Neighborhood LIFT!**Down payment Assistance**

Hello Community!!

Are you ready for the Neighborhood LIFT program? Have you not heard?

Neighborhood Lift is an initiative that Wells Fargo has created for the City of Atlanta. This program will add a new source of down payment funds for homebuyers  who are buying a home in Atlanta. The funds can also  be used for those who are buying a home that needs renovation.  $ 6.4 million in  down payment funds will be made available for those who earn less than 120% of  Area Median Income and will be purchasing a primary residence anywhere in the  City of Atlanta

The program will be kicking off  at a  large event at the Georgia WorldCongress Center on February 10th and 11th so mark your calendar and attend!

Event highlights  include:

·Down payment  assistance program – qualified homebuyers can get up to  $15,000 in a forgivable grant (see flyer below for more  info)

·Homebuyer  education theater – where consumers can learn more about finding and financing a  home and managing the financial responsibilities of homeownership

·Featured homes – consumers can stop by Wells Fargo’s Affordable Home Tour viewing center to  preview the features and prices of area homes for sale and board a neighborhood  home tour bus for a free ride to and from homes they’d like to see  first-hand ( THERE WILL BE HOMES LISTED AND OPEN IN OUR COMMUNITY!)

The four tour areas  are:

1. Castleberry Hill to Northside  drive to Atlantic Station to West Midtown: includes zip codes: 30303,  30318,30309,30363

2. East Atlanta, Beltline, Reynoldstown, Edgewood, Cabbagetown, Kirkwood:  30316,30317, 30307,  30312.

3. Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittburgh, South Atlanta, Lakewood, 30315, 30312,  30354

4. West End to  Cascade: 30310, 30314, 30311,  30331,

Visit this website for more information: http://www.neighborhoodlift.com/

Making Green Atlanta Real Estate More Affordable

Interesting read: Green Atlanta Real Estate

It is a desire of mine to restore my 1920’s bungalow in a more  “Green” manner but who has the money? NSP is helping low-income families make this a reality in helping them purchase EarthCraft homes from the start!

Private Investors Dominate Foreclosure Market

Cities and municipalities are having trouble spending the money allotted by the controversial Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which was passed by Congress last year to acquire houses in blighted neighborhoods.

The goal was to buy vacant properties at 1 percent less than appraised value, rehab them, and either sell or rent the homes to low-income residents.

The stumbling block is that the houses are being purchased by private investors and more affluent home buyers at cheap prices.

Some people don’t see that as a problem. “If the private market is coming back and buying houses and crowding the government out, that’s not a bad thing,” said Joseph Pigg, senior counsel at the American Bankers Association.

In some areas, the nonprofit National Community Stabilization Trust is working with banks to give government access to foreclosed homes before they are put on the market. But that may be too little, too late. “It’s very unclear when the dust settles how much real change in neighborhood stability and quality of life we’ll see,” said housing expert Alan Mallach of the Brookings Institution.

Source: CNNMoney.com, Tami Luhby 

Neighborhood Stabilization Program Public Notice

The Community Development/Human Resources Committee of the Atlanta City Council will hold a Public Hearing on the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Grant on Tuesday May 12, 2009 at 12:30 p.m., in Committee Room #2, 2^nd floor, City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue, SW, Atlanta, Ga.

 

The Community Development/Human Resources Committee of the Atlanta City Council will hold a Public Hearing on the City of Atlanta Allocation of Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Grant on Tuesday May 26, 2009 at 12:30 p.m., in Committee Room #2, 2^nd floor, City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.

For more information please contact Bureau of Housing at 404-330-6121 or 404-330-6390

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ARE WELCOME!

Valerie R. Fountaine

Valerie R. Fountaine

NSP Program Manager

City of Atlanta

Department of Planning & Community Development

Bureau of Housing

Office-(404) 330-6390

Fax-(404) 546-8143

Website-www.atlantaga.gov

Georgia Dream, NSP

I know I said this before…but really, NOW is a good time to buy. Take a look at what my mortgage specialist sent me:

“DCA Allows up to $14,000 for down payment or repairs on foreclosed properties under Neighborhood Stabilization Program

The Department of Community Affairs, better known as DCA, has come out with a new program to help sell foreclosures and benefit owner- occupant purchasers whether or not they are first time homeowners.

Tagged the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), DCA will provide $14,000 to be used for down payment assistance or repairs as long as the property is purchased at 85% or less of the market value as determined by an appraisal that is required prior to contract.

Borrowers must qualify for FHA or VA loan guidelines and fall within fairly generous  income limitations (cannot exceed 120% of Area Median Income) based on the number of family members and must attend a required counseling course.  For example, a family of 2 purchasing in a metro Atlanta county, could earn up to $68,350 and a family of 4 can earn up to $85,450.

The $14,000 DAP would be an interest free second mortgage “loan” that would not have to be repaid as long as the customer lives in the house for at least 5 years.  Otherwise, it would have to be repaid on a pro-rata basis of 20% of the DAP amount per year when the house is sold.

DCA will fund the NSP loan as per the Georgia Dream Seller Guide, Chapter 2, Section 212.  For more information, visit their website at: http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/homeownership/programs/GeorgiaDream.asp

This and That

FHA cash out refis: I had a question last week about the new changes that are taking place with FHA in regards to refinancing.  FHA previously allowed up to 95% LTV for cash out refinances but is going back to 85% LTV effective April 1st.

Investment Property:  Be prepared to put 25% down for purchases.

New Appraisal Procedures: In an effort to take some of the alleged “loan officer influence” out of the appraisal process, most lenders are going to a system May 1st that will require lenders to rotate conventional appraisal orders and not allow loan officers to discuss cases directly with appraisers.  The rule may not apply to FHA loans, but some lenders may apply it to all appraisals just to be safe.   

Underwriting Turnaround: If I were you, I would be asking your loan officer if they have underwriters and closers on location.  I am hearing stories that brokered loans can take as long as 3 weeks to underwrite.  Refinances are the culprit.

Making Home Affordable: The U.S. Treasury Department went live on March 19th with its Making Home Affordable program, which aims to help homeowners refinance or modify their mortgages. The toll free no. for this service is 888-995-4673.  The website is http://www. Makinghomeaffordable.gov.

Loan  Modifications: Dick Runstadler, who represents US Housing Assist, disagrees with one of the things I mentioned last week about qualifying for loan modifications.  The company I talked to, Integrated Loan Services, told me that they typically require borrowers to have verifiable income to qualify for a loan modification.  Dick says that USHA has closed many loan modifications for unemployed people.  For more information about USHA, contact Dick at 678-455-0072.

Name Change:  Opteum Mortgage, Metro Cities Mortgage, F&T Mortgage and several former Indy Mac retail branches will soon operate under one parent company: Prospect Mortgage.  Opteum is scheduled to change its name to Prospect on April 1st.  Prospect Mortgage will thus operate a network of mortgage offices in all 50 states.  So I wanted to let you know that I will be getting new business cards soon.  You will have to wait and see what they say.

And finally, to the agent that expressed resentment to the “political comments” and inferences I made in last week’s column  in regards to the AIG bonuses, I would like to apologize.  The goal in my newsletter each week is to educate, inform and entertain.  So from hence forth and without hesitation, upon request, I will gladly refund anybody’s subscription fee.

Until next week.”

Best regards,

Sam Thompson
Loan Officer and columnist
email: Sthompson@opteum.com <mailto:Sthompson@opteum.com>
web:  http://www.opteum.com/sthompson <http://www.opteum.com/sthompson>