Need some surefire ways to maximize your home sale’s price? There are a few easy ways to bring that sales price up without having to install an outdoor pool with a water slide, in-house movie theater, or add on a second floor. Athens Arquette with Arquette Properties, inc. talks about three relatively easy ways to maximize that home sales price.
We’ve learned some hard lessons when using the VA Loan Program, so that you don’t have to. Loan Specialists, Jim Owens, and Gabe Amey share 5 potential pitfalls that you want to avoid on a VA Loan. You want to avoid such assumptions as the condo you’re purchasing is VA approved, you can have a co-borrower other than your spouse/another qualified veteran, or you can only use your VA Loan benefits once. You also want to avoid properties with non-permitted additions, and opening additional lines of credit while in the loan process. Watch for more details on why you want to avoid these pitfalls.
Your appraised value on the home you’re purchasing comes in below the sales price -What do you do? Loan Specialist, Tee Iwaishi gives three solutions on how this situation can be resolved. The seller, or the buyer (you) can agree to cover the difference. You can also split the difference with the seller.
This week, Aaron Tangonan, with Fidelity National Title defines title insurance. Title insurance is basically a guarantee that you own your property free and clear of any claims by other entities. Any time you get a loan, the lender will require you to purchase title insurance. Title insurance can be the most expensive closing cost, but don’t worry! There are 3 ways to save on title insurance costs. Watch now to find out how to save.
Jim Owens, our in-house home loan guru explains the many factors that go in to determining your interest rate. Current interest rate market, the type of loan program you choose, down payment/credit score, and the paying of discount points determine your interest rate. Get in-depth with us on all four of these factors in this week’s 3 Minute Thursdays.
Sid Villaflor, with Hawaiian Island Solar explains what a Photovoltaic (PV) System is, and the benefits and savings it can provide. Some advantages are that it will eventually pay for itself, your electric bill can go as low as under $20 a month, and financing is available for up front costs. Get with the green crowd and start generating your own electricity using the sun!
A few months ago we announced there were going to be reductions to the VA Funding Fees for each VA loan scenario. Then, just before the changes were set to take effect, our friends in Washington (no, not the VA, we like them : ) enacted a law to revert the VA Funding Fee to the previous level.
Some lucky borrowers closed within the few day window in which the lowered fees had taken effect. Temporary legislation changed the fees back to the higher levels for about a month. Guess what? That legislation expired and fees went back down again for a few days…before reverting back up once again.
Unfortunately, the dust has now settled and fees are once again back to the levels that they have been for the last few years. We do not anticipate any new changes coming soon. Of course, the last announcements were a surprise as well. So, we’ll keep you posted, but for now, it’s business as usual.
Note: First Time Use (Active Duty – National Guard & Reserves add 0.25%)
Subsequent Use
Ryan Thornton, with Insurance Associates is back to tell us how to keep those homeowners policy costs low. Ryan offers three easy ways to save money by making small adjustments, such as combining auto and home insurance, separating hurricane insurance from fire insurance, and getting a monitored alarm system in your home. Contact your insurance companies to find if they can offer any of these three options to you.
With the new year comes new VA loan limits. Unfortunately, the loan limit for Honolulu has gone down considerably (it remains unchanged for the outer islands). We’ve seen this in the past, it seems like the limit is a pendulum swinging lower one year and higher the next. Here are the new numbers:
REMEMBER: The total loan amount, including the VA funding fee, must be below these limits. The VA funding fee is typically financed, which means that it is rolled into the loan amount. So, if you are an active duty, first time VA loan user shopping for a home while trying to stay under the $625,500 limit, you must have a purchase price of under $612,334 (when adding the 2.15% funding fee, the final loan amount is $625,499).
Ryan Thornton, with Insurance Associates educates us about the details of Homeowners Insurance. For single family homes, fire and hurricane coverage are required by your lender. Also, if you live in a designated flood zone, flood insurance is also required. Did you know that policies for a condominium in Hawaii differs from the rest of the United States? Take a look at this video to find out how.
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3 Minute Thursdays: 3 Tips to Maximaize your Home Sale’s Price