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There's plenty still to do.... ESPECIALLY with VA loans. But good luck to you! If you're diligent and have time to work it, you can probably get yourself through it. I don't know who is going to prepare your contract... in this area, it would be the buyer's agent, and I sure wouldn't want the seller to create the contract for you.
We don't always make 3%... btw.... it's negotiable.
The borrower must meet “standard” FHA mortgage guidelines
At least half of a project’s unit must be owner-occupied
In a newly-built project, at least 70% of the units must be sold
I assume I meet standard guidelines since I was pre-approved for the VA loan already.
And the owner-occupied rate is about 60%. So hopefully smooth sailing here.
That's where you went wrong. If you don't want to use an agent--which is perfectly fine--then don't get them involved in the first place! Your saving grace seems to be that you plan on getting a VA loan. At least that gives you a viable excuse to cover your thoughtless faux pas. Be very apologetic.
How do you now plan to get to closing? You need to have a plan.
I was fine to use an agent. I did not realize I could not pay one, due to it being a VA loan, until after she had contacted them. I do plan to be very apologetic as they have been great landlords. But the first thing I told the realtor was that I had a pre-approved VA loan for the amount I was looking to spend. Perhaps she was not familiar with VA loans and didn't know that I am unable to pay her.
As for getting to closing? My loan was preapproved through Navy Federal Credit Union, and I was going to use Navy Federal Titling Services (NFTS) for title fees. My loan officer advised me that since the sellers and I already agree on a price and I am preapproved, that Navy Federal Titling Service could draw up a sales contract.
My plan was to wait for NFTS to get back to me about what else they needed besides a closing date. Then I was going to reach out to the landlords and confirm a closing date that worked for them. I'd then ask NFTS to draw up the contract and include the part from under "Find a Home and Sign a Purchase Agreement" at this link: https://www.benefits.va.gov/HOMELOAN...uy_process.asp
Or, if NFTS only provides an extremely bare bones contract, I guess this is where city-data can help out? Haha. Wouldn't I be able to find a real estate attorney or something along those lines to flesh out the contract for a flat fee?
Then I'd provide it to the sellers. If they accepted, Navy Federal would line me up with an appraiser, I'd find myself an inspector, and I'd figure out closing costs to have that ready.
I think this is close to the plan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook
There's plenty still to do.... ESPECIALLY with VA loans. But good luck to you! If you're diligent and have time to work it, you can probably get yourself through it. I don't know who is going to prepare your contract... in this area, it would be the buyer's agent, and I sure wouldn't want the seller to create the contract for you.
We don't always make 3%... btw.... it's negotiable.
So, hopefully the above plan is fairly close to workable. I am not opposed to paying an appropriate fee to a real estate lawyer or the like to draw up the contract and make sure I am protected in case the appraisal is lower than the asking price, if there are inspection issues, etc...
I am definitely not trying to go cheap on getting this done. Just wanting to do it right. So 3b from the lending handbook and common sense seems to dictate I probably just need to find the right kind of attorney if NFTS cannot fulfill my needs in the contract they draw up.
Last edited by kiplingif; 04-11-2019 at 06:13 PM..
So, hopefully the above plan is fairly close to workable.
Most sellers will pay broker fees out of closing if you make it an essential part of the deal. If this one won't... then good luck. Without knowing how contracts should look in your state, we can't begin to advise you on what you might miss or what you might need in terms of help getting it done, without an experienced agent who represents you. I will say I don't have a great experience to report with using big nationwide banks. If your loan officer isn't in your town and doesn't answer his/her own phone when you call, I would be concerned. Much will depend on your lender and how responsive they are. Use a local lender. Many specialize or are well versed in VA loans. Do NOT use a lender where your contact is at some out of state call center with an automated answer system.
Location: Sarasota/ Bradenton - University Pkwy area
4,619 posts, read 7,541,245 times
Reputation: 6036
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiplingif
A friend at work mentioned that realtor's for the buyer are generally paid out of commission from the seller's side. He gave me his wife's name as she works in the business (but more commercial). She had someone from her office that knew my area contact me.
Mine seems in line with other sales, and should meet appraisal value for the VA loan no problem.
I know nothing about the condo being warrantable.
Condo projects and properties which don’t meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac warrantability guidelines are known as non-warrantable.
Non-warrantable condos are more challenging to finance, require higher down payments.
Typically, a condo is considered warrantable if:
No single entity owns more than 10% of the units in a project, including the developer
At least 51% of the units are owner-occupied
Fewer than 15% of the units are in arrears with their association dues
The homeowners association (HOA) is not named in any lawsuits
Commercial space accounts for 25 percent or less of the total building square footage
VA loans are government-backed mortgages. VA loans are loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA does maintain lists of approved communities, so you will want to speak with your loan officer about the condo community sooner rather than later to see if it qualified for VA financing.
Condo projects and properties which don’t meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac warrantability guidelines are known as non-warrantable.
Non-warrantable condos are more challenging to finance, require higher down payments.
