Blog – Page 350 – Parsons Realty

Shasta County Housing Program Increases Income Limits

The Shasta County Down Payment Assistance Program (D.A.P.)has increased the maximum allowable income limits for home buyers.

The Shasta County DAP is very similar to the City of Redding DAP program with the exception of the income requirements and the maximum purchase price. Both of these programs are designed to assist low income first time home buyers with buying a home. A first-time home buyer is someone who has not owned a home in the last 3 years, or who qualifies as a “displaced home-maker”

Shasta County Housing and Community Action Down Payment Program provides 0% interest loans to qualified low-income, first-time home buyers to help with their down payment and closing costs. The program is available in the unincorporated area of Shasta County and inside the City of Anderson.

To qualify for the Shasta County Down Payment Assistance Program applicants must meet the following income guidelines:

Household Size	Annual Income	Monthly Income
1	$31,550	$2,629
2	$36,050	$3,004
3	$40,550	$3,379
4	$45,050	$3,754
5	$48,700	$4,058
6	$52,300	$4,358
7	$55,900	$4,658
8	$59,500	$4,958

How much can you borrow?

The loan amount can be up to 37% of the purchase price. At the maximum purchase price of $165,000.00, the DAP loan could be as much as $60,000.00. The borrower must contribute at least 3% of the purchase price to the sale transaction. This may be a gift.

How do you Apply?

Visit the Department of Housing and Community Action Programs to place your name on the waiting list for an application.
Within 2 to 3 weeks, you will receive a letter asking you to pickup your application package.
Return the completed application along with the requested documentation to our office.
Contact a mortgage lender to obtain a pre-qualification letter.

More information can be found at the Shasta County Housing & Community Actions Page

Waterfront Properties: 11 Things You Should Know Before Buying

The North State is a great place to live, especially if you enjoy the great outdoors. If you’re into fishing, boating or other water sports, be sure to check out some of the affordable waterfront properties Redding has to offer. We all must live somewhere, why not live your vacation year round?

Eleven Things You Should Know Before Buying a Waterfront Home:

Pre-qualifying for a home, understanding navigable water use laws, conducting a professional home inspection, verifying property lines and purchasing insurance; buying a home can be a complicated process. But add “waterfront” into the equation and things get a little more complex. The good news is, real estate agents who regularly deal with waterfront properties know the ins and outs of this process. The following tips will give you a heads-up on what to expect when purchasing a home by the water.

Find a real estate agent that specializes in waterfront properties. Since there are fewer waterfront properties for sale, most agents won’t have the specialized knowledge of appraising or investigating waterfront properties. In fact, it’s not unusual for a real estate agent to never have a single waterfront transaction in the entire career. Sometimes “you may think you’ve found a great deal” but the reason it’s a great deal could be restrictive use conditions or protected plants and animals etc. You might not be able to create that private beach you’ve been dreaming about.
Consider the property more than the house. “Oftentimes, people fall in love with a house, but after they buy it, they realize the swimming is mucky, the view’s not very good, it’s difficult to get down to the water, or the place is not very private,” says Ted Silberstein, a real estate agent and GIS analyst with Parsons Realty. Ted specializes in land use restrictions and is an advisor to all of the Parsons’ real estate agents. Long story short, you can change the house, but you can’t change the location, so buy a property that you really love after you’ve checked it out first.
Can anyone use the waterway in front of your home? The answer is YES. Therefore it’s important to know if the area you’re considering is the “local hangout” on the weekends or during the summer months. Agents specializing in waterfront properties will know this. Here’s an excerpt of the regulations regarding waterways. The public’s right to use California waterways is guaranteed by the United States and California Constitutions and affirmed by California Legislative Codes. Both Federal and California case law further define and affirm these rights. The United States Constitution says – Freedom of navigation and the public’s right to use rivers are guaranteed by the Commerce Clause. The congressional Act admitting States to the Union requires that “all the navigable waters within said State shall be common highways and forever free.” Therefore, when you barbecue, be sure to throw on another shrimp just in case you have company.
Choose a property that dovetails with your lifestyle. You may find a beautiful property for sale, but it’s a 30 minute drive to the closest boat launch. “If you’re passionate about fly fishing on the Sacramento River, that’s going to make a difference in how often you actually do it. Focus on the activities you’re passionate about and choose a property accordingly.
Look into loans early. Since many waterfront properties are more expensive than other properties, loans will often fall into the jumbo mortgage category, In addition, there may not be recent sales in the area to justify the “cost per square foot” since a good chunk of the purchase price is allocated to the unique location. Chris Lamm of Security 1 Lending says “lenders will therefore only consider very qualified buyers.” And, buyers ought to start the loan process before they start looking for a property because waterfront property loans can take a lot longer than a normal home loan,” Lamm says.
Carefully check out the structure and look for deferred maintenance. Waterfront homes receive more abuse from the elements than the average home, so extra measures should be taken to protect them.
Insurance can be costly and complicated. Look into this early to make sure you know what you’re getting into. For instance, Tim Beasley of AAA insurance of Redding, CA says waterfront homeowners may have to cover additional perils such as a flood insurance policy and liability policies with higher than normal limits.
Find out what you can do with the property. If you want to make any changes to your waterfront property, such as adding a dock, start this process early to ensure that these alterations will be possible. Government agencies are very strict to deal with, and you don’t want to commit to purchasing an expensive home without knowing these limitations. Also find out what kind of activities are allowed on the body of water, as some areas have restrictions on jet skis, speedboats and other watercraft.
Talk to neighbors. Get insider information from neighbors by asking if they enjoy living in the community, if they have any issues with the property you’re thinking about purchasing, or if there are any waterfront-related problems.
In rural areas look into utilities. Waterfront buyers who are accustomed to the convenience of suburban life may assume that electricity, clean water, an adequate septic system, cable and Internet will be readily available at their new property, but this is not always the case. Bringing these services in to remote areas can be very expensive.
Get to know your responsibilities as a waterfront homeowner. If you’re part of a homeowners association, find out what kind of upkeep and maintenance of the property will be required from you by reviewing the conditions, covenants and restrictions also known as CC&Rs.

