FHA 203k Work Writeup – Specification of Repairs (SOR) It is imperative for the customer, Realtor and general contractor to understand the importance of the Specification of Repairs.  Unlike the bid itself from the contractor, this document is attached to the appraisal report and presented to the appraiser to assist in determining the value and future [...]

Knowledge & Experience Needed! How come more Realtors and customers don’t use FHA 203k loans?  It’s a great question! The answer really lies in the fact that most lenders (in house mortgage companies for the Realtors) don’t do the FHA 203k loan, or just don’t do it well. Secondly, Realtors have fear about the FHA 203k loan because [...]

So, I get questions all the time about this, and people always tell me, “Jeff, everything sounds great about FHA 203k mortgages, …sounds like it’s the perfect loan for me…it does everything that I want it to do, BUT there can’t be the perfect loan- there has to be something wrong!”  And you’re right- maybe not so [...]

We get A LOT questions that come in all the time and we try to answer as many of them as we can in blog posts so future customers will be able to see these posts and potentially have their questions answered up front. Weather Conditions One of our most recent questions was from a client in New Hampshire.  The customer had [...]

Another Great Use! Buying and rehabbing a multi-family unit property can be done using the FHA 203k loan.  I’ve done a few of these loans and they are absolutely great!  I’m currently doing one right now — it’s a four-unit property and it’s a big job. The FHA 203k loan limits, which you can check out here, are much higher as [...]

What’s The Contingency Reserve? The Contingency Reserve is something that needs to be addressed because it’s an extremely important part of the FHA 203k loan.  The Contingency Reserve is there for cost overruns- it is a component that is put in place to protect the home buyer or home refinancer in case of additional costs or expenses [...]

I got really excited one day when this new show came out called the “Property Brothers.” I swear when I watch the show I think that I may actually be related to these guys in one-way or another. I believe I might be the third brother- the one that nobody knows about- the one that [...]

Recently I have been hearing a disturbing trend of First Time Home Buyers in Cherry Hill, NJ being asked to pay upfront lender fee’s such as an application fee. This is not a requirement and simply should not be paid. I would actually question what type of mortgage lender or broker you are speaking with [...]

FHA Streamline refinances typically require credit scores and appraisals – this is not the way the FHA streamline program was supposed to be used, but conduits (investors) have put their overlays on FHA mortgages. This is a shame because there are good borrowers out there who make their mortgage payments on time but who, for [...]

I started reaching out to some FHA 203k consultants that I know and also to a few other FHA 203k lenders and I asked them all to please tell me what gives them the biggest headaches and what could I tell customers upfront that would help speed along FHA 203k mortgage transactions. Drum roll please……… [...]