va: RENTERS: Down Payments are lower than you think
- 04/24/23 08:11 AM
Educate yourself, you probably need less money than you think Are you renting a home? Would you like to own your own home? What is holding you back? According to a recent survey done by the National Association of Realtors: Only 11% of current renters know they can purchase a home with 5 % or Less as a down payment. A WHOPPING 89% got the answer wrong thinking you need more than a 5% down payment. Scarier yet: Almost 45% of renters believe you need to put at least 20% down to buy a home. Is this misconception keeping you from purchasing a home? You probably can get … (2 comments)
va: VA Appraisal Practices During Covid-19
- 03/31/20 07:13 AM
The VA just issued appraisal guidelines in response to the Covid-19 Epidemic. For the most part the guidelines are similar to the changes we have seen on the conventional side. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time the VA has allowed appraisals without an interior inspection. For Vacant properties the VA will prefer an interior/Exterior appraisal but will allow for either an Exterior only inspection or a Desktop Appraisal. Neither the Exterior or the Desktop are as simple as they may sound. These will still be full blown appraisals and may include photos provided by the occupant or the MLS. Desktop appraisals … (0 comments)
va: VA Funding Fee changes for 2020
- 11/18/19 11:56 AM
The VA announced that there will be a change to the VA Funding fee with all loans closing beginning 1/1/2020. First off- What is the VA funding fee? Effectively it is the VA's version of Mortgage insurance and it is the least expensive version of insurance available for borrowers today. For any veteran putting less than 20% down - it is most likely the BEST way to finance your home. Once you have a larger down payment you do have to look at other options that may be less expensive than the VA. What did they do? Over all it is a simplification of the previous … (2 comments)
va: Limited funds keeping you from buying a home?
- 05/30/19 08:45 AM
In my 30+ year career down payment and closing costs have always been the #1 problem in getting a person qualified for a mortgage. I have spoken to countless people over the years that could easily afford a huge payment but never saved a penny. So if you are reading this in anticipation of buying a home in the future- don't forget to pay yourself first!
If you are limited in funds there are ways to structure deals and get into homes with little to no money of your own. For closing costs the most popular option that will help, and can work with … (0 comments)
There is some good news here for most home buyers. If you are buying a home and financing with any agency loan (effectively Fannie, Freddie, Ginny- FHA, VA, Conventional, USDA) You will be OK. The vast majority of Mortgages typically fall into the agency products listed above. With Agency products, you remain eligible even if not receiving pay. As a lender, we will still need to complete pre-closing verification of employment and we cannot know of any specific reason why you would not … (2 comments)
va: Home Remodeling Tip Of The Month
- 11/06/18 08:36 AM
Did you know that Homebridge is the largest 203k (Renovation) Lender in the country? We offer Rennovation Lending for Conventional, FHA AND VA loans.
Our Renovation Concierge Service reviews over 150 work write ups each month and one of the main requested improvements we see from around the country is new heating and cooling systems. In a majority of these transactions, the new heating and/or cooling system can cost $10,000 +, but very few of these work write ups ever discuss the “Duct Work System”. Have you ever thought about the importance of the ductwork system in your home?
The organization named Energy Saver states: … (0 comments)
va: Home Buying Rules #6: Mortgage Insurance
- 10/23/18 09:32 AM
As I mentioned in my previous blog I will be adding to this series to help buyers with there mortgage applications and to better understand the "why?" since the mortgage world can be a very unfamiliar place. So far we have covered Income, Employment, Assets, Credit and the House.
Home Buying Rules #6: Mortgage Insurance There are numerous forms of mortgage insurance. Most of you have probably heard of PMI which is an abbreviation of Private Mortgage Insurance, this is just one of many options for MI. Keep in mind that mortgage insurance insures the lender against your default and only allows you to put … (0 comments)
va: VA Renovation is now available!
- 03/26/18 11:27 AM
Earlier this month we launched a VA Renovation program. HomeBridge will allow up to $35,000 of repairs to be financed into their mortgage. We are already the largest FHA 203k lender in the country and are now making Renovation lending available to our Veterans with no money down.
Have a great week! Robert Rauf Mortgage Loan Originator NMLS# 248937 http://www.homebridge.com/RobertRauf or my blog: http://activerain.com/blogs/rrauf Office: (732)908-4868 Cell (732)740-0175 RRauf@HomeBridge.com www.RobertRauf.com
Since 1987 I have been helping my clients fulfill their dream of home ownership! HomeBridge Financial Services, Formerly REMN, HomeBridge Financial Services is located at 16 Madison Avenue, Building 2 Suite 2D Toms River, NJ 08753. NMLS #6521. New Jersey … (4 comments)
va: 2018 FHA and VA Loan Limits
- 12/07/17 12:58 PM
FHA and VA Loan limits have just been released Late November Fannie and Freddie announced the new conforming limits - you can read about them here: 2018 Conforming Limits VA “loan limits” for 2018 have been announced and are the same as the agency conforming limits as previously published The chart below shows the FHA Loan limits for both high and low cost areas for 1-4 family homes:
Since I am licensed in NJ that is where I will focus in on the details for NJ. While most of NJ does fall into the High cost area ( as represented in the chart below) There are a … (1 comments)
HomeBridge Financial Services will now go down as low as a 580 Credit score!!! There are some important points/restrictions to keep in mind: This isn't for the person living with Mom that has bad credit- It is for the good person that something bad happened t. We need a 12 month housing payment history Requires a 10% down payment, and it cannot be a gift. No Multi Family properties Strict (but reasonable) ratios 31/43 For FHA and VA Here is the pretty flyer:
Have a great week! Rob Robert Rauf Mortgage Loan Originator NMLS ID# 248937 http://www.homebridge.com/RobertRauf … (19 comments)
Listed below are the new VA Loan Limits for 2013 and the Old 2012 limit as a comparison. Below is NJ listed by county... The VA has not officially said what they will do with "pipeline" loans, but we feel that they will grandfather in the old amount based on application date for the counties that have decreased. If you would like to see the full list, please feel free to email me and I can send you the entire Country. State/County/2013 Limit/2012 Limit/ change
Have a great week! Rob Robert Rauf Mortgage … (0 comments)
Educate yourself, you probably need less money than you think
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