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Looking for a Rent-to-Own, Lease-Option or Land Contract in Wisconsin? We may have the perfect option for you! It's called the Alternative Mortgage Program. Please read the details below and visit the link for further information.

Alternative Mortgage Program

As you can see, this is much different than any other Wisconsin Rent to Own (RTO) or Land Contract program out there that we have seen. This could be the perfect conduit for you to get the home you want now, and be able to then purchase the house down the road when you can qualify for a traditional mortgage. If you are interested in hearing more about the program from the lender, please visit the link below and submit your contact information via the short form.

Rent to Own

Blog.RockRealtyWI.com/Rent-To-Own

Feel free to also visit our Rock Realty Wisconsin home listings websites below to help with your home search! You can search through all available MLS listings in your area.

Janesville Area Homes for Sale
(http://www.JanesvilleRealtor.com)

Madison Area Homes for Sale
(http://www.MadisonWIForSale.com)

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FHA Back to Work Program

Exciting News! FHA Is Allowing People that Suffered through Recent Economic Hardships to Apply for a Home Loan with the FHA Back to Work Program.

photo credit: Daquella manera via photopin cc
photo credit: Daquella manera via photopin cc

In the not so distant past people had to wait 3 years or more after suffering through a financial hardship. Bankruptcy, foreclosures and other major financial disasters would sideline people for a number of years before they could buy a house again. However, all that has changed with the FHA Back to Work Program.

Previous Guidelines

For years the FHA program has helped people finance the purchase of a home with a modest 3.25% down payment. In general, the FHA rules for credit and employment history were more forgiving than conventional loan guidelines. However, there were strict rules about waiting a significant length of time after filing bankruptcy, losing a home to foreclosure, getting a loan modification or a deed-in-lieu.

New Guidelines

The Back to Work program waives waiting periods based on certain hardship situations. People that have suffered through the following types of problems are no longer forced to wait multiple years to apply for an FHA loan

* Bankruptcy (either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13)

* Short sale of previous home

* Foreclosure

* Modification of previous mortgage

* Sale of a home due to pre-foreclosure status

* Deed-in-lieu

Due to the recession of the past few years the government has given FHA the ability to relax their rules in order to help people qualify for home loans. Now people will only have to wait 12 months.

Meeting the New Qualifications

For borrowers that have faced a hardship like the ones described above they will need to meet a few qualifications.

First the borrower will need to prove that their current financial condition is recovered from the impact of the financial hardship.

Second, the borrower will need to provide proof that their income declined by a minimum of 20% for 6 months or longer. This can usually be shown by presenting federal tax returns and the supporting W-2 forms.

Finally the borrower will have to agree to complete a counseling session aimed at educating home buyers.

In addition to these items the borrower must re-establish their credit. This does not mean that the scores must be 700+. However, once the hardship has ended the borrower will need to have good payment history on all credit accounts in order to prove that they are able and willing to make their monthly obligations.

Types of Borrowers

The Back to Work program can be used for people buying their first home as well as people buying their second, third, fourth, etc. home. It can also be used with the FHA 203(k) program for people that wish to renovate or modernize a home. Even people that are currently in a Chapter 13 plan could be approved for the FHA back to work program. The court will have to grant permission for the loan and the borrower will have to meet the other requirements.

The recent recession has hit a lot of people and left a lasting impact on them. The Back to Work program is aimed to help these people put the past behind them and return to the stability of owning a home.

Additional Mortgage Information: Mortgage Home Loans Financing

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VA Mortgage Program Has Good News for Veterans and Their Families


Veterans-Administration-VA-Mortgage-300x241.jpg?width=300Photo credit: Tony Fischer Photography via photopin cc

Many years ago the United States decided it was a good idea to offer housing benefits for our veterans that were not attainable to other classes of people. The men and women who sacrificed time away from their families and risked their lives in defense of our country deserved the chance to buy a home with attractive features. As time has marched on and the needs of veterans have changed, the VA Mortgage program has made some changes to appeal to even more qualified borrowers.

Spouses of Deceased Veterans

Before the new law, spouses of deceased veterans could only apply for a VA mortgage if the veteran passed away during active duty defending our country or if the veteran passed away due to a disability sustained during duty. However, if the spouse can show that the veteran suffered from a disability sustained during duty for a minimum of 10 years prior to their death, the spouse can now apply for the VA mortgage.

