Home BuyingReverse Mortgage for Purchase?Thursday, July 8th, 2010We usually think of a reverse mortgage as a way to help people over 62 use the equity in their homes to upgrade their quality of life. But what if they want to buy a new home? Last week I spoke with a retired couple who want to downsize to a ranch style home because their tri-level home is too big and has too many stairs. The current house payment is almost $1,500 a month with over 20 years before it is paid off. Even with excellent credit and ample cash reserves, their income is not sufficient to qualify them for the loan they needed. The solution is a reverse mortgage for a purchase. Equity in their present home is estimated to be over $100,000. This will be used for the down payment and closing costs on the new home. The down payment is calculated based upon the age of the borrowers. On the new home they only need to pay property taxes and insurance. Quite a drop from the $1,500 they were paying! Many of the guidelines for a purchase reverse mortgage are the same as if a homeowner is doing a reverse mortgage on their existing residence. Reverse mortgages are only for a primary residence, as long as the borrower lives in it. The property may not be a second home or rental. Credit and income ARE NOT considered. The borrower(s) must take an approved counseling class. With the current mortgage market madness it is refreshing to provide borrowers with a mortgage that is better for them than what they originally wanted. If you have any questions or know anyone who might benefit from this, let me know. No cost or obligation to see if I can help. NEXT WEEK: Credit Card Limit cut? Chip Allen Crestline Mortgage Bankers A Division of Universal Lending Corp Direct: 303.947.2109 Fax: 303.987.0676 Your Lender for Life!
When people you care about need a mortgage, for purchase or refinance, please do not keep me a secret.
I have to eat my wordsThursday, July 1st, 2010A few weeks ago Dan Polimino told people that the relationship between buyer and seller had never been worse. Now comes along some buyers from Virginia, and he has to eat those words. What happened with the buyers from Virginia? How did they prove Dan wrong, and why is he eating his words? To find out watch this week’s market update with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty agent Dan Polimino.
Love At First SightMonday, May 31st, 2010Love at first sight only happens in the movies, right? Some believe it while some don’t when it comes to finding a mate, but what about when it comes to finding a home? In today’s real estate market, would one be foolish to buy the first home they saw? Maybe not! There is no hard and fast rule about how many homes you need to see before making an offer. You could see three homes, find the exact one you are looking for, turn to your Realtor and say, “I don’t need to see anymore. Let’s make an offer on this one.” Somehow, over the last four to five years, we have gotten brainwashed into thinking that we need to see 40-90 homes before we can make an intelligent decision. That’s just hog wash. Chances are, after you have seen 20+ homes, they all start to look alike and you can’t remember which one had the main floor office versus the main floor master. I have said it before and I’ll say it again. There is no perfect house, and if you find one that meets 85% or greater of your needs, then you’ve done well. Spending month after month and weekend after weekend looking for a home that meets 100% of your criteria is an exercise in futility. Many times, buyers fail to see the potential of the homes that they are looking at because they are in such a hurry to see what’s next on the list and what could be even better. I found that in life, sometimes we spend too much time looking for what’s better. You may have looked at 1 home, 10 homes, or 100 homes and I bet for the people out there that have looked at 100, they came back to buy one of the very first homes they ever saw in their search. Trust your instincts when you are shopping for a home. If it feels right, it probably is and more shopping will only delay your purchase of that home. There is no shame in buying the first, second, or third home you’ve seen. In fact, I often say to my buyers after we’ve seen a home and they’ve had a positive response, “Is there any reason to see more or should we talk about making an offer on that home?” Remember what I always say, “Realtors are the only people meant to look at homes for the rest of their lives.” Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost
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