If you would like to search for waterfront properties in Redding and Shasta County, search our Waterfront Properties MLS page here:
https://www.parsonsrealty.com/parsons_realty/waterfront-properties-in-redding-shasta-county/

Will Good Rental History Help Your Credit?

If you would have asked me this question a week ago, I would have said no. Most landlords and property managers do not report your rental history to the credit bureaus unless you do not pay and they have to evict you.

Last week I was working with a first time home buyer that had very little credit history. He worked hard, paid off his car loan quickly and never carried a credit card balance. He was in the process of purchasing a home in Redding with a 20% down payment. One would assume that this situation would be a slam dunk, right? Actually, it was not.

The loan underwriter was concerned about the buyers lack of credit history. So, the loan officer, scrambling to figure away to make this deal work, contacted one of the three major credit bureaus and provided them with the lease agreement and a statement from the landlord explaining that the rent was on time and the tenant was great.

After this change was applied to the buyers credit, the loan officer was able to re-submit the loan to the underwriter and they approved the loan! The last two years of good rental history was enough to put him over the edge.

After hearing about what this loan officer was able to do, I did a little research and concluded that this is something that every renter should do. The first step would be contacting the three major credit bureaus and ordering a copy of your credit report.

Experian-1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com

TransUnion-1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

Equifax-1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Once you receive the report, verify that the rental history is not already listed. If it is not, you can contact the credit agencies and ask them to add the history to your report. They will most likely ask you for documentation to backup your claim, such as a copy of your rental agreement and copies of canceled rent checks.

I would love to hear your experiences with this. Please feel free to comment below.

Amazing new credit repair guide gives you the most effective credit repair tactics available to defeat bad credit.

Fannie Mae Is Tightning Foreclosure Timelines

Fannie Mae issued a news release that warns servicing companies that Fannie will be monitoring all delinquent loans to ensure that foreclosures are being processed within a timely manor. The main purpose of the Fannie Mae announcement was to make the servicing companies aware of Fannie’s intention to get all non-performing loans off there books as quickly as possible.

They also stated that there will be penalties for poor servicing performance as it applies to foreclosures. “A compensatory fee not only compensates Fannie Mae for damages but also emphasizes the importance placed on a particular aspect of the servicer’s performance,” the GSE stated in its servicing guide.

Fannie also updated the allowable time frame for foreclosure in each state. The California foreclosure time line stayed the same at 120 days.

This could mean the days of homeowners staying in their homes for a year or two without making a payment are over. There are several options to foreclosure including loan modifications, short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure etc… It is best to contact your lender immediately and be proactive in solving the delinquency.

You can read the full news release here.

Interst Rates, Lowest Level In Half a Century

For the 10th time in the last 11 weeks Freddie Mac reported a decline in fixed rate mortgages. The average interest on a 30 year fixed was 4.32% down from last weeks 4.36%. Economists credit the week economy and high unemployment rates.

As separate report from Bankrate, which is based on data provided by the top 10 banks in the U.S. also found mortgage rates falling. They reported the average conforming 30 yr fixed rate mortgage dropped from 4.59% to 4.53%. Bankrate said in their report “Nervousness about the economy brought mortgage rates lower, as has consistently been the case since May. An upcoming jobs report promises to add further volatility to mortgage rates.”

The company added, “While low mortgage rates have produced a surge in refinancing activity, they aren’t packing the same punch on home purchases because would-be buyers are saddled with existing real estate they can’t sell, are nervous about their jobs, or remain convinced that home prices have further to fall.”

Home Sales Unexpectedly Jump From Last Month

The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that the Pending Home Sales Index showed a 5.2% increase in Pending home sales from last month. This was an unexpected jump, some analysts were expecting another monthly drop in home sales.

Despite the good news, National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun cautioned that the recovery ahead will be a long process.

“Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability conditions should help with a recovery,” Yun said. “But the recovery looks to be a long process. Homebuyers over the past year got a great deal [but] for those who bought at or near the peak several years ago, particularly in markets experiencing big bubbles, it may take over a decade to fully recover lost equity.”

Yun added, “Affordability could reach a generational high in the second half of this year because of rock-bottom mortgage interest rates, helped partly by the Fed’s very accommodative monetary policy. The loan underwriting standards are tighter, but home buyers can improve their chances of getting a loan by staying well within their budget.”