How Do I Fix Up My Home?
One of the most asked questions from our clients who buy older homes is “How Do I Get The Money To Fix Up My Home?” Used to be that was easy with a home equity loan, but most folks now a days don’t have the “equity” for a home equity loan…so..what are the alternatives?
If you live in places like Tooele County, Morgan County, the unincorporated area of Salt Lake County(Kearns, Copperton, Magna, Millcreek, White City), and South Salt Lake, the CDC (Community Development Corporation) has low cost loans available for rehabilitation and critical repairs to your home.
These rehab and repair loans are available to low to mid income families and are designed for owner/occupants only, living in single family homes. Mobile homes that are not on a permanent foundation on land Not owned by the homeowner are not allowed.
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Now, these loans are not based on the equity in your home, they are based on your income, the amount of people that that income supports (who lives in your house), and the home itself.
Once your eligibility is determined for your rehabilitation loan, the CDC will send out a housing specialist to visit your home and help you determine what needs to be done…no the money is not carte blanche so if you were going to put gold leafing on the baseboards, add a hot tub or add a Mercedes to the driveway …not going to happen. The CDC will be involved the whole way.
When the repairs and rehab projects are determined, they will put a price tag to it all, either estimated or actual bids (and yes you can do work that you are qualified for). This will be submitted to the loan committee who will then give you the go ahead for your projects and you will “close” on the loan.
After a 3 day wait (so if you change your mind, you can get out of it), then you, the housing specialist and the contractors can sign a contract and set a date to begin work.
The CDC will occasionally send inspectors to see the work progress. Then, once the work is completed and signed off, the contractors will be paid…and voila…you have a repaired home with very low monthly payments.
Now, we have given you kind of a general overview of these rehabilitation loans in Utah, but you can get more information here including income limits, max loan amounts monthly payments and generally what is involved:
There is also assistance in Salt Lake County for energy efficiency upgrades that can make your home more comfortable & reduce energy use (and monthly bills)! Grants for income eligible households, loans for higher income households. For more information on this visit www.energysmartsaltlakecounty.org
Hope this helps….be sure and text or call us at 801-819-9005 if you have any questions. And if you are looking to purchase a home…well we can help you with that too. Start Here!
Read More
How To Buy A House And Get The Money To Fix It Up!
You are First Time Homebuyers and you have Found THE HOME. You have watched DIY and HGTV and you know you can do everything those couples do on the home improvement show, but beyond the down payment, you have very little money to replace the cabinets in the kitchen, tile the bathroom and maybe add a family room in the basement. What’re ya gonna do?
Cheer up little buckaroo, as sure as the sun shines, or in Utah the rain comes as of late, you can accomplish all those magical repairs, rehab your home and live the life of Riley (now that Really dates me doesn’t it).
How can you accomplish this miraculous feat you ask? Simple, with an FHA 203k rehab loan. This most fabulous loan will allow you to not only purchase your home, but finance the improvements as well and keep it all in one mortgage at low FHA loan rates.
Now, what Can you do with an FHA 203k loan you ask? Any or all of the following:
- Paint
- Repair a kitchen
- Add a deck or patio
- Insulate for greater energy efficiency
- Replace flooring ie tile, carpet, etc
- Add a bathroom, replace a bathroom
- Finish a basement
- Replace windows
- Replace Appliances ie stove, furnace, water heater…energy credit
- Add central air (again energy credit here)
- And Much More
What Can’t you do with an FHA203k mortgage loan?
- Put in a pool or an ice skating rink
- Add a Theater Room and all the equipment (you could get away with the room)
- Buy a Ferarri
- Any other Luxury item, like gold plating the baseboards
- Putting in a yard
So what do I have to do to get one of these FHA 203k loans you ask?
There are hoops to jump through to qualify for this kind of mortgage (what government program Doesn’t have hoops?)
