Clear clutter away from rooms, clutter make the rooms look smaller and of course the buyer will think that the rooms are small too. The kitchen counters should be clutter free also.  furniture that is not used put in storage.   Move your furniture around in your home, sometimes the dining room become the office.   Potential buyers need to see each room has a purpose.

Rent furniture or accessories to fill in empty spaces.  Most furniture will show wear  and tear you may want to rent some newer looking furniture, you can also rent accent pieces like vase, dishes and more.

About the program:

America’s Home Buyer Solution Gift Program is designed to provide eligible homebuyers a gift of up to 2.5% of the sales price to be applied towards the FHA down payment and/or allowable closing costs for the purchase of a home.

Targeted towards quality affordable housing, approved homebuyers can purchase a home for as little as 1% down payment. The program also allows for the remaining 1% down payment to be gifted from any FHA allowable source.

The program is offered exclusevely through The Lending Company, a Direct Endorsed US Housing and urban Development lender. There is no requirement for the gift to ever be repaid. It is offered in concert with an IRS approved 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

This is not a seller-paid down-payment assistance program and the seller is not required to participate.

Program Benefits:

• The program provides up to a 2.5% gift to FHA qualified home buyers
• Remaining down payment is as low as 1% (as above, if market conditions allow, down payment from borrower may be as low as 1/2%)
• Seller can and is encouraged to contrbute towards the closing costs to further assist the homebuyer
• Income requirements match USDA Income Guides
• Competitive interest rates
• Flexible FHA approval guidelines
• Not limited to first-time homebuyers
• Standard FHA appraisal
• Owner Occupied purchase only
• 1 units allowed
• FHA approved condominiums allowed
• Loan limits match FHA guidelines for each county
• Minimum credit score of 640
• Successful credit restoration allowed
• Automated AUS/DU approve/eligible determination required
• FHA qualified Non-occupant co-borrower/co-signer allowed
• No prepayment penalties
• Must complete approved Home Buyer Counseling Course
• Must meet income guidelines for approval
  Call Jeff Thomas (602-610-4030 jthomas@thelendingco.com) with the Lending Company to see if you qualify for this great program, and then callTheBrooksteamaz.com to find your “Dream Home”.
  Stephen W. Brooks
  623-202-3833
  www.thebrooksteamaz.com
  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Brooks-Team-AZ-Realtors/178283375540777

Lets first talk about the Lease Purchase which I’m sure you’ve all heard of . The lease purchase is a good option if you understand it. The way it works is (you find a Realtor like me with eXp) to help you find a home that fits your needs, where the owner is offering this option. At the time you lease the property you also agree to purchase the home in the near future at a set price, you pay the seller monthly and a portion of the monthly lease payments are to be applied to your down payment when the lease expires. Sounds simple right?

Well here is the problem that I’ve seen with lease purchases. When most people that were put into the lease purchase homes with impaired credit, there was no help, or guidance  to help the lessee. No follow up to see if lessee was doing the things needed to improve credit score to qualify for a loan to purchase when the lease is over. There for loosing the home and there down-payment in the process.

The Brooks Team has found a way to make this work. We we’ll guide you to the right people that will hold you accountable. www.quizzle.com is a great site to let you know where your credit is and where it needs to be to make your  lease purchase a reality.

Now the Lease To Own program is a great program that I’ve became aware of a short while ago. This is a great program which is run by Community Empower https://www.communityempower.com/lto/ from Texas and has spread to CO and AZ. There are 4 steps involved in this program.

Step one: You apply into the program to see if you qualify. Once pre-qualified you are assigned to a counselor that will discuss the benefit of a 4-month enrollment in there ScoreManager credit program regardless of whether you are immediately qualified for the program. This program will guide you to getting your credit inline to qualify for a mortgage.

Step 2: Once you are approved you find a Realtor, (like us) to help you find your new home. You’ll may have the chance to choose from many homes.

Step 3: Once you find the home and sign the lease and pay the appropriate fees you get the keys to your new home. During your 6-18 month  lease Score manger will help improve your score so you can become a home owner

Step 4 Lastly when your lease is up and you’ve followed Score manger you qualify for your mortgage and become a home owner. So give Darlene and I a call we’ll help stop renting and become a homeowner .

