Agent Profile
My job is service...service to you and your real estate transactions! How can you benefit from my 25 years of experience and expertise? What can I offer to make the process more productive?
* Current information on available housing...comparative and competitive market pricing and analysis
* Daily involvement in the local real estate marketplace.
* Thorough, comprehensive knowledge reflecting years of helping others complete their real estate business.
* Extensive network of professional resources to make the process as smooth as possible.
My commitment is to you! Being available to you...returning your calls...answering your questions...addressing your concerns...respecting your money...matching your timeline...meeting your expectations...helping accomplish your real estate goals!!
JANEESE JACKSON: 503-709-0802 or jj@janeesejackson.com
Effective February 1st, 2010, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) changed the condominium approval process, which definitely affects home buyers who desire an FHA loan to purchase a condominium. The changes were supposedly instituted to speed up the process of approvals but I see that the tightening of rules for property eligibility have severely limited the available condo inventory. So, we suddenly have the best pricing on housing inventory that the Portland Oregon market has seen in quite a few years. This should enable the first time buyer to enter the marketplace and obtain a loan to purchase that first home and “get some skin in the game”!! Great pricing, low interest rates PLUS the first-time home buyer credit could be the “perfect storm” for the novice buyer! However, now FHA will no longer allow “spot approvals” for condos, rather the FHA will make a decision on the whole project or legal phase rather than individual units and the new list of documentation necessary is a bit daunting for condo projects.
Why would a buyer choose FHA financing? The FHA allows for a lower down-payment (3.5%, recently raised from 3%), it allows for lower credit scores and higher debt ratios. But, now finding the required “established condominium” project for the newbie or return buyer wishing to utilize the FHA financing is becoming increasingly more difficult in my experience. The definitionof an “established condominium” (according to the FHA/DELRAP approval process) is that the buildings were constructed as condominiums (or completed the conversion process) and all units, common elements and improvements have been completed and the final certificate of occupancy has been issued over one year, no one entity owns more than 10% and the HOA (home owners association) has been turned over to homeowners. These are all reasonable assumptions but the remaining requirements are stiff. And, as I’m out looking for a great condo at my buyer’s comfort price point, I am constantly finding projects that are not yet FHA approved! A buyer can certainly wade through the process of making an offer and getting the condo approved but will have to invest in the process by providing and paying for an appraisal while not being certain that the approval will be issued. For the first-time or even second-time buyer, that’s a big gamble with what little cash they’ve been able to save to pursue their housing dreams!! Maybe as Realtors we should encourage the HOA’s of condo listings we take to get the process underway asap!!
About the Author | Janeese Jackson
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Hey there Janeese.
If you need a contact person, I know someone in Everett that is specializing in getting FHA condo projects approved. Let me know if you want/need the information.
Thanks!