Tag Archives: Financing
USA Cares maintains a current listing of certified participating lenders/real estate and housing professionals; this is where military consumers can find loan officers and housing professionals who understand their unique needs and subscribe to the recommended Standards of Practice as they work together to make affordable and sustainable housing decisions. http://www.usacares.org/
USA Cares exists to help bear the burdens of service by providing post-9/11 military families with financial and advocacy support in their time of need.
If you are a veteran, or know a veteran looking to purchase a home please don’t hesitate to contact me at (952) 486-6131 or Owen.Riess@CambriaMortgage.com
Semper Fi
Leave a comment | tags: America, banking, Brother, Buyer, Disabled American Veterans, Financing, First Time Homebuyer, For Sale, Friend, God, Home, Home Ownership, Homeowner, House, Listing, Military Housing Specialist Certification, Minnesota, Mortgage, mortgage banking, Owen, Owen Riess, owenriess, real estate, Realtor, Refinance, Riess, VA, Veteran | posted in Existing Homeowners, Family & Friends, First Time Homeowner, Frist Time Homebuyers, Home Owners Associations, IRRRL, LowestVARates, Mortgage Professional, Motorcycle Travel Adventure, Realtors, Social Media, Social Media for Realtors, Social Medis for Mortgage Originators, VA Loans, Veterans
Beyond the mortgage, maintenance and property taxes of a new home, you may not be aware that many newer communities require you to be part of the Homeowner Association (HOA). If you’re wondering about what the HOA entails and how this can impact the home and community you live in, here are some facts that may be important to know before you buy.
What Is A HOA?
If you happen to have a Homeowner Association present in your new community, it’s important to know that this body works to enforce the rules of the neighborhood. Made up of a group of volunteers that live within a given area, different community members will be responsible for different aspects of the community. While there are annual fees for an HOA and they vary from place to place, communities with this type of association often come with a higher price tag on the market.
The Types Of Rules Enforced
The rules that are enforced by a HOA differ depending on the community, but they can range from issues as diverse as the height of fences to the number of pets per residence to the amount owed for fines. While you may have found your ideal home in a great community, it can be worth looking into the rules of your local HOA so that you can determine if they’ll work for you. If there are any red flags, you may want to consider your options or decide if the sacrifice is worth it.
Dealing With The Rules
It’s important to stick to the rules of the community you live in because you can be taken to small claims court if you don’t pay your fees or respond appropriately to complaints. If you’re in a position where you disagree with the rules and would like to pursue another option, you will want to make a written request to the board and wait it out. You may not get a response very quickly due to the voluntary nature of most HOA, but it’s important to be compliant with the regulations until your request is approved.
It’s great news if you’ve found your dream home in a nice new community, but it’s important to be aware of the HOA rules that you’ll have to comply with. If you’re currently on the market for a new home, contact me at owen.riess@cambriamortgage.com or give me a call at (952) 486-6131 and I can connect you with a great local real estate professional that can guide you through the process.
Owen Riess
Mortgage Consultant, NMLS #543286
Leave a comment | tags: Buyer, Disabled American Veterans, Fannie Mae, FHA, Financing, First Time Homebuyer, For Sale, God, Home, Home Ownership, Homeowner, House, Listing, Minnesota, Mortgage, mortgage banking, Owen, Owen Riess, owenriess, Prior Lake, real estate, Realtor, Riess, Townhomes, VA, Veteran | posted in Existing Homeowners, Family & Friends, First Time Homeowner, Frist Time Homebuyers, Home Owners Associations, LowestVARates, Mortgage Professional, Realtors, Social Media, Social Media for Realtors, Social Medis for Mortgage Originators, VA Loans, Veterans
The Certificate of Eligibility is a form from the federal government that indicates the veteran has met the service requirements for the VA mortgage.
There are two ways a person can get a Certificate of Eligibility (often referred to as the COE).
The simplest way to get the COE is to contact me at (952) 486-6131 or Owen.Riess@CambriaMortgage.com and I will assist you with obtaining the COE. Approved lenders can access a VA Home Loan specific website and print out the COE for the veteran. This process can be done within a few minutes.
The other way to get a COE is to complete form 26-1880. This form must be filled out and then the lender can submit the form via the aforementioned website. The form is rather short, asking for basic information such as name, date of birth, home address and phone number.
Along with the 26-1880, the veteran will also have to present one of the following items: DD-214 or their Statement of Service.
The Certificate of Eligibility (COE) will state whether or not the Veteran is exempt from the VA Home Loan ‘Funding Fee’.
The DD-214 is a form for veterans who have been discharged from active duty. The person’s years of service along with details of their separation are included on the form. Veterans that do not have a copy of their DD-214 can request one from National Personnel Records Center.
