For Sale, New Listing in Leesburg VA

LISTED FOR SALE
806 TAVISTOCK DR SE LEESBURG VA 20175
Beautiful single family home great location in  Leesburg, VA 4 bedrooms 3 and a half bathrooms. Lots of space with finished walkout basement with storage and extra bedroom.

Call Freddy to schedule a meeting to find out the best avenue of approach to your real estate needs.
Freddy Solis SFR, Realtor® ~ 703-943-7844 ~ www.freddysolis.com

FHA News - Debt-to Income Ratios

FHA May Clamp Down on Debt-to Income Ratios
The Federal Housing Administration is considering tightening borrowers’ debt-to-income ratios, a move that would prevent the most highly leveraged consumers from qualifying to buy a home. 

The Federal Housing Administration is considering tightening borrowers’ debt-to-income ratios, a move that would prevent the most highly leveraged consumers from qualifying to buy a home.
The agency has yet to determine what the new minimum and maximum ratios would be and when such changes would go into effect, but the very fact that FHA is contemplating such a move is worrisome to some lenders who say a tightening would exclude more borrowers from the still-fragile housing market and potentially cause home prices to fall further.
From FHA’s perspective, putting a hard cap on debt-to-income ratios would potentially lower its delinquency rate and keep its Mutual Mortgage Insurance fund on sound financial footing.
“It doesn’t do anybody any good if the borrower can’t meet their debt obligations,” Robert Ryan, FHA’s acting commissioner, said in an interview Thursday. “We absolutely have to make sure borrowers are in a position to sustain homeownership.”
For two years now the agency has struggled to tighten guidelines and raise the bar for lenders. But FHA has tried to guard against being adversely selective by tightening its debt ratios.
FHA loans are more or less the only product lenders can offer borrowers who have little money for a down payment (outside of the government’s loan programs for veterans or rural residents).
Though some of the largest banks already have their own DTI caps, some lenders have been willing to give up credit standards to increase loan volume.
FHA is looking at the variables that go into its automated underwriting system Total Scorecard, which considers a variety of factors when automatically approving a loan.
“We’re not sure the model is predicting the outcome,” Ryan said. “We might tighten the DTI ratios up and that would mean instead of an automated approval the lender would do a manual review of those loans to make sure they were comfortable the borrower had more income or savings and there were some extenuating circumstances that would warrant the

approval of that loan even if there was a slightly higher DTI.”
One possible scenario would be for FHA to adopt the debt ratios of its short-refinance program, which was designed to help underwater borrowers refinance into an FHA loan. To qualify, a borrower’s monthly mortgage payment, including a second mortgage, cannot be greater than 31% of his or her pre-tax income and the total DTI ratio cannot exceed 50%.
Lenders say FHA routinely approves borrowers with back-end ratios above 50%.
Currently a borrower with a high FICO score could qualify for an FHA loan even if their total pre-tax income allocated for housing was 46.9% and their total debt load was 56.9%, according to several lenders. The borrower would have to have a high down payment and significant cash reserves.
Conversely, for borrowers with high loan-to-value ratios, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require a maximum 28% front-end DTI ratio and 36% back-end on loans they purchase. For manually-underwritten loans, Fannie and Freddie allow a maximum of 45%, though that may go up to 50% with strong compensating factors.
“A debt-to-income ratio over 50% leaves little room for error in a borrower’s monthly budget,” said David Zugheri, president of the Houston lender Envoy Mortgage. “Once you take income taxes out, a borrower could be left with only 25% of their gross income to live on, which includes utility bills, cell phone, insurance and food.”
Rob Chomentowski, a senior loan officer at Affinity Financial in San Diego, said high debt loads are a better predictor of risk than high down payments. “People should not have 55% of their income before taxes going to debt,” Chomentowski. “There’s a lot of talk about raising the down payment and there should be more talk about tightening the DTI ratios, which makes the loans more secure.”
But such a change could adversely impact housing prices.
“If FHA does lower the back-end ratio, it would take a lot of borrowers out of the market, which isn’t a bad thing, but that will take home prices down more,” Chomentowski said. Some lenders said they would be unlikely to manually underwrite a loan that was not approved by FHA’s automated system.
John Walsh, president of Total Mortgage Services LLC in Milford, Conn., said tightening debt ratios while pushing for manually-underwritten loans was a “double-edged sword.”
“The ratios are what they are and nobody is going outside those,” Walsh said. “Everybody is gun shy these days. Would I like to put more borrowers in homes? Without a doubt. But I’m not going to jeopardize my relationship with FHA by going outside that box. Send me the guidelines and if it’s an exception by FHA to do a manual underwrite, I don’t want to do that.”

