Amerifirst Mortgage Lending for FHA 203K Loans

The FHA 203k can help finance required repairs as well as desired improvements whether you’re buying a house or you’re willing to refinance to pay for the work you want done. This home improvement loan option is great for first time home buyers, step-up buyers, refinancing homeowners and almost any other real estate category.

For about $6 a month added to the mortgage payment, you can add $1,000 in home improvements. So a $20,000 remodeling project would add about $120 to your monthly mortgage payment. The nice thing is that the interest paid is part of your mortgage – tax break!

So what kind of work can you finance using the FHA 203k? The list is long. It’s almost easier to ask what you can NOT finance. That’s basically luxury items like a spa or tennis courts, or items that wouldn’t add value to the home like and LED HDTV. With that in mind, here’s a look at 10 ideas for home improvement projects you could finance with the FHA 203k mortgage option.

1. Energy efficient windows. Not only would they look nicer than the old rotting wood ones there now, but it will save on your heating and cooling bills!
2. Exterior paint. Cracked, faded or just plain ugly – it’s time to repaint the house. Paying for a professional job beats hiring the neighbor kids who will probably make a huge mess anyway (I can say that – I’ve been one of those neighbor kids!).
3. Roof repair or replacement. You don’t really want to climb up there and do it yourself. But if the house needs a new roof (or repairs), then it’s a must-have. You don’t want an inadvertent sunroof in your home, do you?
4. Flooring replacement or upgrades. FHA requires flooring in a home. You probably require that, too. All new carpet, laminate or tile – your choice.
5. Kitchen remodeling project. Everything but the kitchen sink…well that’s not exactly true. You can get a new sink, too. Plus appliances. A new kitchen? That makes everyone happy.
6. Convert/add a bathroom. Who couldn’t use another bathroom? I live with 2 daughters and a wife. I could use a few extra bathrooms.
7. Build a deck. What better place to spend the summer and fall than on the deck in the evening? Build or repair a deck with the FHA 203k.
8. Add a porch. If the mosquitoes could carry you off your deck, maybe a nice porch is just the ticket. Heavy duty screens could make the difference between looking at a nice deck outside from the comfort of your kitchen…and experiencing the nice outdoors.
9. Lead-based paint abatement. Get rid of lead-based paint and have new, safer paint in its place.
10. Mold issues/damp basement. Who wants to live in a moldy home? Finance the mold removal and basement water-proofing with an FHA 203k.

While one or two of these projects may not warrant an FHA 203k, add up a few of them and you have yourself a pretty pricey list of work. The 203k requires a licensed contractor perform the improvements, so you’d have the benefit of a professional doing all the work.

Learn more about this option with “The FHA 203k Survival Guide“. The guide walks you through the process and explains industry jargon in terms we can all understand.

Get your free copy today!

Before we explore some of the financing options when it comes to buying a home, I want to share a fun video illustrating one of the funniest-but-disturbing renters nightmares we hear about. It’s funny…it’s awkward…and I’m glad it’s not me. Check out the video below for a look at what happens when your neighbor just doesn’t have the same social boundaries as you.

You can see the video below!:

If that doesn’t send you out house hunting, I don’t know what will. Let’s look at a couple of options for you if you’re ready to end the renters nightmare and buy that first home. One great option for first time home buyers is HomePath financing. This option allows a buyer to find a qualified Fannie Mae-owned home and put 3% down to buy the house. This means instead of a 10-or-20% down payment, you get just put a little down on a home that’s likely priced pretty low (since it’s a bank-owned home). Other benefits to HomePath include no monthly mortgage insurance and expanded seller concessions.

Another great choice is USDA Rural Development. This is a no-down payment option for home buyers. Of course this means the mortgage finances 100% of the purchase price. The catch here is that the house must fall within the geographic requirement of “rural” defined by the USDA. Interestingly, this doesn’t always meanway out in the sticks. Actually, a lot of smaller towns and villages near bigger cities often fall under the rural umbrella.

Those are just 2 of several mortgage options for financing your first home. You have a lot of choices when it comes to financing a house. The important thing to do first is to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you go house hunting. This will help you know how much you can afford in mortgage payments, so you know how much house you can afford.

Learn more about the proces with “The Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home” at the button below. From down payments to credit scores, you can find out the inner workings of financing your first home.

Countless accidents still occur in homes across the U.S. and globally where codes are poorly understood or used improperly. The expanded Building Safety Month will help bridge these gaps and provide a broader platform to share the sphere of knowledge among architects, engineers and skilled industry veterans so that families, businesses and communities can be safe, strong and sustainable.

