Kristopher Furrow

Aloha,

Trust the FHA website, it is correct. You must pay the annual MIP for a minimum of five years regardless if your LTV is less than 78% prior to that date. The point is the premiums they collect will keep them funded and allow them to offer their loan programs to other buyers in the future.

A question you should be asking yourself and the brokers is... "If you have 20% down, why aren't you looking at conventional financing with NO MIP or PMI?" Are the FHA rates that much better than what the actual payment/cost calculation would show for a conventional loan program?

Take a look at all the options before signing.

Thank you for visiting Trulia.com, I hope my response is helpful.

Good Luck! -Kris

Kristopher Furrow – Realtor® RealEstate.com Realtors® 801.916.0815
Realtor - RealEstate.com Realtors®, Utah license # 5489913-SA00
Loan Officer - Envision Lending Group, Utah license # 5489913-MLAF (ELG licensed in HI) - Wed Jul 30 2008, 01:37

Aloha,

Trust the FHA website, it is correct. You must pay the annual MIP for a minimum of five years regardless if your LTV is less than 78% prior to that date. The point is the premiums they collect will keep them funded and allow them to offer their loan programs to other buyers in the future.

A question you should be asking yourself and the brokers is... "If you have 20% down, why aren't you looking at conventional financing with NO MIP or PMI?" Are the FHA rates that much better than what the actual payment/cost calculation would show for a conventional loan program?

Take a look at all the options before signing.

Thank you for visiting Trulia.com, I hope my response is helpful.

Good Luck! -Kris

Kristopher Furrow – Realtor® RealEstate.com Realtors® 801.916.0815
Realtor - RealEstate.com Realtors®, Utah license # 5489913-SA00
Loan Officer - Envision Lending Group, Utah license # 5489913-MLAF (ELG licensed in HI) - Wed Jul 30 2008, 01:37

Hello Catherine,
It is great that you have found a property you love! preparing an offer is one of the most important first steps in reaching the happy ending of getting the keys to your new home! Your financing terms will have a lot to do with how your offer is drafted and ultimately received by the sellers. Unfortunately as a Mortgage and Real Estate professional answering your question here is impossible. The complexities of your specific financial standings and your credit file are required to properly to pull together the best loan offers for you. There will be choices for you which will have an effect on the final interest rate & annual percentage rate (APR) you may select. Basing your decision or question on rate alone could lead to unknowingly selecting a higher cost program.

Every file is unique, while rates are advertised and everyone might seem to have the same rates, it is very important to shop the fees and programs too.

If you you would like to discuss the particulars of your file please feel free to contact me directly.

Thank you for visiting Trulia.com, I hope my response is helpful.

Also please see my "Buyers Flow-Chart" by clicking the link below.

Good Luck! -Kris

Kristopher Furrow – Realtor® RealEstate.com Realtors® 801.916.0815
Realtor - RealEstate.com Realtors®, Utah license # 5489913-SA00
Loan Officer - Envision Lending Group, Utah license # 5489913-MLAF - Wed Jul 30 2008, 00:57

Hello Aaron,

Being a contingent buyer is not a bad place to be, but you are definitely limited on your negotiation strength. The fact that you have made the effort to secure representation a great thing, the trouble is now you have emotionally connected yourself to a home in PC maybe prematurely. The more important question is what are you doing to hasten the sale of the WV home? You are now in a negotiation that you have known factors to, but the known factors you need most are the settlement date and final price of the WV home. I am sure for you many things hinge on those two items, such as down payment and the complete financing terms.

Having waited to submit and offer to purchase until at least having the WV home under contract would have given you more confidence and negotiation strength. Having the pressure to sell WV could weaken you position and cause you to sell for less here and pay more there, but you are here now so get aggressive on selling WV and move onto PC.
Tell all of us local Salt Lake County agents where we can see your WV listing (MLS# or Agents Name) so we can help you out…

Thank you for visiting Trulia.com, I hope my response is helpful. Good Luck! -Kris

Kristopher Furrow – Realtor® RealEstate.com Realtors® 801.916.0815
Realtor - RealEstate.com Realtors®, Utah license # 5489913-SA00
Loan Officer - Envision Lending Group, Utah license # 5489913-MLAF - Tue Jul 15 2008, 09:11

Hello David,
I always recommend to my clients both buyers and sellers to have the home inspected by an NACHI member. By having an inspector complete a non-invasive visual examination of a residential dwelling, which is designed to identify observed material defects within specific components of the subject will give you a better understanding of the home you are about to purchase. Components inspected may include any combination of mechanical, structural, electrical, plumbing, or other essential systems or portions of the home.

Whether requested by a buyer or seller the initial report will always be the same. I always preface the recommendation with the warning that the inspector’s service & report will identify many items in the subject property as defective, requires attention, out of code, or beyond its functional lifespan, ect, ect. The point of conducting the inspection is to identify specific health, safety, and structural issues. Once the initial report is completed we then review the high priority items. If these issues need further inspection by a licensed technicians or special inspections, they are completed as required.

No house is perfect, new or old, a major consideration for you and your agent as you analyze the numbers will be "Do the comparables in your CMA's reflect the same property conditions, or do those homes reflect repaired or updated conditions?"

If the average home is updated and in good condition and the seller is unwilling to remedy the issues or items a price adjustment is required. Still no go? If the items are more than you can handle or live with then it is time to move on. Your lender and or appraiser may also have problems with these items which can result in more difficulty approving and closing the loan. The deal is not dead until it’s really dead, so ask for what you want & need, you are in control of what is an acceptable resolution to you!

Make sure that you have ample time in your contract deadlines, to protect your earnest money, if special inspections or quotes from licensed techs are requested make sure they deliver before the expiration of your "Inspection Deadline" to ensure your ability to request seller repairs, price reduction, or cash in lieu of repairs (if allowed by the lender, loan program).

