Freddie Mac reports that mortgage rates have dropped to the lowest level since the company started tracking the data in 1971 and breaks the most recent low set in December.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now 4.69 percent.  However Buyers seem to be indifferent.  See the Washington Post article, Mortgage rates hit all-time low, but lending activity remains quiet

Many of my clients (Buyers) have taken advantage of the Rural Home Loan Guarantee Program (also known as USDA loans) in the past. The announcement below should come as welcomed news to those home buyers considering a home purchase in an area outside the Reno-Sparks metro area.

From the Mortgage News Daily newswire…
The continued availability of government guaranteed mortgages for rural homebuyers was virtually assured yesterday when the House Financial Services Committee voted to approve H.R. 5017.  The unanimous vote will send the Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010 to the full House of Representatives where sources said it was fast tracked for a vote as early as next week. [This program] assists homebuyers living in rural areas to obtain affordable mortgages guaranteed by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).  These loan guarantees have become enormously popular during the financial crisis and consumer demand has tripled the annual number of loans that are typically issued each year. [See the full post here]

I work with many lenders who offer the Rural Home Loan Guarantee Program.  Give me a call if you’d like me to put you in touch with one.

Just received the following info emailed to me from a mortgage loan officer from Bank of America. The information pertains to the guidelines that condominium complexes must meet before BofA will loan on them via FHA financing.
So if you’re in the market for a condo and plan to utilize FHA financing, you’ll need to be aware of the following:

When originating a transaction for someone purchasing an existing condominium with FHA financing it is important that you understand what requirements there are to be able to finance the condominium FHA:

1. 90% Presale requirement
2. No litigation
3. 100% of the project is complete
4. No more than 15% of unit owners are delinquent
5. Budget shows minimum 10% reserves on the budget form
6. Owner Occupancy over 50%

These items will be addressed within the HOA Certification that fulfillment sends and must be verified even if the condo is approved in FHA Connection.  As a best practice, make your buyers and realtors aware of the above requirements as well as asking up front if the project is 100% complete and whether it is in litigation.  These are questions that your realtor should be able to answer before you even originate the transaction.  

[UPDATE by Guy Johnson - March 3, 2010:  I’ve added the monthly chart I receive from Ticor Title to Mike’s post for readibility.  Click on the chart to enlarge.]

February NODs up to 931 from 778 in January.  NOSs up a bit to 406 from 394.  TDs down to 180 from 190 in January.  I don’t know what to make of the NOD rollercoaster ride.  Comments?

A couple of quick shots:

-  The hottest property in Reno so far this year turns out to be the Grand Sierra Resort!  13 resale units have closed so far, with prices ranging from $16-22K, most around $19K. , 5-10% of their original selling prices, and we’ve discussed if they really should be valued at negative here, based on fees.  Wood is Good  even bought a unit at a Trustee’s Sale for $11K in an attempted flip move.

-  Holcomb Townhouses have closed 1 unit, but are advertising over half sold and last available unit with metal railings.  The Dude reports seeing 5 cars in unit driveways (all Prii!).  So it looks like a lot of the units are going rental, or we are seeing a lot of shuck and jive.

-  If you like researching messy narratives, check out 740 Mays in IV which received an NOD today.  Bonus points if you can identify the amount owing on this property, and how many NODs it has received.

I received the handout below from a lender friend of mine.  I realize I have recently posted changes to FHA’s lending policies, but this handout concisely summarizes the recent changes quite nicely.  Plus, it doesn’t hurt repeating in case it may have been missed the first time around.

New FHA guidelines in a nutshell:

• Increased upfront mortgage insurance premiums
• Higher FICO scores required
• Reduced seller concessions
• No more “90-day flipping rule”

Click on the doc below to enlarge…

I’ve just received the following email from one of my local lender contacts.  This is an interesting development regarding FHA underwriting guidelines.  Check it out…

If your buyer had a short sale 3 years ago, and can document that the short sale was the result of a verifiable financial hardship (death of a spouse, loss of a job that forced a move, a divorce, etc..), then FHA is allowing for this buyer to obtain financing for a new home, on a case by case basis.  Using this 3 year rule they would also be eligible for the 1^st time home buyer credit.

I do not believe that an increase in interest rate would be an acceptable financial hardship.

This is the first indication that I have seen that there maybe some leeway being given to those people who found themselves losing their home to circumstances beyond their control.  The challenge here is the fact that this is going to be decided on a case by case basis so until a file is underwritten we will not know whether the loan can be approved. 

Starting today the Federal Housing Administration is revising its long-standing 90-day anti-flipping rules.

For much of the past decade the FHA’s 90-day anti-flipping rule went like this: if the seller had owned a property for less than 90 days, then the FHA would not insure a new mortgage for the buyer. The ban was imposed to prevent fraudulent quick flips of houses.

The FHA is now suspending this policy for at least the next year. One of the goals of the new policy is to speed up sales of renovated houses (i.e. foreclosures) to first-time buyers and other purchasers.

Read the Washington Post story here: To boost sales of foreclosures, FHA suspends anti-flipping rules

If you enjoyed Diane’s post about the difficulties she encountered in trying to get her lender to approve a short sale offer on her property (see Short Sale FAIL), then you may find this account (from the front page of this morning’s RGJ) of a woman’s attempt at a loan modification good reading: Local homeowners get the runaround on loan modifications

The print edition of this story also contained tables showing success rates of loan modifications by lender, and stats on Nevada loan modifications and repayment plans.  [Note: I am presently trying to get permission from the RGJ to reprint the table.  If I do, then I’ll update this post.]

UPDATE: Thank you you to the RGJ for permission to reprint the table below.

Source: Reno Gazette-Journal

If anyone has a loan mod experience (successful, or otherwise) he or she would like to share with the blog, please comment below.  I’d love to hear your story.

One takeaway from the RGJ story is that homeowners in default should consider the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation program. According to the side notes for the article “the program has received nearly 3,900 requests in its first six months, or more than 10 percent of Nevadans facing default.  So far, 1,821 mediation requests have been assigned to a mediator and 877 mediations have been conducted.”

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced a set of policy changes to strengthen its capital reserves and manage its risk.

The FHA’s proposals includes:

• increase the mortgage insurance premium (MIP)
• update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers
• reduce seller concessions to three percent, from six percent
• implement a series of significant measures aimed at increasing lender enforcement

See the entire announcement here: FHA Announces Policy Changes to Address Risk and Strengthen Finances

Of note, new borrowers will now be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA’s 3.5% down payment program. New borrowers with less than a 580 FICO score will be required to put down at least 10%.

From our friends at Ticor Title, the Washoe County November resale, refinance, and new home statistics can be accessed by clicking below.

Looks like Refi’s took a big jump in Novmeber – a 19 percent increase over October’s refis.  Must be the record low rates.