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Classic Homes Northwest Welcomes Rosemary Kendall!

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

We are happy to have another author here in our little part of cyberspace. Rosemary Kendall is a Home Mortgage Consultant with Wells Fargo Bank. She is so excited to post here that she has already contributed her first post before we were able to publish her bio!

Rosemary Kendall is a Tacoma native. She attended Lakes High School and Pacific Lutheran University. She has been in the financial industry for over 20 years, a successful Mortgage Loan Officer for the past eight. Rosemary’s professional passion is helping the first time homebuyer navigate the financing process with confidence that comes from knowledge and having a trusted professional at their side along the way. Rosemary is experienced with FHA and VA loans, FHA 203(k), Washington State Bond “Housekeys” as well as local down payment assistance programs.

Rosemary enjoys living in this region for the natural and cultural beauty that surrounds us!

We are looking forward to reading more about the various home loan programs available for buyers who are looking to buy their first home in 2010!

Welcome Rosemary! we are happy to have you on board.

Posted in Ramblings, Vendors | 2 Responses »

FHA 203(k) Streamline

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

In the real estate market today there are a number of bank owned properties available for purchase at great prices, in “as is” condition. “As is” can mean the house is an ugly duckling or it can mean that it has been stripped to the studs and raccoons have taken up residence. As a potential buyer, purchasing a bank owned home can be a great opportunity to invest in a fixer and earn sweat equity. The problem is, in order to get a mortgage to buy the house it can’t have any ‘health or safety’ deficiencies. Some typical health & safety issues would be: missing carpet, holes in walls, missing plumbing or electrical fixtures, broken windows, water leaks, mold, doors that won’t lock; raccoons or other pests etc. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but adequate heat, plumbing, electrical, roof are absolutely required for financing.

I’ve had a number of buyers tell me that they would be willing to do the work on the house prior to closing on the loan. Unfortunately, I have yet to encounter a selling bank that will allow it. There is a willing buyer, a willing seller but no financing…catch 22.

The FHA 203(k) Streamline loan is ideal for this situation in that it allows borrower to close on the home before the improvements are made. Repairs and improvements up to $35,000 are financed into the loan. Borrower is required to make a 3.5% down payment based on the price of the house plus repair costs. Funds from the loan are disbursed by the bank to the contractor based on FHA guidelines as the work is completed after closing.
I won’t tell you this is a quick and easy loan, but if you follow your Loan Officer’s instructions and do exactly as they advise you along the way it will be worth the extra effort to get the house you want.

A few things you should keep in mind:
*Generally self help is not allowed (can’t do the work yourself)
*House must be for owner occupancy (not for rentals or house flips)
*NOT only for first time buyers!
*NOT just for purchase, you can use this for refinance too which I’ll talk about another time
*not just for required repairs…you can do this for cosmetic upgrades only: new appliances, remodel a bathroom or kitchen, paint, etc.

My comments are intended to give you an idea of how a FHA 203(k) Streamline may be used. A Loan Officer who is experienced in FHA 203(k) financing will be a great resource to give you more specific product guidelines.

Good luck!!!

www.rosemarykendall.com

Posted in Buying a Home, FHA Financing, Lending, Ramblings, Vendors | 1 Response »

Finally! Something on Facebook worth checking out!

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Maybe you, like me, don’t really care about your facebook friends… Now hear me out before you get all upset! What I’m talking about is that I REALLY DON’T CARE what plant you’re cropping, what your neighbors are farming, or how many liters of milk your blue ribbon cow produces! Lol, but really people is this something you want to spend hours of your valuable life doing?!

I hope not.

At about 1 am last night driving from the Social Media Club of Tacoma to my house I stumbled upon (not literally speaking) & (I’m not talking about StumbleUpon either guys) I found myself on the fan page of

I dont care about your farm, or your fish, or your park, or your mafia!!!

I’ll wait, I know you’re curious what its about! Tic-tock, tic-tock…. ok, times up!

Back to my story…. This fan club is dedicated to the people who get too many facebook updates from their friends facebook applications.

I’m sure you’ve experienced that frustrated feeling when you log on to facebook only to find out about your bosses chickens escaped from the farm. These games literally have NO purpose – at all. In fact, I hate these type of games with a passion, if you feel like this is an ignorant statement – tell me below- why exactly I should care about facebook applications.

