Las Vegas Loan Modification

My husband qualified on his credit for a home loan. As of right now well untill monday, we know very little about the details, I’m sure I can find all this out from the loan officer, but I thought since I was on, and it’s late, I might be able to quickly get some info via some of you yahoo people! He has fair credit, it’s not bad, but it’s not really good either. I’m guessing because of the market that the loan we are being offered is sub-prime what are the interest rates like on a sub-prime? Are they usually ARM or Fixed? if it is ARM would we be able to refinance and qualify for a a better fixed loan after paying on time for a year or two? We don’t want to move untill March. (This is when we estimate we will have the 3% available for down payment.) is there some way we can find a home now and sign into a contract to close in 90 days or so? Do we need to have the down payment up front for that? and also does anyone know if the 8,000 tax credit is going to be extended into next year for sure? All of these questions apply to Las Vegas’ Market…IDK if that matters. THANKS TO ANYONE WHO ANSWERS ON ADVANCE!!!

Ok, it seems like you have quite a few questions here.

1) ARMs are not evil despite what everyone is saying. People fear something they don’t understand. I’m not saying to get an ARM, but you should know what it is and how it works to know if it is for you or not. ARM stands for Adjustable Rate Mortgage. This means that after the initial 5 or 7 years (depending on what type of ARM you get), the interest rate begins fluctuating.

For example, a 5 year ARM is fixed for the 1st 5 years, then it begins fluctuating with the market and economy. Now, why would anyone get an ARM? Well, you get a lower interest rate during the initial fixed period if you get an ARM. So, if you do not plan on staying in your house for longer than 5 or 7 years (depending on your ARM type), then you should get an ARM. Why? Because if you’re planning on moving within the fixed period, then you can enjoy low interest rates for the 5 years, then sell the house, so you wouldn’t have to worry about the fluctuating interest rates anyway.

2) ARMs do NOT always adjust up, currently they have been adjusting down for some time, making homeowners with ARMs have even lower interest rates than what they had with the initial fixed period.

3) However, if you plan on staying in your home for a long time, and you don’t like having to watch the market for how interest rates are moving — up or down, then you should get a fixed loan (there are 2 types: 15 year fixed or 30 year fixed).

4) As for down payment, the lowest down payment amount you can pay is 3.5% for an FHA loan. FHA loans come in 30-year fixed as well. FHA is a loan that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which makes otherwise riskier borrowers safer to lenders as the goverment is insuring you to the lenders — to guarentee the loan will be paid back.

5) FHA loans are also good with lower credit scores as they are designed to be more flexible. Also the tax credit is extended until April 2010. Lastly, remember the tax credit is only 10% of the house you are buying — up to $8,000.

Hope this helps. For more information on how loans work, check out the sources section.

i think my mortgage broker sucks, i’m trying to get a loan approved for $42,000 with a 30 yr fixed rate conventional loan. I’m in las vegas. I have a credit score over 700, the best she can get me is 7.5% am i getting bent over? or what? what are they telling you??

I agree, that loan sucks. However, she found a bank willing to do a really tiny loan for 30 years. THAT is amazing. There are few (as in I am shocked) banks willing to do this.

The interest rate is so that they do not loose money just mailing you the bill, most banks do not both with these loans because it costs more to maintain the records then you pay in interest.

You might be stuck because she found the only bank willing to deal with the loan.

I’m looking into buying an investment condo in Vegas. I need an experienced buyer’s agent, preferably will find me the apt, and handles the renting as well.
Know any good ones?

Keller Williams is good I used them to buy my house.
I admire your interest in investment, this is not the time in Las Vegas. You will be negative income for the next 18 or 24 months. But, good luck to you and as I said, admire your ambition.

When our lease is up at our current property, my husband & I are thinking about moving into a "rent/lease to own" property here in Las Vegas…we don’t have good credit & have heard that this is the best way for us to "eventually" own our own home…I was wondering if anyone else out there has every done this rent/lease to own thing. I don’t want to get ripped off if it’s not a good deal, you know? There seem to be PLENTY of lease/rent to own homes available out here, but I’m wondering if it’s a legit deal or a rip off. How long do you have to "rent" before you own the property? How much is the typical downpayment before you can actually move in? Is it like a typical rental agreement, where if something breaks during the lease term they fix it or is it like a mortgage..you break, you fix? what happens if at the end of the lease term you decide that you need more space or just don’t like the place anymore? do you get your "rent credit" back? or lose it like you would with rent? Any help would be great…especially if you could give us a website to visit or a property management company that handles this type of thing so we could talk to a real person instead of just doing computer research. We’re not in a rush as our current lease isn’t up until April 30,2010…we would just like as much information on this subject as possible so as to make an educated decision. our other option is just to rent again…but we’d really like to look into rent/lease to own…
I’ve read that when you do this type of "rental deal" , at the end of your lease term you "buy back" the house…I’m wondering what exactly this means. Is this where you go & have to get your actual financing from a bank? I’m confused on all the lingo I’ve been reading. help me!

Every rent/lease to own deal is different and you work it out with the seller.This is a completely legal deal and is much more common when people are having trouble selling their homes.
The reason it would be good for you is
1) if you expect the property values to go up in your area and you can lock in the price now,
and 2) all or part of your rent is applied towards the down payment.

If your credit is not too good, it also might be just as well for you to continue renting for another year or so, pay off bills and improve your credit score while you save up.
If you want more information, I suggest you work with a real estate agent who is an experienced buyers agent. They would be able to advise you and negotiate a good lease option.
Do your research and take your time because you should be able to find a good deal in your area.