Buy a House Fast

Two weeks ago, we were sitting in our backyard sipping coffee over breakfast when the phone rang. Bob, my husband, answered it and almost spilled a mouthful! Tanya, his 24-year-old kid sister announced that she was buying a house! “A homeowner at twenty-four?” he nudged at me quizzically, wondering if he’d misunderstood.

“HomePath credit incentives” I reply very matter-of-factly, “…I actually encouraged her to sign on the deal before June 30!” I catch his deer-in-the-headlights stare and it occurs to me that this is something our readers might want to know more about too.

What is it?
Fannie Mae mortgage loans are called HomePath loans where the property appraisals are done by the bank itself. What this means is that if you look to buy a foreclosed property that belongs to Fannie Mae, the house wouldn’t need an appraisal, there’s no mortgage insurance, and you’re expected to raise about 3.5% as down payment. If you buy a house by June 30, 2010 you can expect 3.5% in closing costs from the seller for title change and other formalities. In addition you can use the seller subsidy towards buying new appliances for your new home. Post June 30, you can still apply for HomePath but the closing costs would go down to 3% and you cannot take advantage of getting appliances for your new place.

Oh!  I almost forget to mention – HomePath loans can only be offered on a Fannie Mae owned home. 

Better than an FHA loan?
Of course it’s better than an FHA! How? Since there is no appraisal, sellers are more comfortable in giving their house to buyers with a HomePath loan as it has a higher probability of going through closing. Well, let’s put this into perspective with an illustration. A house is originally appraised at $120,000 but listed at $150,000. There are two offers – a HomePath offer at $135,000 and an FHA offer at $150,000. Which one seems like a better deal? It is the HomePath loan! When the FHA appraisers assess the property value at $120,000 the $150,000 offer won’t hold any weight and the deal will fall through. The HomePath makes it a win-win. The buyer has more wiggle room to negotiate. And the seller can possibly get more than s/he would from other loans.

Feel like you’re ready to buy a home? Express Realty Services can ease your process right from the first step all the way to closing. With one of the largest inventories of Fannie Mae listings, we can definitely find a HomePath loan that fits your budget like a glove!

Just call us at 1-888-306-9450 or visit our website.

Foreclosures are lower in the D.C. area than elsewhere in the nation, but the ones that do occur are still painful for the homeowners and detrimental to the neighborhood. 

To help reduce them, the Capital Area Foreclosure Network website was recently created by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. Funded by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the group will also have participation from local governments and non-profits business as it holds marketing and outreach groups and helps other groups that work toward foreclosure-revention in the Washington D.C. area.

According to the Urban Institute, the Prince Georges Area has an average 2.9% foreclosure rate. This includes numbers as low as 1% for Arlington and as high as 6% in Prince Georges County. The study found that 9.5% of the areas mortgages were delinquent by 30 days.

The good news is that the Washington D.C. area has been one of the least affected areas. Despite the fact that foreclosures reached record highs last month, the Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC areas accounted for only 3% of that growth. Florida and California have the burden of being the two biggest areas of growth for foreclosures. These two states alone account for more than 40% of the nation’s total. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Nevada, Illinois, and Ohio rack up 30% more.

The D.C. area is one of the better places to live and to buy property in. Compared to many of the other states, the foreclosures are lower and the economic outlook is good. Express Realty Services can show you an affordable home or condo in the District or in northern Virginia or eastern Maryland. Just call us at 888-306-9450 or visit our website to chat with a representative about how to get started