Thank you for visiting Trulia.com, I hope my response is helpful. Good Luck! -Kris

Kristopher Furrow – Realtor® RealEstate.com Realtors® 801.916.0815
Realtor - RealEstate.com Realtors®, Utah license # 5489913-SA00
Loan Officer - Envision Lending Group, Utah license # 5489913-MLAF - Tue Jul 8 2008, 01:03

(Part Two)

From an investment standpoint, Spend Less, Buy Smart! If you were to buy a condo around 200-225k or a detached house in salt lake county around 275-300k you would be less exposed to conditions outside of your control. I think the SL Co. condo might be the safest investment over all. If you were to purchase a condo this summer or fall in the lower price range you could either use a reduced term mortgage like a 15 year fixed mortgage to reduce your total interest paid over the next five years or so & improve your equity position when it is time to sell or have lower cash flow for housing and save or invest elsewhere. Also there is safety in numbers, when you are ready to sell the SL Co. condo there will be a much larger buyer pool to market your home to. Conversely the PC condo market has fewer interested buyers at their premium price point, and you can see in the numbers above PC condos will probably fall at a faster rate than SL Co. So as the economy tightens & corrects you could have a great SL Co. condo, pay less in fuel and other consumables, have a property appealing to the masses. And limit your exposure to falling values in over inflated markets or neighbor hoods. Not to mention the drag the nagging commute will inevitably put on you, your time, and in the end your lifestyle.

Get the Knowledge, Get the Edge!
If you would like the above pricing reports in excel format, or need further information & assistance navigating the intricacies of buying and selling real estate call me any time!
I am a very tech savvy Realtor®; if you prefer to correspond via text or chat to discuss these scenarios in greater detail please contact me directly by email to coordinate an online meeting via msn messenger or program of your choice. Otherwise send any questions to me by email: kristopher.furrow@realestate.com

Thank you for visiting Trulia.com, I hope my response is helpful. Good Luck! -Kris

Kristopher Furrow – Realtor® RealEstate.com Realtors® 801.916.0815
Realtor - Utah license # 5489913-SA00
Loan Officer - Utah license # 5489913-MLAF - Fri Jun 27 2008, 08:25

Hello Aaron,
Congrats on the engagement! That is a very exciting thing.

Well, I will address the investment portion of your question. While PC has a lot to offer to your lifestyle, you said it yourself “you are busy professionals". You probably have been or will be impacted by the soaring gas prices, and other parts of the economy. Your work obligations will probably increase as the economy runs through this correction cycle as well. That should be a serious consideration as you merge your finances and make longer term plans for your family.

I will say something you probably would not expect from a Realtor, SPEND LESS! Here are a few stats from the MLS… (Hopefully this displays well on trulia)

Salt Lake Co.
2005, # Condos Sold, 1435, % change (start) Avg. Sales Price, $149,824
2006, # Condos Sold, 1614, % change +12.47% Avg. Sales Price, $155,948, % change +4.09%
2007, # Condos Sold, 1495, % change -07.30% Avg. Sales Price, $193,171, % change +23.87%
’08 YTD# CondosSold, 967, % change NA Avg. Sales Price, $192,204, % change -00.50%

Summit Co.
2005, # Condos Sold, 345, % change (start) Avg. Sales Price, $269,822
2006, # Condos Sold, 204, % change -40.00% Avg. Sales Price, $393,630, % change +45.89%
2007, # Condos Sold, 217, % change +06.37% Avg. Sales Price, $466,521, % change +18.52%
’08 YTD# CondosSold, 108, % change NA Avg. Sales Price, $373,681, % change -19.90%

It sounds like together you are definitely in the buy/sell cycle & not sidelined first time home buyers. I think this is a good opportunity to tell you what we here at RealEstate.com and Lendingtree.com have been talking about & will likely see over the next few years in our local real estate and mortgage rate markets.
As you probably know the Fed Reserve met this week and DID NOT raise the funds rate or the prime rate, but they used specific language of their concerns for inflation, a blatant hint in the fed’s game that rate hikes are coming in the not so distant future. Historically we know that although the funds rate and the prime rate do not directly correlate to mortgage rates historical when these rates rise, mortgage rates follow. Moreover, in the last 6-9 months we have seen a volatile mortgage rates market with a sizable-overall uptick in rates in the face of the fed drastically dropping the funds & prime rates which was expected to stabilize the markets. As the fed raises rates in the next little while, so will go mortgage and other credit rates. Today we are seeing 6.125 - 6.625 rates for great credit, low risk borrowers on 30 year fixed mortgage loans. Recent history shows us that over the last 30 years these mortgage rates have been on average over 7.5% and the less than 6% rates we have had are a phenomenon of the 2000’s. It is obvious that home prices are falling in certain market segments (in SL Co. homes over 350k) or areas (areas with highest gains have the furthest to fall) AZ, NV, FL, & CA. The truth is we are heading into territory where the average home buyer is not calculating the risks the mortgage side presents to their purchase, or sees the real opportunities in today’s market. If mortgage rates jump 1.5% over the next year or two it would require the home prices to fall around 30% just to even out the cost differential. We know that Utah, more specifically Salt Lake County has not experienced the same level of highs as surrounding markets like Vegas or Phoenix and we should not expect equal price reductions. Knowing that the mortgage rates are essentially the same nationally but the housing markets are local, our market is poised for generally rising housing costs, IE: if our market falls by 10% but 30yr fixed rates rise to 7.5% our homes will be about 20% more expensive than they are today.

I say all that to say this…

(See Part Two) - Fri Jun 27 2008, 08:23