Tag Archives: va

Why does VA and FHA Appraisers condition to no peeling paint – Here is one reason

Posted on December 27, 2016 | Leave a comment

BALTIMORE — A year after Tiffany Bennett moved into a two-story red brick house at 524 Loudon Avenue here, she received alarming news.

Two children, both younger than 6, for whom Ms. Bennett was guardian, were found to have dangerous levels of lead in their blood. Lead paint throughout the nearly 100-year-old home had poisoned them.

Who was responsible for the dangerous conditions in the home?

Baltimore health officials say it was an out-of-state investment company that entered into a rent-to-own lease with the unemployed Ms. Bennett to take the home in 2014 “as is” — chipping, peeling lead paint and all.

Ms. Bennett, 46, and the children moved out, but they should never have been in the house at all. City officials had declared the house “unfit for human habitation” in 2013.

Throughout the country, tens of thousands of rundown homes have been scooped up by investment companies that have offered high-interest financing or rent-to-own deals largely to poor people. Many of these homes were foreclosed on during the housing crisis.

These investors, however, often put no money toward renovation, or for fixing lead paint problems. The low-income buyers and renters are forced to make all repairs. When there are serious problems with the homes, victims can be required to sign confidentiality agreements to keep them quiet in a settlement after they have been compensated, as happened in Ms. Bennett’s case.

As a result, seller-financed housing contracts have aggravated a persistent problem of lead poisoning among young children in this country.

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Minimal Down Payments Available Under New Rules

Posted on July 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

It’s a crucial question for many first-time and moderate-income buyers in rebounding markets across the country: Where do we find the lowest down payment, lowest monthly cost loans? The answers are changing.

What if the home you fell in love with won’t appraise? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your appraisal questions.

True zero-down alternatives are rare and tend to be tightly restricted. If you’re a veteran or active military, a VA-guaranteed home loan might be ideal because it requires no down payment. The same is true for certain rural housing loans administered by the Department of Agriculture, but purchases must be in designated areas outside large population centers. Members of the Navy Federal and NASA federal credit unions can qualify for zero down financing, but those programs are closed to everybody else. Some state housing finance agency programs may also be helpful, but they often come with income limits and other requirements.

For most shoppers looking for mini-down payments, there are much larger, less restrictive sources. The Federal Housing Administration is probably the traditional favorite because it requires just 3.5 percent down. But beware: In the wake of a series of insurance premium increases and a highly controversial move to make premiums noncancelable for the life of the loan for most new borrowers, FHA no longer rules the low-cost roost.

Fannie Mae, the giant federal mortgage investor, may now do better. And for some applicants, so might Freddie Mac, Fannie’s smaller competitor. Consider this scenario prepared by George Souto, a loan officer with McCue Mortgage in New Britain, Conn., who has long specialized in putting first-time buyers into houses using FHA loans. But lately, says Souto, “the numbers just don’t work as well.” He’s directing clients instead into Fannie Mae’s 3 percent minimum down payment “My Community Mortgage” program.

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Obama Unveils Aid for Mortgage Holders – FHA and VA Too!

Posted on March 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled two new housing initiatives intended to assist members of the military and Americans with government-insured loans.

In his first major news conference of 2012, Obama announced a new plan to cut refinancing fees for any loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The president also outlined a new agreement with banks to review foreclosures for members of the military that have taken place since 2006 and provide compensation to anyone who wrongfully lost a home.

Neither proposal requires congressional approval. But they are also more modest than an earlier proposal for a $10 billion refinancing plan that Obama asked lawmakers to pass in his State of the Union address.

Here’s how the FHA plan would work: Currently, the federal government offers a program to allow borrowers with loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration to refinance their loans at lower cost. But the fees for refinancing have kept many borrowers from taking up the government on its offer. The administration estimates that an additional 2 million to 3 million homeowners could end up refinancing under its program.

Under the old program, an FHA borrower who owes $175,000 on his or her mortgage could refinance into a 4 percent loan and whittle the monthly payments down to about $1,010 per month. Under the new program, with the lower fees, that same borrower could reduce his or her mortgage payments further, down to $915 per month.

Meanwhile, the administration has also struck an agreement with various banks and lenders to conduct a review of foreclosure practices for military members. Any service member or veteran whose home has been wrongly foreclosed on since 2006 will receive compensation equal to a minimum of $116,785 plus any home equity lost since the foreclosure. This compensation will come from the mortgage servicers who conducted the foreclosures. In addition, any service member wrongly denied the opportunity to refinance will receive a refund of money lost.