203K Dreaming

This week we are pleased to bring you a Guest Blog post by our Real Estate partner, Julian Jackson of eXp Realty!

A property comes for sale on the market.  You are an excited potential homeowner, with big dreams.  You receive an email, from your trusted real estate agent, telling you that this house with great bones is on the market for $100,000, and the first thing that comes to mind are all the possibilities.  You start thinking about a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with gleaming hardwoods.  Come to think of it, didn’t you just watch that HGTV flipping show episode where the couple budgeted on a budget for something close to nothing, and fixed a whole house?  This is where the paths diverge from HGTV and real life.  

*Sigh*
If life was like HGTV it would be so much simpler.  A nice couple has a General Contractor visit the home. They spitball some pricing estimates so the couple can place an offer on the home.  The lovely couple turns in a cash offer on the home and the flipping process begins.  They come to the house fashionably dressed up, and decide it’s time to do some demo.  30 minutes later, the house is finished, the couple is smiling and all is well.

Let’s make some changes and turn this show into a real life scenario.  You are looking for a home to purchase with a 203k loan.  After searching on the MLS system one morning you find “THAT” house fitting your criteria.    You call your real estate agent and you schedule an appointment to view the home.  You look over the home and decide it’s the one.  It’s Write-Up Offer time!  Guess what?  It was a multiple offer situation, and you won out over the other 5 offers.  You now have the home under contract.  It’s time for you to get a trustworthy general contractor to give you a scope of work on the home.  After the general contractor gives you a scope of work, the offer price of the home and the repair cost must be 110% of the After Repair Value given by the appraiser.  If the scenario works, you close on the home.  If the numbers don’t work, you must start again. 

But let’s say it works: Yay!!! You have closed on the home.  Let the good times roll!  It’s now time to get your contractor to come start the work.   It’s my hope that you have found an awesome contractor you can trust to do the work permitted, and up to code. You can seek references from your agent, your lender, yourhomebuyer education agency, friends, family, etc. Just get a good recommendation!

Very Strong Side Note:  I would strongly recommend you speak to someone knowledgeable about paying a contractor.  In recent memory, I have spoken with multiple people that have had the contractor and/or subcontractor run off with thousands of dollars, and no rehab that was paid for.  You MUST protect yourself.  Get references.  Check them twice.  It will save you many sleepless nights.

You're invited to learn more about Julian Jackson, his business endeavors, and contact him directly for services via the following links:
 

https://www.facebook.com/85jackson 
www.westatlantacentral.com 
http://julianjackson.ga.exprealty.com/
http://www.zillow.com/profile/jgerjackson/ 
julian.jackson@exprealty.com

Yes, You CAN Buy a Home With High Student Loan Debt

We get it. 

The Fed changed the rules this year for how Student Loan payments are to be calculated when seeking approval for a Mortgage. We know that hurt A LOT of our clients who use Income Based Repayment, to the degree that many were unable to get an approval from any lender at all.

But now there are some new products coming on the market, mostly portfolio loans (this is where the bank loans it's own money and keeps the loan in house, so they can write their own rules for how to loan it and service it!) Some new lenders have become increasingly aware of how serious a problem this is, and they've reacted like it matters!


Have you been denied a mortgage because of a high balance of student loan debt? If so, please give us a call or send us an email to schedule your free 1 on 1 apt and see if you qualify:

678-718-7222 or email: Info@CommittedtoCommunities.com

We look forward to continuing to do all that we can  to see to it that you're able to buy a home. 

How Low-Moderate Income Buyers Can Still Get in the Market Today

Okay, so maybe we can't get you a big with a fort and a mote. Ummmm.... and that dragon part might be difficult too but we'll see what we can do.

So it’s no secret that home prices have been on a steep incline nationwide since early Spring. We’ve heard a lot of talk about the disappearing Affordable Housing market and rumors that Millennials aren’t able to buy houses with the student loan debt. While some of this is may be true it’s certainly not the whole story.

15 of our 16 closings to date have been Millennial buyers. Three of them had significant student loan debt at the time of closing. And none of our buyers have been lucky enough to have a rich aunt or uncle or a fairy grandperson pop out of nowhere with a fat check to foot the bill for the down payment toward their mortgage.

So how’d they do it? Down Payment Assistance.

That’s right, there are assistance programs right here in the Atlanta metro area to help you with a down payment on your future home. And you don’t always have to be a first time homebuyer to get one! Though there are income limits and various other guidelines and restrictions which all vary from program to program and the whole process is filled with tons of jargon like "forgiveness periods" or "minimum contributions" and there's these required workshops you have to take

but the point is:

You can purchase a home with little out of pocket in today’s ATL economy. Now ain't that special?

Wanna learn more?

Fill out the 1 on 1 contact sheet to schedule a free individual appointment with a homebuying coach to help analyze your income to see which programs you qualify for, give some early recommendations toward your homebuying journey and help guide you through the process.

But we really can't promise you dragons. We're sorry.

Why Work With a Housing Agency?

One of the come common questions I get is “Can you tell me about your program?” To which of course, I always answer “sure” and then proceed through the rundown of workshops we offer, the counseling and consultation options, our partner referrals, and some of the more fun and engaging events we offer to homebuyers and homeowners.

The list could go on forever.

The funny thing is I always wonder what I am able to share that a buyer couldn’t find out on our website.

Today it hit me:  a personal interaction.

In the present day of everything-automated, “Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Service... “ most of us just want to speak to a live person and have our questions answered. Which we do. But we offer a lot more than just basic question-answering.

At Committed to Communities, we offer a relationship. A confidant. A personal guide to help walk you through the steps toward purchasing your own home, be it your first home or your 15th. A group of expert advisers to help you reach your goal regardless of what stage you’re presently at or how far along you are. Come to us if you just thought last night that you’d like to buy a home. Or come to us if you’ve been saving for 3 years, boosted your credit score, paid off some debts and are ready to take the first step today.

Regardless of your position, we’re here to help. We can be a support system, a refuge, an advocate, a place to learn and a place to vent. (the process can be stressful).

What we offer is a relationship and a community. Come to a focus group, an open house event, a happy hour, or a workshop. Or come to all of our events. You’re guaranteed to see familiar faces.

We know that the more support you have in the process  the more confident you'll feel, the more empowered you'll be and the more likely you are to succeed. We’re here to help build that support system around you.

Call on us.