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Three reasons for buying real estate in Oregon now with an FHA mortgage for first time homebuyers

By Fred Chamberlin

Mortgage and Lending with Guild Mortgage Co - Oak Harbor WA

November 09, 2008 02:08 PM

I know there are a lot of reasons for buying a home. I also know there may be a lot more than three for buying now with an FHA real estate mortgage. First time homebuyers could be making a mistake by waiting to purchase their new home. (Maximum FHA loan amount, down payment & tax credit.)

Those reasons are:

January 1, the maximum loan amount in most areas will be reduced for FHA loans. For instance, in Lane County, the maximum loan amount will go from $343,750 to $271,050.
January 1, the minimum down payment on FHA loans will go from 3% to 3.5%. On a $200,000 purchase, this is a difference of $1,000, a significant number if you are already thin on down payment.
July 1, 2009, the $7,500 tax credit goes away for first time homebuyers. This credit is temporary, and depending on action of Congress, is set to expire on July 1.

I am not going to go on about lower home prices, low interest rates or available financing. These three should be of huge interest to first time homebuyers.

Authored by Fred Chamberlin, A Mortgage Loan Consultant, Eugene and Springfield - 541-342-7576

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Chris Brown- Florida Home Loan Specialist | Certified Mortgage Planner

Chris Brown | Certified Mortgage Planners - Orlando, FL

Chris Brown 407.367.2974

fred, i like the style of your blog posts. short, to the point, and many times have bullets. well done, we are glad to have you on the team. i am going to send you the AR Group that is going to be associated with the FHA blog Madesn and I are doing.

Chris the implementer

Nov 09, 2008 11:12 PM

Mike Saunders

Retired - Athens, GA

Fred - thanks for the reminder of these impending changes. I will remind my prospects about them.

Nov 09, 2008 11:21 PM

Sandy Shores FL Realtor®, Melbourne Real Estate

M & M Realty of Brevard Inc. - Melbourne, FL

Brevard County Real Estate, Florida's Space Coast

Hi Fred, 3 great reasons to buy a home NOW! I thought the FHA down payment requirement had changed as of October 1. No? I just did an FHA. The buyer signed the contract in September, closing was in October. He was told that he would need 3.5% instead of 3.0% down. HMMMM...?

Nov 10, 2008 12:00 AM

Cecily Parks

iMove Group, Knipe Realty NW, Inc. - Salem, OR

Thanks for keeping us all informed Fred! Keep up the good work.

Nov 10, 2008 12:25 AM

Eleanor Thorne

Equity Resources - Cary, NC

Advantage Lending 919-649-5058

Hey Fred - where did you get the January 1 numbers? This is great info!

Nov 10, 2008 02:04 AM

Fred Chamberlin

Guild Mortgage Co - Oak Harbor WA - Oak Harbor, WA

Oak Harbor/Whidbeynulls, #1 Experienced FHA Mortgage Consultant

Chris - Thanks for the compliment. I try to put out good, useable information. Some of my posts are a lot longer tho....lol

Mike - yes, it is time to make that decision while you still can.

Sandy - There were so many changes on Oct. 1, the lender may have just been confused.

Cecily - Happy to help.

Eleanor - I got the numbers from our in-house DE underwriter. Don't know why they aren't posted on HUD's website yet.

Nov 10, 2008 02:16 AM

Stephen Kappre

KW Hometown - Mantua, NJ

Helping You Home

Fred in my own practice, that .5% ($1000) can be a huge difference for first-time buyers. Sometimes to the point of not getting an approval. Sometimes $100 make sthe difference!

Nov 10, 2008 02:30 AM

Leslie Stewart

Oregon Licensed Broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Real Estate Professionals - Stayton, OR

Realtor, ABR, CRS, Oregon Licensed Broker

Great job Fred, excellent points for buyers to make the move now, before the end of the year!

Nov 10, 2008 06:36 AM

Steve - Often times, just a few dollars can make the difference in making or not making a deal. the extra 1/2 percent can be significant.

Leslie - Right you are. Now is the time. Call you, call me, let's go!

Nov 10, 2008 07:20 AM

Portland Oregon Real Estate | Alecia Barnes - Broker

Portland, OR

Really great job Fred, this is information that first time homebuyers will need in order to proceed with the inventory available right now. Plenty of beautiful homes for sale, so the first time homebuyer needs to know what their options are, now.

Nov 18, 2008 01:53 PM

Thank you Alecia, I really believe the time is right to be looking.

Nov 18, 2008 04:18 PM

Three reasons for buying real estate in Oregon now with an FHA mortgage for first time homebuyers

I know there are a lot of reasons for buying a home. I also know there may be a lot more than three for buying now with an FHA real estate mortgage. First time homebuyers could be making a mistake by waiting to purchase their new home. (Maximum FHA loan amount, down payment & tax credit.)

January 1, the maximum loan amount in most areas will be reduced for FHA loans. For instance, in Lane County, the maximum loan amount will go from $343,750 to $271,050.

January 1, the minimum down payment on FHA loans will go from 3% to 3.5%. On a $200,000 purchase, this is a difference of $1,000, a significant number if you are already thin on down payment.

July 1, 2009, the $7,500 tax credit goes away for first time homebuyers. This credit is temporary, and depending on action of Congress, is set to expire on July 1.

Authored by Fred Chamberlin, A Mortgage Loan Consultant, Eugene and Springfield - 541-342-7576

Comments(11)

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