Grant money is available!

Purchasing a home in Clearfield city limits and also in all of Davis County just got a whole lot easier!  Grant money for 2015 (loan closing must happen before December 31, 2015) is currently available and on January 1, 2016, MORE grant money will be announced and available. 

Grant Money available!

Income limits are generous and the Grant money is forgiven (doesn't need to be paid back) after 7 years!  FREE money to be used for down payment or closing costs in conjunction with any fixed rate mortgage loan program!

I have the Grant application forms, reserve your Grant money today by calling me today!

Rents are going through the roof!

Rent costs are rising quickly!

Single family rentals account for 13% of the overall housing stock (up from 9% in 2005) and rents are heating up!  Rents are higher than they should be given the underlying real estate values. 

As a result of the higher cost of rent relative to overall household income, first time home buyer's who have now entered the market (first time home buyer home purchases are the highest this year since 2009) are discovering the value of purchasing rather than renting. 

With appreciation in home values ticking along at 4% per year nationally (and regionally 6-8% and higher in some hot selling neighborhoods), coupled with historically low interest rates, and home financing is once again available to home buyer's with good credit, reasonable debt obligations and little or no down payment. 

Purchase a home today because all the stars are lining up!

With after tax rates for home financing in the 3% range, home buyer's today are using their home purchase as a financial leveraging tool and will payoff debt that has a higher interest rate, like credit cards, student loans, department store cards and car loans, and paying off their mortgage LAST.


If a home purchase can again be viewed as an investment (steady appreciation) and as a financial leverage tool (payoff higher interest rate debt first and your mortgage last), the only thing we need to add to the equation is a beautiful house to buy for fun and financial success to begin!

Call Marty Qualls at 801-540-5108 for help with any of your mortgage questions.   

Rent cost becomes a serious burden

Affordability problems for renters have skyrocketed over the past decade both in number and the share of renters facing them, according to a new report on rental housing from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The inability of so many to find housing they can afford dramatically impacts the health and well-being of U.S. renters, as lower-income households cut back on food, healthcare, and savings, just to keep up.  The report, "America's Rental Housing: Evolving Markets and Needs," finds that half of U.S. renters pay more than 30 percent or more of their income on rent, up an astonishing 12 percentage points from a decade earlier.

Much of the increase was among renters facing severe burdens (paying more than half their income on rent), boosting their share to 27 percent. These levels were unimaginable just a decade ago, when the share of American renters paying half their income on housing, at 19 percent, was already a cause for serious concern.

Renters currently make up 35% of the population and could benefit by looking at their purchase and mortgage payment options.

Home Buyer Education: Online

As we enter into the busier spring time home buying season, I begin to get calls from clients and Realtors who ask about Home Buyer Education.  Community, County and State Grant programs vary in amount of money offered, but many require home buyer education BEFORE the Grant can be offered to the home buyer. 

Your credit monitoring program WORKED! It got us into our home-Closing 9/12/11

Marty, you began working with us 14 months ago and thank you for introducing us to your credit monitoring program!  It worked!   

You were persistent, you helped with our abundant questions, you were easy to contact and we loved how responsive you were to our texts and phone calls!  

We appreciate how friendly and nice you are!  Please thank your processing team for helping us with the Grant Program through Sunset City because that made all the difference in us getting in the home we wanted.   

Your processor, Kelsi, is awesome!  

Zach and Riley Foster, Closing 9/12/11

Newly built home sales see gradual improvment

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 5.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 313,000 units in September, according to newly released data from the U.S. Commerce Department. This marks the fastest pace of new-home sales in the past five months.

"Today's report highlights the gradual improvement in housing market conditions that is becoming evident in certain pockets of the country, as consumers who can surmount very restrictive lending standards to qualify for a favorable mortgage rate seize on this opportunity to buy," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.

"The latest numbers also reveal that first-time buyers are driving the new-homes market right now, as evidenced by the volume of lower-priced, entry-level homes under contract. It's worth noting that these consumers are very dependent upon federal policies and programs that support homeownership, such as the mortgage interest deduction and low-downpayment mortgage options that have been threatened by recent government proposals."

At Home in Layton Grant Program

AT HOME IN LAYTON

From July 1st, 2010 through June 30th, 2011, or until funds have all been expended, Layton City will be offering the “At Home in Layton” program. 

The At Home in Layton program will offer Homeownership assistance to qualifying homebuyers.  Qualifying buyers must have certain household income levels (call or e-mail me for the income limits); household income limits vary with the number of persons in the household. 

The assistance will be offered as a grant that can be used for the up to 50% of the required down payment, closing costs or principal reduction. The grant will be offered in $5,000 increments and will be provided to the buyer's title company at the time of closing.

Weber Housing Authority offers down payment help

In Ogden, the Weber Housing Authority has begun a home down payment assistance program for qualifying county residents.

