Home Buying & Real Estate Thread

[capital sb]

what are the pros and cons of Fannie Mae home path properties ?

Only thing I've heard about home path is that you can put 10% down on an investment property not owner occupied. Sorry I know that's not much help.

Have you tried searching on Google to see what people have said about it? Glad to see it is still around.

 

[dam itz lou]

It's a co-op so the 20% is still required. They want the buyer to pay the flip tax and transfer of the title which is usually the seller's responsibility. I've read a lot of bad things about renovated properties that they're selling. They like to use the cheapest materials possible and cover up problems instead of fixing them.

 

[capital sb]

It's a co-op so the 20% is still required. They want the buyer to pay the flip tax and transfer of the title which is usually the seller's responsibility. I've read a lot of bad things about renovated properties that they're selling. They like to use the cheapest materials possible and cover up problems instead of fixing them.

So you are looking at buying a property from a flipper? This wouldn't be considered a home path loan correct?

I wouldn't purchase from a flipper that is known to do a bad job.

 http://themortgagereports.com/14815/home-path-mortgage-fannie-mae-mortgage-rates[h2]THE BENEFITS OF A HOMEPATH MORTGAGE[/h2]
For buyers of foreclosed homes, the Fannie Mae HomePath loan boasts several distinct advantages over other financing types such as the FHA loan  or VA loan.

As one example, via HomePath, lenders require just 5% down on a purchase for buyers who are purchasing a home to use as a primary residence. For investors, the minimum downpayment is just 10 percent.

These downpayment requirements are in-line with Fannie Mae's other, non-HomePath loan programs but with one major exception -- via HomePath, private mortgage insurance (PMI) is not required.

There is no PMI ever on a Fannie Mae HomePath loan.

Other unique traits of the Home Path program include :

• Home appraisals are not required
• Less-than-perfect credit is allowed -- even below 660
• Buyers can accept up to 6% seller concessions to offset total closing costs

 

[dam itz lou]

oh no, it looks like fannie mae will throw some money at a home to give it a face lift so they could sell it for more but I read a lot of complaints of them covering up issues. It's why they don't have an issue with waiving the home appraisal.

 

[capital sb]

oh no, it looks like fannie mae will throw some money at a home to give it a face lift so they could sell it for more but I read a lot of complaints of them covering up issues. It's why they don't have an issue with waiving the home appraisal.

Right, but once the home is purchased by the investor I believe they have to get an appraisal to sell the home. When you purchase the home from the investor you won't be using a homepath loan, because the program was discontinued in 2014 and it was only for the original home buyer. The non appraisal was to allow people to purchase properties at a cheaper price to fix it up, once you sell it it has to be appraised.

It wasn't always only people wanting to sell for more. Home buyers would purchase with home path then fix up the house to live in.

 

[crcballer55]

 

oh no, it looks like fannie mae will throw some money at a home to give it a face lift so they could sell it for more but I read a lot of complaints of them covering up issues. It's why they don't have an issue with waiving the home appraisal.

Right, but once the home is purchased by the investor I believe they have to get an appraisal to sell the home. When you purchase the home from the investor you won't be using a homepath loan, because the program was discontinued in 2014 and it was only for the original home buyer. The non appraisal was to allow people to purchase properties at a cheaper price to fix it up, once you sell it it has to be appraised.

It wasn't always only people wanting to sell for more. Home buyers would purchase with home path then fix up the house to live in.

Appraisals only need to be done if a loan is involved. If the buyer is paying cash, there's no reason to get it appraised since there's no liability other than the buyer's money.

 

[capital sb]

 
Appraisals only need to be done if a loan is involved. If the buyer is paying cash, there's no reason to get it appraised since there's no liability other than the buyer's money.

Thank didn't know that, good to know.

 

[crcballer55]

 

 
Appraisals only need to be done if a loan is involved. If the buyer is paying cash, there's no reason to get it appraised since there's no liability other than the buyer's money.

Thank didn't know that, good to know.

An inspection on the other hand... ALWAYS get one. Even in a hot seller's market with multiple offers, only in extreme circumstances would I even consider buying without an inspection contingency. You never know what kind of DIY or sub-par work was done to the home. Once you remove contingencies and close escrow you're on the hook for any problems with the home. Also ask your Realtor if they throw in a complimentary home warranty for the first year. That can come in handy while you get acquainted with the property.

 

[capital sb]

 
An inspection on the other hand... ALWAYS get one. Even in a hot seller's market with multiple offers, only in extreme circumstances would I even consider buying without an inspection contingency. You never know what kind of DIY or sub-par work was done to the home. Once you remove contingencies and close escrow you're on the hook for any problems with the home. Also ask your Realtor if they throw in a complimentary home warranty for the first year. That can come in handy while you get acquainted with the property.

Ah okay I was confusing an inspection with an appraisal. I've read/heard the same advice on Bigger Pockets podcasts & forums.

 

[crcballer55]

Super random, but I just found out the calculator on a Windows PC has a mortgage calculator option.

