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Archive for the ‘USDA Rural Guaranteed Loan’ Category

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We (Alpine Mortgage Planning) are offering involuntary unemployment coverage that will make the house payment of up to $1,500 per month in the case of involuntary unemployment directly to the mortgage holder for our clients in Eugene/Springfield and Lane County Oregon.

Job Loss Assurance Benefits: Benefits of up to $1,500 per month Provides up to six months of payments Does not affect unemployment income eligibility 12 month job loss protection Minimizes financial stress

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Those that follow my blog know that I have written several times about the trials and tribulations of having a Taylor Bean & Whitaker loan at the time that HUD came in and closed them down. The last post had to do with Form 1098s and how to get them on your mortgage but I have recently found out that the information given by TBW on their website and from Bank of America are wrong. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

I refinance my VA loan with a streamline refinance last year and when I did so, I paid a funding fee to VA to do so. That funding fee is considered the same as mortgage insurance and should be reported on the Form 1098. In my case, this didn’t happen. I did calculate that the Form 1098 that I received from Bank of America did include the interest I paid in my one payment to TBW, but didn’t include the interest I paid as prepaid interest on my loan.

The following is from Publication 936 from the IRS:

You can treat amounts you paid during 2009 for qualified mortgage insurance as home mortgage interest. …….Qualified mortgage insurance is mortgage insurance provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Housing Administration, or the Rural Housing Service and private mortgage insurance….

Mortgage insurance provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs is commonly known as a funding fee…….Rural Housing Service….as a guarantee fee….can be either be included in the amount of the loan or paid in full at closing….reported in box 4 of the Form 1098.

So, if you got a new FHA, VA or USDA loan during 2009 and Taylor Bean and Whitaker was the lender, you may not have all of your deductible interest reported on your Form 1098 from Bank of America or other lender that took over servicing of your loan when HUD closed TBW. The amount of this funding or guarantee or up front mortgage insurance can be found on your closing statement (HUD1) from the title company. I hope this information helps with your tax return filing.

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If you have questions about your current loan or are looking to refinance, contact me (Fred Chamberlin, the Eugene Loan Guy). If you have a VA loan, let’s discuss the possibility of a streamline refinance, rates are doing well. I would be happy to help you mortgage needs. If you have questions about mortgage loans please contact me at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or by a-mail. I am a Senior Mortgage Advisor at Alpine Mortgage Planning, 1200 Executive Pkwy., Ste. 100, Eugene OR 97401. I am here to help you with your mortgage needs.

Is all of your interest reported on your 1098? Maybe not if you had a Taylor Bean & Whitaker mortgage is a post from: Eugene Loan Guy

USDA Rural Home Loans are extremely popular loans in suburban Lane County Oregon. Primarily because it allows home buyers in qualifying areas to purchase a home with absolutely zero down payment and without the added expense of monthly mortgage insurance. In most cases, the USDA Rural Home Loan is the least expensive loan to obtain and to maintain. There are two types of USDA Rural Home Loans:

1. Guaranteed USDA Rural Home Loan
2. USDA Direct Home Loan

Let’s look at the Guaranteed USDA Rural Home Loan first. It allows you to buy in a rural designated area and has a higher income limitation than the USDA Direct loan. It allows for applicants to have a Qualifying Income of up to 115% of the area median household income. There are adjustments that can be made to your Qualifying income. All of our Guaranteed USDA Rural Home Loans are based on 30 year fixed rate loans that carry similar interest rates to an FHA Home Loan.

The USDA Direct Loan is not as common as the Guaranteed USDA Rural Home Loan. One reason is that they carry very strict income limitations for qualifying applicants. You must have a low income (80% of the area median household income) in order to qualify. Applicants also must be without adequate housing and be able to afford the housing payment including taxes and insurance, which can be up to 26% of the applicant’s monthly income.

If you are a low income family with an interest in the USDA Direct loan, you can get more information from the USDA here.

To apply for a Guaranteed USDA Rural Home Loan click on the Get Started tab above or click here. You can also ask a question about Guaranteed USDA Rural Home Loan on Get Started tab. You can also give me (Fred Chamberlin) a call today at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or make an appointment to see me at the office, Alpine Mortgage Planning, 1200 Executive Pkwy., Ste. 100, Eugene OR 97401. You can also e-mail me. I am here to answer your questions about the USDA Rural Guaranteed Home Loan program.

