Fannie Mae HomePath Closing Cost Incentive Expires

Fannie Mae Dumps Closing Cost Incentive

Get yours anyway!

As of 10/31/11 Fannie Mae is no longer offering its wildly popular 3.5% closing cost incentive to buyers of their foreclosures.  However, savvy home buyers can still received up to 6% of the purchase price towards their closing costs.

How you ask?

First you need to know how much to ask for.  Knowing how much to ask for starts with knowing how much your closing costs will be.  You don't want to ask for too little or you may not have enough to cover all your closing costs and you don't want to ask for too much or your offer might get rejected outright.

Work with a loan officer who can give you a estimate of what your closing costs, interest rate and payment will be upfront, BEFORE you write your offer.  Otherwise, you might be caught short funds to close and pay closing costs out of pocket.  This estimate will let you know what amount of funds will be needed to close your loan.

Second, your real estate agent must write this amount into the offer.  Remember, if you don't ask for it upfront, you wont get it.

If you have a specific property in mind and you want to write an offer that will cover your closing costs visit www.fanniemaehomepathloans.com .  They will assign you to a lender who can make sure your offer gets started on the right track, as well as provide you with financing for your HomePath Loan.

Free Loan Check Analysis

Free Loan Check

Worried you are being over charged for your loan?  Rate too high?  Email your GFE or loan worksheet (to LoanCheck@fanniehomepath.com ) provided to you by your lender and we will analyze it to make sure you are not being over charged in rate or fees. 

We will issue you our Free Loan Check Analysis.  We compare our loan to your loan in a side-by-side comparison.  Take a look at a recent, real live comparison we recently completed for a home buyer, Click Here. 

We will recommend changes to make your interest, points, or fees lower.  The earlier in your loan process you do this, the easier it is to make changes to save yourself $1,000s on your loan.  Get the comfort of knowing you have a great loan or we can help you get a better loan.  Either way it makes great cents!

Lender closing cost credit program

Lender Credit Bonus Program:

Effective immediately on all conventional loans, including HomePath loans:  We will credit the buyer a “loan size” and/or “credit score” Bonus under our Lender Credit Bonus Program for the following loans:

If your loan amount is:

Between $200,000-300,000: additional Lender credit ½% of loan amount.

Between $300,001-375,000: additional Lender credit ¾% of loan amount
Between $375,001-417,000: additional Lender credit 1% of loan amount

If your credit score is:

720-850:  additional Lender credit ¼ % of loan amount

These LENDER credits are only available through us are in addition to any seller credit you may already be getting from Fannie Mae or another seller.  These credits are not available using any other lender.

These credits can be used to pay your closing costs, buy your interest rate down, purchase your home owners insurance policy or set up your impound/escrow account for taxes and insurance.  Only applicable on fixed rate HomePath or Conventional programs.

Join this blog to get notified automatically about new special incentive programs, loan programs, and important changes in lending programs that could affect you.

www.fanniehomepath.com

Fannie Mae Extends - 3.5% Credit for Closing cost thru 10/31/11

New Buyer Incentive -- Up to 3.5% Buyer Assistance on HomePath Properties


Fannie Mae wants to help more buyers afford to purchase their new home. That's why we are offering up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance for HomePath® properties beginning June 14 through October 31, 2011.

Eligibility Details

Initial offers must be submitted on/after June 14. Buyers must be owner occupants (i.e., the home will be their primary residence).

Buyers are required to sign an Owner Occupant Certification Rider to the Purchase Addendum with all initial offer submissions.

Sale must close on/before October 31.

Other restrictions apply. For more information about the offer, including the terms and conditions, visit the Special Offers tab on HomePath.com.

Selling Agent Bonus:

There will be a $1,200 bonus available for selling agents whose buyers purchase and close on a HomePath property by October 31. View the flyer for details. 

Search www.HomePath.com today for the most updated list of properties. And remember, all owner occupants enjoy a 15-day preview of all HomePath properties -- without competition from investors -- through Fannie Mae's FirstLookTM period.

