Mid-last year I wrote a post describing how FHA spot loan procedures can significantly expand your home search. 

As of today, the rules have changed and obtaining a spot approval is no longer an option.  From now on, condo projects/buildings as a whole need to meet FHA guidelines and need to be on the FHA approved list.  This of course means that if not approved, the Homeowner Association will need to go through the approval process.  Rest assured, the FHA promises to “streamline the approval process making it easier, cheaper, and faster” to obtain approval.

Associations should carefully weigh the pros and cons of becoming FHA approved.

When working with buyers who plan to purchase a condo in Chicago and obtain financing via an FHA loan, I often get the following request…

Can you send me the complete list of FHA approved condo buildings in Chicago.

Not a problem. The HUD website provides a great tool allowing buyers to search for FHA approved condo buildings. This is a great place to start but it is incomplete and can overly-restrict the home search. Many buildings are not officially “approved” but meet FHA criteria and qualify for something called a spot approval. A small sample of the requirements that must be satisfied include:

• The condominium project must be complete. There should be no ongoing or anticipated addition of any units, common elements, and/or facilities.
• Control of the common areas of the project must have been turned over to the unit owners association for at least one year.
• At least 90 percent of the total units in the project have been sold and at least 51 percent of the total units in the project are owner-occupied.

The checklist is detailed and requires verification by the condo association so always a good idea to get your lender involved in the process early.

Lots of links regarding the tentative agreement.

NAR Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, addresses some tough questions over at 4realz. A great interview if you can sit through the entire show.

Great post from The Mortgage Reports on what the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac situation means to the consumer, the everyday homeowner, buyer and seller.

They didn’t really but I get this question all the time. No, not as a direct result, and here are 4 other things that don’t control mortgage rates.

More favorable loan terms can be obtained for a primary residence. It seems that primary residency occupancy fraud is on the rise. I always wondered how the primary residence requirement was verified at the time the loan was secured and over the life of the loan.

I appreciate it when complex subjects are explained in easy to understand terms. Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports does just that when discussing the contraction of mortgage guidelines. Which stick figure do you think should be awarded best actor in a mortgage drama?

13 Bullet points on saving money.  As an agent, I get the first point, but it doesn’t save me any money. 

  I enjoy recommending products I think my clients may find useful.  HouseMath 2.0 was brought to my attention by Matt Goyer’s Real Estate Blog and again by Future of Real Estate Marketing.  HouseMath 2.0 allows you to calculate the true monthly cost of home ownership.  The typical components of monthly mortgage payments are Principal + Interest + Taxes + Insurance, otherwise known as PITI.  The true monthly cost of ownership however, is more complex than this and this is where HouseMath 2.0 takes over.  Other factors such as closing costs, brokerage commissions, and appreciation are accounted for.  Chicago is one of the supported cities so head on over and give HouseMath 2.0 a test drive. Image Source: HouseMath 2.0

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

It was a bad week to float your mortgage rate last week as the Non-Farm Payrolls report and a “Double Top” technical trading pattern pushed mortgage rates up for the first time in a month.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

In what should have been a week full of shake-ups, the Fed stole the spotlight and guided markets in very plain English about its intentions. The economy is showing evidence of slowing down as we head into the New Year and beyond.  In response, mortgage rates are at a 10-month low. This past week (and for the first time since 2003), the manufacturing sector showed signs of contraction.  In isolation, that’s a big deal.  But, when you put it next to data that separately showed a slowdown in construction spending, a decrease in business investment, and rising oil prices, you have a huge deal.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

In what should have been a week full of shake-ups, the Fed stole the spotlight and guided markets in very plain English about its intentions. Despite PPI, CPI, Retail Sales and other heavy releases, it was the Fed’s October meeting minutes that provided a road map for predicting mortgage rates and kept the markets on even keel.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

Without any economic news to push mortgage rates in one way or the other, markets took their cue from the changing political landscape, China’s investment rhetoric, and a bevy of speeches from the Fed. By week’s end, mortgage rates had dipped to the early-October levels that repeatedly spikes refinance activity.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

Mortgage rates dropped, dropped, dropped throughout the first four days of the week last week, and then recoiled following Friday morning’s Non-Farm Payrolls report.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

Mortgage rates fell last week as Ben Bernanke and the Fed issued a not-too-hot, not-too-cold statement about the U.S. economy.  Mortgage rates are back at their mid-October levels.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

Mortgage rates trended higher last week in anticipation the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting this Wednesday.  Since the start of October, the movement mortgage rates has reflected the changing inflation expectations in the markets.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

It was another brutal week for mortgage rates, highlighted by the minutes from the Fed’s September 20 meeting.  By week’s end, mortgage rates ticked up as much as 0.25%. If there was one lesson to learn from the market’s erratic behavior since mid-September (see graph above), it’s that mortgage rates swing too high and swing too low in response to economic data and never, ever really settle.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.  Some highlights of the prior week include:

When Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke took center stage Wednesday at the Economic Club of Washington, his prepared remarks revealed that (1) the economy is cooling off at a predictable pace, and (2) a housing cool-off will remove about 1% from the GDP in 2007. But, not so fast.  Just to keep everyone honest, Fed Governor Kohn announced that the high level of optimism in markets right now may be misplaced and that inflation is still on the Fed Radar.  Philadelphia Fed President Plosser did the same, warning of inflationary pressures in the economy. The net effect was that mortgage rates dropped about 1/8%, but not as much as they could have in response to Bernanke’s remarks.  It’s still possible that the Fed will be taken by surprise if mortgage rates stay low, by the way.

Check out what is in store for the coming week.

Estimates of major market indicators that influence mortgage rates are provided by Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports.   Mortgage rates have been on the decline since Fed Chairman Ben Bernake gave his testimony in July.  Breaking from this trend, mortgage rates had a slight uptick last Friday.  Check out what is in store for the coming week.