Manual underwriting is expected to become a much bigger issue going forward because so many more borrowers applying for loans today went through a bankruptcy or a foreclosure during the recession.
Borrowers can apply for an FHA loan two years after a bankruptcy or three years after a
foreclosure, but the loans all must be manually underwritten and have a maximum back-end
DTI of 41%.
Debt ratios also are playing a role in the larger debate over proposed risk retention requirements and what constitutes a “safe and sound” mortgage.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Chief Executive David Stevens said in an interview Tuesday that FHA is trying to put “reasonable” DTI caps on the overall program.
“A borrower with a 10% downpayment and reserves would probably qualify for higher DTI, but FHA may want to keep the DTI5 lower for young first-time homebuyers moving from a rental to ownership,” said Stevens, the former commissioner of FHA, who left the agency in mid-April.
(Stevens has been pushing for a narrow definition of a “qualified residential mortgage,” without hard limits for down payments, DTI or loan-to-value ratios.)
Maurice Jourdain-Earl, a managing director at ComplianceTech, a lending industry consulting firm, said he is concerned that tightening the range of acceptable DTI5 would impact minority borrowers.
“FHA lowering debt-to-income ratios will have the same effect as QRM. The people who can afford it the least will be adversely impacted,” Jourdain-Earl said.
FHA’s market share has surged to nearly 30% during the downturn from 3% in 2006, largely because it has the loosest guidelines among loans guaranteed by the federal government. Higher volume and share has been accompanied by higher defaults and losses, though there’s been a recent decline in loans that were 90 days overdue or in foreclosure. According to the MBA, 8.04% of FHA loans were seriously delinquent at the end of the first quarter, down from 8.46% in the fourth quarter and 9.1% a year earlier. 

 

Call Freddy to schedule a meeting to find out the best avenue of approach to your real estate needs.
 Freddy Solis Realtor,  SFR~  703-943-7844 ~  www.freddysolis.com

Selling homes in Bristow Va, Gainesville Va.
Subdivisions: Braemar, Victory Lakes, Bristow Village, Pembrooke, Dunbarton, Lanier Farms, and many other locations.

Home Buying - Tools That Make it Easy

Tools you need before Buying a Home.

First Time Home Buying Help (Money)

The Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB)         

       First Time Home Buyer Grant

         UP TO $7500 DOWN PAYMENT FUNDS AVAILABLE NOW!! ANY COUNTY!!

• Buyers must be First Time homebuyers (could not have owned a home 3 yrs prior to purchase)     
• Maximum amount is $7500 per household.                            
• Grant is awarded on a 1 to 4 ratio.  For example:  If a Buyer has $1,000 of their own money, they are eligible for $4,000.  If a buyer has $1875 of their own money, they are eligible for $7500. 
• Minimum buyer contribution is $1,000.00     
• Property must be owner occupied           
• Forgivable FHP Subsidy after 5 Years – Must occupy the property for a period of 5 years, or subject to recapture provision and must be repaid.
• Income must be less than 80% of the median home income on Household size (this includes any person(s) living in the household) 
• Subject to credit approval

 Great program for first time buyers, call 703-943-7844 if you are preparing to buy so we can find you the right lender.

