to inspect. Many states do not require inspectors to climb atop the roof for their reports, and much can be missed from the ground. Roofs don’t last forever… and they will begin to show diminishing performance over time. Some roofs, even if they are newer, are improperly installed, leaving gaps for water, rodents, and insects to enter the home. It’s important to talk with an inspector about the best way to ensure the roof is safe and will last for many years yet.
3. Electrical wiring: Incorrect or undersized wiring can be disastrous and dangerous for homeowners. Older homes were never wired to handle the amount of appliances, electronics, and modern conveniences that they must today, and when overloaded, have the potential for fire. Another major problem seen by inspectors is do-it-yourself projects that result in overloaded circuits and exposed wiring!
4. Plumbing: No one likes to discover a leak in their house because the location and fixing it can be tricky. Water runs down walls and often collects in places nowhere near the true source of the leak! The most common places for plumbing leaks are in bends, fittings and connections between pipes, and sometimes those are behind walls and under floors, making it expensive and troublesome to deal with. It can also lead to consequences like mold damage or even pests like carpenter ants.
5. Heating and Cooling: An inspector will run a furnace and air conditioner through a cycle to ensure it’s working, but how much longer is it going to last? Buyers should also ask that question because if it needs replacement soon, they should build that into the cost of the home.
6. Decks: A beautiful outdoor space can be hiding structural problems or poor workmanship and materials, especially if it was done on the weekend by the previous homeowner. Inspectors can check the safety and strength of the deck, alert you to problems with railings or steps, and let you know if the materials will hold up to the elements over the long-term.
There are fantastic deals on homes in today’s market, but it’s essential that buyers don’t purchase a home and find out the savings they enjoyed will disappear in costly repairs. By contracting with a home inspector, buyers have some built-in protection that major defects will be found before they reach the closing table.
Source: hgtv.com
Back to the Basics – Lead Generation Tips that Never Go Out of Style
Here is our final sales tip article of the month! Get back to basics to generate leads!
You can never fully exhaust ideas on how to generate fresh leads in the real estate industry. With new online tools, sometimes simple relational strategies don’t get the attention they still deserve. These old-school tactics may not have the same sizzle as the latest ideas, but they’ve stood the test of time and shouldn’t be abandoned. Add new techniques, but don’t stop the tried and true things that work.
Work expired listings: Where else can you find a market that wants to sell, understands the value of using a realtor, and is in need of one? Expired listings are low hanging fruit! The majority of listings expire in the last few days of the month, so plan your schedule to commit time to follow up with these prospects. You may have to locate a phone number through your own legwork or even go to their doors. But, because these are warm leads, the extra work can definitely pay off.
Keep up your current listings – When you make sure the little things are done well, people trust you to handle the big things, too. It’s how you build a reputation as a superior real estate professional. Apply this to your current listings by making sure simple things are in order. Is your signage in good condition, hanging by a corner, or worse, blown over? Are the sales flyers replenished? True, they are little things, but when your name is attached, they matter.
Handwritten notes: Writing words on paper is becoming a lost art, but in a relational business like yours, it stands out in sharp relief from emails and text messages. Take the time to jot a few sentences to a prospect you’ve met and drop it in the mail. It doesn’t replace the other channels of communication, but it’s a nice touch that’s becoming increasingly rare.
Leave your pen behind: Do promotional items work? The Promotional Products Association International (PPI) conducted a study that showed 76% of people who received a promo item could recall the name imprinted on it. The most commonly owned promo products in the US, according to PPI are “writing instruments”. Inexpensive pens are easy items to hand out, store, and are willingly used by a majority of people, making it a good item to try.
Source: Realtytimes.com, activerain.com, ppiblog.com