- Owner/occupants only…no flipping or investors (and no you don’t have to be a 1st time homebuyer to qualify)
- The house must have been completed for at least 1 year , no new construction houses, sorry
- You will need to have 2 appraisals (one for the as-is value now and one for the projected value once the work is completed)
- Only 1 appraisal for a HUD Home- ask me how you can get one of those for $100 down!
- You must identify the repairs and work to be done, and have a written estimate of materials and labor by a licensed contractor and an interior plan of the home.
- Note here: You can actually do the work, but you must have enough in escrow for labor in case you don’t get it done in a timely manner.
- Repairs and addition must have the proper permits, inspections and be done to code
- And most of all…..you must be able to qualify for the finished product (cost of house + rehab money), so you can’t buy that million dollar fixer upper guys, sorry…..well unless you can Afford that million dollar home.
- You must still have your 3 ½ percent down payment for the entire purchase price (home + rehab money)
So, if you’re game for the hoop jumping, have the vision to make the ugly duckling into a swan, then the FHA 203k loan is just what you are looking for. Give us a call (yep the number is right up top) or text us…or you can even email us… and we will help you get started, both with the mortgage and with finding the right home to apply it to!
Read MoreDouble Double Toil & Trouble-Buying & Selling At The Same Time
Buying or selling a home can be stressful individually, but to do both at the same time can be…well, not to put too fine a point on it….Overwhelming. And the reality is…sometimes you gotta do just that! Now the obvious sales pitch here is “Use a Realtor”, but the fact is, there is more to it than that. So here are some suggestions.
1. Get yourself a notebook
someplace to keep all the information you need to coordinate the move from old to new. Record important dates like when you have to be relocated (and this applies to moving across town And moving to another city or state), when the kids need to be at their new school, when the new job starts. In other words, start a time line for your move.
2. Work On Selling Your Current Home First.
In all likelihood, you will need the money from the sale of the old home as a down-payment for the new one. (Unless you are unbearably rich, in which case you would not be reading this), so it makes much more sense to sell the old before committing to the new.
And…Selling your old home first does 2 things, A. gives you better negotiating power on your new home if you don’t have contingencies like “contingent on buyer selling current property” so you can close on the property quickly and B. you don’t have to sell your old home for a fire sale price in order to keep the commitments on the new one.
So, use that time line you just created to count backwards, adding in the time it will take to sell your home (Your Realtor will have that information..oops, blatant commercial there). Your timeline will determine when you need to put your home on the market. Most of the time…that will be…Uh…. Yesterday.
3. Get A Home Inspection.
This will give you a leg up so to speak on getting your home sold by knowing issues in advance and making any necessary repairs. This will save you money as well by commanding the best price for your home rather than negotiating for repairs.
4. Get Your Home Ready For Buyers
Paint, clean and de-clutter. You are moving anyway, so start packing away the high school trophies, the kids extra toys, and my personal pet peeve, magnets on the fridge. Get the carpets cleaned; make the windows shine, the kitchen gleam and the bathrooms sparkle. And…a fresh coat of paint is worth a thousand words dollars. Oh, and don’t forget the outside, curb appeal is your first impression! This is the mostimportant thing you will do. Trust me on this.
5. Pre Qualify For Your New Home
Once you get your home on the market, pre-qualify with your loan officer for your new home. Get all your documentation to h
im/her and work with your lender on a payment you feel comfortable with. Once you have your price point, use your notebook to write down “must haves”, then “would like to haves”. Know your vision of your new home before you start looking.
Then, spend some time on the internet, looking for your general vision. If you have a home search site that allows you to keep a “favorites” folder, keep homes you find interesting in that folder, and either keep an eye on them, or just keep them as samples to show your Realtor.
6. Know Thy Buyer
When you get an offer on your old home, you should be aware that any buyer making an offer should present with that offer a letter from their lender declaring they are qualified to purchase your home
(Now, your Realtor will know and require this without having to do a thing!)