Freddy Solis
Realtor
www.freddysolis.com
Tweet


Finding And Obtaining Grant Money

Great Buyer's Information

• 

  Let Qualified Home Buyers Breathe Life Into Home Market

  President Obama’s poll numbers have recovered nicely thanks to the good news surrounding the demise of Osama bin Laden. But the bin Laden bounce will wear off quickly unless the administration takes some bold steps to restore economic confidence in this country. Creating jobs is certainly an essential part of restoring that stability. But in my view, nothing is more important than creating confidence in the long-term health of the housing market. Read
• 

  5 Tips for Deciphering Your Home Loan’s Good-faith Estimate

  Knowing how to read your good-faith estimate can help you save money on your home loan. Read
• 

  7 Steps to Take Before You Buy a Home

  By doing your homework before you buy, you’ll feel more content about your new home. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Ready to purchase your home but still have many questions, let me help you find those real estate answers and your dream home.

Freddy Solis Realtor®  ~  703-943-7844 ~  www.freddysolis.com

Investment Tips

Five Real Estate Investment Tips

There are countless tips on real estate investing available and this is by no means intended as a comprehensive list. While every investment has its own intricacies and problems that need to be worked out, there are some very basic aspects that are common to most investment properties. Understanding those aspects and asking questions about them can help you determine whether a particular real estate investment opportunity is for you.

Anything Can Change

Building in the capacity for change in your investment is not only good real estate advice, but good life advice. Aspects of an investment can change at any given time and building in a little cushion in your profit projections for that change will most likely give you a better outlook on the possible outcome of your investment.

This is especially true for something like the tax climate of your investment as changes in tax laws happen regularly. If the tax situation surrounding your investment is the only thing you like about it, it is probably not a sound investment. Solid investments can withstand changes in the tax code, so never rely solely on the stability of tax codes, you will be sorely disappointed.

Do What You Know

It is tempting to get involved in real estate investment opportunities outside of your comfort zone. Maybe the terms look good or the area is nice, but your lack of expertise in the field will ultimately hurt you over the course of the investment. If you are well versed in multi-family homes, do your best to uncover the best investment opportunities in that field. If your bag is fixer-uppers, stick with that. Success is difficult to replicate so if you have a knack for something, exploit that knack.

Compare, Compare, Compare

As any real estate agent will tell you, valuations for a new home put on the market are a direct reflection of other sale prices of similar properties in that area. Your potential investment is the same way. If you are going to rely on rents to make back the money spent on the investment, compare the rents your prospective investment property takes in against similar properties in the area. Are they too high? If so, that may indicate future trouble filling the building at those prices, which then cuts into your profit forecast.

If you are getting involved in a fixer-upper, compare what you think the home will be like in the future to homes that have sold that look similar to that now. Doing so will help you estimate your eventual sale price and the amount of money you should invest to net a decent return.

Hammer Down True Expenses

Just as you want to examine what your incoming cash flow will be on any real estate investment opportunity, you want to investigate your outgoing cash flow as well. What are the key costs involved in running the property? What are the taxes on the property? How much does it cost you when part of your multi-family property is vacant? Sometimes properties can look great when you examine the rent payments coming in but then lose their luster when you look at the cost of running the facility. You need to investigate both sides of the story to get an accurate view of the financial future of your investment.

Know The Building

In real estate investing, surprises are usually costly. Not only should you do a full walk through of the prospective investment yourself, you should also look in to hiring an independent, professional inspector as well. Uncovering problems with the foundation, roof or furnace early can either save you from making a poor investment or give you ammunition to negotiate a lower price.

Not all real estate investments are the same and you will likely run in to a unique problem on every property you pursue. However, by sticking to the tips here, you can give yourself a great foundation from which to operate. Above all, pursue information on the property as vigorously as possible to eliminate the possibility of regretting your investment later.

This is another original article by Joe Lane, co-owner of The Lane Real Estate Team at http://www.joelane.com/. Are you looking for an experienced Tri City WA Real Estate agency? With 20 years of service based, business experience, Joe and Colleen Lane work hard to serve home buyers and sellers for the Tri Cities of Washington's Kennewick, Richland, Pasco, and surrounding areas.