Go to View and drop down to worksheets. You can select a mortgage calculator, vehicle lease calculator, & fuel economy.

You know... if you don't want to use one of the online calculators.

 

[superantigen]

So is there another mortgage out there like the Homepath?





...

 

[crcballer55]

So is there another mortgage out there like the Homepath?



...

Talk with a couple lenders. Some are able to do certain types of loans that other people won't touch and certain states have access to loan types that aren't available elsewhere.

So in short. Yes, there probably is...

 

[juve9ile18]

Crazy story in my journey of being of being a home owner. I'll start off with a short background of myself.

I'm a 30 year old Engineering Project Manager living outside of Boston Massachusetts for the past year. American born African (Nigerian descent) with good credit, no criminal background etc.

Over the past 2 months, I've been going through the closing process which has been rough and full of surprises between the mortgage lender to the sellers indecisive tendencies...i'll explain more about this later.

I am working with a sellers agent in the area who sends me a list of available properties every other day through his MLS account and accompanies me to different open houses and showings whenever I'm in interested in a property.

Now my situation:
I submitted an offer on a condo which was countered and then accepted after I increased my offer by a couple grand. The condo is a 2 bed/ 2 bath unit in a good area, close to public transportation (subway, bus etc.) and eateries. I was supposed to close on the property on the 21st but was informed by my lawyer and hour before closing that there's an issue and I won't be able to go through the process. My attorney basically told me the seller still owes money on the property to the bank and has not finalized the transaction with the bank to able to go through the closing process. The seller doesn't have enough assets to cover the difference owed to the bank and the bank is not willing to accept anything but what is owed by the seller, at least for now. Basically, the seller and the seller agent misrepresented the property, claiming it to be a standard sale instead of what it really is, a short sale. My P&S doesn't state anything regarding a short sale nor did the seller agent disclose this information to me in the process. The seller agent has been dishonest through the whole process and was trying to cut corners.

Now I may potentially be homeless at the end of the month because my lease is up and my place has been rented to another individual starting in July. A lot of people on my team (my attorney, buyer agent and bank) dropped the ball for allowing this to happen and not catching this ahead of time. I'm pushing my attorney to find a solution to this problem, whether the seller comes up with the money or they allow me to move into the property and stay there while the seller and his agent attempts to work with their lender to close out the deal. Depending on how this plays out, I may sue the seller and the seller agent (Century 21) for falsifying a contract (P&S) and breaching the same contract. Knowing the seller doesn't have any assets, I may solely go after the seller agent and their attorney as well, becuase at the end of the day, they are equally responsible for this.

Crazy situation but I'm lost. BTW- this is my first time purchasing a home.

 

[SneakerProSr.]

Whelp that rate I was quoted back in March is up .75%

 

[crcballer55]

Crazy story in my journey of being of being a home owner. I'll start off with a short background of myself.

I'm a 30 year old Engineering Project Manager living outside of Boston Massachusetts for the past year. American born African (Nigerian descent) with good credit, no criminal background etc.

Over the past 2 months, I've been going through the closing process which has been rough and full of surprises between the mortgage lender to the sellers indecisive tendencies...i'll explain more about this later.

I am working with a sellers agent in the area who sends me a list of available properties every other day through his MLS account and accompanies me to different open houses and showings whenever I'm in interested in a property.

Now my situation:
I submitted an offer on a condo which was countered and then accepted after I increased my offer by a couple grand. The condo is a 2 bed/ 2 bath unit in a good area, close to public transportation (subway, bus etc.) and eateries. I was supposed to close on the property on the 21st but was informed by my lawyer and hour before closing that there's an issue and I won't be able to go through the process. My attorney basically told me the seller still owes money on the property to the bank and has not finalized the transaction with the bank to able to go through the closing process. The seller doesn't have enough assets to cover the difference owed to the bank and the bank is not willing to accept anything but what is owed by the seller, at least for now. Basically, the seller and the seller agent misrepresented the property, claiming it to be a standard sale instead of what it really is, a short sale. My P&S doesn't state anything regarding a short sale nor did the seller agent disclose this information to me in the process. The seller agent has been dishonest through the whole process and was trying to cut corners.

Now I may potentially be homeless at the end of the month because my lease is up and my place has been rented to another individual starting in July. A lot of people on my team (my attorney, buyer agent and bank) dropped the ball for allowing this to happen and not catching this ahead of time. I'm pushing my attorney to find a solution to this problem, whether the seller comes up with the money or they allow me to move into the property and stay there while the seller and his agent attempts to work with their lender to close out the deal. Depending on how this plays out, I may sue the seller and the seller agent (Century 21) for falsifying a contract (P&S) and breaching the same contract. Knowing the seller doesn't have any assets, I may solely go after the seller agent and their attorney as well, becuase at the end of the day, they are equally responsible for this.

Crazy situation but I'm lost. BTW- this is my first time purchasing a home.

Unfortunately, I've heard this happens a lot more than would be expected.