For people that are still serving as active duty personnel, a Statement of Service will be used in place of the DD-214. This statement should indicate when the person’s active duty began and needs to be signed by either a senior commanding officer or the assistant to the officer.
A person needs two forms in order to prove eligibility for a VA Mortgage – their Certificate of Eligibility and either DD-214 or Statement of Service
If you are a Minnesota Veteran considering home ownership I will be honored to help you with your VA Home Loan.
Owen Riess, Veteran, Mortgage Consultant, NMLS # 543286
(952) 486-6131 and/or owen.riess@cambriamortgage.com
Leave a comment | tags: America, Brother, Buyer, Disabled American Veterans, Financing, First Time Homebuyer, For Sale, God, Home, Home Ownership, Homeowner, House, Minnesota, Mortgage, mortgage banking, Owen, Owen Riess, owenriess, real estate, Realtor, Riess, Social Media, VA, Veteran | posted in Existing Homeowners, Family & Friends, First Time Homeowner, Frist Time Homebuyers, Home Owners Associations, IRRRL, LowestVARates, Mortgage Professional, Realtors, Social Media, Social Media for Realtors, Social Medis for Mortgage Originators, VA Loans, Veterans
What does an association manager do?
I share this information because I truly believe property owners deserve the best. Because I think your property should be more than just the place you live. Your property is part of a larger community, and as a part of that larger community home owners have increased responsibilities to protect each others investment.
Associations
Sometimes, properties are part of a different kind of community: associations. When developers and homeowners get together and form an association, they become a stronger and more connected community.
To best serve their associations, boards oftentimes hire an association manager. Somewhat like a property manager, an association manager handles a wide range of services: administrative, financial, insurance and physical management of the association.
Management
Associations have a lot of moving parts, I get it. That’s why association managers work alongside your board members to manage the properties in your association. There services range from performing regular site reviews to coordinating with trusted professionals to carry out maintenance requests.
Financial
Association managers take the timely preparation of finances off your plate. They provide the board and association with monthly financial statements, oversee invoices, collect association finances, and coordinate tax filing information, annual insurance renewals and more.
Administrative
association managers coordinate all the communications between your Board, contractors, business owners, and other service providers. Whether that means preparing agendas for your Board meetings, distributing new member packets, or communicating bylaws to members.
If you or anyone you know is considering purchasing in a condominium or planned unit development have them contact me about the financing, and let me recommend a great experienced Realtor to assist you.
Owen Riess
Leave a comment | tags: America, banking, Buyer, Cambria Mortgage, FHA, Financing, First Time Homebuyer, For Sale, God, Home, Home Ownership, Homeowner, House, Listing, Minnesota, Mortgage, Owen, Owen Riess, owenriess, real estate, Realtor, Riess, Veteran | posted in Existing Homeowners, Family & Friends, First Time Homeowner, Frist Time Homebuyers, Home Owners Associations, IRRRL, LowestVARates, Mortgage Professional, Realtors, Social Media, Social Media for Realtors, Social Medis for Mortgage Originators, VA Loans, Veterans
A humorous letter from a homeowner to a prospective contractor
One of the tasks we are charged with is to educate our prospective clients and existing clients. Prospective clients, especially, have a very singular view. They want to protect their interests. They don’t want to be ‘taken to the cleaners’. They want the best job they can get at the lowest price.
What about when the prospective client asks you for a low bid? How many times have you heard, as you leave the consultation visit, “Remember to really sharpen your pencil on this one. I want the lowest price possible.”? You of course, smile and tell him or her that is exactly what you intend to do.
Letter from a potential client to a prospective contractor
Here is a rather “tongue-in-cheek” humorous letter a price-conscious homeowner might write to a prospective contractor. This particular homeowner is pretty savvy about what is included in an estimate and how to cut corners.
The objective of this satirical correspondence is to point out the huge disadvantages a client might incur should they be so unwise as to blindly accept the lowest bid. There is a finite cost of doing business and building a project. This is as consistent as the laws of nature.
Anyone who believes that an object won’t fall to the ground when it’s dropped, might want to copy this letter and send it out to everyone who’s bidding their job.
One of my good friends, who is also an excellent remodeler, concludes all of his emails with this quote: ” When you know enough to take short cuts, you also know enough not to take them.” Anonymous
As a final note, a low bid is not necessarily a bad thing nor would I advise someone to automatically exclude a low bid. Yet, if there is a large spread in the estimates submitted, it would be wise to step back and ask some pointed questions.
So without further ado, let’s read what they wrote:
Dear Prospective Contractor,
As you can see, money is tight and we want to get the best bang for our buck. In order to achieve this we respectfully request that you follow these guidelines as you assemble your estimate:
- Please use the cheapest materials you can find. They can even be used or leftover from other jobs as long as they look good.
