The Stephanie Reed Mortgage Team, with Academy Mortgage, wrote a very good article the other day, and they gave me permission to re-post it here. I am not a fan of "high pressure" sales tactics, and that's not what this is about. However, if I don't share this kind of information with you, to save you money, I'm not doing my job as your Realtor.
Here's the article:
Waiting a few extra days or weeks to purchase a home this spring could
cost buyers thousands of extra dollars as the office of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) implements several changes for loans guaranteed
by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).
Coming just weeks before the April 30 deadline for the Home Buyer
Tax Credit and just days after the March 31 expiration of the Federal
Reserve Board’s mortgage backed securities purchase program (which has
kept home loan rates artificially low for over a year), these FHA
changes make it even more important to act now to save big.
Here are a few reasons why:
On April 5th, the cost of required up-front mortgage insurance for
loans guaranteed by the FHA will increase from 1.75% to 2.25%. For a
borrower purchasing a $200,000 home with a $7,000 down payment, the
up-front mortgage insurance will increase by $965. Up-front mortgage
insurance is typically financed in the final loan amount so the impact
to a monthly payment will be minimal but overall, the increase is still
borne by the borrower both upfront and monthly.
Later this spring, the amount of money that a seller can return to
the buyer from their sale proceeds will be reduced from 6% to 3%. The
reduction in these “seller concessions” can increase the amount of cash
a buyer will be required to pay at closing by $6,000 for a home
purchase of $200,000.
There is only one way to avoid being affected by all of these
costly changes that lie ahead –submit all FHA mortgage applications by
the last week of March.
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Mike here again: This article is brought to you by the Stephanie Reed Team. You can reach them at 515.988.7074. You can reach me at 515.966.4510. When you are buying your first (or second, or third) home, you need a good team on your side, and that means both a Realtor and a loan officer who care about you and your needs.
If you prefer to email me, you can do so by clicking here.
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