It's probably also not a short sale unless the seller is actually underwater. Most likely, it's a situation where the seller's agent didn't do their due diligence to make sure they had enough assets to cover all of the closing costs, commissions, & fees. A Short Sale is when the seller owes the bank more than the home is worth. Have you tried asking if the seller can take out a loan for the difference? They probably won't be able to do anything, but it could be worth it.

Sorry to hear about that. Best of luck finding a new rental by Wednesday.

 

[crcballer55]

Whelp that rate I was quoted back in March is up .75%

Ya, rates are only going to go up once the Fed announces the end of their 0% rate policy in a couple months. Anyone looking to buy better get locked in ASAP.

 

[SneakerProSr.]

Yeah I was kinda stressed about my house finishing a month early but now I'm thanking God it did.

 

[stork]

sloppy agents smh...

most of these listing agents are too lazy to get a free pre-llim on title or the pay off information from their client.

certainly strong grounds to sue the listing agent, this is why we have insurance to cover lawsuits, at least in CA....

since they screwed up, what about signing an addendum to reduce the commissions down? maybe that frees up enough equity to close.

 

[capital sb]

Ya, rates are only going to go up once the Fed announces the end of their 0% rate policy in a couple months. Anyone looking to buy better get locked in ASAP.

I am trying to lock by July 6th at the latest.

 

[crcballer55]

sloppy agents smh...

most of these listing agents are too lazy to get a free pre-llim on title or the pay off information from their client.

certainly strong grounds to sue the listing agent, this is why we have insurance to cover lawsuits, at least in CA....

since they screwed up, what about signing an addendum to reduce the commissions down? maybe that frees up enough equity to close.

Chances are the buyer's agent won't be too keen on that since it's the seller & listing agent's fault. Whether the LA is willing to do it depends on their pride and how badly they want to close the deal and exactly how much the seller is short.

 

[juve9ile18]

My buyer agent is actually in the process of suing the seller agent for his part of the commission. I also found out that the seller agent and the tourney padded their fees big time so maybe they can come down.

At the open house, the seller agent crossed out the listed price and wrote a new listing price with $15K added on. After i questioned him on it, he continued to tell me that was the listing price. I offered a couple thousands over what the MLS showed and my offer was accepted after after the first counter offer.

Guess how much the seller is short by to close? The $15K the seller agent was trying to swindle out of me. That's how I know the seller agent was cutting corners throughout this whole process being deceitful. In Massachusetts we have a law called chapter 93A which allows consumers to take legal action against unfair or deceptive conduct in the marketplace by professionals. I may go after the seller agent and have his license taken away.

 

[biggie62]

Ya, rates are only going to go up once the Fed announces the end of their 0% rate policy in a couple months. Anyone looking to buy better get locked in ASAP.

You are acting like that's a bad thing. The hike will result in lowering of price values because people will still only be able to afford the same monthly payments. For people who aren't in the best financial situation it's better off to have a high rate when they buy as people will be able to refinance when rates drop in the future again.

Rates have been at 0 way too long as is. The only issue with hiking of rates and lowering of prices is that all cash buyers will be able to purchase of even lower prices as rates don't affect them.

 

[crcballer55]

 

Ya, rates are only going to go up once the Fed announces the end of their 0% rate policy in a couple months. Anyone looking to buy better get locked in ASAP.

You are acting like that's a bad thing. The hike will result in lowering of price values because people will still only be able to afford the same monthly payments. For people who aren't in the best financial situation it's better off to have a high rate when they buy as people will be able to refinance when rates drop in the future again.

Rates have been at 0 way too long as is. The only issue with hiking of rates and lowering of prices is that all cash buyers will be able to purchase of even lower prices as rates don't affect them.

You're assuming rates will come back down to near these levels though. While it's possible, rates have NEVER been this low in the 50 years since Fannie Mae has been tracking them. Home prices have also been going up as rates have been going up as well, so it's possible that prices will come down slightly, but it doesn't appear that housing inventory has been able to keep pace with demand.

 

[biggie62]

You're assuming rates will come back down to near these levels though. While it's possible, rates have NEVER been this low in the 50 years since Fannie Mae has been tracking them. Home prices have also been going up as rates have been going up as well, so it's possible that prices will come down slightly, but it doesn't appear that housing inventory has been able to keep pace with demand.

They don't need to come down to this rate. Even if it's higher if you purchase a home at 6% rate and the rate drops to 4.25 rather than the 3.5 we had the first few years you save more than if you purchase at current rate and can never refinance. There is a reverse correlation between interest rates and home prices. When one goes up the other goes down and vice versa. It has always worked that way and will continue to do so.

Even with current rates, homes are far from a bargain and are selling at 20 forward year earnings essentially like the stock market. It's getting overheated in many big markets like NYC where I live.

 

[pdino]

^You're underestimating the historic lows we are experiencing now, while they may continue, they might not. Here is a link to the rates from the last 45 years for 30-yr mortgages: http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.htm

From 1970-2008 Interest rates were always > 5%, and didn't dip below that. Refinancing to a lower interest rate also costs several thousands of dollars in most cases (closing costs)