Buy! Buy! Buy! We are still seeing several factors that point to it being an excellent time to buy. Some of the factors are low interest rates, an $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers and good real estate deals. In addition, sellers are often willing to pay buyer’s closing costs. There are great buys in new construction where builders are sitting on inventory they need to move. Builders are often willing to pay closing costs or offer other incentives in many cases. One market segment buyers are overlooking is normal resale homes (non-distressed homes). Buyers are flocking to the distressed and lender owned properties but are sometimes finding that they are competing with multiple offers which may push the price to or above the asking price. Normal resale properties can be excellent buys, and typically do not need as much work and can close quick. Resale homes tend to be in more sustainable and healthy neighborhoods.

Need Help With A Down payment? Typically, buyers need 3.5% down to buy a home and credit scores need to be above 620 points. There are a few programs available for little or no down. Buyers can qualify for a state based down payment assistance program that loans the buyer their down payment in the form of a 2nd mortgage. All these programs require is the buyer contribute approximately a $1,000. into the transaction. If you are interested in buying a HUD lender owned property, you can purchase a HUD home for only $100 down. If you do not qualify for these programs or do not want to buy a HUD property you can receive a gift towards a down payment from family. Buyers can also use an IRA or solo 401k to buy a home. With the stock market hitting record lows, some people are looking for other options to beef up their portfolio. You can also come up with a down payment the old fashioned way by saving. Here are some tips for saving for a down payment from Broderick Perkins of RealtyTimes.com: • Set up a budget- Account for every penny you earn, every penny you save and every penny you spend, to reveal your spending habits. Get an online assist from Consumer Reports’ recommendations: Buxfer.com, Geezeo.com and Yodlee.com or a good old Excel spreadsheet will do too! • Sell, simplify and organize- Sell items that you will never use or assets that you may not use regularly. Maybe it is a car, recreational vehicle or just stuff. Organize, an organized home is a money and time saving home. • Pull your credit regularly- Look at your credit card statements for accuracy. Negotiate down your interest rate on cards or raise your deductibles on insurance such as health and auto to make your payments lower.

So, You’re Staying Put Some homeowners have decided this is not the right time for them to sell. For those homeowners, many may want to consider remodeling or updating their homes. Contractors are willing to give competitive bids for the remodeling work. With new home construction at low levels, more material and labor are available for remodeling than several years ago. This results in shorter project schedules and often lower project costs. Make sure that you hire licensed and insured contractors with references. There are also tax breaks and credits available on energy efficient appliances and improvements to your home. Some of the remodeling projects that see the best return are: Deck additions, 75% average return: Major kitchen remodel, 70% average return: Minor kitchen remodel, 74% average return: Siding replacement, 70% average return: Window replacement 75% average return.

For a Free Cost Vs. Value Report, Highlighting Returns on Remodels Call Me Visit www.coloradosells.com and click on SURF MY BLOG for more info

What is the FHA 203k Loan?

When buying a home most buyers have a list of things they want to do to the house once they have the money.  For example remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms, finishing the basement, repairing the roof.   Because most buyers do not have the money to do these repairs, FHA launched the 203k program which allows a buyer to roll in the cost of repair(s) into the loan. 

Maximum Money

With the FHA 203k program, you have the access up to the total loan amount you qualify for or $406,000 (FHA Loan limit for Denver County) for repairs/rehab work on the primary residence you purchase.  Yes, this even allows for you to buy a house, scrap it and rebuild a fully customized home.

Eligible Properties

· 1-4 unit properties

· Must be a primary residence, no investment properties.

· Can turn a 1 unit into a 4 unit property

·       You do not have to be a first time home buyer, you can obtain FHA 203k financing multiple times.

Qualification

· 620 Minimum Fico Score

· Bankruptcy must be discharged 2 years ago

· Foreclosure must be 3 years ago

 Down Payment

· Minimum Down payment of 3.5% Can be used in conjunction with CHFA, allowing down payment to be less than 1%

· 30-45 days from contract date, depending on complexity of project

· Project must be completed within 6-12 months after the closing date

· As a division of Universal Lending, we are a full service banker with in house underwriting and funding.