- We are not concerned with longevity of a product, so long as it will look good at least till the job is closed.
- Maintenance is something that we enjoy doing and paying for. Faucet leaks, siding falling off exterior walls, faulty appliances, doors falling off their hinges, and settling foundations we see as challenges, so you needn’t be concerned about avoiding these and similar issues.
- We don’t know a lot about how to remodel our home, so any time you can take a short-cut, feel free to do so. If we don’t see it and you’ve already covered up the mistake, don’t worry. Out of sight, out of mind.
- We prefer to start with a low price and make changes during the project with change orders. There is no need to spend excessive time on the estimate. We can deal with the omissions later.
- Another item you can skimp on is clean-up. There is no sense in cleaning the job every day. It will just be dirty again tomorrow. Dust in our closets and on our clothes, gritty mud on the hardwood are not a problem. You can clean it up at the end of the job. Much more efficient that way.
- We feel very comfortable with you building our project, so there’s no need to communicate during the project. We trust you will do the right thing. No need to put weekly meetings in your estimate. That should save a lot of money.
- If you can get away with not buying a permit, that would be fine by us. The last thing we need is a nosy inspector crawling around the job site trying to stir up trouble.
- Being the well educated consumer that we are, we know that insurance jacks up the cost of labor by 20 or 30%. If you don’t have insurance, or it lapses during our project, no problem. We won’t be asking you for a Certificate of Insurance. The money saved will be worth the risk. Besides that, our Homeowner’s Insurance will probably cover anything bad that happens on the job.
- Overall, we put this project totally in your hands. We save a lot of money and you save a lot of your valuable time. Our investment, if you can call it that, should look good for a least a few months. We’ll deal with any problems as they arise. We don’t expect you to rush out here and do warranty work, just because you said you would. That’s just something that will cause you to pad your estimate.
We look forward to your estimate of our job. If you’ve followed our suggestions, you should be the low bidder. Congratulations!!! This is something we’ve been planning for years, and look forward to actually seeing the real thing. Can’t wait to get started.
Sincerely,
John Penny-Wise and Mary Pound-Foolish
This article was written by Randall Soules, business coach, adviser, educator, and creator of the Scientific Remodeling System, showing you better ways to advance your business, raise your profits, and improve your life, through the use of superior processes. ( I don’t personally know Randall Soules, but I do like his sense of humor)
Owen Riess
Leave a comment | tags: $, banking, Buyer, Construction, Economy, FHA, Financing, First Time Homebuyer, For Sale, Homeowner, New construction, Remodel, Renovation, VA | posted in Existing Homeowners, Family & Friends, First Time Homeowner, Frist Time Homebuyers, Mortgage Professional, Realtors, Social Media, Social Media for Realtors, Social Medis for Mortgage Originators
By now you’ve heard that TRID is coming October 3rd and will critically impact the way the real estate and mortgage industries do business. All of these changes, of course, are meant to further protect the consumer. So, in order for everyone to ensure they don’t miss a step – here are some mortgage definitions that are absolutely crucial to real estate agents and lending originators.
Application: An application occurs when the lender is provided with 6 key pieces of information by the consumer. The change? The definition of “application” no longer encompasses “any other information deemed necessary by the loan originator.” To make it easy to remember, here is the acronym ALIENS:
A – Address of the property
L – Loan Amount Sought
I – Income
E – Estimated Value of the Property
N – Name (First & Last)
S – Social Security Number
Business Day: To fully understand the definition of a “Business Day” I’ll will break it into two parts:
1. General Business Day: This is a day in which the creditor’s offices are open for “substantially all” of its business functions. It generally applies to ensuring the timely delivery of documents. Some examples include how documents must sent out within three days of application, or within three days of a changed circumstance.
2. Specific (Precise) Business Day: This applies to all calendar days except Sundays and legal public holidays. It generally applies to ensuring the consumer has adequate time to review the disclosures received from the creditor and is not rushed into a decision.
Delivery of Disclosures: This is the day that the disclosures are delivered or placed in the mail, and it has nothing to do with when the consumer receives them.
Receipt of Disclosures: The day that the borrower actually receives the disclosures. If delivery was not in person and signed for, the delivery is considered to be 3 business days after the disclosures are sent unless the creditor receives a confirmation in writing that the consumer received them earlier (including an email confirmation if the creditor utilizes eSign.) This is also called the Mailbox Rule.
So, with these basic definitions under their belt, real estate agents and mortgage originators should have an easier time with the introduction and adaptation of the new TRID rules and regulations.