PG County My Home Program

MY HOME PROGRAM 

Your borrowers Need Cash for Closing? The new My Home Program offered by Prince Georges County Good Day Referral Partner: If you have a client that is short on funds to close talk to a certified Prince Georges County under the NEW My HOME Program. This new program replaces the NSP Program.
The Programs start on Monday Feb 28, 2011. The Borrower can receive up to 5% of the Sales price to use towards closing cost 
Example $200,000 x 5% = $10,000 for your client! 
There are income restrictions and Debt to income calculations to take into consideration Unlike other programs, the My Home Down Payment Assistance only takes 21 days! For more information call or email me to get in contact with a qualified/certified lender.

Freddy Solis. Capital Region. RealEstate.com Realtors®. 703-943-7844 Direct. 703-955-3528 Fax

Economic Summary

Week Summary – February 24, 2011
Last week in review (February 14 – 18, 2011)
In early November, when home loan rates hovered around all time lows, the Fed announced their plan to purchase $600 billion in treasuries through mid-2011. Dubbed Quantitative Easing 2 (QE2), the Fed had three goals:

1. Boost stock prices
2. Lower unemployment
3. Create inflation
After just two and a half months, an argument could be made that the Fed has been somewhat successful so far. Stocks are higher, the unemployment rate has improved, and as we saw last week inflation has ticked higher.
Both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index for January were better than expected and the more closely watched Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, came in at the highest level since March 2010. And we're not just seeing inflation here. Reports last week showed inflation is heating up in Asia and Europe, too. So what does all of this mean for home loan rates? Usually any hints of inflation cause both bonds and home loan rates to worsen. Yet, bonds and home loan rates improved slightly last week.
There are two things to note:
First, while last week's inflation data was a touch better than expected, overall, it's still on the tame side.
Second, last week's initial jobless claims was a disappointment, suggesting that the labor market continues to improve but at a very choppy and sluggish pace. 

Freddy Solis. Capital Region. RealEstate.com Realtors®. 703-943-7844 Direct. 703-955-3528 Fax

First Time Home BuyersTax Credit Extended

A Sweet Deal for Homebuyers

The ins-and-outs of the Homebuyer Tax Credit

If you are – like many Americans – trying to figure out the best time to make your first home purchase, then you may want to take a closer look at the first-time homebuyer tax credit that has been expanded to current homeowners as well.

CREDIT AMOUNTS
First-time homebuyers: The credit is equivalent to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home up to $8,000.
Current homeowners: The credit is equivalent to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home up to $6,500.

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING THE CREDIT
1. Qualifying for the homebuyer credit As it relates to this credit, a first-time homebuyer is defined as any taxpayer who has not owned a principal (or main) residence for a period of three years prior to the home purchase. Current homebuyers must have used the home being sold as a principal residence for at least five of the previous eight years. The purchase must be of a principal residence.
2. Income limitations First-time buyers: Single filers with modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less and married couples with MAGI of $150,000 or less are eligible for the full $8,000 credit. Current homeowners: Single filers with modified adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less and married couples with MAGI of $225,000 or less are eligible for the full $6,500 credit.
3. Purchase window The 2009 homebuyer tax credit is retroactive to January 1, 2009 and covers purchases through April 30th, 2010.
4. Refundable credit The tax credit reduces your final tax liability and you will be refunded whatever portion, if any, of the credit that remains after applying the credit to taxes you owe for that year. For example, let’s say you qualify for the full $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit and your total tax liability (after withholding) is $2,000. Your tax liability will be zero, and you will receive a refund for the remaining $6,000.
5. Purchase limitationsThe tax credit is limited to purchased homes up to $800,000.
6. Claiming the credit Claiming the credit is actually very simple. To take advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit, you’ll need to complete IRS Form 5405 which will help determine the tax credit amount. You’ll then claim that amount on line 69 of your 1040 tax return form. No pre-approval forms or applications are required!

As with most issues related to a home purchase, be sure to consult with your RealEstate.com REALTOR® for additional information or to ensure that you and your prospective purchase qualifies for this homebuyer tax credit.

Freddy Solis
RealEstate.com, REALTORS®
Capital Region
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 211
McLean, VA 22102
703-943-7844 Direct
Freddy.Solis@Realestate.com



REALTOR® -- a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict code of ethics.