New Lending Policies Announced by FHA

If you or someone you know is considering an FHA loan, some of these changes may affect you. Here's a clear, concise rundown of the major changes and what they mean:

1. Increased mortgage insurance. The mortgage insurance premium (referred to as private mortgage insurance by many people) will be increased from 1.75% to 2.25%. This change will add some cost to purchasing a home, but will not overburden consumers since the mortgage insurance is paid over the life of the loan, rather than upfront at closing. This change will become effective on April 5, 2010.

2. New down payment and credit score requirements. According to the new policy, homebuyers who have a credit score of at least 580 may still be able to purchase a home with 3.5% down, but those with credit scores of less than 580 will be required to put down at least 10%. This change is designed to help the FHA balance its risk, while still providing affordable down payments for consumers with a history of good credit and responsibility.

3. Reduced seller concession. Basically, this change means that the person selling the home will now only be able to offer the homebuyer 3% to help defray closing costs, as opposed to 6% under the previous policy.

In addition to these changes, the new policies contain a series of new measures aimed at increasing lender enforcement.

The bottom line is that the changes will impact some homebuyers more than others. But in the end, the FHA is still committed to providing affordable home loans.

Creating Curb Appeal in Winter

The old cliché is that location, location, location is the number one rule in real estate. In general, this is true. There is, however, a second major rule regarding the actual act of selling your home. This rule is to create as much curb appeal as possible.

Selling your home in the current cool real estate market can be a challenge. Make the decision to sell it in the winter, and you can have a real challenge on your hands.

Curb appeal is critical when it comes to moving your property. Why? Well, the home purchasing process is an emotional one. Yes, there are a lot of hard factors that go into it such as the area, price compared to the market, schools and so on. At the end of the day, however, the buying process is still pretty much about love at first site. If a buyer sees your home and immediately pictures themselves living there, you stand an excellent chance of getting an offer.

If you decide to sell your home during the winter months, the issue of curb appeal can become a big one. One of the central themes of creating curb appeal is to buff out your yard. Adding plants, cleaning up the verge and so on are always recommended. What if you live in an area where the winter months mean dead plants? Well, you are going to need to get creative.

The first step to dealing with your yard in the winter months is to make sure it is clean. Buyers in the area are not expecting anything great because they already know everything dies during the winter. While this is true, you can still take the extra step of having a clean and tidy dead yard. Sweep up all leaves, trash and so on. Make sure paths are cleaned and edged. Essentially, you want people to be able to envision how it might look in the summer months. This leads us to our second step.

If at all possible, you want to hunt down pictures of your home from the summer months. The pictures should include views of the home with the landscaping in full bloom and healthy. These pictures should be added to your marketing material. You should also put them on prominent display during an open house or when you show the home to a prospective buyer. The goal is to let the buyer know the yard actually will grow back and it will look pretty nice when it does.

Selling your home in the winter might sound like a challenge. By taking these steps, however, you can actually make your home stand out from others around it.

Luxury Living on a Smaller Scale

OPEN HOUSE This Sunday August 16 2:00-4:00 PM

2009 AllenStyle Home just completed in July 2009. This home was built by award winning AllenStyle Homes. All of the amenities of a luxury home on a smaller scale. This is a waterfront property located in Northampton III of Edmond. Some of the features include: granite in kitchen, all bathrooms and utility, stained driveway, gas range, kitchen island, breakfast bar, eating area, office/study with view of water, 20x20 tile floors, hand scraped wood floors, fireplace, pre-wired for HDMI, barrel ceiling in entry, double vanities, whirlpool tub, covered patio, extra garage storage, security system, custom vent hood, etc. This house is truly one of a kind. Please see professional Obeo photographs and virtual tours. THIS HOME CANNOT CLOSE UNTIL OCTOBER 15TH BECAUSE IT IS ON THE PARADE OF HOMES. AllenStyle Homes can custom build for you with a 3 month completion date. Call Wyatt Poindexter for details 405-417-5466.

www.2301nw159.com

2301 NW 159th Terrace
Edmond, Oklahoma
Northampton III Addition
(NW 159th and Penn)

www.WyattPoindexter.com

Listing of the Week - 4949 Penn Place $204.900 Edmond, Oklahoma

4 Bed
2.5 Bath
3 Car Garage
2,157 SF
1.08 Acres
Deer Creek Schools

This nice and updated Edmond home was built in 2003 and is located in Deer Creek School District. Very quiet and private street with wonderful views of open acreages. This home sits on more than 1.08 acres and features: wood floors, updated paint, updated fixtures, open floor plan, fireplace, tall ceilings, brand new 2009 roof, sprinkler system, covered patio, large 10x12 outbuilding w/ electricity, above ground swimming pool, etc. Call Wyatt Poindexter with Keller Williams Realty at 405-417-5466 or visit www.WyattPoindexter.com.

HOME OBEO VIRTUAL TOUR:
www.4949PennPlace.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NszC5-j1bY

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

President Obama just signed the stimulus package. We thought you may want to know how it could benefit you.
This tax credit will apply to First Time Home Buyers and those who have not owned a home in the past 3 years. This tax credit, unlike the previous one, does not have to be repaid. The tax credit is equal to 10% of the homes purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000. It applies to First Time Home Buyers who purchase a home between Jan. 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. For Single taxpayers with income up to $75,000 and Married taxpayers up to $150,000.
Because the tax credit is "refundable," qualified buyers can take advantage of it even if they don't have much tax liability.
Buyers have to own the home for at least three years in order to capitalize on the credit. If they sell the home before then, they will have to return the credit to the government. (Exceptions will be made in certain cases, such as death or divorce.)
Combined with the low interest rates this may be a great time for you to buy!

Wyatt Poindexter
Keller Williams Realty
405-417-5466
www.WyattPoindexter.com