Well, here it is!  More fees attached to refinances and purchases.  Just what we need in this real estate market to slow down sales, so I had to share it with you.  This information came to me through Sharon Clatterbuck, Mortgage Specialist at SunTrust Mortgage.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri

Whether you are looking to buy a condo or refinance a townhouse, be prepared for a cold and costly reception in lender land. Sinking values, oodles of overbuilding and a clamp- down on condos bought as investment properties has spurred lenders and private mortgage insurers to introduce new risk-based fees for all “attached” homes, such as condos and townhouses.

The federal government is the main cog in the imposition of these new mortgage fees. In the midst of the credit crisis Fannie Mae has emerged as the only major venue for securitizing mortgages; lenders who want to be able to sell pools of mortgages need to adhere to Fannie’s lending guidelines. And Fannie is not grooving on the condo market right now.

The new Fannie condo fees include:

* A 0.75% fee slapped on your closing costs for a Fannie-backed loan if you have less than 25% equity in a condo or other “attached” property.

* If your condo is an investment property you will pay a Fannie fee no matter how much equity you have. With 25% or more equity it’s “just” 1.75% extra; with equity below 25% the fee goes up to 3.75%.

If you have less than 20% equity you could also run into the private mortgage condo roadblock. The pmi industry is raising its lending requirements across the board-higher credit scores, more equity required for single family homes as well as attached housing-but condos get hit hardest. For example, PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. refuses to do any business-no matter how high your credit score-insuring condo loans anywhere in the state of Florida.

Elsewhere in the country it might be willing to help you out; but if you live in an area on the firm’s “distressed” list you still must have 15% equity. In the boom days 3% to 5% down was all you needed to get a loan and cover the rest of the down payment with private mortgage insurance.

And if your condo is an investment property, PMI does not want your business no matter where in the country you live or how high your credit score.

Thinking an FHA-insured loan might be the way to go with refinancing your condo? After all, the maximum FHA loan limit is now as much as $729,750 in high-cost areas and all you need is a 3.5% down payment.

Well, the FHA is just as circumspect insuring condos and townhouses. It puts strict limits on the number of loans it will insure in a single development and will not back a loan unless the majority of homeowners in the development use the property as their primary residence.

The bottom line is that attached housing now comes with higher fees attached too.

- Carla Fried

Over the last several months, Jesse and I have been working with Sharon Clatterbuck, Mortgage Specialist with SunTrust Mortgage and Cheryl Schaffer, Vice President and Branch Manager of the SunTrust Bank at Mays Chapel to host seminars for first-time homebuyers.  Entitled Ten Easy Steps to Buying a Home, the one-hour seminar we host each month is designed to give anyone who is thinking about buying a home the information about each step in the home buying process.

No hassles, no obligation.  We are simply providing the seminars as a community benefit and everyone is invited to attend, whether you live in the Lutherville-Timonium area or not.

Probably the most important thing that we’ve learned through providing the seminars is that homebuyers don’t do enough pre-planning.  Homebuyers should consider attending seminars like ours several months before they plan to go house hunting.  There are quite a few things that need to be done in advance of looking for a home that will make the entire process much easier and enjoyable – and pre-planning is the key.

So, if you or someone you know is thinking about buying a home in 2009, we suggest that you attend our seminar or one like ours to learn about the process and do the things necessary to make searching for and buying a home a pleasant experience. 

Our next home buyer seminar will be held:
Thursday, April 16^th
7:00-8:00 p.m.
SunTrust Bank, Mays Chapel Branch
(in the Graul’s shopping center at Roundwood Center)
12254 Tullamore Road
Timonium, MD 21093

Planning to attend?  Simply CLICK HERE, so that a seat can be reserved for you or call Jesse Hannon at 410-215-7131.

Want some information in advance of the seminar?  CLICK HERE and we’ll mail a copy of our brochure, Ten Easy Steps to Home Ownership, to you.

Looking for a good buy in this market?  Check out our BEST BUYS!  Each week we select three properties that we think are really good deals.

We also wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have been referring us to your friends and family.  Referrals are truly the greatest compliment we can receive and we thank you.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,

Jeri

As a realtor with an interior design background and a keen eye for staging homes, I have known for years now that the biggest obstacle to making a home look great is that everybody has too much stuff.  Knowing this, Jesse and I have made a concerted effort to be highly organized and regularly get rid of things that we haven't used recently, but a funny thing happened to me a few weeks ago.  I took a critical look at my own home and realized that I, too, had too much stuff and it was making our house look like furniture store instead of a home.

Our clutter was not in the form of knickknacks, too many family photos, or just plain old junk.  It was simply too much furniture.  Several years ago, we downsized to a smaller home and I thought that I could use everything we were bringing with us - and I did, despite all design principles.  The house didn't look bad, but it looked full and that made it look cramped and small.  It somewhat irked me when I walked through or sat in these rooms with too much stuff, but since it didn't look that bad, I let it be - until two weeks ago.

I don't know what inspired it, but I woke up one morning with the urge to purge.  I gathered up everything that didn't fit in this home, made arrangements with local consignment shops to sell the furniture, and hired a mover to get the stuff out of here.

Now that those things are gone, I am happier because our house looks much nicer and feels more spacious.  I don't know why I held onto these things for so long.  Maybe it was because the items were well-made or because I had inadvertently attached memories to them - I really can't say - but the one thing that I know is that I'm glad that I took my own advice and decluttered my home.

If you are getting ready to do some spring cleaning or are thinking about selling you home and have too much stuff, you might want to consider selling it at a local consignment shop.  We've done this from time-to-time over the years and it has worked out well for us.  I've never done the CraigsList thing because I don't want strangers coming into my home to look at what I'm selling since I don't know who is really looking at buying or who might be looking to rob me later.

Living in the Lutherville-Timonium area makes it easy to consign home furnishings and decor because we have several nice shops available to us that I've listed below for your convenience.

Belle Cose, 410-308-4885, http://www.bellecosellc.com/
Clearing House, 410-561-4546, http://www.clearinghouseltd.com/
Cornerstone Antiques & Consignment, 410-561-3767, http://www.onlycornerstone.com/
Great Finds & Design, 410-561-9413, http://www.greatfindsanddesign.com/

If you're thinking about selling and would like some staging ideas, CLICK HERE or call us at 410-215-4201 to receive a copy of our FREE brochure, Home Staging: Tips & Tricks to Help Your Home Sell Quickly.

Wishing you sunshine everyday and the home of your dreams,
Jeri