Wikipedia describes a building code, or building control, as a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. Building codes have a long history. What is generally accepted as the first building code was in the Code of Hammurabi which specified:

• 229. If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death.
• 230. If it kills the son of the owner, the son of that builder shall be put to death.
• 231. If it kills a slave of the owner, then he shall pay, slave for slave, to the owner of the house.
• 232. If it ruins goods, he shall make compensation for all that has been ruined, and inasmuch as he did not construct properly this house which he built and it fell, he shall re-erect the house from his own means.
• 233. If a builder builds a house for someone, even though he has not yet completed it; if then the walls seem toppling, the builder must make the walls solid from his own means.

The Law of Moses stipulated a specific construction requirement which is also an early form of a building code. The Bible book of Deuteronomy, chapter 22 verse 8, states:

• “In case you build a new house, you must also make a parapet for your roof, that you may not place bloodguilt upon your house because someone falling might fall from it.”

Facebook Fan Page

I’m a proud member of the American Society of Home Inspectors – ASHI. In May ASHI members will be available to help answer questions and promote residential building safety. We at SafeHome Inspections are proud to be a part of that important initiative where we’ll help create community-wide recognition and understanding of building safety and sustainability. To that event we’re sharing the Building Safety Month Toolkit as seen on www.buildingsafetymonth.org.

Listen to Danny Lipford @ Homefront Radio with Jack Armstrong

2011 Building Safety Month Public Relations Downloadable Toolkit:

Tips On How To Have A Successful Building Safety Month Event – Video

Public Relations Toolkit Cover Sheet

2011 Building Safety Month Logo

2011 Building Safety Month Poster - Download Low Res | Download High Res

Letter to the Editor Template

News Release Template

2012 Proclamation Template

Step by Step Support for Building Safety Month

Strategies for a Successful Building Safety Month Event

What is Building Safety Month? - Download Low Res | Download High Res

2011 Building Safety Month Children Activities:

CODiE & CODEtte Children’s Activity Book

CODiE & CODEtte Children’s Sticker

2011 General Building Safety Brochures and Publications:

Benefits of Building Permits

Building Codes: How do they Help You?

Building Green – Living Better

Building Technology: Then and Now

Careers in Code Administration

201Flood Cleanup: Safety & Salvaging

Mold: Tips on Prevention and Control

Prevent Accidents, Save Lives: Pool Spa and Hot Tub Safety

Safety First – Disaster Preparedness: Tips for Your Home & Family

Safety Tips from Your Building Inspector

A Quick Recap

As I travel about my local market and perform home inspections I find myself repeatedly visiting the same neighborhoods each month. I recognized that each neighborhood has two identifying characteristics, a name and an address. Also, I noticed that the Facebook Mobile Device App has a feature that allows the user to record both types of data, the subdivision name and its GEO location. For the purpose of my CM, I use the neighborhood’s entrance location as the address. As I’m entering the neighborhood, I stop and take a photo of the entrance, name the Check-In point the same name as the neighborhood and I photo the entrance sign. In the event that the name of the subdivision is not already a Check-In point, I have the option to create the name. I make a short comment, take a photo, and record the facts of my activities.

Take it to Another Level

Once the App records the Check-In point, in my case the front of the neighborhood, a Place Page is created and my photo and information is saved to that page. The Check-In also is recorded, by default, to my Facebook personal wall. That gives me two potential areas of branding/advertising, one on my own wall and the other on the place page, where the neighborhood resides. My personal friends and my “Facebook Network” now can view my Check-In [and the photos] from my personal wall and whoever is within the Facebook App’s Geo “circle” will find the neighborhood place page I created, again, exposing my brand to a much broader audience.

A few months ago I shared the idea of Check-In Marketing with Hollis Brown, a business associate and fellow home inspector. Hollis and I recognized that we could expand the Facebook Marketing approach by reaching an even wider audience.

City-County-State-US

I mentioned that the Check-In had two IDs, a location and a name. With respect to the location, the subdivision is located in a community/town/city and the city is located within a county, the county is located within state and the states are located in the United States.

I started with my home town, Ridgeland, MS and created a Facebook Fan page called Ridgeland Mississippi Real Estate. I cover 18 cities in my local market. I’ve created one Facebook Fan Page for each of the 18 cities. Those 18 cities are located in 3 MS counties, Madison County, Hinds County and Rankin County. I also created a Mississippi Real Estate Page. Hollis Brown has created a United States Real Estate page and has organized other state pages under the US page.

