Jacksonville Real Estate Agent

The future of the Ameridream and Nehemiah down payment assistance programs is looking grim. Starting October 1st 2008 buyers will not be able to use those programs in conjunction with loans that allow gift funds. In the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 under section 2113 letter C prohibits the down payment assistance programs. Also to add insult to injury, the required down payment for FHA will be raised from 3% to 3.5%.  

Read Also: Down Payment Assistance Programs in Jacksonville for additional information on these programs.

The reason behind the eliminations of down payment assistance programs is because FHA has reported that borrowers using those DPA foreclose 3 times the rate of borrowers who didn't utilize those programs. I get that. In the current mess we're in with the foreclosure rate increasing, they want to decrease their risk. I agree that tougher credit guidelines need to be established. There were homeowners who bought a home that had no business buying a home, but there are credit worthy people who do not have the funds available for a down payment but make the necessary income to support a house payment. By eliminating those programs, qualified buyers are not going to be able to get their piece of the American Dream.

What affect will this have on our current real estate market? First time home buyers make up our foundation of the real estate market. If first time home buyers can't buy a home, then move up buyers can't buy because they can't sell their current home. It's a domino affect and is one of the reasons values have declined in the past couple of years because first time home buyers were priced out of the market.

If you would like to voice your opinion please visit Nehemiah.

Are you a renter, wanting to fire your landlord for good? Or a seller wanting to sell and perhaps, move up or down size? I bet, you've been listening to the media and you wonder if this is a good time to buy or should you just wait?

No one has a crystal that will tell us what the future holds for Jacksonville real estate, so let's just take a look at how things are right now:

 1. The rates are good, as long as you qualify.

2. Home prices are coming down.

3. Due to the higher inventory levels, you have more choices.

4. Due to the mortgage crisis, lenders have tighten their credit guidelines. A buyer who qualified for a mortgage two years ago or even a year ago, may not qualify now.

Have the prices hit bottom yet? I don't think so. Should you wait to buy until they do? That depends on you and your family's situation. If you're looking at this strictly on an investment stand point and you're wanting to buy a house in Jacksonville and in a year or two resale it, you may want to think long and hard. You may not have the equity you need to profit from it. Now, on the other hand, if you're wanting a home to raise your kids in, enjoy your golden years, make memories with your spouse or partner and this is a long term investment, now can be your time.

Your first step though, is to find out if you can qualify for a mortgage.

Pre-qualified vs pre-approved

You may or may not have heard of the terms pre-qualified and pre-approved. Pre-qualified is something you can do right over the phone with a lender. They will want to know what your income is, time on the job, debts you may have, just basic information. Based on the information you give them, the lender could give you a letter stating you qualify for 'x" amount of mortgage, but only if you meet additional criteria. Sounds good so far, but don't start doing back flips just yet.

You goal should be to get pre-approved before you even start doing house shopping. Pre-approval means the lender has checked your credit, collected documents verifying your employment and income, as well as other documents that particular company requires.

Just in case, you get a red flag, due to credit issues, please read a blog I wrote about credit repair companies.

If you're given the green flag to go out and grab your piece of the American dream, I want to stress the importance of learning from the mistakes of others. I'm sure you've been taking notice of the situation homeowners, have found themselves in recent months.

Foreclosures due to payments being too high for home owners to afford, arms resetting to a much higher interest rate causing the home to fall behind on their payments.

I'm not trying to scare you, but don't become house poor (only have money to pay the mortgage and barely anything else) just to buy a house. It's not a fun place to be and your dream of home ownership will become a heavy burden for you and your family to bear. If you really want to know if now is the right time to buy, you need to ask yourself, can I find a house that meets my family's needs, at a monthly payment I can afford and still be able to enjoy the things we like to do?

If you answered yes, then I invite you to come take a peek at what homes are available for sale in Jacksonville, Orange Park and surrounding areas. You can start your search for Jacksonville homes here.

You've seen the ads...."Credit repair 100% guarantee" "We can remove charge offs, bankruptcies, foreclosure" The list goes on and on. If you are credit challenged and you want to buy a car or a home in Jacksonville, you may wonder if those companies are for real.  They are real and they want to take your hard earned money. Don't get me wrong, there are legit credit repair companies that can help you, but if they tell you they can remove a bankruptcy when in fact that bankruptcy is completely accurate on your credit report, they are lying.

Here is an excerpt from The Federal Trade Commission's website in regard to credit repair companies:

"No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report. The law allows you to ask for an investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge for this. Everything a credit repair clinic can do for you legally, you can do for yourself at little or no cost."

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Now, what if you do have inaccurate information on your credit report(s)? You may wonder if you should hire a credit repair company, but with a little bit of fingertip work (get it...instead of leg work) on your part, you can dispute the items yourself online for free.

I'll show you where to go. Let's start with Equifax. When you visit their website, you'll see two places to dispute. Online dispute (as of today, 2 clicks from the search button) and the tab that says: Free Report, Security Freeze, dispute and fraud protection.  You can start your dispute right there. Now let me back up, just for a second. Did you know, you can get your credit report from all 3 bureaus, free, once a year? Visit Annual Credit Report to get started.

Let's visit Transunion. You'll see their dispute button, at the bottom under the column titled "More for Consumers"

Last but not least is Experian. Scroll to the bottom, and click disputes (blue bar).

Last spring, I had some errors on my credit report. First, I printed my free credit reports from Annual Credit Report. I looked it over, making a mark next to each item that was incorrect and writing down what it should say. I went to each credit bureau and next to each incorrect item, I disputed it. It wasn't the most fun thing in the world and it was tedious to say the least, HOWEVER when it was all said and done and the items were corrected my score jumped by about 75 points! Not bad, if I say so myself.

Now let me say this, these items were inaccurate from the beginning, I wasn't trying to beat the system. If your goal is to try to beat the system, DON'T! You still have to answer the questions on a credit application honestly and accurately, no matter what your credit report states!

Lastly, and most important, time will raise your credit score, as long as you continue to pay your bills on time. So, PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME!

If you're looking to buy real estate in Jacksonville and surrounding areas, start your search for properties here.