· Very few mortgage companies have been approved to offer the FHA 203k Loan and even fewer of these companies will underwrite these loans onsite.  If you are using a lender that does not have onsite underwriting it could take up to 12 weeks to close this type of a loan. 

· Please call/email Jocelyn Predovich, Senior Mortgage Consultant of Limetree Lending Group (Division of Universal Lending) for questions on the 203k loan.  Phone: 303-325-3578  jocelyn@limetreelending.com

 Repair Ideas

· Upgrade Kitchen Upgrade Bathroom(s)

· Painting Interior/Exterior Finish Basement Replace Carpet·

· Replace Windows Replace HVAC

· Replace Roof Replace Plumbing  Replace Electrical 

· Repair Structural Issues  Septic System/Well Replacement

Credit 101 When Looking To Purchase A Home

Purchasing a home is an in depth process that begins well before you are out looking for homes. It is vital that you know your credit situation and make efforts to maintain your credit especially during the home buying process. When you are actively looking to buy a home it is imperative that you do not do the following without consulting your realtor or lender:

-Purchase a car

 -Make any large purchases (furniture)

-Pay off and close credit cards with long histories

Essentially do not make any moves that would drop your credit score while you are looking to buy a home. It can make the difference of a lower or higher interest rate and sometimes ruin your chances of obtaining loan approval or financing.

Know Your Credit Situation We often avoid pulling our credit score or fail to monitor it. Now more than ever with the lending industry creating stricter guidelines for home loans, credit scores are vital to the success of obtaining a loan. According to Jocelyn Predovich, a senior mortgage specialist, I work closely with, the days of getting a 100% financing without documenting income, having a 580 credit score and $20 in the bank are over. “With a solid credit history of “on time” payments, a 620+credit score, documented steady income and minimum debt- 100% financing is still possible,” says Predovich. For those self employed borrowers who cannot verify income through tax returns, you must have a down payment of at least 10% and a credit score of at least 660. We have identified a few tips to improve your credit scores. Make sure you pull your credit score semi-annually by a reputable bureau such as TransUnion, Experian or Equifax. If there are errors or items that you are not sure about on the report contact the creditor.

Know Your Balances Be conscious of the available maximum balance on your cards. If possible never use more than 75% of the available balance. “Once you have a balance over 75% of the overall limit the credit bureaus view this as being maxed out, demonstrating you are a risky spender, dropping your credit score,” said Predovich. She added, “Never use more than your available balance.” Whether you are carrying a balance on a card or have it paid off fully, do not cancel the card. If you are going to cancel a card only cancel cards with less than 1 year of history.

Establishing Credit If you need to establish good credit or have not established any credit via financing a car, obtaining a loan or having a credit card there are still a few loan programs available for people with little or no credit. “One of the ways to establish credit would be to become an authorized user on a family member’s credit account. “Make sure the person you are “teaming up” with has a good credit history,” stated Predovich. Some credit card companies will allow you to establish credit by starting you off with a self funded savings account. Eliminate All Late Payments Paying a bill or payment late will adversely affect your credit even if it is your first time being late. You can contact the creditor that reports the late payments and request a good faith adjustment that removes the late payments reported on your account. Predovich also encourages you to pay off any past due amounts or collections but only if they are under 2 years old.

To view your credit report you can visit AnnualCreditReport.com, the only federally-sanctioned and cost-free service. For more information on credit or for any questions please contact me at 720-210-7377 or Jocelyn Predovich at 303-325-3578.

New Jobs Denver Area

All of us know someone who is unemployed or “in transition” I am going to be tracking companies that are bringing jobs to the Denver Metro Area. I hope you find this of value and if you know of any companies coming to the Denver Metro Area I would encourage you to add a comment!

