Does Going With Conventional Financing Avoid Having To Make Required Repairs?

If FHA/ USDA/ VA loans require repairs to be completed prior to closing, why not just switch to a Conventional Mortgage? As long as the buyers qualify, we won't have to worry about doing any repairs to the home.  Besides, many of these homes are foreclosures, and many banks, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, HUD, and others won't allow the properties to be touched prior to closing.  Wrong!

The appraisers have been going through a scrutiny as of late.  The level of responsibility to report accurate and concise information of the homes, has increased exponentially.  Appraisers are being told that they can be held liable for any unreported issues, so appraisers are now required to take pictures of every room in the house, and they must note any unusual abnormalities that can effect the marketability of a home.

They must give the home a Quality rating, too.  They are given a rating of  C-1 to C-5. A rating of C-3 is considered average.  When the Conventional appraiser reviews the home, they are still taking pictures and making notations of things like: Stains in the carpet, water stains in the ceiling, holes in the wall, missing molding, broken windows, water in the basement,etc.  Even though none of these is structural in nature, banks are requiring these items to be fixed because they are concerned about safety and soundness issues with the property.  The average quality rating is expected, and anything below that rating requires repairs to be made before the buyer can take possession of the home.  Once these repairs are completed, the appraiser must go back out to the property and reinspect it for the bank.  The appraiser verifies that the Quality rating is up to average.

There are two ways that this situation can be dealt with.  Either the buyer does the repairs on a home that they don't own, which can be time consuming and unacceptable to a seller, or they can apply for a rehabilitation loan.  A rehab loan is one where a buyer obtains an estimate of repairs from a contractor, our bank holds the amount of money in an escrow account.  Once the required repairs are complete, the bank pays the contractor direct for the repairs, or reimburses the buyer once they have been shown that have been completed.  Most lenders can't do any type of Rehab loans, or they offer the FHA 203K, which is arduous and expensive.  I can do a standard conventional rehab loan, requiring as little as 5% down payment.  Regardless which way you want to go, please know that switching the type of financing to Conventional doesn't promise any different outcome.

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972
NMLS # 118317
www.abacusmort.com

Why The Mortgage Man?

Why do they call me the mortgage man? I started my career in finance with Beneficial Consumer Discount in 1986 and became a collection manager.  Once I was given the option of moving out of town to manage my own branch, I decided to pursue a career as a Mortgage Underwriter with Merchants Bank of Allentown in 1988.  Once I had a thorough understanding regarding collections and underwriting, I took a job with Meridian Bank as a mortgage loan officer.  I continue to service 27 real estate offices and builders in three counties ( Monroe, Northampton, Lehigh ).  When Meridian was being sold to another bank, I decided to go out on my own as a Mortgage Broker in 1997.  I've owned my owns business for 16 years and know all the ins and outs of the mortgage industry.  I've seen interest rates as high as 16% and as low as 2.5%.  I've witnessed market bubbles, corrections, booms, busts, short sales, foreclosures, bankruptcies, wrap around mortgages, recasts, bridge loans, divorces, identity theft, fraud, subordinations, straw buyers, owner financing, hard money lending, and many other situations in my years in the industry.  Through it all, I've used my knowledge, experience, and contacts to help over 5,000 families purchase their home. I have almost any program or lender to get the job done.  If I do not, I know who may be able to help a potential home owner purchase their home.  It takes just one phone call to get the right answer!  Please call me with any situations or scenarios that you wish to discuss in confidential manner.


Andy Williams NMLS # 118317
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972

Commercial Loans in the Lehigh Valley requiring NO Appraisal!

Can you imagine buying a commercial property and financing this piece of real estate without having the bank order an appraisal?  Most commercial appraisals cost upwards to $2,000 per appraisal.  This is not only extremely expensive, but a commercial appraisal can be much more time consuming than a residential appraisal.  There is so much more paperwork and analyses that needs to be done to complete a commercial appraisal.  Since there aren't as many commercial properties selling in this market, the appraiser must go to remote areas to find similar properties to compare to the subject properties value.  Since most of my commercial loans don't require appraisals, I save my customers lots of time and money.  We can close most commercial loans in under 30 days!  In addition, I shop for the lowest interest rate which is now as low as four.  For a low cost, low rate commercial loan with the fastest closing, you need to look no further. 

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972
NMLS # 118317

No more Harleysville Bank

As many of you know, I have been doing business with a small local bank in Bucks County named Harleysville Savings Bank for many years.  They have always accommodated my customers by doing loans that didn't quite fit the mold of a saleable loan.  This means that what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac deemed unworthy, Harleysville gladly accepted.  They didn't sell their loans and , in many cases, couldn't sell these loans.   They financed homes on many acres, log homes, non fannie mae approved condos, land loans, loans with mobile homes attached, 80% 1-4 unit investor financing, cash out refinances requiring no seasoning, and residential mortgages for LLCs.  Although their rates are extremely high and unattractive compared to the rest of the market, they still found a niche to finance the unique buyer.  Because of their desire to begin selling their loans on the secondary market, they have informed me that they no longer wish to do business with Brokers.  Effective September 30, 2012, I can no longer originate loans for them.  If you have had anyone pre approved by me prior to this date and I told you that I would be using Harleysville for the financing, I will no longer be able to honor this request.  I will have to take the mortgage application by the end of the coming week September 29, 2012 in order to finance it with them. I'm sorry for this inconvenience, but I'm currently seeking new lenders to fulfill this void. 

Andrew Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
NMLS # 118317
484 695 5972