Funding Fee for Certain VA Loans Waived

People in the military are no stranger to paper work. With every VA loan that is approved there is a fee associated with the loan. This funding fee provides money for the new crop of loans, avoiding the use of taxpayer's money.

If a veteran learns that they are eligible for disability pay due to their physical exam prior to discharge then they are allowed to waive the funding fee from the VA mortgage. Previously, a veteran had to receive actual disability pay on a regular basis before the fee could be removed.

Beyond Fixed Rate Loans

Fixed rate mortgages are great for people who are reasonably confident that they will stay in a certain home for many years. Having the mortgage payment set in stone offers stability for the homeowner. However, there are some people, such as veterans and active duty personnel, which may be on the move in a few years. For these people, getting an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) can make sense. They save money by getting a slightly lower interest rate that is fixed for 3 or 5 years. The new law makes it possible for eligible borrowers to apply for an ARM through the VA mortgage plan.

More Flexibility for Military Families and Individual Parents

For as long as the VA mortgage program has been around, one of the main requirements to the loan has been the veteran's occupancy. A VA loan states that the veteran must live in the home as their primary residence after the loan is completed. The veteran is given some time to move in to the new home, but the requirement is there. For military families in which both spouses are active duty, this can be impossible. Even harder for families that have only one parent who is serving in the military.

The Camp Lejeune act makes it possible for the children of the veteran to meet the requirement of occupancy. This means that dependents can live in the home purchased by their parent or parents through the VA mortgage while the parents sacrifice their time away from loved ones serving our country.

This communication is provided to you for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon by you. Rock Realty is not a mortgage lender and so you should contact a lender directly to learn more about its mortgage products and your eligibility for such products.
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Below Is part of an email I received this week I am wondering if anyone here on REO PRO has had a track record with this program with other outsourcers that may have tried this before. If you have ran into this already how easy was the conversion any problems to look out for?

 

 

One or more of the properties assigned to you has/have been selected for Fannie Mae's Utility Management Pilot. As part of the pilot, Fannie Mae has authorized a third party vendor to take over the management and payment of electric utilities on selected properties. 

 

Please read the linked FAQs and make a note of the properties listed below which have been selected for the pilot. A utility management company will contact your AMP within a week to request utility documentation. We ask that you work with your AMP to ensure they have the most up to date utility bill. Please Note: If you also work with Fannie Mae directly, it is important that you submit 571 reimbursements on AMP properties to your AMP rather than to Fannie Mae. 

 

Pilot Details

This pilot only affects the electric bills on the list of properties shown below unless the property has joint utility billing. If the property receives one bill for multiple utilities, then those properties will also be included in the Utility Management Pilot. All other bills and properties remain unchanged and you are required to continue to pay them as outlined in the Fannie Mae REO Sales Guide. If you have any assigned properties that are not selected for this pilot, it is your responsibility to continue to pay the electric bills of those properties. In addition, there are no changes to how you submit for reimbursement. Continue to submit to your AMP for reimbursement for all bills which you have paid.

 

The electric bills for the properties below will be transferred to a third party vendor and will no longer be sent to you. In order to facilitate a smooth transfer, you must activate service. If you do not activate service, the transfer cannot take place. Once the transfer takes place, a representative from the third party vendor will notify you and your AMP of the exact date service is transferred.

 

Important

If you have not recently submitted an electric bill to your AMP for reimbursement, one of our third party vendors may contact you for a current copy of the bill. The third party vendor will provide you with a Letter of Authorization from Fannie Mae allowing them to procure utilities on our behalf. We ask that you cooperate and promptly provide the assigned vendor with a copy of the most recent electric bill for the property requested. 

 

Please be mindful of the following points during the utility transfer to the third party vendor (utility management company).

  • Do not turn off the electricity on the selected properties. If electricity is activated, we are simply moving the billing to the utility management company. 
  • If any of the properties selected are occupied by a tenant, immediately notify your AMP so the property can be removed from the pilot.
  • The Utility Management Pilot is for electric bills only. However, if any of the properties selected have the electricity and gas combined under one utility company, the utility management company will still work to transfer billing of both services on these properties only.
  • If any of the properties selected do not have electricity turned on due to safety issues or concerns, immediately notify your AMP so the properties can be removed from the pilot.
  • If any of the properties selected are scheduled for closing in the next two weeks, and they have not transferred to the utility management company, please notify your AMP so the properties can be removed from the pilot.
  • After the transfer has occurred, the utility management company will contact you with the details of the effective transfer date, and let you know to expect a final bill. At that time, please pay that final bill, and submit it to your AMP for processing.

