It wasn't THAT long ago that we Baby Boomers worried a lot about our kids.

You know, those irrepressible Generation Y kids who were on the Internet at age 4 and who grew up clicking (my son says I grew up turning dials and that is why his generation is superior different).

Sitting on our own fat bubble- enhanced, low taxed properties, we watched prices spiral out of control here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We believed our children would either:

1. Never be able to afford a house
   
2. Move away forever
3. Move back in with us (eek!) 

But post meltdown, all of that has changed. And in the wake of economic disaster lies a once in a lifetime opportunity to get junior into his very own house or condo.

This is the year to help your kid become a first time buyer. You snooze, you lose.

No, I cannot promise son will become a handyman or daughter will turn into Martha Stewart. But I can promise you that everyone in the family will look back someday (sooner than you think) and thank their lucky stars you took advantage of a 24 karat golden real estate opportunity to give your child financial stablity.

Why this year? Here are 3 reasons that point directly to the stars being lined up perfectly:

1. Cheap properties (prices being driven down by foreclosures)
2. Low fixed rates on old fashioned 30 year mortgages
   
3. FHA financing finally has limits high enough to buy in California

As if that isn't ENOUGH, here is your amazing limited time BONUS OFFER: First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit of $8000 is good through the end of the year.

 

The strategy:

1. GIFT your child the down minimum payment (3.5% of selling price)
2. ASK the seller to pay the closing costs in your offer, so your kid needs NO cash at all
   
3. SNAG a cheap property in the best location your kid can afford

Be prepared for this:

1. MULTIPLE OFFERS on lender foreclosed properties for sale
2. SELLERS insisting on an approval with a LENDER (not just a letter from the mortgage person)
3. A LONGER time line than you are expecting

10 things not to worry about:

1. Rates will go lower. FHA loans have the ability to be easily re-written if rates drop (streamline refinance) 
2. Real estate will be cheaper. So what? Think long term.
3. Your kid isn't "ready". Most first time buyers do not have the perspective to understand the benefit of the tax credit, or the silver lining of economic downturns. Come to think of it, you probably weren't "ready" when he was born.
4. Going on the loan with your kid. If your kid has no job now, or just can't afford to buy, you can co-sign.
5. Finding the "perfect" house/condo. It is a starter house, for crying out loud. Do not expect lender foreclosures to be pretty
6. FHA closing costs are "too high". Yep, FHA will have slightly higher closing costs than conventional. Seller may not pay closing costs. You can gift your kid closing costs, too.
7. What if my kid loses his job?  "What if's" are the biggest reason for missed opportunities!
   
8. The real estate market is just too confusing! That is why you should find a great real estate agent
9. Getting a loan is a big hassle! Get preapproved first with a great mortgage person
   
10. Where will I get the cash to help my kid? How about an equity line or retirement account? Maybe Grandma has the money?

Get your kid set and maybe you could move in with him someday. (double eek!)

Maybe not.

 

 

Written by Janet Guilbault, Mortgage Banker/Broker Based Out of the San Francisco Bay Area

 

 

Many of you have asked about having a button that could be used link people to your Outside Blog from your ActiveRain Profile, personal website, blog posts or anywhere else that accepts HTML.  ActiveRain has designed a fancy little button that is going to be extremely simple to use.  You may notice one in my profile to the right already. 

This simple button takes about 30 seconds to create and implement.  By far, it is one of the easiest things I have worked with in a while.  What you need to do in order to make it work, is simply copy & paste this bit of HTML coding anywhere you wish to use the button.

Personalizing the HTML Code

The first thing you will need to do is copy this piece of HTML Code:

<a href="http://www.yourdomainname.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://activerain-internal.s3.amazonaws.com/outside_blog_button.png"></a>

Now, make sure that you replace the http://www.yourdomainname.com with the domain name of your outside blog!  If you don't people will end up here! One of my outside blogs is http://myrtlebeachhomesblog.com so this is how my code would look to drive traffic there:

<a href="http://www.myrtlebeachhomesblog.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://activerain-internal.s3.amazonaws.com/outside_blog_button.png"></a>

Now that you have adjusted the coding, make sure to store this in a safe place because you will need this for the future. Below I will show you how to take that new code and place into your Blog and show up along the right bar and then how to add it to your blog posts as a button.