This layered effect of pages doubles or triples the opportunity to brand my local market and to expose my business beyond my 18 cites. And…because search engine crawlers like Google, Bing and Yahoo find Facebook Fan pages, the data [my pictures, news and my name] is being shared beyond my city limits and my name and website page ranking is improving.

Join Check-In Marketing

Now, when I visit a neighborhood I Check-In at the neighborhood level and either find the name or I create the name of the subdivision. After I’ve checked in I “share” the check-in photo on the city page where the neighborhood is located and I also share the story on the county page. I then share the county page Check-In on the state page.

I encourage my fellow real estate professionals to use the free pages and share their activity. The more Check-Ins the page registers the higher the search engine ranking and the higher the place page ranks on Facebook’s domain the more often the page is seen when someone searches via the GEO Mobile Device.

Contact me or Hollis Brown for questions about Check-In Marketing. We’re setting up pages for real estate related businesses all over the US and selling licenses to Real Estate Agents.

Example of how I’ve integrated Check-In Marketing to one of my local websites.

Check-In Marketing Page on Facebook

There are pros and cons to every market condition. We’ve compared the sales commission of the standard loan vs. the K loan and explained how value appreciation can be a real payoff for the borrower. Let’s look at a few other reasons why you’ll want to keep the 203K option open to your client.

The K is not “Just-for-Borrowers”

Do you have a client preparing to sell a home that’s, shall we say, not quite ready for prime time? REFI to the rescue! Remember, a current home owner qualifies as a borrower. The K Loan can help you do more than just put lipstick on that pig! Send your client to a qualified lender and get them hooked-up now, before you list it!

Fix it Your Way!

The K loan has POWER! What kind-a-power? The power to create a customized look and feel. Think of it like building a new home! You get to pick the colors, upgrade the finishes, flooring and appliances. Want a window here? A door there? Not a problem, unless you want to try this idea out on a convential loan. Give it up! It’s not going to happen in this market. Conventional banks scoff at repair lending. Start picking out that granite and the cabinet work you’ve seen on HGTV!

Foundation Trouble 

OH MY GOD! What a crack! Structural issues are real and they can kill a deal very dead, very fast. But it doesn’t have to end here. Foundation repairs are just a phone call away. Because the repair item is consider structural in nature you’ll need a 203K Consultant. Never fear, we gotcha covered!

Home Inspection Woes

You’ve seen it before. The laundry list of repairs a thorough home inspector can conger up will quickly jamb the road to the closing table. Don’t allow that to happen to you! A streamline K’s the answer! No minimum repair total. Maximum total of $35,000! WOW! That’s a huge home inspector punch list knocked out with the Streamline K.

Team Approach! 

Every lender I know knows a good contractor. Add a lender and a 203K Consultant and you have a winning team. Use that team to your advantage and you’ll be closing more loans with less effort in a shorter period of time. It’s just that simple. Rely on your trusted team.

Where’s the Beef!

Here’s the laundry list:

• Structural Problems OK
• Do it Green OK
• Bad/Leaky Roof OK
• Termites OK
• Code Violations OK
• Customize/Modernize Yep
• No Kitchen? No Problem
• Mold OK
• House too small? Additions…OK
• Tear Downs OK
• Did it Burn? Yes
• Owner Occupied duplex, triplex, or quad OK
• Mixed Use office / retail / professional OK

The K loan will allow you to make the DEALS that you ordinarily would not. With a K loan your a problem solver. Create, don’t Procrastinate. Make repairs that the seller will not!

Got other ideas? Questions? Comments? Leave’m below!

203K Rehab

I see firsthand the potential savings that lie just below the surface of the FHA 203K Loan program. The value appreciation and subsequent positive karma derived from wise investing creates joy in those who benefit; the money isn’t bad either.

As I travel about the city working as 203K consultant I’m constantly reminded of the need for neighborhood pride and I often find myself in conversation with area leaders discussing how to help  slow the migration of both inner city neighborhoods and rural developments marred by the recession. But we can do more, and we should.

Let’s compare two sales and in theory, compare two worlds. One world is still hanging on. Hanging on to a time when profits were flowing and value was runaway. Sales were quick, easy and often.

The other world is reality; the reality that those times are history and most likely not going to repeat itself for quite a while.

Let’s compare the standard sale (yesterday’s reality) vs. the renovation sale (pure reality) and look at where the money flow is concentrated. Keep in mind that there are assuptions being made about value and cost. But I’m not out the ballpark here in my numbers (it’s my job to know them well). I’ve seen much more profit being taken by buyers than my example shows.

Standard Sale

• Agent works with a buyer who has the ability to purchase a $200,000 home.
• The buyer’s payment is amortized on $200,000.
• The home needs no work and is move-in ready.
• $200,000 X 6% commission = $12,000.

