Real Estate Blog - Thank God It’s Friday – Especially for Several First Time Southern Oregon Homeowners

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Thank God It’s Friday – Especially for Several First Time Southern Oregon Homeowners

Hmmmm...I hear about $8,000 tax credits, people buying who are paying the same as they were paying in rent who said they only had to come up with about $1,500, or for some a 3.5% down payment. I'd really like to have my own place, a place where I will build equity instead of just writing a rent check every month a rent check that seems to go up every year. A place I can paint whatever color I want. I'm tired of having to move because my landlord sold the place, or is losing it through foreclosure, and what about my security deposit? I need that money to be able to move. I hear about all this housing stimulus and low interest rates...what does that mean for me and my family?

Well, for another Southern Oregon family who had many of these same thoughts, the low interest rates, Dreams Hope Trust 18x58 in. Acrylic/Assemblage, Chalk Pastel, Collage & Glitter on Wood Panel by stevenascroggins photo courtesy of flickr.com no down payment required program meant they are the proud owners of a house in White City that they've been sprucing up in order to move in to this weekend. They qualified for the USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing program, and all they had to pay for was their appraisal fee and their home inspection fee, getting most of their earnest money deposit back at closing.

For another Rogue Valley couple who will close next week, they found the perfect home that gives them room to grow and accommodate plans to one day have their own home based business. A home they are stepping in to with a good chunk of equity AND they are receiving down payment assistance that will help them keep the payments affordable.

Three potential buyers are eagerly awaiting word of what the final terms will be for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, thinking this just might be their ticket to successfully purchasing a bank owned home for at least 15% less than market value with up to $50,000 in down payment/repairs assistance.

Hope, Dream, Believe by Nina LoSchiavo photo courtesy of flickr.com, Karen Cooper, wwwquality4laonscom You know - as challenging as the housing and mortgage industry can be these days, I still love what I do?

See you at the closing table!

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com

Karen Cooper - OR|CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com
Providing high Quality, Professional, Ethical service to Oregon and California home buyers and owners since 1983. Whether you are taking out your first home loan or your fiftieth, for your home, your second home or for investment, put my knowledge and expertise to work for you.

Posted by Karen Cooper-Mtg Banker|Broker Ashland|Medford on 05/01/2009 09:45 PM

Comments (2)

first time homebuyer, neighborhood stabilization program, usda guaranteed rural housing, down payment assistance, karen cooper, wwwquality4loanscom

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2 Comments on Thank God It’s Friday – Especially for Several First Time Southern Oregon Homeowners

MAY

Thanks for this...how are they getting down payment assistance? It was outlawed by Congress, based on the fact that 30% of these loans were going delinquent. People need to have skin in the game, IMHO.

Hi Jake - Thank you for stopping by to comment. Certain state/local down payment assistance programs are still out there, and can be paired with certain loan programs. In the case I referred to above, it was funding from a non-profit Community Action Agency paired with the USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing loan program (starting to sound like fine dining). Not "seller funded" down payment assistance that led in many cases to prices being inflated. The down payment assistance programs I've worked with are usually State, County or City funded ones through HUD Community Block Grant funding or funded by Housing Finance Agencies through the sale of bonds.

I understand what you are saying about the "skin in the game" theory. My experience has been that the low-to-moderate income folks I've worked with that utilized these programs, be it down payment assistance loans or mortgage credit certificate or mortgage revenue bond programs, all became successful homeowners who sustained ownership. They chose these fixed rate programs at terms they were pretty confident they could afford, payments that were close to what they were paying in rent anyway. And these programs did not allow the "fog and mirror" qualifications that were prevalent in the heyday. Some have since used that initial "leg up" to get them in to the "family home" that they planned to put down roots in, and all came with some equity to that second transaction. I'm going back a ways, too, before the "bubble years"...at least the most recent ones, as I saw similar rapid appreciation in the late 80's-90's.

I've taken a lot of time to work through various scenarios as well as worked with many savvy 1st time home buyers, who took the time to learn about the process and investigate the right alternatives to reach their goals. Those that have been able to hang on, have done so...and they did not overextend themselves, making budget adjustments to achieve that success. And thankfully, those that had financial setbacks recently also had reserves set aside for that day. Will some lose their homes with the unemployment levels where they are at in spite of these efforts? Very possible. I pray not, but will continue to educate myself on programs and services available to those that do.

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