Nancy Linder

Are you currently behind on payments? If so, have you talked to anyone about selling your property as a "Short Sale"? In easy quick terms, a "short sale" is just like selling your house with a REALTOR, but the bank/Mortgage Lenders have to approve the purchse price offered by the Buyer. The Lenders decide if they will let you sell the home for the Buyer's Purchase Price Offer and if they will "forgive" the remainder of the amount on the mortgage note. With a credit score of 615, it will be difficult to get any lender to refinance your loan. A Real Estate Investor might be able to help you out by taking the property for you. If you let the home go into Foreclosure, your credit score will be severely lowered. Lenders, right now, are requiring 4 years after a Foreclosure to be able to qualify for a loan (which do not have very good terms). It might be more than 4 years before you can buy in the future considering the tightening of the Mortgage Lendering Industry. Since your credit score will be so low, it will be difficult to get any credit or loans for the 4 years. Landlords might not consider renting to you if they have a minimum credit score criteria or have a criteria to not accept anyone who has an active foreclosure on their credit report. If at all possible, do not go into Foreclosure. There are options: Short Sale, Real Estate Investor, talk to a Lender who is willing to discuss options with you like Lindell Bank, or talk to a Government Housing Assistance Agency. I hope you are able to find a solution.

Sincerely,
Nancy Linder, REALTOR and Real Estate Investor
Keller Williams Southwest - Thu Sep 4 2008, 17:20

If you have enough to buy a home of $200K and place a down-payment of $50-100K, then banks should definitely be talking to you. However, lenders want to see a great deal of reserves saved in the bank after you purchase the home to provide more reassurance that if a change happens in your life your savings will be still be able to pay your mortgage. In this circumstance, your credit score and report will be a major factor the banks will evaluate when considering you for a loan, since you had not have income. The banks will want to know how you saved/obtained the large down-payment funds. Have you considered buying a less expensive house for right now, and therefore placing less down-payment allowing your bank account to show more stability. Lenders will look at Debt to income ratio, but will also look at Loan to Value ration. If you are able to purchase a house at a considerable discount, and place a large down payment down then what the home is really worth even in today's market, this is another factor that Lenders should be jumping to get your mortgage. Traditional Banks are not always the best place to get mortgage lending. Look into the options at Mortgage Lending firms/Businesses or see a mortgage broker. To help keep your credit score from showing a lot of inquires, ask a lot of questions about what kind of loans they offer and talk to them about your circumstances before giving them your Social Security Number (credit check info). A co-signer is another option too, if you have someone willing to do that. There is a way you can obtain a loan with your situation. Other than the lack of income, lenders should be jumping to get a loan from you. They need the money and you are a stable investment.
I hope this information has helped!

Sincerely,
Nancy Linder
Keller Williams Southwest
St. Louis, MO
314-966-4700
314-616-2313
http://NancyLinder.yourKWagent.com - Thu Aug 21 2008, 21:15

Check St. Louis City Metro Police website. It will provide type of crime and number of times that crime occured for each month by neighborhood. http://www.slmpd.org/crimestats/index.htm

Nancy Linder
Keller Williams Southwest
10805 Sunset Office Dr., Suite 102
St. Louis, MO 63127
Cell: 314-616-2313
http://NancyLinder.yourKWagent.com - Tue Jul 15 2008, 10:45

Seeing Stephanie's point, I want to clarify my answer. I sell a lot of homes in South City to first time home buyers and they want outside space, but they like homes that have a true, the NEW type of sunporch, which is what I may be visualizing. Maybe I should be more clear. Many young buyers do not like the old small add-on that feels more like a walk-thru dark covered back porch where the only use is to throw your shoes after working in the yard. This is not considered a sunporch in my mind or my buyers, but merely a mud room. However, what I consider a sunporch is a room (at least 10 x 10, bigger preferred) that has large windows on 3 sides, you can sit in a chair and be at the same height of the windows or higher, and the roof is high enough to let light shine into the room. The room should beam with light and make you feel like you are outside, but provide the cover and protection from the rain and bugs. I have seen old homes with the new modern sunroom addition and my buyers love it. Buyers like the bright room to relax in and entertain guest. If you were thinking about making just an "add-on" like many of the homes in the city, then I agree that a deck (10 x 10 or bigger) would be a better feature. I just didn't clarify myself and explain what I consider as a sunroom. - Tue Jul 8 2008, 14:22

It depends on the Buyer. However, a Sunporch can be used in rain or shine, keeps the bugs out, and if it possilbe, has the ability to close the windows for year-round enjoyment! Neither a deck nor a sunporch technically add value to a home, but it does make the home more desirable to buyers making them willing to pay a little more than other comparable homes. A deck has to be maintained more often and is only practical when it is warm outside (not in the cold weather or the Hot summer). My vote would be the sunporch for it's versibility. Also, since you are in South Hampton the typical buyer for that area would prefer a sunporch over a deck. - Wed Jul 2 2008, 14:54

Gravois Park is an area of Redevelopment. There are rehabbed homes or homes in the process of being rehabbed. It is south of the central corridor of St. Louis City and a few miles southeast of Tower Grove Park. The area is a combination of single family and multi-family units. It is mixed with Owner-occupied homes as well as renters. In 2007, the average home sale price (7 homes) was $129,404. The average home sale price so far in 2008 (3 homes) was $100, 500. For information try the following sites: http://stlouis.missouri.org/gravoispark/
safecity.slmpd.org/ - Mon Jul 7 2008, 12:57