California VA Loans with Nate Pina

One of the great things about this country is that we do a lot for those who have served us. And in the area of real estate financing, we can do exceptional things.
Understand that the VA (Veterans’ Administration) is, in the mortgage world, like HUD is with FHA financing. They are an insurance company, collecting premiums and using the backing of the Federal government to guarantee the payments to lenders. Because of the government’s guarantee, lenders can stretch traditional guidelines and offer very competitive terms (of course, while adhering to the VA’s guidance).
Some of the more attractive features of a VA loan are:

1. 100% Financing on Home Purchases – Veterans, assuming they are in good standing, can buy a home with no money down. In most cases, the maximum VA loan is $417,000.
2. The Ability to Finance Reasonable Closing Costs – On many VA loans, the closing costs are negotiated into the sales price and the seller pays them. This feature can significantly reduce the cash a veteran needs to buy a home.
3. More Understanding with Regards to Credit Challenges – In an effort to help those who served us, lenders are more liberal towards hiccups in credit.
4. Common-Sense Look at Income – Rather than approve loans strictly by income ratios, VA mortgages incorporate what is called Residual Income. There is a form that actually budgets all expenses (not just housing) to account for family size, heating and electrical usage, and more.
5. Financed Insurance Premium – The VA charges what they call a Funding Fee to set up a fund to reimburse lenders, should a default occur. The Funding Fee varies on loan terms and usage (consult your lender for exact costs), but the good news is that it is typically just added to your loan. Instead of paying thousands of dollars up front, you can pay $10-$50 a month in a higher payment.
6. Refinancing Your VA Loan is Easy – Through the I.R.R.L. (Interest Rate Reduction Loan) Program, getting a better rate (if the market has better rates) does not carry with it all the verifications of income, credit, appraisals, and assets of other loans…and closing costs can be added into the loan! The logic is the VA is already “on the hook” and lowering the payment increases the likelihood of continued payments, so why not be as lenient as possible.

For more detailed answers, contact Nate Pina with Sierra Pacific Mortgage. With three million veterans returning home in the next couple years, the opportunity of VA financing needs to be publicized and understood. Nate Pina is a VA Loan Specialist and can get the job done every time and very quickly. Nate Pina is teamed with Sierra Pacific Mortgage and we are a VA Loan Direct Lender. What this means is we can close VA loans in as little as two weeks and NOBODY can match our LOW, LOW Rates!!!

New Foreclosure wave in Solano County and California!

Nate Pina reported two months ago that foreclosures will significantly increase this summer as a result of The National Mortgage Settlement. This month, both Reuters (Americans brace for next foreclosure wave) and CNNMoney (Flood of foreclosures to hit the housing market) concurred. However, we believe this increase in distressed properties will have a much different impact on the housing market than previous increases for three reasons.

1. Demand Will Absorb Much of the Increase in Supply

The last wave of foreclosures entered the market as both consumer confidence and demand for housing was on the decline. That created an overhang of discounted properties that pushed down the prices on non-distressed homes. This new increase in foreclosures is hitting a different type of real estate market. Consumer confidence is stabilizing and the demand for housing is increasing. The impact on prices will be much less dramatic in most markets than it has been in the past.

2. Many Banks Are Doing Necessary Repairs and Renovations

Historically, the typical foreclosure has sold at a discount of 25-30% compared to non-distressed properties. The banks are finally realizing that they may soon own one or more of homes in any neighborhood. For that reason, we are beginning to see banks do the necessary repairs and renovations in order to garner a price closer to the value of non-distressed properties in the marketplace thereby lessening the impact on the value of surrounding homes.

3. Different Regions Will Bear the Brunt

Originally, many thought that the foreclosure fiasco was confined to the four ‘sand’ sates (CA, AZ, NV and FL). We now realize that cities like Chicago and Atlanta, along with many others, have also faced the burden of falling prices because of an increase in distressed properties.
This next ‘flood of foreclosures’ will have the largest impact in the judicial states that impeded the foreclosure process over the last few years such as New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. California, Nevada and Arizona will be impacted in a much less dramatic way than in the past.

3 Question to ask when Buying a Home!

If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. And some of that advice is probably negative. Why buy now with prices still falling? Don’t you realize real estate is no longer a good investment? Don’t you know that people who bought six years ago lost their shirt? We understand the concern your friends and family have. However, let’s look at whether or not now is actually the perfect time to buy a home.
There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

1. What are the experts recommending?

In the last 120 days, many experts have said that buying now makes sense. This list includes: John Talbott, Christopher Thornberg and Warren Buffett.

2. When will I begin to see appreciation if I buy now?

This is a great question. Macro Markets, LLC is a company that studies housing prices. They started their Home Price Expectation Survey in 2010. They ask 100+ housing industry experts to project housing prices through 2016. The most current survey shows that the experts are predicting prices to remain relatively flat in 2012. The experts then project prices to rise reaching a cumulative appreciation of over 10% by 2016.
Purchasing a home today makes great sense from a financial standpoint. Think of the old axiom: you want to buy low and sell high. This decision should not only be a financial one however.
That leads us to our third and final question:

3. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:

• A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
• A place where you and your family feel safe
• More space for you and your family
• Control of the space

What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the reason you decide to purchase or not.

Bottom Line

Don’t allow money to get in the way of you making the right decision for you and your family. In the long run, the finances will work in your favor anyway.

The 6 Dont's After You Apply For a Mortgage with Nate Pina!