Inserting the Code to Your Blog

To insert the code into your profile, first login to ActiveRain and go to your My Home Page. After you have reached your My Home, you will then click on the settings link along the left side.  Then paste your copied HTML code into the Blog Description box.  You will see my code highlighted in blue.

You will notice that I added<p></p> at the end of my code.  The reason for this was to give it a paragraph break between my outside blog widget and the next widget on my page. After you have entered the coding, click the update button and you are finished.

 

Inserting the Code Into a Post

Now that we have inserted the widget into our blog description,  how do you insert it into a post as a button?  You can't just copy & paste the code into the WYSIWYG box or just the coding will appear on your blog.  Instead, you will need to save your post in Draft Mode.  Then, click on the edit button of your post and slide over to the HTML tab.

Go to the bottom of your post and insert the HTML code that you have saved on your computer and click save.  You have now added the button to your post. Once again, you may need to add the html code <p></p> either before or after the button for visual appearance.

Like I said, this is a simple button/widget that you can use for anywhere you wish to promote your outside blog. Now go create your own!

 

Many of us use Youtube to host a variety of Real Estate and personal videos.  I noticed that when videos are done playing, in most cases, other videos will pop up on the screen that have a similar topic or title.  Does this hurt or help you?  I guess this depends on how you "see" it, no pun intended.  Having a video on your site or post can certainly help to create a more captive audience, but those next videos that pop up may be having a subtle and adverse affect.

Yesterday, I was watching a Real Estate Video that was really interesting.  I watched all 3 minutes of it.  Then, when their video was finished, up came another agents video that had nearly the same title?!?   The second video was a bit more produced, had better sound quality, was clearly a higher quality camera, and seemed to have a better videographer.  Plus, the video was only 1:20 minutes long.  At the end of the "competitors" video was a phone number and annotation that included a call to action.  Hmm...

So how do you prevent your competition and others from coming up on "Your" Youtube videos?  Hopefully this tip will help prevent this from ever happening to you...ever again.  When using Youtube Videos on your Blog posts or sites, you might want to take these next steps and precautions before pasting that object embed code.  I'll use these screen shots below as examples in hopes this makes more sense.

                               You want this:                                                          Not This:

        

When you get or use ANY video from Youtube, there are some options available you may not be aware of.  This will come in very handy if you're uploading your own or using any videos from youtube.   When you create or find the video you wish to link or embed into your site, you'll see these options available located on the right side of the video.

Top Line is the URL used to provide a link to the video

Bottom Line is the embed code used to embed on your site

There is a tiny graphic just to the right of the embed code (a settings gear) that little blue thingy   that probably 90 percent of people never see.  Click On it!  This allows you to customize and make changes to the video and player.

This is the culprit right here. 

If you leave that box checked, you'll have no control over what shows up after your video plays.  If you leave it checked, you're taking a chance on having some videos pop up that might not "Best represent" you, your Blog or the site it's being seen on. 

This is happening with and to millions of videos, and they call it viral.  Can you see why now?

Once you get this out of the way, you can also customize your Video by changing the size and adding a custom border.  Just click on that "settings" graphic and it's all there.  I suggest the 445x365 or 500x405 for ActiveRain Blogs.  Only copy the embed code for your video "AFTER" you have completed these steps, that is unless of course you don't mind what videos come up after yours.

               

The video below is my 13 second claim to fame.  It's short, raw, and took me the least amount of time and effort to create other than getting to the place where I shot it.  Because it is titled "The Glory Hole" or "The Black Hole" you can imagine some of the other videos that would pop up in the viewer after mine. :-O  I sure didn't want Mom to see some of those other videos that were supposedly related.  Yikes!  We won't go there today.  This little video has had over half a million views with nearly 1000 comments.  Question is, where did they go and what did they see after mine...or YOURS?

This is what might happen to some of your "Rain Making Efforts" if you're not real careful out there....

The apple does not fall far from the tree....

Those of you who are real estate lifers - you know that deals never sleep.  You likely have to answer the phone at the oddest times and places, stop in the middle of Wal-Mart to send a text message, find yourself checking your email religiously, always need to run by a property for this or that, etc......  If you have a family, then you know that the kids end-up"working" with you. 

