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Campaign 82 currently deals with many states across the nation and though the price ranges and home types vary, the general concerns are always the same... Loan qualification. Recent statistics show that 6 of 10 applications for home loans are being denied. That's the majority! So when you ask for help with getting to the point of buying a home you are in good company.
Here are the generals:
Most loans are done by banks and mortgage brokerages and are backed by FNMA, FHA, VA, FHLMC, or USDA. The main difference in these is the down payment and credit score requirements. Any loan given by a bank or mortgage broker will require a minimum of 620 credit score. We will talk about alternatives to bank loans after these.
For no down payment (100% financing) VA and USDA are the options. VA is a veteran's loan and requires honorable military service. USDA is a loan for rural development and has income limits as well as location requirements.
FHA loans require 3.5% down payment. If you do not have the down payment saved you can try for down payment assistance programs which are common in the State, City, and County levels. FHA has a loan limit for each area - generally in the $300k range.
FHLMC and FNMA (Fannie Freddie) both require 5% down payment and generally 680 credit scores. No income or geography restrictions.
So for those that do not meet any of the above requirements there are alternatives as well. The most popular are direct loans (section 502) and not for profit entities such as NACA. Section 502 is also a USDA loan but this loan does not go through a bank or mortgage company. It comes direct from the government and also has the bonus of below market rates fixed for 33-38 years. This means the payment could be a couple hundred dollars less than a traditional loan for the same amount. There is no down payment required. It has income restrictions of 80% Area Median Income and the same geography requirements as the basic USDA guaranteed loans.
NACA is a not for profit entity that advocates home ownership through stringent education to buyers. They pride a less than 3% default rate in the process of about 60 days educational requirements to potential homeowners. It may be more tedious but it has not geography restrictions and a 95% approval rating.
For more detailed information please feel free to email us at info@campaign82.com and we will respond quickly with the best options in your area for your situation.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
4th of July Dessert Ideas
Ingredients
- 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
For the icing:
- 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
To assemble:
- 2 half-pints blueberries
- 3 half-pints raspberries
Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.
Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.
Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.
I serve this cake right in the pan. If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.
Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.
Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.
Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Better in numbers
Campaign 82 has started a few social media sites in the cities we work to help us deal with the volume of clients we are experiencing. I have to admit, this makes my job a lot of fun! At first it was kind of boring... one or two people a day per area would join and we disabled the live chat and new member areas so no one coud see how pathetically small our community was:) This morning I woke up to 46 new emails! That means that from the time I went to bed to the time I woke up we had 46 new members in our communities. Awesome!
This confirms what we already suspected. As a group we can make things better for ourselves and the industry. I think it is so inspiring to see people ready to start their journey of home ownership. It may take 2 weeks and it may take 6 months but I assure you if you are ready to own a home we will be here to help. I personally greet each person to the site and read your situations. I look forward to your success stories and each week several of our clients are moving into their new homes.
Please take a minute to realize what brought you to this page. Buying a home is not something that is easy and 6 out of 10 buyers have been denied a home loan in recent months. You are not alone but you are also not going to give up. There ARE people who care and are here to help you get there.
This confirms what we already suspected. As a group we can make things better for ourselves and the industry. I think it is so inspiring to see people ready to start their journey of home ownership. It may take 2 weeks and it may take 6 months but I assure you if you are ready to own a home we will be here to help. I personally greet each person to the site and read your situations. I look forward to your success stories and each week several of our clients are moving into their new homes.
Please take a minute to realize what brought you to this page. Buying a home is not something that is easy and 6 out of 10 buyers have been denied a home loan in recent months. You are not alone but you are also not going to give up. There ARE people who care and are here to help you get there.
Monday, June 14, 2010
What brings us here?
I have met many real estate agents and home sellers both online and off. There are so many support channels for real estate agents... How to market to clients, how to sell them a home, how to follow up with your database, etc. I think somewhere down the line agents and builders forgot why they were there in the first place. Home ownership is one of the most desirable goals for every single human being in the US. It is the American Dream and for a good reason. Campaign 82 is a real estate brokerage with a "Why we do what we do" as our entire core focus.
In this economy people need help!!!!!! Who are the agents and mortgage lenders and builders that are actually helping poeple get into homes. All I see out there is a "come back when you get approved" approach and its just not enough. In order to claim our title as Real Estate Agents we need to go that extra step and help the millions of people who want a home and are willing but need help being ABLE to buy. This is my reason for going to work every day. If you want to buy a home and need REAL help please let me know.
