Changes In FHA
HUD is making some changes. Starting Feb 1, 2010 HUD will relax FHA rules that prohibit insuring mortgages on homes that are owned by the seller for less than 90 days -- a move that could help expedite the rehabilitation and resale of foreclosure properties.
In a housing market where tighter lending requirements have made FHA financing the only option for some buyers, this 90-day policy has (1) kept some homebuyers from being able to purchase affordable homes and (2) prevented the quick resale of foreclosed properties, which affects the ability of communities to stabilize and rebuild. The original intent was to help stop flipping, but it also stops legitimate rehabbed properties from being sold in a timely fashion.
Research has shown that the buying, fixing, and reselling of foreclosed properties is often takes less than three months' time.
The temporary waiver will be in effect for one year, unless extended or withdrawn by the FHA.
The policy has certain restrictions, to protect FHA borrowers from inflated prices, including:
- All transactions must be arms-length and there can be no identity of interest between the buyer and seller.
- If the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller's acquisition cost, the lender must meet specific conditions for the waiver to apply.
- The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and cannot be used under the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) purchase program.
Read the entire text of the waiver on the HUD website.
RELATED ARTICLE: More Changes in FHA
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The Highland Real Estate Group
Chris & Karen Highland * Frederick County MD Real Estate Agents
Specializing in Frederick County Real Estate
301-831-9947
Real Estate Teams, LLC
isell4u2@msn.com
We’re Chris and Karen Highland, The Highland Real Estate Group. We’ve lived in the Frederick area for over 18 years and are raising our 4 children here. We’ve seen many communities built where there once was farmland. We love the “small-city yet large-town” atmosphere of Frederick, the quality of life, and the affordability we’ve found here.
I've been selling real estate in Central Maryland for almost 16 years. Karen has been helping me over the years in different capacities, as an assistant, then as a buyer’s agent. For a year, I managed an office and Karen took over the bulk of the business. It was a great experience for both of us. I managed 90+ agents and saw more contracts come over my desk than the previous 14 years combined!
Now I'm back, running the business and Karen is running the office, and blogging and marketing. With each new year comes a different kind of market and new challenges.
In this present market, we face many challenges with mortgage problems, distressed properties and the credit crunch. I've gotten a nationally recognized certification , CDPE, Certified Distressed Properties Expert, to equip me to help homeowners in distress. I'll be blogging about a lot of these issues and about all kinds of real estate topics.
Karen and I always have something to say! Join us in our online, ongoing conversation about Frederick Real Estate