Ok, so yesterday was dreary and rainy here in Fort Worth, but today seemed like Spring. There were so many people outside walking, riding bikes, you name it. Soon the flowers will start blooming at the Bontanic Gardens and there will be new baby animals at the Fort Worth Zoo.
Spring also marks the official beginning of the Real Estate season. What new lending guidelines will be in place this spring? Well HUD just recently announced an increase in the FHA upfront mortgage insurance. Currently 1.75% for most FHA loans and now it is increasing to 2.25% effective April 5, 2010 according to HUD. Other coming changes are the end of the First Time and Move Up buyer tax credit as we currently know it, occuring April 30th( you must be under contract by April 30 and close by June 30 to potentially take advantage of this tax credit).
Another big change coming up for FHA loans is the decrease in the allowable seller contribution to a buyer's closing costs from 6% down to 3%. Check out this link for more detailed informationon the HUD changes http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/ver-4/HUD/federal_housing_administration/docs/from_the_desk_of_March_2010.pdf.What does this mean if you are a buyer? It means that if you were planning to ask the seller to pay your closing costs up to 6% of the sales price, you should do so before the summer rolls around. As of yet HUD hasn't announced an exact date for this change, but they did say it would go into effect this summer so if you are fence sitting you may want to hop on down the bunny trail and start your home search in earnest before all of these changes take place.
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