Amanda Dailey
amanda@campaign82.com
http://www.campaign82.org
In this economy people need help!!!!!! Who are the agents and mortgage lenders and builders that are actually helping poeple get into homes. All I see out there is a "come back when you get approved" approach and its just not enough. In order to claim our title as Real Estate Agents we need to go that extra step and help the millions of people who want a home and are willing but need help being ABLE to buy. This is my reason for going to work every day. If you want to buy a home and need REAL help please let me know.
Amanda Dailey
amanda@campaign82.com
http://www.campaign82.org
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Eleven months
I grew up in real estate. As a matter of fact just this year my parents retired from it at the age of 61 and now they are obsessed with moving to Florida... because real estate is so cheap! So when I was out of college I began a career in the mortgage business. By the age of 24 I was a branch manager of one of the largest mortgage companies in the U.S. This meant I not only originated loans but I also underwrote them. Back in the day the branch manager made the decisions. We did not have automated systems telling us who was and who was not approved for a loan. We had to analyze and make a sound decision based on certain criteria.
So one Sunday driving home from the gym I noticed an open house at the end of my street. It was a gorgeous bungalow priced at $60,000 and I had not one thought before that day of owning my own home. But there I was, ready to sign a contract.
The next day I applied with the employee loan division and started my process. By the end of the day I got the call... Denied! It seems I had two problems: 1) I did not have much credit 2) I had been issued two credit cards in college that I took straight to the travel agent and purchased a spring break trip for myself and a friend, and then NEVER paid the bill! Whoops.
So that day I started. I started being conscious of my credit because now I had a reason. It took me 6 months but I called the collectors and worked out an agreement on the credit cards. I also established two secured credit cards and paid every month on time. This became a fun challenge for me - the credit card companies noticed my timeliness and rewarded me with higher credit lines. 11 months later I was driving to Home Depot and saw an open house sign in a very small historic neighborhood just off downtown. From the outside I already could tell this was a house I probably could not afford but out of curiosity I walked in. This home was amazing! It was for sale by owner and she had decided to retire to AZ. She was a master gardener and the house was as beautiful outside as it was inside. The house was of course out of my price range...BUT! There was a guest house in the back that brought in $600/mo rent. I could barely sleep that night and in the morning called again to the employee loan division. That afternoon when I got the call it actually brought tears to my eyes. Approved!
When I look back now 11 months does not seem very long. I had spent more than four years before that blatantly disregarding my credit and in 11 months was able to accomplish one of my biggest lifetime achievements. That was one of the proudest moments of my life and I still drive by that house today. This is the reason I do what I do, you see, helping each other achieve our dreams is what its all about!
So one Sunday driving home from the gym I noticed an open house at the end of my street. It was a gorgeous bungalow priced at $60,000 and I had not one thought before that day of owning my own home. But there I was, ready to sign a contract.
The next day I applied with the employee loan division and started my process. By the end of the day I got the call... Denied! It seems I had two problems: 1) I did not have much credit 2) I had been issued two credit cards in college that I took straight to the travel agent and purchased a spring break trip for myself and a friend, and then NEVER paid the bill! Whoops.
So that day I started. I started being conscious of my credit because now I had a reason. It took me 6 months but I called the collectors and worked out an agreement on the credit cards. I also established two secured credit cards and paid every month on time. This became a fun challenge for me - the credit card companies noticed my timeliness and rewarded me with higher credit lines. 11 months later I was driving to Home Depot and saw an open house sign in a very small historic neighborhood just off downtown. From the outside I already could tell this was a house I probably could not afford but out of curiosity I walked in. This home was amazing! It was for sale by owner and she had decided to retire to AZ. She was a master gardener and the house was as beautiful outside as it was inside. The house was of course out of my price range...BUT! There was a guest house in the back that brought in $600/mo rent. I could barely sleep that night and in the morning called again to the employee loan division. That afternoon when I got the call it actually brought tears to my eyes. Approved!
When I look back now 11 months does not seem very long. I had spent more than four years before that blatantly disregarding my credit and in 11 months was able to accomplish one of my biggest lifetime achievements. That was one of the proudest moments of my life and I still drive by that house today. This is the reason I do what I do, you see, helping each other achieve our dreams is what its all about!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Why is Home Ownership the American Dream?
I have read many opinions over the last few years about how certain people should not be allowed to buy a home. I often wonder if these people really take a moment to consider what they are saying. Home ownership has been the subject of multiple studies over the years and specifically shows that it leads to a better community, a stronger community, better families, broader sense of economic responsibility, etc. Raising children in a home you purchased could be the most important and responsible decision a person will ever make. So why do some not think this should be an opportunity we make possible for everyone who wants it?