For more information go to www.HomePath.com                   www.fanniehomepath.com

FHA vs HomePath, which is better?

There are many similarities and differences between FHA and HomePath.  It is important to keep in mind some important points about both programs.

The Differences.

HomePath Financing is only for Fannie Mae foreclosed homes.  FHA financing is for any home.

Mortgage Insurance

FHA loans have both upfront mortgage insurance and monthly mortgage insurance.  This adds about 1% to the loan amount and for every $100,000 you borrow it adds $95.83 a month to the principal and interest payment.  

HomePath loans have no mortgage insurance. 

Interest rates 

Because HomePath has no mortgage insurance, Fannie Mae charges higher interest rates.  The less you put down the higher the interest rate.  FHA rates are the same regardless of how much you put as a down payment.  So the more you have/want to put as a down payment the better you are with HomePath vs. FHA.

Appraisal

FHA loans require an appraisal.  This can frequently cause problems since FHA loans require the property to be in good condition prior to close.  For this reason Fannie Mae and other sellers will frequently not accept FHA loan financing or it will be considered behind HomePath financing in terms of desirability.

Underwriting

HomePath loans require a 660 middle credit score or higher

FHA loans require 640 middle credit score or higher (Loans over $150,000 can go down to 580 credit score)

Debt ratios

HomePath loans have more strict guidelines on debt ratios.  FHA will allow you to qualify for a higher purchase price than HomePath.

The Similarities

HomePath loans require a minimum down of 3%

FHA loans require 3.5%

So which loan is better, FHA or HomePath???

Both loans are great, and either will make you happy.

However, HomePath loans will give you a lower overall payment even though interest rates are higher than FHA.  This is because FHA loans have very expensive mortgage insurance and HomePath loans don’t.  However, not all properties qualify for HomePath financing.  Plus you may need the greater flexibility of FHA debt ratios and credit scores.

To determine which loan is best for you,  we will analyze your overall situation and recommend the loan that best fits your needs.

www.fanniemaehomepathloans.com

How are HomePath interest rates determined?

HomePath Mortgage Interest Rates are determined by 3 separate loan factors:

Credit Score: While the minimum credit score required is 660, the higher the credit score the lower the loan costs (or lower interest rate).

Type of property purchased: Condominiums have loan cost additions. Single Family homes do not have price add-ons.

Amount of Down Payment: 3% Down payment is required on owner occupied purchases, and 10% is required on 2nd Homes and Investment purchases. However, the more you can put down the lower the loan  interest rate. The less you put down the higher the rate.

The amount of the down payment plays the greatest role in determining your interest rate.  Next is the credit score.  Lastly is the type of property you are buying.  If you can put down at least 5% instead of 3% you will get a much lower interest rate.   This extra down payment typically will lower your rate about .32% from the 3% down interest rate.

Credit scores are 720+ will recieve a better interest rate than those with credit scores in the 600's.

Have questions, in contract now and need to close fast, looking to be prequalified?  We can help.       www.fanniehomepath.com

Fannie Mae Homepath - Offers 3.5% Credit for Closing cost

HomePath® Buyer Incentive

Fannie Mae is currently offering buyers up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance through June 30, 2011.
The HomePath property buyer must meet the following qualifications to be eligible:

• Buyers and/or selling agents (the agent representing the buyer) must request the incentive upon submission of initial offer in order to be eligible.
• The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011 and close by June 30, 2011. If an initial offer was made prior to the effective date, the offer is not eligible for the incentive.
• The sale must close on or before June 30, 2011. No exceptions will be made to this deadline.
• Only buyers purchasing a HomePath property as their primary residence may receive up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance. Second homes and investment properties are excluded from the incentive.
• Buyer must sign the Owner Occupant Certification Rider to the Real Estate Purchase Addendum.
• If a buyer's total closing costs are under 3.5%, the difference will not be available as a credit to the buyer.

For information on your Financing a HomePath loan.  Call us.  We are experts in financing Fannie Mae HomePath properties.     www.fanniehomepath.com