Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
What's Up With Condo's?
So condo's have been getting harder to finance since Fannie Mae said that they wanted full certifications for every transaction. It has been a relief to find that many condo's are financiable using FHA loans instead. Not only from the point of view that they don't have to have a certification if they are on the approved list, but also because you can put down as little as 3.5% (otherwise you would be restricted to probably 10% down payment).
However, all is about to change. In fact if you own a condo that you are currently trying to sell, you might want to get very realistic about the pricing and get it done before October 1, 2009.
The reason for this is very simple. FHA will no longer have an approved condo list. All condo projects, unless they received a certification after October 2008, will need to be recertified if they get a purchase contract after October 1, 2009. The worst part of this is that you can't get it done now, nor can the HOA get it done at all. It has to be through a lender or a builder.
So when October 1 comes around all hell will be let loose as buyers who would like to buy a condo with FHA financing have to wait for HUD (Housing and Urban Development) to approve the complex. You can only imagine how quickly a government department with 100's of applications is going to get that done!!
Now I'm always more optimistic after a restorative cup of tea, but it will be interesting to see exactly how this plays out.
The long and short of it is, if you want to buy or sell a condo with FHA financing, DO IT NOW and save yourself some angst!
So condo's have been getting harder to finance since Fannie Mae said that they wanted full certifications for every transaction. It has been a relief to find that many condo's are financiable using FHA loans instead. Not only from the point of view that they don't have to have a certification if they are on the approved list, but also because you can put down as little as 3.5% (otherwise you would be restricted to probably 10% down payment).
However, all is about to change. In fact if you own a condo that you are currently trying to sell, you might want to get very realistic about the pricing and get it done before October 1, 2009.
The reason for this is very simple. FHA will no longer have an approved condo list. All condo projects, unless they received a certification after October 2008, will need to be recertified if they get a purchase contract after October 1, 2009. The worst part of this is that you can't get it done now, nor can the HOA get it done at all. It has to be through a lender or a builder.
So when October 1 comes around all hell will be let loose as buyers who would like to buy a condo with FHA financing have to wait for HUD (Housing and Urban Development) to approve the complex. You can only imagine how quickly a government department with 100's of applications is going to get that done!!
Now I'm always more optimistic after a restorative cup of tea, but it will be interesting to see exactly how this plays out.
The long and short of it is, if you want to buy or sell a condo with FHA financing, DO IT NOW and save yourself some angst!
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