Stephen W. Brooks

623-202-3833

www.thebrooksteamaz.com

There are some REALLY good deals all over the Metro Phoenix Area right now…but before you get too excited about purchasing a condo make sure you understand the potential pitfalls with regard to financing.

Of course, securing financing is the most important step in any transaction…but there are additional concerns when the property is a condo.

According to Gina Chavez, Senior Loan Officer with Cherry Creek Mortgage, “The condo arena can be a little quirky.  Here is some information to consider:

A loan may be eligible for a Limited Review if:

ü       The borrower is purchasing the condo as a primary residence and has a down payment of at least 10%,or

ü       The borrower is purchasing the condo as a second home and has a down payment of at least25%

ü       Investor loans are not eligible for a limited review

Under the limited review, there are no occupancy requirements (investor vs. owner occupied/second home), no full legal review, no full budget review and no replacement reserve requirement.  The following guidelines, however, must be met:

ü       Cannot be ineligible – projects with timeshare units, condo hotels, multiple units under a single deed and/or mortgage

ü       No single person or entity can own more than 10% of the units

ü       No more than 20% of the total square footage of the project can be used for non-residential purposes

ü       Evidence of insurance in the name of the HOA and must meet minimum insurance requirements.

All loans outside the specifics listed above will most likely need a full review.  A Full Review requires the project to meet the 3 above mentioned guidelines PLUS the following:

ü       At least 51% of the units must be owner occupied/second homes.  Note: some lenders require a higher ratio of owner occupied units

ü       Budget must have at least 10% of the total budget allocated to replacement reserves

ü       No more than 15% of the unit owners can be more than 30 days delinquent in paying their HOA dues

Lenders will generally request a condo questionnaire be completed by the HOA and use the questionnaire, along with supporting documents if needed, to determine whether the project meets lending guidelines.

Condo guidelines continue to evolve and can be a bit cumbersome to interpret. Cherry Creek Mortgage Company, Inc has a condo review department that solely exists to assist in determining project eligibility.

Bottom line: As long as the property you decide on is a condo, there may be some extra hoops to jump thru…most of the verifying will be done upfront, typically the HOA Cert is $150.00 and will need to be paid for upfront.  Also, there is a possibility of requiring up to 25% as your down payment. If the home you find is a Townhome or Patio home the above issues don’t apply.”

So…this does NOT mean that there is no financing available for condos…it just means there will be extra expenses and due diligence necessary.

As always… if you are looking for a GREAT agent to help with your real estate needs please e-mail me at Adele@GreaterPhoenixHomes.com or give me a call (or text) at 602-504-3898 or 888-897-7821 x 114. Plus, I have a GREAT search tool on my web site that gives you the ability to search the entire MLS…just like agents do. Very COOL!  Go to Metro Phoenix Homes and check it out! YOU can create and save as many searches as you would like…and it it THE SAME SEARCH I DO AS AN AGENT! You will LOVE it!

THIS IS THE BEST MOST ACCURATE SEARCH OF OUR LOCAL MLS

ATTENTION AGENTS…Is your Real Estate Career or Company taking you where you want to go?
Need MORE business?  Need MORE leads?  What has your company done for you lately?
Ask Me Why… I joined eXp Realty

I have had my eye on this project for a long while. I have sold many homes in the downtown historic areas…and this place has been the talk of nearby neighbors for some time.

The property has been tied up in Mortgages Ltd.’s financial problems for the past few years. Original lender, Desert Hills Bank, filed to foreclose in 2007.  Mortgages Ltd. took over with a $65 million financing deal.  Chateau on Central had been stalled since  June 2008 when Mortgages Ltd. was forced into bankruptcy by its creditors and investors.

Enter Wisconsin-based MSI West Investments. They paid $7 million for the 21 homes with elevators and rooftop terraces. If you do the math…this is about $350,000 per unit.

The units range from roughly 5100 square feet to over 8000 square feet.

