Barry Is Making a Move

We’ve got some exciting news to share today. Our preferred lender, Barry Krevoy, has the scoop.

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We’ve got some great news to share today. We are happy to be joined once again by our preferred lender, Barry Krevoy, to help break this news.

Barry and his team have officially moved over to a new company, imortgage. Imortgage is owned by Loan Depot, the second-largest direct lender in the country. They did over $37 billion in loans just last year. Barry has worked at imortgage in the past and chose them because he was looking for a company that had some better and more unique loan products. One in particular caught his eye.

Barry and his team are the only people in the country who can offer that loan.

Barry and his team are the only company in the country that offers a VA renovation loan. This loan gives veterans up to $35,000 to renovate a home they buy. The only limitations on it are your income, the loan limit in your county, and you have to qualify for a VA loan by being a veteran.

Once the loan is secured, an appraiser will come out to do an appraisal. They will take into consideration the impact that different upgrades would have to the home’s value. When a contractor gives you a bid on the renovation, that will be included in the home’s purchase price.

If you have any questions for Barry about this loan or anything else, give him a call at (949)-735-4009. If you have any other questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Busting 2 Myths Preventing People From Getting a Mortgage

You don’t need to pay more than 20% down or have a FICO score 780 or more to get a loan. Here’s the truth about these myths.

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Today I want to address two common myths floating around out there that keep people ( especially millennials) from getting a mortgage.

Myth #1: You need to have more than 20% down.

I recently worked with young couple who wanted to buy a $500,000 condo. A 20% down payment on that $500,000 property would’ve cost $100,000, which for them would’ve been an exorbitant amount of money. That’s why I suggested they pay only 10% down. Paying less meant they’d have to pay the PMI (private mortgage insurance), but that payment would only be an additional $247 a month instead of the additional $50,000.

Ideally, paying 20% down would be awesome, but in some instances it might be better to talk to a lender and see if there’s a way you can come up with less money down and still get a house right away instead of paying a huge amount like $50,000.

The world of lending is more flexible than you think.

Myth #2: You need to have a FICO score of 780 or more.

Obviously, that’s a great credit score, but the fact of the matter is that 54% of all people typically have a score that’s less than that. There are many different loan programs out there, and any lender will probably be able to get you a loan if you have a score between 640 and 680. Just make sure you’re not in the 500s.

Whether you’re trying to buy a new home or buy your first home, don’t fall for these two myths. If you have any questions about this or any other real estate-related topic, feel free to reach out to me via phone or email. I’d be happy to help.

Is a Cash Offer Always Better Than a Financed Offer?

Cash offers are usually more appealing than financed offers, but as you’ll see today, there are other things to consider before you make a decision.

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Are cash offers always the best offers when it comes to selling your home?

I just recently had a client who faced this same question. They listed their home for sale and received two offers—one of them cash, one of them financed. The cash offer was about $10,000 less than asking price, but it didn’t require any contingencies or inspections. Furthermore, the buyer wanted to close quickly in 15 days. The financed offer, on the other hand, was at asking price, but that buyer wanted a multitude of inspections done and needed a larger closing period.

There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to cash offers.

In this instance, my seller went with the cash offer. In fact, they were happy to do so. The price was lower, but the quick closing period and the lack of inspections and closing costs were more than a fair tradeoff.

If your home is on the market and receiving multiple offers, though, should you always go with the cash offer? It depends. You have to consider other variables within the offer, like how fast it’s going to close and how many inspections it will require, and decided how important those variables are to you.

If you have any other real estate questions, please feel free to call, email, or text me. I look forward to helping you!