Buying Oakland Real Estate 
Discussion/information about Oakland real estate from a buyers perspective.
There are currently 54 blog entries related to this category.
Changes To FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 at 11:33am. 806 Views, 0 Comments.
The Federal Housing Administration recently announced an increase in the upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium. Mortgage insurance is required with FHA financing, and it used to be that 1% was required up front to purchase it. The amount required up front is now 1.75%, so that's an increase of 75%. This means you need that much more cash to bring to the table when purchasing real estate in Oakland or anywhere else for that matter.
Mortgage Credit Certificate Program for Alameda County
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at 11:57am. 2419 Views, 0 Comments.
If you are a first time home buyer with an annual income of less than $82,200, then you may be eligible for an MCC or Mortgage Credit Certificate. The MCC allows you to take 15% of the annual interest on your mortgage as a dollar for dollar tax credit against your Federal income taxes.
For example, if you are a home owner with a 30 year mortgage of $300,000 at a 7% fixed rate then you would pay $20,900 in interest payments the first year of the mortgage. With the MCC, 15% of that ($3,135) could be taken as a tax credit. In turn this will help you pay your mortgage because you will get a credit at the end of the year toward the payments you have already made. So this is a great program to take advantage of if you qualify, and I'm sure that there are many…
FHA Loan Limits to Change
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 at 6:25pm. 4829 Views, 0 Comments.
If you happen to be a buyer who plans to buy a higher end home with Fha financing, you should be aware that at the end of the month, the maximum allowable purchase price for Fha will drop from $735,000 to $625,000. So basically this will affect anyone who is approved for Fha financing and looking for a home above $625k, taking about 100k of purchasing power away. There are efforts underway in Washington to leave the limit in place, however no one knows if it will be enough. The government wants to shrink Fha's share of the marketplace, and over the next several years look for more and more changes to Fha financing as the country looks to find more private money to fund home purchases.
HOA Issues for Real Estate
Thursday, July 7th, 2011 at 5:26pm. 1346 Views, 0 Comments.
Concerning the purchase of a condominium, one area that has caused problems for some buyers in recent times is the HOA delinquency rate. As you know, when you purchase a condo you become a member of a homeowners association and begin to pay monthly dues. These dues typically cover water/sewer, common area maintenance, garbage, hazard insurance and other items. For each unit in a development that is foreclosed on or sold as short sales those monthly dues stop being paid for a period that can range from several months to a year or more. This not only means that the reserves in the HOA account to perform repairs on the property might be lower than ideal (but not always), it also means that it can cause lenders to deny financing based on excessive risk.
This…
Will 20% down be the new norm?
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 at 3:34pm. 28514 Views, 2 Comments.
New QRM or "Qualified Residential Mortgage" rules are coming soon, and this will mean big changes to the way banks lend money. With the scheduled phasing down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the coming years, this is important info for anyone considering purchasing a home in the near future. Check out the Realtor Magazine link below for the full story.
Should You Pay Points When Buying Real Estate?
Friday, April 22nd, 2011 at 5:50pm. 528 Views, 0 Comments.
When considering your financing options, whether or not to pay points is question that needs to be considered. It's basically an interest rate "buydown" and it allows the borrower to pay a flat fee (1% of the purchase price per point) to in order to have a lower interest rate over the life of the loan. The decision whether or not to pay points can be derived at by considering how long it will take to recoup your initial investment, versus the monthly savings you’ll get by buying down the interest rate.
For example:
One point = $2000 buys down the interest rate .5% and reduces monthly payment by $50/month. Dividing $50 into $2000, you will break even in 40 months or 3.3 years. If you intend to retain the loan for more than 3.3 years, this would be a…
FHA Requirements for Condos Get Even Tougher
Monday, February 14th, 2011 at 2:53pm. 827 Views, 0 Comments.
I've previously written about the changes that FHA regarding condos purchases, and as of Jan 1 there are now more changes in effect. The main changes are :
- No more than 25% of the property's total floor area in a project can be used for commercial purposes.
- No more than 10% of the units may be owned by one investor.
- No more than 15% of the total units can be in arrears (more than 30 days past due) on their monthly HOA payments.
- At least 50% of the total units must be sold prior to endorsement of the mortgage in the case of construction
- At least 50% of the units must be owner occupied or sold to owners who intend to occupy the units.
- Fha will not insure more than 50% of a particular condo project.
What does this mean?…
Home Selection Assistant Iphone App!
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010 at 12:22pm. 774 Views, 0 Comments.
If you have ever been out looking at homes and taking pics of each home you see, you have probably run into the problem of knowing which pics are from which house. Now there is an Iphone app that allows you to make albums of the pics you take and organize them so you know which pics are from where. The app uses the Iphones Geo Location ability to remember which pics were taken where, then it helps you create albums that allow you to easily view and rank the homes you have seen.
The app also allows you instantly get info on the community you are looking in, contact an agent and more.
If you are an Iphone user and you are currently in the process of viewing homes, this may be for you. It's free from the Apple App store so check it out!
Tax Credit Deadline Extended for those In Contract
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 at 11:05am. 733 Views, 0 Comments.
GREAT news for any first time buyer who is in contract but may not close by the June 30th deadline. The deadline has been EXTENDED to September 30th! To be clear...this is NOT for those who are not already in escrow on a property. However if you are currently in escrow on a property and you were otherwise eligible for the tax credit, you now have until Sept 30th to close and still be eligible.
CORRECTION!!! 6-30-10
I just learned that I was given some incomplete information about the tax credit. The situation is that there is a Bill that has passed the house but not the senate, which would in fact extend the deadline for closing until 9-30-10. So it's not for sure yet that it will be extended, but there is a good chance it will be.
Foreclosures in Oakland aren't Always Easy to Get
Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 3:36pm. 1066 Views, 0 Comments.
A colleague of mine was recently interviewed by the New York Times about how difficult it is for many first time home buyers to buy a foreclosure in Oakland and the surrounding East Bay Area. The link is below..
The Oakland Real Estate Market is HOT
I'm happy to say, that there is definitely a significant increase in activity compared to this time last year. Multiple offer... Add Comment Read MoreShort Sale Debt Cancellation Set to Go Away
Originally, when you did a short sale you were taxed on the amount that you were forgiven by the lender. This was a seri... 13Comments Read MoreChanges To FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium
The Federal Housing Administration recently announced an increase in the upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium. Mortgage insuran... 4Comments Read More