Typically, a condo is considered warrantable if:
No single entity owns more than 10% of the units in a project, including the developer
At least 51% of the units are owner-occupied
Fewer than 15% of the units are in arrears with their association dues
The homeowners association (HOA) is not named in any lawsuits
Commercial space accounts for 25 percent or less of the total building square footage
VA loans are government-backed mortgages. VA loans are loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA does maintain lists of approved communities, so you will want to speak with your loan officer about the condo community sooner rather than later to see if it qualified for VA financing.
I was fine to use an agent. I did not realize I could not pay one, due to it being a VA loan, until after she had contacted them. I do plan to be very apologetic as they have been great landlords. But the first thing I told the realtor was that I had a pre-approved VA loan for the amount I was looking to spend. Perhaps she was not familiar with VA loans and didn't know that I am unable to pay her.
As for getting to closing? My loan was preapproved through Navy Federal Credit Union, and I was going to use Navy Federal Titling Services (NFTS) for title fees. My loan officer advised me that since the sellers and I already agree on a price and I am preapproved, that Navy Federal Titling Service could draw up a sales contract.
My plan was to wait for NFTS to get back to me about what else they needed besides a closing date. Then I was going to reach out to the landlords and confirm a closing date that worked for them. I'd then ask NFTS to draw up the contract and include the part from under "Find a Home and Sign a Purchase Agreement" at this link: https://www.benefits.va.gov/HOMELOAN...uy_process.asp
Or, if NFTS only provides an extremely bare bones contract, I guess this is where city-data can help out? Haha. Wouldn't I be able to find a real estate attorney or something along those lines to flesh out the contract for a flat fee?
Then I'd provide it to the sellers. If they accepted, Navy Federal would line me up with an appraiser, I'd find myself an inspector, and I'd figure out closing costs to have that ready.
I think this is close to the plan.
I meant that you should apologize to the agent for taking up their time.
That basically sounds like a workable plan. My usual cautionary note to first-time buyers is to be wary when dealing with a seller who is much more knowledgable about real estate. I've known of cases where such sellers have slipped customary seller's costs onto the buyer--or made the contract much more in their favor in other ways. As long as a first-time buyer is confident that a price is fair (and that can be a primary issue), the standard "buyer beware" caution should suffice.
If you're going to engage the services of a real estate attorney, you should do that early in the process.
A friend at work mentioned that realtor's for the buyer are generally paid out of commission from the seller's side. He gave me his wife's name as she works in the business (but more commercial). She had someone from her office that knew my area contact me.
Mine seems in line with other sales, and should meet appraisal value for the VA loan no problem.
I know nothing about the condo being warrantable.
The VA will only give loans to townhouses that are considered single family and sometimes a condo but it has to be preapproved by them and it has to have a certain percentage of owner occupied units. I went through this in 2017 when I wanted to buy the condo I was living in. Unfortunately all the condos on the VA approved list were over $200,000. If you haven't already, make sure the place you are living in and want to buy is approved. I don't know what the FHA rules are regarding condos.
Most sellers will pay broker fees out of closing if you make it an essential part of the deal. If this one won't... then good luck. Without knowing how contracts should look in your state, we can't begin to advise you on what you might miss or what you might need in terms of help getting it done, without an experienced agent who represents you. I will say I don't have a great experience to report with using big nationwide banks. If your loan officer isn't in your town and doesn't answer his/her own phone when you call, I would be concerned. Much will depend on your lender and how responsive they are. Use a local lender. Many specialize or are well versed in VA loans. Do NOT use a lender where your contact is at some out of state call center with an automated answer system.
NFCU isn't a "big nationwide bank" - Navy Federal Credit Union is a credit union with limited membership and the people who work on the mortgage side of things are good at what they do. They are real people that work out of an office in Pensacola, at least the ones handling mortgages in FL. I'm sure they handle plenty of VA loans.
OP - While a real estate attorney might be beneficial and you can certainly get one though you might not even need one depending on your comfort level with reading contracts (which it sounds like their titling service will handle). You might want to read the "Reasons to Hire an Attorney" section at https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclope...yer-29527.html. If there aren't any weird things about the place you are seeking to buy, the terms of purchase should be pretty straightforward.
Your plan sounds like a very feasible one. You are correct about RealtyPlus - it's just assigning you a real estate agent that has partnered with the program but their fees would still be payable from the seller side and it's understandable that the seller wouldn't want to pay this fee. If they were to list it with an agent they would probably be upping the cost of the unit by at least 6% to cover costs or 3% if they had to pay a buyer's agent. NFCU will select an appraiser to come out and do a valuation of the home and as long as the seller was pricing it fairly to begin with, you should be in pretty good shape and not run into issues of the home being overpriced due to them having to add that 3-6% buffer in to get what they want from the sale. Also, for resale definitely hire an inspection company you can trust and who will be very thorough. If you hire a real estate attorney, they might be able to point you in the right direction or find one with good reviews online using search criteria as mentioned here: https://www.consumerreports.org/real...ome-inspector/
Good luck with your purchase!
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