Best Buys: Special financing on Fannie Mae Foreclosures

April 23, 2009 By

Looking for a Bank Owned Foreclosure in the Tampa Bay area? Would you like to buy without a large down payment or PMI?  In tracking REO / Bank Owned Homes throughout Tampa, we want to make sure that you know about these homes: Wellington Manors: 19724 Prince Benjamin, Lutz , 33549. $319,900 Cory Lake Isles:  10405 Canary Isle Dr, Tampa 33647.  $265,100 Cory Lake Isles: 10941 Cory Lake Dr, … [Read more...]

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Buy a Home for Under 303K with just 3.5% Down!

April 22, 2009 By

Great News for home buyers in Tampa - the FHA has restored the 2008 loan limits. Even though the median home price is down 41% from peak levels, the FHA loan limit remains at at over twice the median sale price.  As a result, Tampa home buyers can put down as little as 3.5% on a single family home priced up to $303,108, (max loan amount of $292,500).  Of course a sales price can exceed this … [Read more...]

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Buy & Bail, USDA Loans on a Pool Home?

April 21, 2009 By

The family mentioned in the previous post about "Buy & Bail" wanted to take advantage of today's great prices to buy their dream home, a sprawling pool home in New Tampa's Live Oak Preserve built by Southern Crafted Homes. However, they did not want to sell their old home at a loss. When they asked about renting out the old home, we ran into "buy & bail" restrictions with FHA and … [Read more...]

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Rent Your Current Tampa Home & Buy Another? Beware Buy & Bail…

April 20, 2009 By

Tempted to buy a new home at today's low prices and great interest rates but wondering what to do with your current home? Maybe you should just rent out your old home and buy the dream home? If the new home is in the same area, there are some new issues to consider. Lending guidelines now look for "Buy and bail" scenarios, whereby someone would buy a new home and then allow their previous home to … [Read more...]

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Tampa Bay Housing Starts Plunge 90%

April 19, 2009 By
housing-starts

Tampa Bay builders started just 697 homes between January & March, a 90% decline from three years ago when 6,043 homes were started in the same quarter of 2006. Long gone are previously prominent builders such as: Engle Homes, Trans­eastern Homes, Smith Family Homes, Tripp Trademark Homes, Windjammer Home Builders and Nohl Crest Homes. Mercedes Homes and WCI plan to operate under Chapter 11 … [Read more...]

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Homes Sales Increase While Prices Fall

April 18, 2009 By

The number of homes sold in the Tampa Bay area increased by 25 percent between February and March, according to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors. The 1,400 home sales in March was the highest amount since June 2007. While the number of home sold has increased, Tampa sale prices continue to trend down. The median sales price in the Tampa metro area was $131,400 in February, which … [Read more...]

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Pasco County prices Down 57.3%

April 17, 2009 By

Home prices are down by 57.3% from the peak in July 2006 according to a report released by Integrated Asset Services. Pasco County home values were amongst the hardest hit in Florida. For the article in the Tampa Tribune, click here. … [Read more...]

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100% Financing Available – USDA Loans

April 16, 2009 By

Looking to finance 100% at a great interest rate....now you have options. Your very own Department of Agriculture is offering $16 billion in funding for home loans rural areas. Surprisingly, some areas of Hillsborough County and Pasco County qualify as rural areas. Homes in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Land O'Lakes, Lutz and other areas may qualify. To see if a specific address is eligible, go to … [Read more...]

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Tampa Condo Market Turns The Corner?

April 14, 2009 By
hillscountycondos1

Price reductions have spurred a potential rebound in condo sales throughout the Tampa Bay area.  The number of condos sold in Hillsborough County has risen from 180 units in December, to 256 units in February, to 387 units in March; though 3602 units remain on the market - an 18 month supply. Financing options for condos tend to be limited. Eligible complexes can apply for a Fannie Mae loan at … [Read more...]

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Avoid Last Minute Surprises at Closing

April 13, 2009 By

Tampa home buyers and Tampa Realtors can avoid last minute surprises at the closing table by triple checking all the details in advance. Bob Saltzman, one of our go-to-lenders @ Home Financing Network, recently had this timely observation in his weekly newsletter:   It's Always Something! We have noticed lately that underwriters that previously would allow certain loan approval conditions to be … [Read more...]

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