The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is attempting to throw another prophylactic over the alÂready shrink-wrapped big-swinging mortgage industry (yes, that was a dick joke). New regulations will provide stricter rules on loans with teaser rates, negative amortization, and a world of other feaÂtures that basically no one does anymore. They will also be offering a legal “safe harbor†that will bar any consumer lawsuits against the banks writing these loans so long as [...]
Sometimes it's just easiest to remember that (with one or two exceptions) there are no loans on condos right now. For those interested in the detail, HUD just changed its condominium rules again for those seeking FHA approval, but I'm not sure it really changes anything for the average buyer. HUD has relaxed its controversial requirement that at least fifty percent of the units in a condo project be sold before FHA could insure loans. Under the amended rule, FHA financing could be [...]
Effective March 1, Fannie Mae (FNMA) the folk the make conventional loans "conventional" are planning to further tighten the condo guidelines on which mortgages they will buy on the secondary market. It could be argued that it makes no difference since they are already impossible in most cases, leaving only FHA backed loans as an option. Additionally, in the case of bank owned condos cash is usually the only option anyway - so again, perhaps it makes no difference. In today's [...]
The last few months we've been explaining how impossible it is to get a condo loan these days - particularly on bank owned Orlando condos, regardless of credit score, money down - or job. Well you'll be pleased to know there are one or two exceptions - but they're a rare find. Condos that are FHA approved or Fannie Mae approved can still generate loans because they meet guidelines which suggest that the community is viable: guidelines with respect to number of investors, number of COA [...]
I hate to beat a dead horse, but... each day we get folk calling in on Orlando condo conversions - foreclosed - that cost under $50K - and they want to finance them. When we tell them it will be very difficult, we get the "Oh that's not a problem - I have a great credit score and good job" line. But it's not about good credit scores any more, or even how much you put down in many cases. It's about whether the condo is FHA approved or Fannie Mae approved; whether it's has less than 50% owner [...]
With mortgages so hard to come by, investors who can't pay "all-cash" are having a hard time scooping up some of today's "fire sale" deals - which can be incredibly frustrating. It's like being (a diabetic) kid in a candy store. (I'm diabetic so I know how that feels.) However since first time home buyers are not subject to the same degree of scrutiny, they don't generally have this trouble, provided they're a good, old-fashioned loan prospect. (Imagine that.) There's tons of [...]
Multiple Offers are soooo 2006... Well if you think so, take a deep breath because while it might seem ludicrous to make an offer on an Orlando condo - or any other home, if it means competing with another buyer, things have started to change. In the last few weeks, there has been a sharp rise in the number of multiple offers on Orlando real estate  - and all because foreclosures are finally making their way through the bank pipelines. Many banks, overwhelmed with homes are pricing their [...]
The new year is upon us. 2009. Wow. This time last year gasoline was over $4.00 a gallon, all five of the major investment banks still existed, our country hadn't ‘bailed out' any major institutions, and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were still battling for the democratic nomination. Seems like so long ago already. 2008 shook the very foundations of our country's financial system. Between a banking collapse, stock market upheaval, skyrocketing unemployment and a [...]
What the left hand giveth, the right hand taketh away... After the good news that Fannie Mae will no longer treat vacant and foreclosed condos as non-owner occupied comes news of ever more underwriting restrictions. January 15, 2009 is the cutoff date when Fannie Mae toughens its policies on condo properties in the Sunshine state - potentially putting a damper on investors fishing for foreclosures or short sales. In a memo sent to lenders before in December, Fannie Mae said that [...]
HUGE news for would-be condo investors: Fannie Mae has finally changed the rule that has been strangling condo sales. From now on, when new investors apply for financing on a condo unit, no longer will vacant and foreclosed condos be counted as non-owner occupied. Until now, Fannie's long-time policy has been to bar new investor loans in buildings where less than 51 percent of the condos are owned and occupied as principal residences or second homes. Under this rule, many condo communities [...]