203k consultant in Fairfax to Santa Rosa - 09/23/11 08:52 AM
Wow, we are very thankful for the volume of business we get from the local communities. This has been a very busy past few weeks... not too busy but it is fun to see an area as the local real estate market embraces the FHA 203k. 
I've always been excited when someone new understands the power of the 203k but when a community or local area gets it, it is phenomenal. Kudos t you in Marin and Sonoma Counties for getting on board and moving those "hard to sell" properties as you are. Go for it.
We have a couple that … (0 comments)

Appraising for the FHA 203k - 09/15/11 10:25 AM
Appraisers have a real challenge when appraising anything these days but it becomes more challenging when you have to appraise it "subject to" the repairs being completed.
In 1995 I received a call from HUD asking me to get to Alabama and give a talk to the appraisal institute group there as they were having some difficulties... I had to laugh a bit but ended up calling them. Once I explained  this was just an "after improved" value appraisal being "subject to" the work being complted they also laughed and said "why didn't someone just say that in the first place?"
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Food and other fun things in Burlingame CA - 09/13/11 10:32 PM
Hey there, I was doing a draw inspection this morning for a 203k loan in Burlingame CA & as I pulled into town I realized I was a little early. I had been wanting to try the House of Prime Rib there for quite some time but never found myself near there during a meal time. Drat!
But here is was, 12:30 pm and I was going. I waited for another person to open a parking place for me and pulled in. Something was wrong..it was a 24 minute parking space. NOT going to work. I need more time with prime … (0 comments)

203k for non profit organizations - Atlanta to Charlotte - 09/06/11 06:36 PM
I keep getting asked about the non profit 203k loans.. that is an issue of course and the rules have changed a little bit.  but we have one active lender on the East Coast that can handle your needs directly... no brokers need contact us on this. I also have another on the West Coast that will do them himself and though he is a wholesale lender he will actually do the loan himself for non profit organizations. 
If there is anyone else out there that can do a non profit on a wholesale basis I have some good people you … (3 comments)

How many bids should I get on my FHA 203k project? - 09/05/11 08:56 PM
The HUD guideline suggests we get three bids on every project. Does that mean I need to get three bids? No. In an ideal world it would be great but even as slow as contractors say it is they don’t want to bid against 2 other contractors on the same job. They want to have a reasonable expectation that after so many bids they will get their percentage of the jobs. That 3rd contractor bidding pushes the odds up to high to waste their time. Sad but true. Many times when the contractors are aware you are taking it to three … (3 comments)

What is the average size project for an FHA 203k? - 09/03/11 12:33 PM
We can't speak for everyone in the USA but we think this is pretty typical for most.
We get asked all the time “what is the largest FHA 203k renovation project you’ve ever done?” Why that is important to some is beyond me but it is right at $450,000 and there were several, then we had a couple in the $425,000 range, then it drops to $325,000, $250,000, $220,000 and those are not all that common.
Then we get to the more common ones which range from $200,000 on down to $100,000 which make up about 30% of the … (0 comments)