Don’t hesitate to have your Realtor (if they have not done it already before presenting the offer to you) call the prospective buyer’s loan officer to discover the loan type, where they are in the process, whether they are using grant monies (this is not a bad thing, but sometimes can cause delays…you should know this up front) and anything else that may be pertinent to the contract.
7. Now You Can Look!
Once you have accepted an offer and you are “officially” under contract, then start looking for your new home. If you have done your homework (step 4) it will be a streamlined process.
8. Timing Is Everything
Make sure that you, your Realtor, and your loan officer coordinate the deadlines and closings between the 2 homes. Your Realtor will already know the important deadlines in the old home contract, and will make sure you are protected in the new home contract against losing earnest money or other penalties should the old home contract fall through (and yes, despite everyone’s best efforts, sometimes that happens…especially in this day and age).
Ultimately, buying and selling homes at the same time can be an easy process if you do your homework and create a plan that includes a team of professionals to help you.
Oh, and by the way, if you are looking for Great Realtors to help you create that plan, give us a call at 801-819-9005…we are glad to help you in any way we can. We love to see a great plan come together!
Read MoreWill Interest Rates Or Home Prices Make A Difference?
Buying a Home In Salt Lake City, Ut
Will Interest Rates Or Home Prices Make A Difference?
One of our clients, a first time homebuyer, asked us the other day whether they should wait for home prices to drop more before buying a home. They were also concerned about interest rates rising and rightly so. Our answer to them was twofold (don’t you just love literary elegance?) and we thought we would pass this on to you as well.
- Interest rates are indeed on the rise. They are higher today than the 4.785 that we have been
Townhomes & Condos in Salt Lake
seeing for the last several months in Salt Lake. Now this means not only a higher payment on a loan, but can also mean that your buying power is diminished (you can’t qualify for as much to purchase a home).
- Although prices in Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas may continue to drop slightly during theremainder of the year, the consensus is that our market has basically bottomed out, especially in the first time home buyer price range of under $250,000. Our market has not suffered the free fall associated with California, Las Vegas, and Arizona, and so has stabilized more quickly.
- With the incentives offered by the govt in the form of the $8000 first time homebuyers tax credit, the $6500 credit extended tax credit for existing homeowners, grant money, and Utah Housing financing buying a home in Salt Lake holds it’s attraction. Now, this post was written back during the good old days when these were all in place, but since you missed ‘em, we will just tell you that Mortgage Interest is Still Tax deductible, which can turn a 2,000 refund into a $4,000 refund with that deduction, which means you can adjust your take home pay to cover part of your payment. Whoo Hoo!
To illustrate how interest rates more so than a drop in price will affect you in buying a home, we turned to our trusty lender, Lance Sorenson, to provide some valuable information for you.
| Based on Sales Price of $150,000 FHA Loan 3.5% down pmt |
Payment |
| Current Interest Rate | 766.03 |
|
Value of Home Drops 5% |
740.46 |
| Home Value Same Interest Rate Increases 1% |
856.25 |
| Home Value Decreases 5% Inerest Rate Increases 1% |
827.67 |
| Based on Sales Price of $200,000 FHA Loan 3.5% down pmt |
Payment (Principle & Int. only) |
| Current Interest Rate | 1039.24 |
| Value of Home Drops 5% Interest Rate Same |
987.28 |
| Home Value Same Interest Rate Increases 1% |
1161.64 |
| Home Value Decreases 5% Inerest Rate Increases 1% |
1103.56 |
Look for homes in West Jordan under $250,000
As you can see, interest rates will make more of a difference than a decline in price, so keep that in mind as you make your decision to buy a home.
It could save you lots of money (and I don’t know about you, but I would rather have that extra 100 bucks in My pocket, not the banks).
If you have any questions, be sure to give us a call or shoot us an email!
Til later,
Ciao
Utah Rural Housing Loans
Utah Rural Housing Loans are one of the most affordable loans available. Ha, you say, all loans are affordable right now, and if you are saying that you would be correct.
