Good news for our local market!
For those of you that do not follow me on Twitter, here is a recap of financing changes over the last week designed to help move some inventory.
Last Friday, Jan 29th, Fannie Mae announced it would pay up to 3.5% of Buyers closing costs for purchases of foreclosed homes in it’s inventory. You must close on the purchase between January 28th and April 30th, 2010 and Buyers must be owner-occupants (investors are excluded). If you do not use the entire amount for closing costs, they may also be used towards the purchase of Whirlpool appliances purchased by Fannie Mae, but however you use the credit, the limit is 3.5% of the final purchase price. For more information, visit http://www.homepath.com./
In related news, as of February 1st, FHA suspended it’s anti-flipping rules, opening the FHA-backed foreclosure market to investors. The rules were that you could not buy a home and flip it within 90 days if it was purchased with FHA insurance, in order to stem fraud losses at FHA. However, many foreclosures are in need of repair, and the reality is that investors can purchase these homes, fix them quickly and resell the renovated homes to first-time buyers and other purchasers who might not otherwise buy a home in need of repair. It should also help stabilize values in neighborhoods that have been hard-hit by foreclosures where homes have been sitting vacant and uncared for. The rule suspension is expected to be in effect for at least a year. For more information, read this Washington Post article or the press release on HUD’s website.
If you are interested in foreclosures or short sales in our area, please contact me today!
