Brownie,
First, your lender is not very educated about the HomePath renovation loan. The HomePath renovation loan will not allow for appliances to be financed into the loan. All repairs must be "fixed to the property and add value" per Fannie Mae guidelines. Appliances are neither.
I would recommend you ask your loan officer to look into this program further before you get too far along. There are very few lenders who actually provide the HomePath renovation loan.
Also, with any renovation loan the lender is not going to give you money at closing to do the repairs. The money is put into an escrow account until the repairs are finished. An inspector will be sent out form the bank to verify that the work has been done and then money is disbursed to you to pay the contractors.

A renovation loan is very involved and is very different from any other mortgage program. I highly recommend you speak to someone that specializes in renovation financing so you can be completely aware of what happens before the loan closes and what happens after the loan closes.

If all you need are appliances in the property then why don’t you use the regular HomePath program without the renovation feature?

Brownie,

It is not the lender that has this requirement. Remember that all of the programs availible to stimulate the housing market are designed by the goverment agencies that write the requirements. It is foolish for a lender to want to have you finance the appliances for any other reason than to appease the HomePath Renovation program.

Here is a solution: Once you recieve the loan for your new home take thae money given to you for the appliances and send it back to the principle of your mortgage. Now you are not financing in that amount considering your accrued interest will be based off of the new loan amount.

Give me a call if your lender doesnt come through.

Best of Luck!

Ryan Brandenburger
954-394-9005

with federal programs they can require that something is paid for on or before closing, fha does it all the time, they want to make sure you move in and actually get the items.

I would be suspect to any lender that requires that appliances be financed with the Renovation Loan. The purpose of this loan is to allow a potential buyer to make any light renovations they see fit to the property as long as the appraisal supports the cost. If you choose to purchase the appliances vs. having them built into a mortgage so be it. Why the lender would require you to finance applicances is beyond me unless this a criteria for them to lend or there is a minimum amount of renovation money that has to meet in order to use this financing program. I would contact another lender or two that provides this type of loan and see if they require the same thing. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. Good luck..

Jason Stevens, REALTOR®, GRI, ABR
Real Estate Broker Associate
REOTrans Platinum Certified
Kevin Flynn Realty, Inc.
Cell - 941-662-0379
Home Office - 941-698-0973
Home Fax - 941-698-0973
Website: http://www.myfloridahomesmls.com/jasonstevens
Website: http://www.jasonestevens.com