All Forum Posts by: Thom MacFarlane

Reverse Mortgage. Pays off their existing debt, provide immediate cash and also access to future cash with a line-of-credit. It takes the stress off their finances and allows them to focus on their lives and other activities. HUD may require they perform any deferred maintenance on the property prior to/ or a holdback from the loan closing of the reverse mortgage which also benefits the cash strapped senior.

Credit Unions are the best source for HELOCs in my experience.  Locally for San Diego you should contact Cal Coast Credit Union, San Diego County Credit Union and Mission Fed CU. Unless, of course, that you might already have a relationship with  a credit union. 

Refinance in your name(s) as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, VA, FHA will lend to natural persons only and title is required to be in the name of the individual client. The mortgage is considered ineligible if the clients are another type of legal entity including LLC, Corp, LLP or other entity. A lender may allow a refinance in a revocable trust though.

There are lenders, for their own protfolio, that will lend to an LLC or other entity but you will PAY a premium in rate and fees for this program.

I concur with @Nathan Gesner 

I'm myself look at the loan aspect of being in an LLC. One problem holding title in an LLC is that you can't get the best loan programs which are Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. Both Fannie & Freddie state they "lend to natural persons only and title is required to be in the name of the individual client." Thus no LLC, Corp, partnerships or syndications.

A lender may allow you to switch from an LLC to an individual in order to refinance a property if you prove the individuals on the loan and in the LLC are one of the same.

In my opinion, even without the land it can be a beneficial investment depending on location and community amenities. If the home is on lease land then you'd have a rental fee and/or an hoa fee commensurate with amenities. I can only speak of some of the communities I’ve run across in my lending business such as Carlsbad (beach), Vista (best climate in USA per??), San Marcos (close to coast) and Ramona (rural) that have appealed to me. Other areas I can’t speak to.

Manufactured homes are much like "stick built" homes if the underlying land is included in the purchase. A manufactured home is permanently attacked to a foundation. Thus location (land) is where the value is at. If you're buying real estate with the manufactured home then the home should be appealing to subsequent buyers and thus should appreciate like any other stick built home. There are many in the more outlying cities of San Diego and most people wouldn't know the difference. 

There are many manufactured home parks in San Diego County where you don't own the underlying land and you'll pay a space fee/HOA fee up to $2000+ monthly. Even many of those homes, where you don't own the underlying land, appreciate since it is location, location, location that will drive value. Carlsbad and Vista come to mind for me.

You probably only had a conditional loan approval, not a loan approval. The conditional loan approval, basically a loan pre-approval, is issued on the onset of your loan application is generally usually a pre- approval/approved eligible status issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac automated loan system and is only as good as the input (income) into the system as the credit is merged into the evaluation. As noted above your income may have had a variable component that couldn't be used in actual underwriting of the loan though the loan officer inputted into the automated system. That variable income probably doesn’t have a history of two years plus or the continuity of income wasn’t verified by your employer (thus the last moment Verification of employment) and request to payoff auto loan. Your loan officer erred by allowing you remove the loan contingency.

What can be done? Are there any other debts that could be paid in order to reduce your debt to income? Debts that you'd be willing to pay off that would equal the approximate amount of the auto loan? If not,in my opinion, you have no recourse. I suggest paying off the auto, close the home loan and then reopen/refinance the auto after the close of escrow.

@Mary Ainsworth Feel free to PM me with any mortgage questions. The things I'd inquire of you would be your sources income, your assets available for a down, liabilities and credit history. The intent would be to get you initially prequalified for a mortgage and to determine the best loan product for you. This can be done simply enough with a phone call or a few emails. The step after that would be to get pre-approved which entails documenting assets, income and running credit. The first step of getting  prequalified would get you headed in the right direction before your start home shopping.

Eric

Ideally if you want to participate in the home purchase market you need to be pre qualified for a home loan in advance of shopping for a home. The next step after a pre-qualification is to actually get pre-approved where a lender has run your credit, verified your income and verified your down payment.

There are several loan programs that you can finance a home with high leverage with just a 35 to 5% down payment. In order to finance you would need to have stable employment and continuity of a qualifiyng income. Depending on the loan type (FHA, Conventional, assuming you're not a vet) the down payment can either come from a gift (FHA) or the substantial portion of the down payment has to be your own funds if you're going with conventional financing. Biggerpockets is a promoter of investment but the first investment one should make is to invest in your own home, IMO. Good luck on your house hunting it feel free to PM me if any questions about home financing.

Presently, if locking today for 30 days, you could expect a rate in the range for 5.50% (1.25 pts) to 5.875% (1/2 pt) for a 30 year fixed for an owner occupied 2 unit purchase. The high balance conforming limit is San Diego for 2 units is $879,750 so at 85% loan-to-value (15% down) you could purchase $1,035,000 2 unit. Above that price you’d need more down. Market rates are ticking up daily so you're subject to market rates until the property is indentified and you lock the rate.

Yes, you'd be required to get pmi but it is inexpensive on an 85% LTV at just .10% of the loan as a premium. That's just $73.31 monthly on a $879,750 loan amount.

This particular type of loan is considered high balance conforming and thus is preliminary underwritten via the automatic underwriting systems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is possible to get automated loan pre-approval in advance of home shopping.

Yes, mortgage brokers, my profession,  are the best source of financing for consumers.