Dish Network plans on adding 250 new jobs to the Denver area: visit http://www.dishnetwork.com/ or

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/03/16/daily65.html

Ascent Solar plans to add 200 new jobs to Thornton headquarter : visit  http://www.ascentsolar.com/index.php

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/03/23/daily26.html

ICF International a global consulting firm opened a new office in DTC this month: visit http://www.icfi.com/ or

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/03/16/daily54.html

Schwab to add 500 jobs in Douglas County: visit https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/home/welcomep.html?src=nay or

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/01/12/daily55.html

KeyBank plans on opening 8 more branches in 2009 visit: https://www.key.com/index.html or

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/01/12/daily18.html

Oncure brings 40 new jobs to Denver visit: http://www.oncure.com/ or

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/11/10/story13.html

Marco’s Pizza opened its first Colorado location in Broomfield and plans on opening 46 new stores in the next few years, visit: http://marcos.com/ or

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/03/09/daily71.html

Vesta’s Wind Systems broke ground on two new manufacturing plants in Brighton this month visit: http://www.vestas.com/

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/search/results.html

Renewable Energy Systems America is moving its headquarters to Broomfield and may be adding 70 jobs in the next few years visit: http://www.res-group.com/careers/vacancies/usa.aspx

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/03/24/daily23.html

Visit www.coloradosells.com to search Denver Area Properties or for Relocation information

by Courtney Nelson

The perfect combination of home buying factors is bringing home buyers out in groves the last few weeks. Interest rates remain low, down payment requirements are 3.5% minimum and there are still some down payment assistance programs available. These factors along with great real estate values and the high interest in short sales and lender owned homes has turned our cold market to hot. Those of you looking to purchase lender owned homes or short sales be ready to compete with multiple offers. We think that we may see the supply of  homes go up in April for 2 reasons. Sellers love to list early spring and the governments moratorium on foreclosures may be up in April so the foreclosures that were on hold may be coming back on the MLS as short sales. One tip to keep in mind is most homes are selling between 96 and 98% of asking(last listed price) and some short sales and lender owned are getting at the lowest 90% of asking but more often they are getting between 95 and 98% of asking, and we will see that percentage go up as we see more people competing for offers.

visit www.coloradosells.com to search the MLS or for more real estate information

by Jocelyn Predovich

Interest Rates SHOULD be Dropping!

The fed announced yesterday that it will buy $750 billion in mortgage backed securities along with keeping the fed funds rate between 0-.25%.  They also announced their plans to purchase an additional $300 billion in longer term treasury debt, totaling their investment to over $1.25trillion.

For those of you thinking about refinancing, get ready!  This is what you’ve been waiting for.

If you’ve already spoke to me regarding refinancing, I will be in touch with you once rates hit your “target rate”.  Feel free to email me for an update, if you don’t hear from me.

For those of you who have a target rate in mind, email me the rate you’re waiting for, so I can keep you properly updated.

Getting preapproved requires a 10 minute phone call.  Feel free to call Jocelyn Predovich Licensed Mortgage Consultant 303-325-3578 or email her at jocelyn@limetreelending.com, to discuss this opportunity.

by Courtney Nelson

Real Estate statistics for condos and single family homes FEB. 2009:

• Homes under contract is up 50% from Febuary 2008
• The average and median sold prices are still down about 14% from 2008 (largely due to popularity of lender owned and short sale homes)
• Our months supply of inventory (which is the amount of active homes compared to the rate of absorbtion) is down 39% from Feburary 2008. This is a great indication that our market is balancing out we are moving rapidly to a sellers market. Our months supply is about 6.5 months and a shift to a sellers market is between 5-7 months. A year ago we had 11 months supply.

For more market information or to search the for Denver Area Real Estate visit www.coloradosells.com or call Courtney at 720-210-7377

Finally some relief for those first time home buyers who have no money available for the minimum down payment requirements!

Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) launched new home loans and financial partnerships to help clients in the current economic climate.  More specifically, for first time home buyers without money for a down payment, CHFA is now providing a down payment option.   CFHA will provide up to 3% of the loan amount towards the down payment or closing costs.  Currently the minimum down payment is 3.5% on a FHA loan, so at a minimum clients will be required to provide $1000-2000 towards their purchase.  

Additionally, Douglas County Housing Partnership has launched a Shared Equity Program, providing up to 20% towards down payment monies!  To be eligible for this program you must either be working and have worked in Douglas County for 1 day or have lived in Douglas County for 1 year and be purchasing a home in Douglas County.