For the rest of you, I’m about to tell you news that will make your day!

I CAN TELL YOU HOW TO STOP FARMVILLE, MAFIA WARS, & OTHER FACEBOOK APPLICATION UPDATES

The details are below!

How to stop Farmville Spam

Thanks for reading, until next time!

Ryan C.

pssssstt… I’m looking for a few more social events to go to with realtors doing social media or 1st time buyer programs in seattle/tacoma area – you know of any?

www.SumnerHomeMortgage.com

www.DownPaymentClass.com

Posted in Ramblings, Vendors | No Responses »

Classic Homes Northwest Welcomes Ryan Christensen!

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Today we have signed up another author Ryan Christensen of Sumner Home Mortgage. Another lender you may ask? Well Sure! Ryan was a real estate agent with me a couple of years ago at Rainier Real Estate in Puyallup. Now that he is working on the lending side of the transaction we think it is a great fit to have Ryan contribute here. His passion and energy will a great addition here at Classic Homes Northwest.

Ryan is the Social Media & Marketing Coordinator for Sumner Home Mortgage. He likes to use video to help convey the message that he is sharing. Currently Ryan is working on helping people learn to utilize the Tacoma Down Payment Assistance Program, Pierce County Down Payment Assistance Program, and other programs to help buy their first homes in Tacoma and Pierce County. If you would like more information on how Sumner Home Mortgage is helping first time home buyers you can visit their websites here and here.

We are happy to add another voice to the conversation here at Classic Homes Northwest. Buying or selling a home in Tacoma can and should be an enjoyable process. One of the best things you can do as a prospective home buyer or home seller is to educate yourself. We are happy to provide as much information as we can on the home buying or home selling process. If you have any questions we are always just an email or a phone call away.

Posted in Ramblings, Tacoma, Vendors | No Responses »

Classic Homes Northwest Welcomes Kevin Jones!

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Kevin Jones Guest Author for Classic Homes Northwest

Today we signed up another guest author to help us spread the news on real estate in and around Tacoma Washington. Kevin Jones will be sharing his thoughts and expertise on all things related to home loans. Borrowing money is one of the key components of a good real estate transaction. Kevin will be writing on how you can be a better consumer when it comes to borrowing the money you need to buy your home.

Here is Kevin’s professional bio.

Kevin Stirret-Jones is a Home Mortgage Consultant with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. Kevin is dedicated to exploring every option available to make the American Dream a reality for prospective homeowers and to keep that dream alive for current homeowners in need of a refinance. He is also a musician, playing the french horn in the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra for the last ten seasons and also has played with other groups such as the Tacoma Opera, Northwest Sinfonietta, Auburn Symphony, Bellevue Philharmonic and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Welcome Kevin we are happy that you are joining our little part of cyberspace!

Posted in Ramblings, Vendors | No Responses »

Vendor Review A Bell Excavating Inc. Puyallup, WA

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Vendor Review A Bell Excavating Inc. Puyallup, WA

I have been working with a buyer on a bank owned property in Puyallup for the past few weeks. We are in the part of the buying process where the septic system needs to be inspected, pumped, and verified that is working correctly. The seller of the property had the opportunity to select the vendor to conduct the O & M certification. They selected A Bell Excavating. I am certainly glad that they did. Working with Greg Apple was a very pleasant experience. We had a couple of challenges that were quickly determined and alternative resolutions suggested and implemented.

Drawing of a Septic Tank

One of the tanks for the septic system was located under the sidewalk next to the home. Greg called and was clear on what our options were allowing us to make a decision that made sense in our situation. The tanks also needed risers installed to eliminate the need to dig down 2 feet in the soil to expose the tank openings.(the next time service was needed) The quote given for the risers was very fair. There was no pressure the facts were presented and whatever my clients decision was the company was happy to do as requested. The work was completed quickly, clean up was great and my buyer is now a very happy person. She commented that the area was cleaned up and looked great. The sidewalk removal was minimal and the area will soon have grass growing and we will never know they were there.

If you are looking for anything related to septic systems in the Pierce County area I would suggest you contact A Bell Excavating at (253) 896-0043. My experience was great. I will not hesitate to recommend them in the future.