Household incomes ranging from $38,550 for one person to $75,700 for a family of eight may qualify for $5,000 in assistance.

Funding totals are sufficient to assist up to 45 families. Home purchases must not exceed $180,000 and the home must be within Weber County but outside Ogden City limits.

Contact me for additional information on qualification guidelines for the Grant. 

MBS Purchase Update

As I have mentioned in previous Blog posts recently, the Government’s Program to purchase Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) is nearing the end. This program began in January 2009 as part of the economic recovery act of 2009 and was designed (and has been successfully implemented) to hold down mortgage interest rates.

This week’s purchases of MBS by the Government was $12 Billion, bringing the total to $1.173 Trillion since January, 2009, and leaving $77 Billion to be spent over the next 8 weeks. Leaving an average of $9.62 Billion per week to be spent, I have warned, as have other financial experts, that mortgage rates are going to begin increasing.

This latest week of increased refinance activity (up 21% Nationally) may be an indication of the reality of our situation becoming clear to homeowners who have not yet taken advantage of lower rates. A recent Government report (in a previous Blog Post), indicated that just 30% of eligible homeowners who could benefit from the lower interest rates we are enjoying, have actually taken the steps to refinance.

Also, homeowners wanting to sell their current homes in order to take advantage of the $6500 tax credit scheduled to expire on April 30, 2010 has also dramatically risen recently (National Association of Realtors article I read yesterday).

And finally, the first time homebuyer. What a shining star in the market place this past 12 months! With over 42% of all homes purchased in 2009 attributed to first time home buyer’s, and why shouldn’t these first time home buyer’s take advantage of a “once in a lifetime” benefit?!

First Time Home buyer's are rushing to put homes under contract before April 30^th (and close before 6/30/10) to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit!

This is a wonderful time in Mortgage rate history! Please call me if I can help with any Purchase or Refinance Questions you may have!

First Time Home Buyer Programs Highlighted at Fall Bridal Fair!

Marty Qualls in front of the Primary Residential Mortgage Booth at the Fall Bridal Fair at the Marriott Hotel in Ogden.

Brides were pleased to find that opportunities for 100% home loan mortgage financing are again recently available in Utah!

During the show, Brides registered for a Spa Treatment Giveaway and received information about Grants, Tax Credits, 100% mortgage loan programs, Loan Program Highlights and Homes available for purchase in Weber and Davis County.

With Mortgage Rates currently at a 4 month low, the first time home buyer tax credit scheduled to expire November 30th, and home inventory at historically low sales prices, timing for a home purchase couldn't be better!

Excitement was in the air at the show!!!!

Marty offered his Planning for Success Program to those First Time Home Buyer who would like to learn more about purchasing their first home.

During the face to face Planning for Success Program meeting, one of 3 great books is given to the first time home buyer and Marty goes over the buyer's credit, issues a credit approval letter and gives them the 19 steps to home ownership.

Marty and Cindy Keil, RE/MAX Community in Ogden, shared duties at the booth to educate potential first time home buyer's on Friday, September 25th at the Ogden Marriott Hotel.

Home Run 2 Grant 2 Program: How long will it last?

This week, I have been watching the number of grants which are being reserved each day. Today there were 17 grants reserved and if I do the math at 20 grants per day, counting only work days of the week, the grants will be completely committed by November 30th!

Coincidentally, November 30, 2009 is also the expiration of the Grant Program! There are 54 working days remaining until November 30th so if the rate of reservations increases slightly, which is bound to happen, time is of the essence!

With this grant issue, the program requires an appraisal before we can get a reservation for the borrower. In order to quickly expedite the reservation process, here is what I need for an appraisal to be completed:

• Contract with the Builder with sales price and address
• Plans and Specifications
• Plot Plan
• Cost Breakdown

Once we have the appraisal and all of the signed Home Run 2 Grant Forms, I can get the reservation in place!

State of Utah Home Run 2 Grant Program

Great news! Today, Governor Gary R Herbert announced that there is new grant money available for purchase of a new construction home that has never been lived in before, a home that is being newly built, or a partially built home. There are 1,950 Grants ($7.8 Million).

Here is the Web site for FAQ's and I will be on the approved lender list for this Grant money, just as I was for the first Home Run Grant. Today the Utah Housing site is showing that the Approved Lender List is under construction. Call me and I can answer any of your questions! Here is the site for more information:

http://b2b.utahhousingcorp.org/PDF/HR2faq.pdf

Clearfield Grant Money Available as of 4/15/09

Clearfield Grant money is now available, but it is limited and going fast! There are only 14 more grants of $5,000 available as of today (4/16). I have the 52 page program guideline if you would like me to forward it to you. There are income limits on the program, the buyer needs to be a first time home buyer, there is a forgiveness of the grant over a 7 year declining period and there is a 3:1 matching required (if the buyer puts $1667 down, Clearfield will give $5,000).