We have been negotiating distressed property deals in Atlanta (short sales and REO buys) for several years as a family owned investment group while I also work as a real estate agent.  Our managing members include 3 under the age of 10  [shhhh! - we don't share that with our business affiliates.]  - okay - kidding.... BUT I swear that our kids have absorbed enough at their young ages to successfully negotiate a real estate transaction even as challenging as a short sale.

In fact, my 9 year old proved that to me the other day.  I caught him walking a Friend of his into our loss mitigation department.  Before I could remind him that he is not to be in that area - I overheard him explaining to his friend what we do - and I got a real laugh.

His friend asked him if he sold houses - and his response: 

"YES, OUR team sells houses for people that are under-the-water and the banks they pay their mortgages to have to let them sell their house for a cheaper price.  It is a lot of work and we don't make guarantees - but everyone comes out better."

To help his Friend understand better - he gave the following example - note the personal twist:  "It is kinda of like this:  You gave me a box of baseball cards and I promised to give you $3, but my Mom would only give me $2 - So, you have to be willing to take the $2 or get nothing.  Better to get something."

The freind says: "Then I'll just take the baseball cards back."

My son's response: "Maybe the baseball cards you gave me were worth $3 when you gave them to me - but now they are only worth $2....If you take them back you won't be able to sell them to anyone else for anymore than $2.  Might as well take the $2 bucks now"

And it gets better:  "We can get a baseball card store to tell us what they are worth, I know they will agree with me, but at least you can take their word on it and not mine."

Result: The Friend took the $2

Now, either my son is devious, smart, or has just heard too much over the years.  Anywhoo - I just wanted to share - Thank you for reading.

For those of you working hard at short sales, TO YOUR SUCCESS!  It is those of us working in-the-dirt to get them done that will bring stability to the market, NOT the government. 

Short sales can be MORE PROFITABLE and Easier to Complete

We love to hear short sale tales - please share

Amy Ransdell - Distressed Properties, Atlanta Short Sales

The Manage My Short Sale Team - "Always Moving Forward"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USDA loans in many areas are becoming more popular, yet many loan officers still don't know much about them, hence why they still aren't talked about much. Just as FHA loansweren't used as much as they should have from 2000 - 2006, because subprime and some conventional loans were easier for the loan officer to give to the consumer, even though it might not have been the best loan for them. I am sure in some cases, FHA loans are given before the USDA loan because of the lack of education on the loan officers part.... just my .02.

 

Some great benefits that USDA loans offer -

• It's one of only two types of mortgages that offer real 100% financing, with no money down on the property. The other would be VA loans.

• Just because it says rural development doesn't mean farm land or properties that are miles apart from each other. Ask your loan officer if your property that you are looking to purchase might fit into the property location guidelines.

• There is no monthly mortgage insurance, even with zero down payment. The only other mortgage like this, again, VA loans.

• There is no seller contribution limit, just as in FHA loans, to where the seller can contribute up to 6%. It's look upon as reasonable closing costs.  And keep in mind, each state has their own limits to what a lender can make anyhow, usually falling under section 32.

• 100% of the closing costs can be gifted.

• The loan amount can include closing costs and repairs up to the appraised value. (call me or e-mail me for more of an explanation)

• Credit scores of 580 and below are highly scrutinized by USDA. There are many things that need to be looked upon. Scores from 620 and above meet the normal credit standards and get an automatic credit waiver on such things as explaining derogatory credit and rental verifications.

• Normal qualifying income ratios are 29%/41%. You can exceed these ratios if you have scores above 660 and you don't have to apply for a debt-to-income waiver. Those below 660, you have to have compensating factors and apply for an income ratio waiver.

• There are income restrictions, yet as of April 20th, 2009, there will be new income limits for the better. Basically the 4 person income limits will now be for 1 person income limits.

• One important thing to remember, you can't have an in-ground swimming pool if you are using USDA that came from the 2009 stimulus bill. If it's the normal USDA monies allocated yearly, then it's okay, but you need to check on this with your lender.

 

 

 

IMPORTANT -  These are USDA's guidelines, yet lenders can after overlays, to where they might be more critical on credit scores or debt-to-income ratios.  Please keep this in mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

- FHA Loans - USDA Loans - VA Loans -

- Energy Efficient Mortgages - 

- Conventional Loans - 203 k loans -

- Mortgages -

 

Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For more information about the 2009 Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers : 2009 Tax Credit

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags !!!!

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Belonger