I have to say I am impressed with the concept…and the views.

It’s rare to find highly modern, highly upgraded space in the Central Corridor. But what makes this place especially unique is the zoning. The lower two levels can be used as commercial space. It would make a wonderful artist studio or something like that.

The charming original exterior gives no hint of the modern interior you will find. Including a private elevator in each unit!

The on sight sales team is knowledgeable and friendly. I shot a quick video while I was touring….take a look…

If you are looking for upscale urban living…I would love to take you downtown to tour this unique project!

As always… if you are looking for a GREAT agent to help with your real estate needs please e-mail me at Adele@GreaterPhoenixHomes.com or give me a call (or text) at 602-504-3898 or 888-897-7821 x 114. Plus, I have a GREAT search tool on my web site that gives you the ability to search the entire MLS…just like agents do. Very COOL!  Go to Metro Phoenix Homes and check it out! YOU can create and save as many searches as you would like…and it it THE SAME SEARCH I DO AS AN AGENT! You will LOVE it!

THIS IS THE BEST MOST ACCURATE SEARCH OF OUR LOCAL MLS

ATTENTION AGENTS…Is your Real Estate Career or Company taking you where you want to go?
Need MORE business?  Need MORE leads?  What has your company done for you lately?
Ask Me Why… I joined eXp Realty

What’s the big deal you ask? Well more and more we are seeing issues with HOA’s. These issues vary from lending hurdles to serious financial shortfalls within the association.

Here are a couple of examples of what I have heard of…and seen happening.

1. There are no mainstream lenders I am aware of that will fund a loan in an association that has MORE than a 15% delinquency in HOA dues. This is a HUGE issue here in Arizona where it seems every other residence is either a short sale or a lender owned property. THESE UNITS ARE TYPICALLY ALL DELIQUENT IN THEIR HOA DUES. So…even if you are buying with cash…it is still a concern. Why? Because…someday you will be a seller…and could very well have a hard time finding a buyer! Who knows what the future will bring. But for now lending guidelines are VERY TIGHT with many restrictions around condo/townhouse purchases.

2. It only goes to reason then…that if many of these homeowners are not paying their dues the HOA is oftentimes insolvent. So what happens if the complex is in need of painting? Or repaving the streets and parking area? Or it is time to re-roof all of the units? Well, it’s a little thing called ASSESSMENTS! For something like paving it can very well result in an assessment in the thousands.

When it comes to checking up on a reserve fund, there are two good rules of thumb. First, about 20% to 25% of your dues should go toward the reserve fund, says Robert Nordlund, president of Association Reserves, a California company that specializes in reserve accounting. Second, there should be a long-term schedule for the reserve fund in the annual budget, including a projection of upcoming expenses for each common-area item: painting, pool maintenance and so on. Reserve accountants suggest that the account should contain no less than 70% of the projected reserve budget. If the account is 30% funded or less, you can expect to be hit with some big assessments down the road.

An additional challenge is getting the data and financial information from the HOA in a timely manner. It might be a good idea to ask the seller to provide a profit and loss statement during the buyer’s inspection period. This can at least give a glimpse into the financial soundness of the complex. Another good tool is requesting that the seller provide the buyer the minutes of the last several HOA meetings. This can sometime give the buyers a bit of insight which may otherwise go unmentioned. Like “potential” assessments that may be on the horizon. Of course, if the home is a foreclosed property and is lender owned…the buyers will not be getting any information from them!

So…I guess the old saying “buyers beware” is the best rule to follow. Also, if you are planning on purchasing with new financing, make sure you have a VERY good lender on your side. Someone that is VERY up-to-date with all of the nuances of today’s requirements.

If you are looking for a GREAT agent to help with your real estate need please give me a call at 602-504-3898 or 888-897-7821 x 114. Plus, I have a GREAT search tool on my web site that gives you the ability to search the entire MLS…just like agents do. Very COOL! Go to Metro Phoenix Homes and check it out! YOU can create and save as many searches as you would like. It is THE BEST MOST ACCURATE SEARCH OF OUR LOCAL MLS!