I think the mortgage crisis helps cause a lot of fear in the industry. But keep in mind the subprime loans were all in all BAD loans! They had interest rates that would eventually rise as high as 13%. Most of these loans had payments that were more than 50% of the borrowers gross monthly income when the max is suppose to be 29%. Do you know that over 70% of all mortgages still in existance today are in excess of 40% of the borrowers gross income - we are house poor! I will put this into real numbers for you:
Say your salary is $4,000/mo
Max amount of housing payment should be 29% of this income or $1160/mo
Average Net take home on $4000/mo is 70% or $2800/mo
This would leave $1640/mo for all other expenses including utilities, car payment, food, clothing, etc
During the housing boom mortgage companies were giving loans that started at a lower payment and then adjusted yearly. So the payment may have started at $1160/mo but then over the next two years could end up at 50% of your gross monthly income. Let's go back to that scenario:
Salary $4000/mo
50% Housing payment = $2000/mo
Take home = $2800/mo
This leaves a whopping $800/mo for EVERYTHING else!
I can see why these people were forced to walk away from their homes - I would gladly leave that payment behind if it meant I could not eat or provide transportation. When this became the norm housing prices began to fall and even more people walked away because the house they were trying to salvage was now worth less than the amount owed.
So let's talk about the loans we provide and encourage. NONE of the programs we place allow more than 40% housing payment and most do not allow more than 30%. This is a strong point because it is likely that a person could not find even a comparable rental for less than 30% of their gross income. Our programs also allow the loan to be modified to the buyer's needs. For example if the house I want is $140,000 that would equate to a payment of $1150 on a standard 30 year fixed loan in most areas. But if my gross income is $3000/mo and I only qualify for a $900 payment Section 502 will actually modify my loan to make the payment lower. They do this by lengthening the term from say 30 years to 33 years. They also start reducing the rate (always fixed) to sometimes as low as 2%. This will make that same $140,000 loan have a $900 payment vs a $1150 and I get the home I want and need for the price I can AFFORD.
All of this of course leads to the benefits of the community as a whole that we spoke of above. When people are allowed to own their own piece of the community they immediately start becoming more involved, more responsible, and more successful. This is the core of the American Dream.
I think the mortgage crisis helps cause a lot of fear in the industry. But keep in mind the subprime loans were all in all BAD loans! They had interest rates that would eventually rise as high as 13%. Most of these loans had payments that were more than 50% of the borrowers gross monthly income when the max is suppose to be 29%. Do you know that over 70% of all mortgages still in existance today are in excess of 40% of the borrowers gross income - we are house poor! I will put this into real numbers for you:
Say your salary is $4,000/mo
Max amount of housing payment should be 29% of this income or $1160/mo
Average Net take home on $4000/mo is 70% or $2800/mo
This would leave $1640/mo for all other expenses including utilities, car payment, food, clothing, etc
During the housing boom mortgage companies were giving loans that started at a lower payment and then adjusted yearly. So the payment may have started at $1160/mo but then over the next two years could end up at 50% of your gross monthly income. Let's go back to that scenario:
Salary $4000/mo
50% Housing payment = $2000/mo
Take home = $2800/mo
This leaves a whopping $800/mo for EVERYTHING else!
I can see why these people were forced to walk away from their homes - I would gladly leave that payment behind if it meant I could not eat or provide transportation. When this became the norm housing prices began to fall and even more people walked away because the house they were trying to salvage was now worth less than the amount owed.
So let's talk about the loans we provide and encourage. NONE of the programs we place allow more than 40% housing payment and most do not allow more than 30%. This is a strong point because it is likely that a person could not find even a comparable rental for less than 30% of their gross income. Our programs also allow the loan to be modified to the buyer's needs. For example if the house I want is $140,000 that would equate to a payment of $1150 on a standard 30 year fixed loan in most areas. But if my gross income is $3000/mo and I only qualify for a $900 payment Section 502 will actually modify my loan to make the payment lower. They do this by lengthening the term from say 30 years to 33 years. They also start reducing the rate (always fixed) to sometimes as low as 2%. This will make that same $140,000 loan have a $900 payment vs a $1150 and I get the home I want and need for the price I can AFFORD.
All of this of course leads to the benefits of the community as a whole that we spoke of above. When people are allowed to own their own piece of the community they immediately start becoming more involved, more responsible, and more successful. This is the core of the American Dream.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Innovative real estate?
