The Sign In Front Of The House I Like Says "Fannie Mae Homepath"

When a property sale sign says "HomePath property" it means that it is a bank-owned home, owned by Fannie Mae, and the buyer of the property is eligible for the Fannie Mae HomePath mortgage program.
Fannie Mae is one of the largest lenders in the United States.  Fannie Mae owns thousands of homes due to the large number of recent foreclosures.  In an effort to help banks liquidate their Fannie Mae REO inventory, Fannie Mae came up with the HomePath program.
The HomePath program gives lenders and buyers less stringent finance requirements, which helps more buyers qualify for a loan. You can also get a HomePath mortgage for owner-occupied OR investment properties.  In addition to that, Fannie Mae also has a HomePath renovation financing program for those distressed properties that need a little help before they are ready for move-in.
Going the HomePath route can make the home buying process different for a few reasons:

1. No appraisal is required.
2. You can make a down payment of as little as 3% of the purchase price.
3. No mortgage insurance is required (therefore, less up-front cash from buyers and lower monthly payments).
4. Credit score requirements are more flexible.

So, why would a lender agree to such a loan?
Fannie Mae is offering a couple of incentives to lenders who process these loans:
1.) Loans can be sold back to Fannie Mae, so lenders aren’t holding the loans in their own portfolios. 
2.) The more loans a lender makes, the more fees it generates for originating and servicing the loans.

I've been asked, "With all the cash investors snatching up distressed properties in the area, is it even possible to get one of these properties with a HomePath loan?"
It's not the easiest thing, (a lot of the time if a bank can get cash, they’ll take it.), but it's not impossible.  Check out how many homes are currently available on my site:
www.jaredfordrealestate.com
My big advice for making an offer on a HomePath property is to fully exercise your due diligence – get that property inspected thoroughly!  These banks don’t know a lot of the details on the condition of the property, and they rarely will do repairs before the close of escrow.  So do your homework and really understand what you’re getting into.
For more information and a database of HomePath eligible homes, visit www.homepath.com.
If you have any questions about the details of a home you are interested in, please log on and send me a note. www.jaredfordrealestate.com
Thank you! And happy Thanksgiving!

Fall weather can help you make a decision on a home.

Fall is a great time to get out and see some of the features houses have. Does your new home have a water feature that wasn't in the original plans? Do the trees drop more leaves than your green bin can hold? Are the neighbors into decorating for the holidays?

Do the windows fog up from a leak? Do the gutters do what they were made to do?

I don’t mean to be negative. Truth is: most listing agents take pictures of the summertime houses without any issues, but when it comes time for listing a home in Fall – they have to do some major clean up.

Don’t get into a home without knowing all you can about it. Check us out at
www.jaredfordrealestate.com

A Bad Time To Go Into Real Estate?

I recently had someone comment on a blog my wife wrote about me going into Real Estate. Here was my response:

There are a lot of people that say going into Real Estate is a bad idea. If you don't know anything about Real Estate, I agree, it is a bad idea to go into it. Those people just don't understand Real Estate or how to invest in Real Estate. Truth is; there is no such thing as a bad economy for Real Estate. If prices are down - it's a good time to buy. If prices are up - it's a good time to sell. If the market is in the middle - you can do both. The problem is most people wait to buy until the market goes back up. The current market shows people are paying more renting the same type of house they could own.

If you consider yourself an investor, when it comes to being smart in the Real Estate market, then you are looking to buy a house in the next year. Rates are lower than they have ever been in history. There are also houses out there that are priced lower than the cost of materials to build them. Check out our site to see some of those properties:
www.jaredfordrealestate.com

It's true, "not such a great time" to go into Real Estate - if you don't know Real Estate. Truthfully, it’s not such a great time to go into anything you don’t know much about.

Selling your home FOR SALE BY OWNER or REALTOR?

While many property owners choose to sell their houses by themselves, the level of anxiety and stress involved can be overwhelming. In fact, the latest studies have indicated that between 80 to 90 percent of homeowners who opt to do it alone end up using the services of real estate agents.
When you’re trying to sell your property, you’ll want to ask yourself what is the best price, how you are going to promote the property, how you can recognize the truly serious buyers and closing the final sale.
It’s a good idea to check out the houses in your area that are currently for sale. You will want to see what they are selling for and how that compares to your home and what you want to sell it for. Feel free to check them out on our Website:
www.jaredfordrealestate.com
A good realtor understands how the process of buying and selling houses works. We work as the intermediary between the seller and the potential purchaser. After the property owner gives a go ahead to sell a house, we do two things; we organize the viewing dates and prepare the documentation required to finalize the sale.
By getting a real estate agent to sell your house, you’ll save yourself a whole lot of stress, secure good promotion, find potential purchasers and get great assistance in closing the final sale.
If you haven’t already guessed, this isn’t really a non-biased view on selling your house “for sale by owner” or using a Realtor. The truth is: if I didn’t believe it was an advantage to sell your home with a Realtor – I wouldn’t be doing it. The only negative, or disadvantage, would be getting a bad listing agent.
Check us out. We would be glad to help you.
www.jaredfordrealestate.com

Getting Started...

Finding a home can be daunting under any circumstances but when you need to find that new home in a new city, the task can be overwhelming. How will you know what neighborhoods are good? What about good schools? What neighborhoods fit your lifecycle? Follow the tips below and finding your new home can be a fun adventure instead of a fearful undertaking.

1.)   Determine your budget. Decide how much you are comfortable paying before starting out. This will enable you to cross off homes out of your range right away.

2.)   List the must-haves for your home. This will be the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, garage, etc. List the would-like-to-haves, too. Using these lists will enable you to quickly assess a possible home. When moving to a new city, you frequently have to find a home fast because of new job or other reason and you won't have the luxury or budget to spend months on the search. You can see some local homes at
www.jaredfordrealestate.com

3.)   Determine which neighborhoods interest you. If you know anyone who lives or has lived in your new city, ask for recommendations and why they recommend the neighborhood. The Sparkman Team consists of agents that currently live in Salem. Asking why is very important because their criteria may not match yours. If you are moving for a new job, ask your new boss or an HR person in the company about recommendations.

4.)   Research the demographics of your prospective neighborhoods before you go to house hunt. Here's a quick and easy way to do this starting at
www.jaredfordrealestate.com Click on the neighborhood on the map and on the top menu select other options that interest you.

5.)

Once you've narrowed it down to a couple neighborhoods, see what homes are available that meet your needs listed in step 2. View homes in the Multiple Listing Service database at
www.jaredfordrealestate.com

6.)   At this point you have not left your living room or spent a penny and look how much you know about your new city and the new home you want. Now you are ready to engage a realtor and visit some homes in your new city. Finding your new home will be much faster and less costly because you've done your homework.

If you have any questions, please let me know. jaredford@cboregon.com - Enjoy Salem!

-Jared