The sale usually happens within 30 days or less (usually). The agent sends the buyer a house warming gift and a Christmas card. 4 years later the buyer is now a seller and the agent gets the call (hopefully) to list his/her home and the buyer is lucky to make 6-8% increase in value in the four year period.

• The sale nets the client (now the seller), $14,000 profit (7% increase in value)
• The agent gets a 6% commission, $12,720.
• Total sales commissions in the 4 year scenario = $24,720.

203K Sale

• Agent works with a buyer who has the ability to purchase a $200,000 home, but chooses to look for a foreclosure for $120,000 and with the Standard 203K loan adds $45,000 in repairs at the time of purchase.
• The buyer’s payment is amortized on $165,000, the home is [because of the improvements] also valued at $200,000.
• The home is not move-in ready and may take longer than 30 days to close.
• $120,000 X 6% commission = $7,200.

The sale usually happens within 45 days or less (usually), some take up to 60 days or more to close. The agent sends the buyer a house warming gift and a Christmas card. 4 years later the buyer is now a seller and the agent gets the call to list his/her home. The buyer is lucky to make 6-8% increase in value in the four year period.

• The sale nets the client (now the seller), $43,800 (7% increase in value + the added value of the foreclosure + difference in the payment)
• The agent gets a 6% commission, $12,720.

Here’s a graphical breakdown:

The Tale of the Tape

In our scenario the real estate agent’s sales commission is $4,800 less and the two projects take an extra 2-3 weeks to close when handling the 203K Loan.

The buyers potential rehab profit, value appreciation and payment savings is $29,800 by purchasing and later selling a 203K Loan.

The neighborhood value is improved and pride of ownership is beginning to be restored. The end result of the above scenario is that agents work harder and longer for less money and buyers have the potential for substantial profits being taken from a very negative housing market.

Real estate agents have a choice to make and judging from a most recent letter by NAR they’re seeing the potential, especially as it relates to investors purchasing with the FHA 203K Loan, we’ll talk about that later.

There are literally millions of homes on the market that fit the above scenario. Today’s real estate market has the potential to create the same level of wealth for buyers that it was creating before the financial meltdown. Both parties, buyers and agents, have the potential to cash in on the opportunity.

The question remains, will agents put on their gloves and help buyers take advantage of the potential.

The introduction field [About] in your Google+ profile should include:

* Professional Experience: give your potential customers an idea of what it might look like to work with them.
* Personal Information: this will inform prospects what matters most to you outside of business.
* Linking: do not stuff your profile with links but be sure to link to outside resources where appropriate.

Here’s a short video intro for Chris.

Catch me (that means +1 my pages!!) and my business on Google+ at the following links:

Personal Page
SafeHome Inspections
203K Consultant
ASHI Home Inspector 

Here’s a quick link to buy Chris’s book.

I recommend it!

]]> http://garynsmith.net/2012/01/tips-for-creating-an-effective-google-profile/feed/ 0 http://garynsmith.net/2012/01/new-ashi-benefits-introduced-at-inspection-world-2012-phoenix/ http://garynsmith.net/2012/01/new-ashi-benefits-introduced-at-inspection-world-2012-phoenix/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:36:59 +0000 Gary Smith http://garynsmith.net/?p=1209 ASHIWeekly Newsbrief announced 2 new ASHI Member insurance benefits.

Aflac — Supplemental Health Insurance Products
Aflac is insurance for daily living. It pays cash benefits directly to you, unless assigned, to help with daily expenses when you’re sick or hurt. The benefits are predetermined and paid regardless of any other insurance you may have. Aflac is affordable, with a range of products that fit most budgets. Aflac processes claims quickly — usually within four days. Click here to link to the Aflac Introductory Email  Click here for the link to the Program Details on the ASHI Endorsed Vendor page

Norris Pacholick Benefit Advisors (NPBA) — Long Term Care Insurance Program offered through Mutual of Omaha
Planning ahead for future health care issues is something many people do not think about — but how would you handle this? People think Medicare will provide coverage, it does not. Do you want to have choice and financial independence? Do you want to avoid burdening family and friends with your care? Do you want to have access to quality care? Do you want to preserve the wealth you’ve worked so hard for over your lifetime? Long-term care insurance helps you achieve these goals. Norris Pacholick Benefit Advisors specializes in long term care insurance provided by the best insurance carriers available. And they deliver free consulting and education.
Click here to link to NPBA website  Click here for the link to the Program Details on the ASHI Endorsed Vendor page

Image by FilterFast.com

We spend more time indoors during the winter months. That’s why it makes sense to keep your heating and cooling system’s air filter changed. Here are a few details to consider.