Up until recently, USDA allowed a streamline refinance on Oregon USDA loans for a simple interest rate reduction. That changed in January and refinance of a USDA loan to a new USDA loan in Oregon now requires a complete application, including appraisal to refinance the balance to a lower interest rate. This change will make it more difficult for those owing more than the property value to take advantage of today’s interest rates.

Refinances can still be accomplished, but a new appraisal will need to be done to get it done. If you are interested in refinancing your USDA loan and have equity in your property, give me (Fred Chamberlin) a call today at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or make an appointment to see me at the office, Alpine Mortgage Planning, 1200 Executive Pkwy., Ste. 100, Eugene OR 97401. You can also e-mail me. I am here to answer your questions about the USDA Rural Guaranteed Home Loan program.

USDA Rural Guaranteed Home Loan Refinance Changes is a post from: No Money Down OR – WA – CA

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USDA and VA Loans

USDA Rural and VA Guaranteed Home Loans are still your best bets for 100% financing in today’s mortgage environment. Both programs have qualification requirements. USDA has maximum income and property location requirements and VA has military service requirements but both have no down payment requirements under $417,000 loan amount, although it would be doubtful you could qualify for a $417,000 loan amount given the USDA maximum income requirements.

USDA NO Money Down

To find out if you qualify within the maximum income requirements for as USDA loan, take a look at this link. In much of Oregon and Lane County specifically, a family of 1-4 people can make an annual income of up to $73,600. and a family of 5-8 can make up to $97,150. Even if you are over the income limit, there are some adjustments to income that may bring you inline. To find out what they are for Lane County, check out this link. Here is a partial map for Lane County (the dark area is not eligible):

You can check out this USDA Property link to find out where in Oregon you should be looking for a USDA qualified property. You can also use this link to find out if a specific property qualifies for the program. There is also a link on that site for some areas that normally wouldn’t qualify that are special for the program, like disaster areas.

VA NO Money Down

VA, like USDA does not make the loans for these programs, they offer a guarantee. That guarantee for VA will allow you to purchase (if you qualify) up the a $417,000 home in our area with no down payment. You can purchase a larger loan with down payment, but less down payment than normally required with a conventional loan. To be eligible for a VA loan, you must have completed a minimum of three month’s of active duty  military service or six years of reserve duty. To find out the specific requirements, check out this link.

No Mortgage Insurance

Neither program requires mortgage insurance, however both do have a “financed” funding fee. This fee is waived for VA borrowers with a 10% or greater service connected disability.

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To find out if you qualify for either program or to get started on the road to homeownership, give me a call today at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or e-mail me. I am a Vietnam era veteran and specialize in government loans. Purchase or refinance, VA, USDA, FHA or conventional, I am your Loan Guy. Let’s get together and get you started.

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I am going to be answering some questions that are coming up on My FHA Mortgage Blog over the next few weeks either here or on one of my other two blog sites, FHA Loans and Eugeneloanguy. I am hoping that by answering questions posed by the public we can get better information out there than what we have been seeing on the internet. There are a lot of myths and fallacies on the internet, just take a look at this post to see what I am talking about. This particular question has to do with closing costs and a USDA loan. I hope this series helps.

Will It Hurt Me If I Have A Family Member Deposit A Check Into My Bank Account For Closing Costs?

November 18, 2009

I am buying a house and the lender needs proof(bank statement) that I have enough to cover closing costs. A family member is going to help pay closing costs. Will it hurt me when they look at my bank statement and see that the amount to cover closing costs came form a family member? Its a USDA Rural Housing Loan.

A USDA Guaranteed Mortgage, like an FHA loan allows you to receive gifts from family members for down payment and closing costs associated with a loan. The important thing to remember is that the lender will want to see a paper trail for the gift. That means that you will need the deposit slip for the gift, a copy of the check for the gift, and most often a copy of the bank statement from the donor showing the ability to give the gift. There is also a gift letter that will need to be signed by the recipient and the donor. Except in very limited circumstances, cash is not acceptable.

If you have questions about USDA procedures or are ready to start the loan process, give me a call today at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or e-mail me. I am here to help you through this process.