I learned a long time ago that “common sense is NOT common practice“. This is especially the case during the emotional time that surrounds buying a home, when people tend to do some non-commonsensical things. Here are a few that I’ve seen over the years that have delayed (and even killed) deals:

1. Don’t deposit cash into your bank accounts. Lenders need to source your money and cash is not really traceable. Small, explainable deposits are fine, but getting $10,000 from your parents as a gift in cash is not. Discuss the proper way to track your assets with Nate Pina.
2. Don’t make any large purchases like a new car or a bunch of new furniture. New debt comes with it, including new monthly obligations. New obligations create new qualifications. People with new debt have higher ratios…higher ratios make for riskier loans…and sometimes qualified borrowers are no longer qualifying.
3. Don’t co-sign other loans for anyone. When you co-sign, you are obligated. With that obligation comes higher ratios, as well. Even if you swear you won’t be making the payments, the lender will be counting the payment against you.
4. Don’t change bank accounts. Remember, lenders need to source and track assets. That task is significantly easier when there is a consistency of accounts. Frankly, before you even transfer money between accounts, talk to Nate Pina.
5. Don’t apply for new credit. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a new credit card or a new car, when you have your credit report run by organizations in multiple financial channels (mortgage, credit card, auto, etc.), your FICO score will be affected. Lower credit scores can determine your interest rate and maybe even your eligibility for approval.
6. Don’t close any credit accounts. Many clients have erroneously believed that having less available credit makes them less risky and more approvable. Wrong. A major component of your score is your length and depth credit history (as opposed to just your payment history) and your total usage of credit as a percentage of available credit. Closing accounts has a negative impact on both those determinants of your score.

The best advice is to fully disclose and discuss your plans with Nate Pina before you do anything financial in nature. Any blip in income, assets, or credit should be reviewed and executed in a way to keep your application in the most positive light.

Rents and Prices Increasing

We report on Fannie Mae’s Quarterly National Housing Survey every ninety days. Fannie Mae also does a monthly survey covering different aspects of the housing market.
Here are some record numbers we found interesting in Fannie Mae’s March report (emphasis added).

• Thirty-three percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, the highest level over the past 12 months.
• The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy rose to 73 percent, the highest level in over a year.
• Forty-eight percent of respondents think that home rental prices will go up, the highest number recorded to date.
• On average, respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 4.1 percent over the next 12 months, the highest number recorded to date.

Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae, capped the report off by stating:

“Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes. Americans’ rental price expectations for the next year continue to rise, reaching their record high level for our survey this month. With an increasing share of consumers expecting higher mortgage rates and home prices over the next 12 months, some may feel that renting is becoming more costly and that homeownership is a more compelling housing choice.”

Why Buy a Home in Solano County?

The 4 C's of Mortgage Underwriting

With Spring upon us, and new buyers out looking for houses, I thought today might be a good time to review the basics of what lenders look for as they decide to approve (or deny) mortgage applications. For at least 25 years, I have heard them called “The 4 C’s of Underwriting”- Capacity, Credit, Cash, and Collateral.  Guidelines and risk tolerances change, but the core criteria do not.

CAPACITY

CAPACITY is the analysis of comparing a borrower’s income to their proposed debt. It considers the borrower’s ability to repay the mortgage. Lenders look at two calculations (we call ratios). The first is your Housing Ratio. It simply is the percentage of your proposed total mortgage payment (principal & interest, real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance and, if applicable, flood insurance and mortgage insurance – like PMI or the FHA MIP) divided by your monthly, pre-tax income. A solid Housing Ratio (often called the front end ratio) would be 28% or less; although, at times loans are approved at a significantly higher number. That’s because your front end ratio is looked at in conjunction with your back end ratio.
The back end ratio (referred to as your Debt Ratio) starts with that mortgage payment calculation from the Housing Ratio and adds to it your recurring debts that would show up on your credit report (auto loans, student loans, minimum credit card payments, etc.) without taking into consideration some other debts (phone bills, utility bills, cable TV). A good back ratio would be 40% or less. However, loans sometimes are granted with higher debt ratios. Understand that every application is different. Income can be impacted by overtime, night differential, bonuses, job history, unreimbursed expenses, commission, as well as other factors. Similarly, how your debts are considered can vary. Consult an experienced loan officer to determine how the underwriter will calculate your numbers.

CREDIT

CREDIT is the statistical prediction of a borrower’s future payment likelihood. By reviewing the past factors (payment history, total debt compared to total available debt, the types of monies: revolving credit vs. installment debt outstanding) a credit score is assigned each borrower which reflects the anticipated repayment. The higher your score, the lower the risk to the lender which usually results in better loan terms for the borrower. Your loan officer will look to run your credit early on to see what challenges may (or may not) present themselves.

CASH

CASH is a review of your asset picture after you close. There are really two components – cash in the deal and cash in reserves. Simply put, the bigger your down payment (the more of your own money at risk) the stronger the loan application. At the same time, the more money you have in reserve after closing the less likely you are to default. Two borrowers with the same profile as far as income ratios and credit scores have different risk levels if one has $50,000 in the bank after closing and the other has $50. There is logic here. The source of your assets will be examined. Is it savings? Was it a gift? Was it a one-time settlement/lottery victory/bonus? Discuss how much money you have and its origins with your loan officer.

COLLATERAL

COLLATERAL refers to the appraisal of your home. It considers many factors – sales of comparable homes, location of the home, size of the home, condition of the home, cost to rebuild the home, and even rental income options. Understand the lender does not want to foreclose (they aren’t in the real estate business), but they do need to have something to secure the loan against, in case of default. In today’s market, appraisers tend to be conservative in their evaluations. Appraisals are really the only one of the 4 C’s that can’t be determined ahead of time in most cases.
Now, each of the 4 C’s are important, but it’s really the combination of them that is key. Strong income ratios and a large down payment with strong reserves can offset some credit issues. Similarly, long and strong credit histories help higher ratios….and good credit and income can overcome lesser down payments. Talk openly and freely with your loan officer. They are on your side, advocating for you and looking to structure your file as favorably as possible.