Both programs have specific guidelines surrounding the maximum household income per family.  Please call  or email Jocelyn Predovich, Licensed Mortgage Consultant at Limetree Lending Group for more details.  Phone:  303-325-3578  or jocelyn@limetreelending.com

by Courtney Nelson

Stimulus Package and Real Estate:There are new exciting opportunities for buyers because of the recent Economic Stimulus Bill. These opportunities combined with great home prices and low interest rates makes it a perfect time for many homebuyers. First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit: Any homebuyer who has not owned a home or not owned a home in the last three years qualifies for a tax credit up to $8,000. This applies to any home that is purchased between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009. The credit you can receive is based on your tax liability so if you owe taxes each year you will owe less. If you receive money back at tax time this would be part of your refund. Please check with me and your accountant for more information.

FHA Loan Limits Increased: FHA loan limits have just been increased to $406,000 for the Denver Metro Area and $460,000 for Boulder. Previously the limit was $368,000. FHA loans are available to all buyers not just first time home buyers. Here are a few of the reasons FHA loans are an excellent option for any buyer: • FHA allows buyers to provide a 3.5% down payment to purchase a home • FHA charges less mortgage insurance than conventional loans. If you put less than 20% down you will owe mortgage insurance. • FHA interest rates are a ¼% lower, on average, than conventional products • No prepayment penalties on FHA loans and the loans are assumable • Easy streamline refinances are available • FHA requires a lower credit score with a minimum of 580 to qualify • You can have a co-signer on your loan in order to qualify and can also receive gift money from a relative for a down payment Information provided by Jocelyn Predovich with Limetree Lending 303-325-3578 Market Update Our local Denver Area real estate market continues to get great press for being one of the least effected real estate climates in the United States. According to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, “All 20 metro areas are reporting negative monthly and annual rates of change in home prices. Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego and Washington are reporting a relative improvement in year-over-year returns, in terms of lesser rates of decline than last month’s values.” Denver’s annual decline was only 4% where most cities saw an average of 19% decreases. This is great news! In January the number of homes under contract in the Denver Area was up 50% from last January and homes are spending less time on the market. We had 11 months inventory of active homes for sale in January 2008 and now have half of that at 6 months supply of inventory. We continue to move towards a more balanced market.

Trends ~ Buyers still are drawn to the short sale and lender owned properties. Here is a breakdown of what these two types of sales are. Short Sales: These properties are homes that a seller has either defaulted on or owes more than the home is worth. They usually are still occupying the property but may have a looming foreclosure date set. Realtor’s can help sell these homes as a short sale while working with the bank to negotiate an offer that is less than the loan amount. Lender Owned: A bank has become the owner of this home because a homeowner lost their home to foreclosure. These homes are popular because the bank is the only party on the other side. Because of their popularity buyers often find themselves in a bidding war. Both short sales and lender owned properties are great opportunities for buyers. Feel free to contact me for more details on the buying process.

Visit www.coloradosells.com for more info or to search all Denver Area Properties

By Joceyln Predovich 11/25/08

Last week, you may remember me emailing you that rates will plummet.

The Fed announced this morning that they have decided to begin buying mortgage bonds, which has dramatically improved rates.  Just to give you an idea on rates today:

RATES RIGHT NOW WITH NO ORIGINATIN FEE

FHA – 5.5 %

VA – 5.375%

CONVENTIONAL 30 YR – 5.125%

CONVENTONAL 15 YR – 4.625%  (YES THAT IS a 4!)

Jumbo 5/1 ARM: 5%

DO YOU HAVE CLIENTS ON THE FENCE?!

·       Email this out to your database, past clients, sphere, current clients. Don’t miss this opportunity   

·       We can Lock without a property – may want to put them on a 60 day lock and then go find the house.

·       We can relock – if rates continue to drop

About Us

·       We are a mortgage bank and will fund the loan with our money

·       We have in-house underwriters and processors here in Denver

·       LOAN PROGRAMS: Conventional, FHA, FHA Rehab Loans,  VA, CHFA, HOAP, etc

Call me with questions!

Jocelyn Predovich– 303-325-3578

Licensed Mortgage Consultant

Jocelyn@limetreelending.com