HARP homeownership help is here! Las Vegas and Can I use VA financing on a HUD home

Know as "The upside down refinance", known as HARP 2.0, starts 12/1. ***before you do the HARP refi, make sure to contact Nevada Hardest Hit Fund. They are giving away free money! They have money to help people from the government, but you must apply before doing your refinance.

· Your loan has to be owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. About 85% of all underwater homes in Nevada are Fannie or Freddie.

· No appraisal will be required. It doesn’t matter how upside down you are so long as your first mortgage is under $417,000.

· You have to have acquired this home before 5/31/2009

· You must be current on your mortgage. No mortgage lates in the last 6 months. One in the last 12 months is OK

· No minimum credit score

· OK on investor loans and vacation home loans too.

· Your second mortgage may not factor in.

To check to see if your loan is held by Fannie at Fannie Loan Lookup

To check to see if it's held by Freddie at Freddie lookup

If you think you are eligible, please send me an email. We have an interest list started.

Here are some interesting items from this week:

From BusinessWeek.com: “U.S. Mortgage Rates Fall”

Morgage Rates Fall again


From AZCentral.com: “Banks in Arizona Shift to Short Sales” (applies in Nevada too)

Banks Shift Short Sales

GOOD QUESTION I WAS ASKED THIS WEEK…

Q: “Can I do a VA loan on a HUD-owned home? Most say FHA, cash or conventional only.”

A: I forwarded this one to a local HUD home expert, who responded as follows:

“Most HUD properties are not in perfect condition and not able to pass a VA loan inspection AS-IS. Keep in mind that HUD does not allow ANY repairs. They will not reject your offer because it has VA financing, but you will have to make sure that the property can pass the VA inspection AS IS.”

GOOD QUESTION I WAS ASKED LAST WEEK....

Q: "I want to do an FHA loan. Some properties I see are listed as "cash or conventional financing only." My agent says this because of the repairs needed on the home. Is there anyway around this?


A: An FHA 203K rehab loan will sometimes be accepted in this situation. This is a loan that allows for home repairs, and even some upgrades, to be completed as part of the loan.

If you would like a FREE valuation on your current home value, please Contact Me and make sure to give me the property address and a return email, have a blessed day