  

Thank you for your assistance with this initiative

 

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How to traverse the nightmare that is the Los Angeles Housing Department’s REAP Program

The other day a good friend of mine challenged me to write a journal. I have never been a person wholiked to write anything down, I figure, let’s just sit down and talk about it.Well after going through the process of pulling a few properties out of the LosAngeles City REAP Program, I decided that I would write about theexperience. Man oh man, what anexperience that was.

Let’s first discus what the REAP Program actually stands for. The REAP is a rent escrow account program that is administered by the Cityof Los Angeles Housing Department. Theonly way to even get put into the program is when your property, or theproperty you are representing, has had violations that were not taken care of. Once you have not complied with the demandsof the Housing Department (they do give you a chance) you are done. When theREAP Department starts collecting your rents and have placed a “cloud” on yourtitle, well now the real fun begins.

Where do I start? Let’s start with the day your nightmare began.

You wake up to a new REO listing, “YEAH”. It’s a multi-family dwelling located within Los Angeles City boundaries, “Oh no!” You check the Housing Department’s websiteand find out that the property has some issues and it is in the REAP Program.“Oh Boy! Now for the fun.” Oh, did Iforget to tell you that there is now a “Cloud” on the title, so forget abouttraditional financing options for your buyers. OK, now what do you tell theseller, (remember they have taken back the property and are now considered theowners, and guess what, they are responsible for the REAP and all of theproperties issues.) So you tell the Asset Manager the truth and they respond likeArnold from Different Strokes, “What you talkin’ bout Willis?” Thenthey snap back to reality, they either tell you to sell the property forcash. That’s so they don’t have to dealwith the title issues, but then you have to find an all cash buyer and/orsomeone who is going to deal with the REAP on their own (scary thought) or theyclear the title and get top dollar for the property.

So now let’s get the property out of the REAP Program and clear the title so you can sell your property. Now we have to deal with the Systematic Code Enforcement Program. Thisis pretty much where it all began for you. You have to get a copy of the previous violations and/or have theproperty re-inspected so that you can find out what the violations are. Thenyou fix the property and have it re-inspected by the Housing Inspector. Onceyou have cleared the Housing Inspector, you need to contact the OutreachContractor and have the property re-inspected by them. (Now understand thatmore than likely you have had a Building & Safety Inspection because youneed to get your permits signed off and you have had a Housing Department inspection,ok sorry I digressed for a moment, too many inspections). Ok the OutreachContractor has signed you off, now what? Make sure that all of the DWP bills on the property are paid, I mean allof them (and I don’t care who’s name they are in). The Housing Department alsohas an UMP Program (Utility Maintenance Program) that you must not be in; ifyou are then pay the bill. OK, now you have made sure that you don’t owe, DWPbut did you check to see if you owed the Housing Department any money? Well youneed to check that little bit of information. Ok, now we are cooking withgrease. You have paid the HousingDepartment bill and now they will clear you for removal from the REAP Program.Ok they refer the property to the City Council and recommend removal from theprogram. YEAH! well no , not yet. Oncethe property has gone through City Council and you have been cleared, you stillhave a few more steps to go. Now you have to wait, yes I said WAIT 30 daysuntil you can even ask the Housing Department if you owe them any moremoney. Yes, I said it; you may still owemore money. What you say, you just PAIDthe Housing Department. Well you will have to pay them again, yes again, tofinally remove your property from the REAP Program and remove the “Cloud” fromthe title. Once issued, this “Demand for Payment” is good for 30 days. You hadbetter get your loan funded within that 30 day window or pay the final demandamount, if you don’t, then there will be penalties and you will owe more money.But once paid, the Housing Department will remove the “Cloud” from the titleand you are REAP free. The moral of this story is if you own a multi-familydwelling within Los Angeles City Boundaries, “TAKE CARE OF YOUR PROPERTY,COMPLY WITH ANY AND ALL NOTICES FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND KNOW THE RIGHTSOF A PROPERTY OWNER AND THE RIGHTS OF YOUR TENANTS.”

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