Loans and Refinancing late summer 2021

 I have noticed that there are more hoops to jump through this year in order to purchase or refinance, especially if you are self-employed.  A bit annoying, but at least the interest rates are really good still!!

So, I suggest you listen carefully to your lender and follow their list of wants & needs, as they are just trying to do the best job they can of helping you to obtain your goals.  I have helped clients on many occasions with scanning or faxing their documentation, as our office equipment has great quality and certainly makes the job of scanning a huge stack manageable.  And if your lender says you're not quite ready to buy, make that to-do list and tackle it at a reasonable pace in order to achieve your goals of buying in the coming months to year!

Manufactured Homes

 I personally like manufactured homes, especially the younger models.  I do understand that being factory built, they typically come with less expensive materials and finishes unless upgrades are requested, but on the other side, they are still cheaper than stick-built construction and one can still customize the size and configuration nicely!  

One note of consideration that I have been finding recently-- there are loans to purchase manufactured homes, definitely.  However, I do have a client who wanted to refinance his rental manufactured home and apparently had to go with a portfolio loan (in-house loan) which has a bit higher interest rate.  I have also seen recently where there was a larger selection of loans available to purchase a property with both a manufactured home and stick-built home on the same property.  

Karena talks to First Time Homebuyers Part Two

Hello, this is Karena Jolley with Coldwell Banker Mendo Realty Inc.  Today we’re picking up where I left off in the first video to first time homebuyers.  Now we’re ready to start looking at homes in the price range that you have been qualified for.  Some buyers are looking for a fixer so they can work and put equity into the home. Depending on the type of loan, we may need to look for more of a cosmetic fixer because loans such as FHA, VA and USDA will be much pickier about property condition.  With VA loans, the lender will want to see a very clean home with a cleared Pest and Fungus report.  With FHA and USDA loans, the home must have all appliances functioning and be clean enough that the appraiser does not take note of rotten boards, holes in the walls or floor, any structural or mildew issues, etc.  So, a home with a rotten deck, hole in the roof, obvious signs of wood rot, etc will raise too many issues and prevent the loan from being approved.  However, if the home simply has dated flooring, lighting, and worn features, then it could very well be fine for purchase! 

At every home we will do our best to point out obvious issues that we notice when we show you properties—we are not experts or inspectors and cannot find all issues, but when a condition pops out at us are glad to point it, give our thoughts on it and suggest an inspector that could check it out. 

So, when we are looking at homes, you will be seeing if you like the home, floorplan, amenities, location, etc while we look and see if there is anything we want to advise you on.  When we move forward in making an offer on a house, it’s best to guess what repairs and maintenance the home needs and offer a comfortable price taking this into account.  If an offer is accepted and inspections reveal more than what we were guessing, then that is where renegotiating on price or asking the seller to do repairs comes in to play.

Next up will be a discussion of the ins and outs of the offer process!