New Loan limits for all to know (San Diego, Riverside: real estate, foreclosures)

[Unkllars]

Hello City-Forum,
This is something everyone needs to know, especially in our county. FHA loan limits are up!!! $729,750 in OC and LA counties, to $500K in Riverside and San Bernardino and $697,500 in San Diego. This is tremendous news as FHA is a very solid program that will allow us to potentially refi homes but more importantly it will allow someone to purchase a home up, to $750,000 in OC; $510,000 in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties; $710,000 in San Diego County, and only put down 3%. All of this can be a gift too!!! Keep in mind though that this program is currently available only till the end of the year.

This is some serious news for homeowners waiting to refinance and also for those wanting to purchase but couldn't or didn't want a jumbo loan. This will bring a boost to the market and housing affordability. Ask a Realtor like kturbe, myself, or others if you have any questions, or contact your bank or loan officer. We wish you the best in this market and please share this with those you know.

[bhcompy]

The other major benefit is that the mortgage insurance is capped on these loans and is about half as much as mortgage insurance on a jumbo in my experience

[Axiom]

Fabulous news for some I'm sure.

Personally I think it's a sign that the government is finally realizing just how serious the real estate situation is and how threatening it is to the overall economy.

Forgive me if I don't celebrate the fact that Bernanke et al are trying to compensate for the fact that there are "few alternative mortgage channels available today" by asking Fannie and Freddie to step in and "take the steps necessary to allow more potential homebuyers access to mortgage credit at reasonable terms."

(quotes from Bernanke's speech in Texas yesterday)

Is that not in large part what got us in this mess in the first place?!

Fannie and Freddie are already in enough trouble. IMO allowing GSE's more leeway just means more of the future mess will end up squarely in the lap of taxpayers, not that it won't eventually anyway... just no question about it now.

I for one will not be jumping on the badwagon to buy overpriced RE even with this program.

But hey, like I said, I'm sure it's good news for some.


Edited to add:

Just did a little research. As far as I can tell these are the requirements:

90% LTV on fixed, 80% on ARMS, 75% for a re-fi.
Add another 5% in declining markets. (Last I checked OC was rated as declining)
Min 660 FICO, 700 if the LTV is greater than 80%.
.25 (fixed) or .75 (ARM) price premium over non-jumbo conforming
Full doc only.
Buyer must put at least 5% of their own funds as down payment.


Hmm... could narrow the pool of folks who qualify considerably. Yes?

[BigBoy]

great. More people who can't afford to buy will be lured in. I'm for stricter standards. See where the loose standards have gotten us into. Foreclosures!

[Unkllars]

Its not a looser standard. These loans need proof of income. Since they are federal, it is reflected in your taxes. There won't $200K/yr janitor salaries buying million dollar homes off of stated income unless the janitor paid a $200K salary's amount in taxes (I apologize to any janitors who don't like my analogy). It is still quite strict. It will allow the people that have the means of paying for their home to incur a lower fixed rate and a smaller down payment.

You're right!! We definitely don't need any more faulty and shady loans. FHA just caters to those who can make every payment without an adjustable rate, but don't have the lump sum for a down payment. First time buyers are in this boat