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Our USDA Guaranteed Home Loans are underwritten by our in-house underwriting staff, but after it is approved through our staff underwriters, the loan then must be forwarded to USDA for their approval of the loan, since they are the ones guaranteeing the loan. This is similar to what happens when a mortgage insurance company requires loans to be submitted to and approved by them prior to insuring the loan.

Because this is an extra step in the process and USDA is currently reporting they are 20 business days out in reviewing the loans, they are not closing on original schedules. 20 business days is what is in a normal month, so it may take up to two months to close a USDA loan, since normal processing time on a loan is about 30 days.

This just means that buyers, sellers and the Realtors involved in a USDA transaction should be prepared for the additional time in process. If you have questions about USDA Guaranteed Loans, or any other loan product for Oregon, Washington or California, give me a call at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell and let’s discuss your process. It is worth waiting a bit longer for one of the only 100 per cent loan to value loans available in today’s market. Processing time in Washington is currently longer than Oregon.

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Homebuyer Tax Credit Update!

Today, November 6, 2009, President Obama signed a bill to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) through June 30, 2010. The bill also opens up opportunities for others who are not buying a home for the first time. Although I have been a supporter of extending the tax credit, I was surprised that the Congress actually got it done. Not only that, but the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit has been expanded.

To learn what the new tax credit means to you and your clients, take a look at the concise overview below:

First-Time Homebuyers (FTHBs): First-time homebuyers (that is, people who have not owned a home within the last three years) may be eligible for the tax credit. The credit for FTHBs is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $8,000.

Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

Current Owners: The tax credit program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years.

Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

What are the New Deadlines?

In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010.

Tax Credit Versus Tax Deduction

It’s important to remember that the tax credit is just that… a tax credit. The benefit of a tax credit is that it’s a dollar-for-dollar tax reduction, rather than a reduction in a tax liability that would only save you $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done. So, if a first-time homebuyer were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for a tax credit of $8,000, she would owe nothing.

Better still, the tax credit is refundable, which means the homebuyer can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little income tax liability. For example, if a first-time homebuyer is eligible for a tax credit of $8,000 but is liable for $4,000 in income tax, she can still receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

Higher Income Caps

The amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has been increased.

Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible

Joint filers who earn up to  $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, joint filers who earn $245,000 and above are ineligible.

Maximum Purchase Price

Qualifying buyers may purchase a property with a maximum sale price of $800,000.

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Remember, the new tax credit program includes a number of details and qualifications. For more information or answers to specific questions, please call 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 or email me today.

In addition, you may be able to benefit from additional housing related provisions, including the following:

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Tax Incentives to Spur

Energy Savings and Green Jobs

This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation. The use of an FHA 203k Streamline for either purchase or refinance may be an excellent way to take advantage of this program.

Landmark Energy Savings

This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUD-Assisted Housing

This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs. Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.

Expanding Housing Assistance

This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.

As always, if you have any questions about your specific situation or would like to discuss how you may benefit from this program, please call 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or email me. I’ll be happy to sit down with you.

I am afraid I have to eat my words. I didn’t think that Congress would have enough common sense to extend the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit past the November 30 deadline, but it looks like they have. The Senate first passed the measure then the House followed suit and it is now up the the President to sign the extension into law. The $8,000 Tax Credit was not only extended, but expanded. To find out more about the new rules, check out this article from CNBC.

Now is the time to get busy on that purchase, before we come up with another 11th hour scenario. This tax credit likely will not be extended again. Call me today at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or e-mail me and let’s get started on your new home.

Every day that goes by, the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit deadline gets closer. I know there are a lot of people that think the tax credit will be extended, but I am not one of them. Yesterday I received news that the House of Representatives passed a bill 416 to 0 to extend the tax credit for 6 months. I know this is what people have been expecting, but there is a twist, this only applies to services members that served a minimum of 90 days overseas in 2009.

Now, I think this is a great deal for our service members, but to me it portends to the probability that Congress will not extend the tax credit for other First Time Home Buyers. This bill still needs to be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to the President, but it should sail through with very little disagreement.

To illustrate the limited time remaining, this recent report from myFox in Florida interviewed a friend of mine, Chris Brown, the author of Mortgage Chili Blog, and a mortgage professional in Orlando. I really think this is one of the best reports on the Tax Credit that I have seen.

If you need assistance in getting started purchasing your first or subsequent home, give me a call today at 541-342-7576/541-221-3455 cell or e-mail me. The time really is running out for the Tax Credit.