Air filters are manufactured with a rating called the MERV or minimum efficiency reporting value.  That’s a number from 1 to 16 that’s relative to the filter’s efficiency. The rating was designed by ASHRAE in 1987.

The higher the “MERV Number”, the more efficient the air filter is at removing particles and contaminates from the air you breath.  The cheap ones you purchase as the grocery store (please don’t buy these cheap air filters) often have a MERV rating of below 4 or 5. At the higher end, a MERV 14 – 16 filter is typically the filter of choice for critical areas of a hospital (to prevent transfer of bacteria and infectious diseases). Read More About MERV Ratings.

Start out by matching your MERV rating to your heating system manufacturer’s recommendations. If the filter doesn’t allow enough air to be drawn through it there is a potential for damage to your heating and cooling blower motor.

Generally, the fan motor on a typical heating and cooling system is not strong enough to easily pull air through a filter rating above a MERV 6-8 (consultant your HVAC contractor – or call us – for help in determining a safe MERV rating/size). Also, the extra load on the heating system fan will use more energy than it should, driving up your energy bill.

On average I recommend you change your air filter every 60 days. A few factors that would/could alter that time frame are:

• You live on a dusty road. Even if you can’t see the dust in the air, it’s present.
• Your fan motor runs often. Longer run times will filter more particles.
• You’re using a high MERV rated filter. The higher the filter the more often it should be changed.

Get Air Filter Delivered to Your Door

Filtrete 9801-6PK Micro Allergen Reduction Filters, 1000 MPR, 16 x 25 x 1, 6-Pack

Summer Time

Last summer I found myself in the same new sub-division over and over, [and believe me, the place was one of only a few in this crazy real estate market] I was inspecting slabs before the builder called the concrete trucks for the foundation pour.

I’m currently inspecting for Bonded Builders Warranty Group where I’m confirming the size of the steel, depth of ditches and other design criteria. I take a couple pictures, report my findings and move to the next job on my calendar.

As I drove away I began to think, I wish everyone could see all this new construction activity, but how could I “get the word out”? And, I thought, if I’m successful at helping drive traffic to the neighborhood and possibly help my real estate agent friends make a sale, look at all the people one sale would employ! Plumbers, roofers, drywall hangers, clean up crews and literally dozens of other industry professionals. But how could I reach thousands of people without paying thousands of dollars?

Facebook

Suddenly I realized that the neighborhood I visited each day is a point on a map. A point exactly like the point in the restaurant that I had lunch that day. And…that I could use the Check-In feature on Facebook to locate and pin-point the neighborhood that I visit each week. I began to see the neighborhood as a single point on a map. One with an identity all it’s own. A place. On Facebook, it’s called a Place Page. As a matter of fact you can “Like” Facebook Places the same way you can Like Facebook Fan Pages. While Places is mostly meant for smartphone users, it doesn’t depend on a GPS device to find your location–you can check in from a laptop or iPod Touch, too. Just go to touch.facebook.com in your browser [you'll need Internet access, of course], and you can check in from your desk or favorite café.

On my next slab inspection I paused at the front the neighborhood, opened my Facebook app and clicked the +Check-In button. The app quickly started searching for and showing me all the places [names of stores, service stations, groceries, etc] that had been created by others on Facebook. But no subdivision name. So I created the name of the subdivision where I inspect. I took a photo of the signage at the neighborhood gate, described my job, mentioned the builder’s name and photoed the foundation. I shared the new place and the photos on Facebook.

I’m not sure how many friends and family members saw my first Check-In, but since that day last summer I’ve been checking-in and sharing my activity. I’ve realized that when you use the Facebook Check-In option, the photo and information you share is later retrievable by anyone and everyone in the neighborhood and also “near” the place. That means that someone checking in at one of the near-by restaurants has the opportunity to view and review all the information you shared days weeks or even months before. Sort-a like a history book of the actions in the neighborhood and the best part [aside from sharing this information to potential buyers] I was advertising my business to everyone, both logged into Facebook and those who were near the Check-in point for free! Thousands now have the potential to see my name and the news of others who use this method of free marketing. Download the iPhone Facebook app here and get the Android app here.

I’m expanding the idea and have a few more tricks up my sleeve, but that’s for another post. I’m headed out for another slab inspection and another Check-In.

Stay tuned  for Facebook Check-In Marketing – Step 2

See Official Facebook Check-In Q and A

]]> http://garynsmith.net/2012/01/facebook-check-in-marketing-step-1/feed/ 4