Most mortgage loans are available for less than 5% interest rates, But….and this is a big BUT for most folks these days, this is one of the only loans available with 100% financing…that’s right, 100% financing. Happy Dance Here!
Other Benefits Of Utah Rural Housing Loans
- No Mortgage Insurance- unlike FHA or any loan that you don’t have 20% down with, there is no mortgage insurance on this loan
- No Down Payment required- even HUD homes these days require $100 down (well plus $1000 in earnest money). VA loans are the only other mortgage loans that do not require a down payment.
- Rates are comparable to other interest rates available. (You will need to check with your lender to find out current rates for Utah Rural Housing Loans
Requirements for Utah Rural Housing Loans
Yes, I know, there is no free lunch, so here are the basic requirements on Utah Rural Housing Mortgage Loans
- Income limits- this is based on the number of persons in your home and other mystical math calculations but here it is : 1-4 people in household max income $70,750, for 5-8 people in household max income $93,400
- Your debt to income ratio must not exceed 41% (This is the amount of your proposed monthly payment (principal and interest), real estate taxes, insurance, and other credit debts cannot exceed 41% of you gross monthly income)
- You must have a good credit score (this is another one you should check out with a lender, rule of thumb 660)
And the biggie….this is a Rural Housing Loan. So you must purchase your home in a more rural area, but that does not mean you have to live in a log cabin in the nether reaches of the Oquirrah mountains or on a farm some where miles from the nearest neighbor.
For the most part, rural housing would be places like Tooele County, Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs to name a few. So if you work around the 1-80 corridor, near the airport, or down south, these communities would be great for you!
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- Multilevel in Tooele
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- Multi level in Eagle Mountain
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- Rambler in Saratoga Springs
The communities are all great, with newer homes at reasonable prices. What you could buy for $250,000 in Salt Lake County, you could easily purchase for under $200,000 in these areas. This is because the land value is less in these communities.
There are also new construction homes in these communities that are also less expensive than these same builders are building in Salt Lake County. Call or text us for a list of these builders at 801-819-9005
Homes That Qualify For Utah Rural Housing Loans
Bottom line….you get more bang for your buck, AND a 100% loan when you purchase a home in rural areas like Tooele County, Eagle Mountain, and Saratoga Springs. Contact us for details at 801-819-9005 or loves@saltlakehomefinders.com
Read MoreCity Grants For 1st Time Homebuyers
One of the hardest parts of buying your first home is getting the money you need for down payment. Usually 3.5 % for FHA loans and 5-20 % for conventional. On a $200,000 home that is $7000 to $40,000 depending on the type of loan you have. Pocket change sez you…ha ha sez I (no, I don’t know what that means, I just wanted to be a pirate for a second).
Now if that is scaring you off of buying a home, don’t cry little buckaroo. There are programs available especially for first time homebuyers that will help you with the money for down payment that you need. These are in the form of:
- Utah Housing- a state run program that will grant up to 103% financing of sales price to assist first time homebuyers with down payment and/or closing costs. There are income limitations and also debt to income limitations, plus credit score in the mid 600s
- City Grants- There is grant money available in various cities throughout the Wasatch Front that will grant you up to 5-10,000 in money toward down payment and closing costs. Again, there are restrictions on price of the home, debt to income, and now most cities have criteria on credit scores as well. These cities also have different criteria on their grants as well. Some cities require you to make an offer first, then present the REPC (purchase contract) as part of the application process. Some cities require you to apply first, and look after you have been accepted.
Salt Lake County Homes For Sale that may qualify for grant money
Just remember that not all cities have grants for first time homebuyers , and the cities that do have down payment 
assistance grants, are limited and sometimes run out of money.
So, if you want a list of cities and the criteria they use for grants in the Salt Lake Valley, email us at loves@saltlakehomefinders.com and we will send a list out to you.
And, as always, if you have questions, text or
Call Us
801-819-9005
Ciao!
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