Yes there is still money available! - If you are qualified, can afford the payment, are willing to buy or refinance property at current reduced values, and have good reserves after the transaction is complete, there is a loan for you, and it’s not tough to get. Here’s some advice:
- Many lenders have closed their doors & stopped doing business. You do not want to have your transaction placed with one of them just before they go out.
- Several national mortgage lenders have gotten proprietary. This means you could only get financing with that firm directly, they no longer work with or accept loans from Mortgage Brokers. An example of this is Bank of America.
- Mortgage Bankers, which are a class of lender between brokers and direct lenders fund their loans through pre-arranged credit lines then within 30 days sell them. These credit lines have been negatively impacted by the stalled credit markets causing these lenders in a few cases to renege on loan approvals. This can cause real disruption in the lives of everyone in the transaction.
- There is still an over-abundance of lending sources and their conversations are ever more creative to survive so choose your hiring standards carefully & stick to them. May I suggest professionalism, experience of more than 10 years, and someone who will listen to what you care about?
- Now more than ever, if you have trusted advisers in your life stay close, let them know how much you appreciate their advice, and absolutely follow it without question. After all, in their area of expertise, they know more than you do - sort-of a flashlight on a dark road!
Yes there are still buyers who want to and are buying - I recently heard though unverified that 91% of the 1,800 pending sale transactions in Santa Clara County involve bank owned or seller distressed property - WOW!
If you’re afraid, frozen, or even paralyzed about your current finances, the real estate market, or general economic situation, I have a solution - contact me!
Finally, in my years in business I can recall many conversations with clients who said “boy if property values would just come down a little and there weren’t so many trying to buy, I’d buy several”. Now is you chance, and there are some great homes available at fire sale prices where you would love to live.