Owen Riess
NMLS # 543286
http://owenriess.marketplacehome.com/
Leave a comment | tags: banking, Buyer, conventional, FHA, Financing, First Time Homebuyer, For Sale, jumbo, Minnesota, Mortgage, New construction, Owen Riess, Seller, TRID, VA, Veteran | posted in Existing Homeowners, First Time Homeowner, Frist Time Homebuyers, IRRRL, LowestVARates, Mortgage Professional, Realtors, Social Media, Social Media for Realtors, Social Medis for Mortgage Originators, VA Loans, Veterans
Fellow Veteran,
Did you know that a disabled Veteran in Minnesota may be eligible for a property tax valuation exclusion?
That’s right Veterans who are totally and permanently disabled (100% T&P) are eligible for a valuation exemption of $300,000; veterans who are not totally and permanently disabled, but who have a disability rating of 70 percent or higher, are eligible for an exclusion of $150,000.
In layman’s terms if you are a Veteran with a 70% permanent disability rating and you own a house worth $150,000 you will owe $0.00 in annual property taxes.
Follow this link for full program details http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/ss/ssdvhve.pdf
If I can be of assistance with the benefits of a VA Home Loan I am here to help. If you know a Veteran trying to buy their first home, or you have mortgage insurance on your current mortgage, a VA Home Loan might be the right option to lower your monthly housing costs.
A VA Home Loan may provide 100% financing up to $417K, at very competitive rates, with no private mortgage insurance.
Even with ‘no money down’ (that’s 100% financing) the VA Home Loan program has the lowest default rate of any mortgage program anywhere.
If you only want help obtaining your Certificate of Eligibility to determine what VA Home Loan benefits you have I can help.
Please don’t hesitate to call or write or share this information with another Veteran that might benefit.
God speed and Semper FI
Owen Riess
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Owen Riess
Mortgage Loan Officer | USMC Veteran
952.278.3428 NMLS # 543286
www.owenriess.marketplacehome.com
Equal Housing Lender
Leave a comment | tags: $, America, banking, Brother, Buyer, Disabled Veteran, Fall, Financing, First Time Homebuyer, For Sale, Minnesota, Mortgage, Semper Fi, USMC, VA Home Loan Financing, Veteran | posted in Existing Homeowners, Family & Friends, First Time Homeowner, Frist Time Homebuyers, Mortgage Professional, Realtors, Social Media for Realtors, Social Medis for Mortgage Originators
There are many resources available to first time homebuyers but one stands out among the rest, The Minnesota Home Ownership Center.
The Minnesota Home Ownership Center offers resources and education to first time home buyers. They offer home buyer workshops they refer appropriately as the “home stretch”. Home Stretch workshops are offered throughout the state of Minnesota and cover, start-to-finish, the entire home buying process. The Home Stretch Workshop will help you become an informed, prepared consumer. The workshop offers objective, practical information to help you get on the path to homeownership. They will help you:
◦Determine your financial situation
◦Understand credit, credit issues, and how credit affects the costs of homeownership
◦Decide what type of mortgage is best for your needs
◦Select the right home for your family
◦Understand the loan closing process
◦Find special programs just for first-time homebuyers, and more!
The Minnesota Home Ownership Center has a staff of Housing Counselors that will work with you to:
◦Determine what you can afford
◦Develop a budget and savings plan
◦Address credit problems that could prevent you from getting a mortgage
◦Create a customized Action Plan with specific, manageable steps to help you achieve your goals
As part of the counseling process, and for a nominal fee, a Housing Counselor can provide you a copy of your credit report that includes your credit score.
Not sure what your next steps should be? Wondering if you might qualify for any down payment or first-time home buyer programs? Housing Counselors offer free private & confidential one-on-one professional advice to help you achieve your dream of homeownership.
As the mild winter winds down and we move into springtime the home buying market starts to see lots of action on the positive side of the home buying, building and selling process. From early March through April you are reminded by the Parade of Homes which features new homes in every neighborhood throughout the metro. You are continually notified that the mortgage rates are at historic lows and the opportunity to purchase at low prices is ever present. Your friends and family members are talking about looking at property and buying a home and you are starting to think about buying your first home?
I can’t stress enough the importance of being prepared. Of understanding what you are getting yourself into, and of making a good decision regarding your new home purchase. Buying a home is probably the largest purchase you’ll ever make. Empower yourself with information to make smart decisions and become a successful homeowner. Understand the home buying process and be prepared for the important choices related to home ownership.
So remember you are not alone in the home buying process. You have smart professionals available to arm you with all of the information you need to make good decisions. And, once you have the confidence and knowledge to move forward. I am here to help you bring your desire to own a home to fruition, so that you too can realize the dream of homeownership.
Owen Riess
Leave a comment | tags: America, Financing, Help, Home, Home Ownership, Homeowner, Owen, Owen Riess, real estate, Riess | posted in Frist Time Homebuyers, Mortgage Professional