I have been thinking a lot lately about joining forces with a few brokers in other states and sharing my knowledge of alternative lending resources with them and their clients. I was not sure how to approach this so I Googled innovative real estate brokerage and was taken to a craigslist ad advertising a brokerage to agents. This brokerage talked about it's amazing level of innovation and how they adapted to this economy and how they are now booming in business. So I reached out and gave them a call.
In speaking with their founder and CEO I was given a good lesson on his history. He had come from a technology background and was consulting large real estate firms on Internet marketing when he started as an agent in 2006. His numbers were quite impressive with nearly 14 million in sales that year and almost 60 million the next. He was a top agent and in late 2007 started his own brokerage. Then the story changed. "The economy did this and the economy did that" was pretty much the gist of the remainder of his history. From there he decided to close all the offices and go virtual. He created a software system to make his office virtual, complete with avatars and 3D movement, astounding! But how in the heck does that change anything??? Does your system change the economy because that seemed to be your problem in the first place according to your story.
I think there is a general consensus that most of us were at the top of our game in 2006-2007. What people fail to realize is that it is not the economy that hurts us, it is the economy that exposed our weaknesses. Maybe that weakness was depending on it always being a seller's market. Maybe the weakness was depending on the availability of credit to buyers. In either case there have been weaknesses and a little preparation and diversification will be the most innovative step anyone could take right now.
So here is my suggestion to those that want to become the most innovative agent/broker of your time. Do something that fixes a problem. Most successful entrepreneurs will tell that problems create opportunities. For instance, why don't you create a private social network for clients that want to invest in REO. You could advertise this member only network on free sites or within your blog and have a self run captive audience of buyers and sellers just waiting for you to tell them what to do. I personally created such a site 2 weeks ago and advertised it on craigslist. As of this morning I have 44 members and potential clients. I have never met any of them and better yet I paid less than $100 to build the site which took me 3 hours. Here's another one... Pay a consultant a portion of your commission to find alternative forms of financing for your buyers that cannot get approved. What most agents do not realize is that there are alternatives to banks and mortgage brokers. The reason you do not know about those alternatives is because banks and brokers are the only ones marketing themselves. Government direct loans and not for profit entities usually do not have a sales department attending breakfasts with real estate agents. You have to seek them!
In the end technology has most likely contributed to the most innovative changes to date in the real estate industry but if you are looking to be innovative start thinking like a real business and do something that brings prosperity by solving the money problem first.
In speaking with their founder and CEO I was given a good lesson on his history. He had come from a technology background and was consulting large real estate firms on Internet marketing when he started as an agent in 2006. His numbers were quite impressive with nearly 14 million in sales that year and almost 60 million the next. He was a top agent and in late 2007 started his own brokerage. Then the story changed. "The economy did this and the economy did that" was pretty much the gist of the remainder of his history. From there he decided to close all the offices and go virtual. He created a software system to make his office virtual, complete with avatars and 3D movement, astounding! But how in the heck does that change anything??? Does your system change the economy because that seemed to be your problem in the first place according to your story.
I think there is a general consensus that most of us were at the top of our game in 2006-2007. What people fail to realize is that it is not the economy that hurts us, it is the economy that exposed our weaknesses. Maybe that weakness was depending on it always being a seller's market. Maybe the weakness was depending on the availability of credit to buyers. In either case there have been weaknesses and a little preparation and diversification will be the most innovative step anyone could take right now.
So here is my suggestion to those that want to become the most innovative agent/broker of your time. Do something that fixes a problem. Most successful entrepreneurs will tell that problems create opportunities. For instance, why don't you create a private social network for clients that want to invest in REO. You could advertise this member only network on free sites or within your blog and have a self run captive audience of buyers and sellers just waiting for you to tell them what to do. I personally created such a site 2 weeks ago and advertised it on craigslist. As of this morning I have 44 members and potential clients. I have never met any of them and better yet I paid less than $100 to build the site which took me 3 hours. Here's another one... Pay a consultant a portion of your commission to find alternative forms of financing for your buyers that cannot get approved. What most agents do not realize is that there are alternatives to banks and mortgage brokers. The reason you do not know about those alternatives is because banks and brokers are the only ones marketing themselves. Government direct loans and not for profit entities usually do not have a sales department attending breakfasts with real estate agents. You have to seek them!
In the end technology has most likely contributed to the most innovative changes to date in the real estate industry but if you are looking to be innovative start thinking like a real business and do something that brings prosperity by solving the money problem first.
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