Random | Hawaii VA Loans

By Gabe Amey 18th November 2011 0 Comments

The Hawaii VA Loans Military Throwdown!

On October 2nd 2011, just as the first official Hawaii CrossFit Affiliate Challenge was wrapping up, after an amazing show of camaraderie and athleticism, the next bomb in the Hawaii CrossFit event schedule was dropped.

It was announced that on November 19th, a second throw down would be held. This time the stakes are higher, the bragging rights louder, and the competition fiercer then ever before. The second event in the Hawaii VA loans schedule of sponsored CrossFit competitions is going to be a battle between the branches of some of the most loyal and enthused members of the community… Our military. And let the smack talking begin.

The Hawaii VA Loans Military Throwdown will showcase the fittest athletes, male and female, from the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Army. Not only determining the fittest branch, but the fittest members within each branch. This competition will also test their ability to strategize and function as a unit, in this two-man team competition.

This Saturday, hosted by CrossFit Oahu, 39 teams will put forth a display of team-work and elite fitness. Prepare to watch 8 Navy, 5 Marines, 1 Coast Guard, 5 Air Force, and 20 teams from the Army strive to prove their ranking as in the Hawaii CrossFit Military scene. 3 WODS will go down, teams will be eliminated, with only the top teams making it to the next round.

Have a hard time just watching the festivities? Join in and showboat your rowing skills, in the spectator rowing competition. Food trucks, shave ice, and some of our favorite WOD friendly vendors will also be on site. Event starts at 9am, please join us for this celebration of physical excellence in the military today.

For further information on location, parking, and the inside scoops on the teams check out :

http://throwdown.hawaiivaloans.com/

By Jim Owens 9th August 2011 0 Comments

What Does S&P’s Downgrade Mean for Mortgage Rates?

Last Friday evening, after the markets closed, S&P (one of the big three bond rating agencies) downgraded the rating of the US Treasury’s debt from AAA to AA+. This is the first time ever that S&P has downgraded us below AAA. Ouch!

So what does this mean?

That first panicked thought may lead someone to think that the world’s investors would sell off US debt and buy anything else. So, we were left biting our nails over the weekend waiting for this morning’s Armageddon. Guess what? It didn’t happen…at least not for the bond market. Why not?

No Surprise

It wasn’t a huge surprise to major bond investors that this move happened. The timing may have been sooner than expected, but S&P had been quite vocal about this for a while now. They didn’t provide any new information and their concerns are, frankly, the same concerns everyone has known about for a while (so the market has already priced them accordingly).

Underlying Causes

There are recent concerns that the US and Europe may both be stagnating and not recovering like everyone had hoped. This causes investors to sell stocks and buy something safer, like bonds, which is what happened last week. Today’s sell off is mostly panic and a continuation of the “sky is falling” reactions of last week. So, the result of a bond downgrade ended up in stocks selling off and bonds profiting, go figure.

Nowhere to Go

US Treasury debt is considered the safest investment in the world. All debt is essentially judged against it. The drop in rating didn’t change that perception overnight, but more importantly, it didn’t make any other government’s debt any stronger. Last week’s stock sell off was primarily due to perceived economic weakness and a debt problem in Europe. Thus, investors looked for safety and bought US bonds. That caused US Treasury and mortgage rates to lower (rates go down when buying & prices go up). Well, since the problem was debt concerns in Europe, investors certainly aren’t going to sell their US bonds to buy European ones. Some bought gold (I’ll hold off on any comments about that bubble). All in all, US debt is still considered the safest investment in the world. So for now, after Friday’s move, the US bond market will act in the same manner that it has all along.

Long Term Implications

It’s not much of a secret that the US needs to right its financial ship. The political showboating and bickering by our politicians surely doesn’t help make this happen, nor does it make any investor confident that we have a stable, implementable plan. The bottom line is that we need to increase tax revenue and decrease spending or else the other two major players and investors of the world will downgrade us too. I’ll leave it to Washington to figure out how to make that happen…or maybe that’s a mistake.

By Jim Owens 21st July 2011 0 Comments

Can I Finance the Purchase of a Home with Non-Permitted Improvements?

Zoning rules and building laws can be pretty tricky. While most properties fall within legal bounds, there are a substantial number of properties that fall outside the bounds of the current restrictions.

Non-permitted Improvements

Non-permitted improvements refers to any construction done on the subject dwelling that requires a permit, but none was obtained. There are usually two types; interior changes that don’t affect the overall “footprint” of the property, or additions that do.

FHA & Conventional (Conforming) Loan Programs

Allowed: if the improvements change the gross living area (GLA) then they can’t be valued. If the improvements are within the existing footprint & GLA they shouldn’t be noted on the appraisal and are therefore invisible.

VA Loan Program

Not Allowed: all improvements must be permitted.

Legal Non-Conforming

Some homes may have been built according to the building codes or zoning that existed at the time of construction, but no longer meet the current rules. They get grandfathered in and are legal, but not conforming to current regulations. This usually means that there will be some restriction in the event that the home needs to be rebuilt. Whether a bank will lend on the property depends upon the restrictions imposed.

Treatment by Loan Programs

FHA, VA and Conforming rules all allow for homes that fall into the ‘legal non-conforming’ category; however, the dwelling must be able to be rebuilt to the same specifications. If the rebuilt home must be different (i.e. – no ohana unit or reduced square footage), the disallowed structure or living area can’t be valued.

By Jim Owens 18th July 2011 0 Comments

Looks Like a Single-Family Dwelling, but is it a Single-Family Dwelling?

We all know that Hawaii is full of unique properties. Site condos and ohana units are two of the property types that cause a lot of confusion. The following paragraphs explain what these two types of properties are and how they are treated for FHA, VA and conventional loans.

Site Condos

Site condos often cause confusion because they look and feel just like a single family home, but it is really a part of a condominium complex. It is usually one of several detached homes on a single lot. The easiest way to determine whether a home is a site condo is to look at its “TMK” or Tax Map Key number. If the last four digits are anything but ‘0000’ it’s a condo. The homes typically share ownership of certain common areas, but the structure belongs to the homeowner. It may be insured as an individual unit or as part of a master policy. For many lenders, all the units within the condo must actually be detached from each other one. If any unit is attached, any home in the complex may be considered attached. Exceptions may be made, but rates may be higher.

Loan Types and Treatment of Site Condos

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac & FHA treat site condos the same as single family residences.

For the VA loan program, all condos must be approved by the VA, site condo or not. See our post related to VA condo approval procedures. They will be the same for site condos as any other VA non-approved condo.

Ohana Units

An “ʻohana unit” also known as an “accessory” or “mother-in-law” unit is a part of a house or a separate structure on the same lot that may contain a relative but which may not legally be rented to the general public. The ohana unit may not have a complete kitchen and is not a legal 2 unit property.

Loan Types and Treatment of Ohana Units

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA all allow ohana units, but rental income can not be used for qualifying. If the unit is legal non-conforming and can not be rebuilt, the area may not be valued. For VA loans, the property must be permitted completely.

We hope that helps clear up some of the confusion that may exist about these properties.

By Gabe Amey 1st March 2011 0 Comments

Hawaii VA Loans Veterans’ Club on Facebook

So you want to win some great prizes right? We’ll, we want to give them to you! To tell you the truth, we’re tired of paying newspapers and magazines a whole bunch of money in order to leverage their user base to get the word out about Hawaii VA Loans and the benefits of the VA Loans. Instead of giving them all this money, we figured, why don’t we give our loyal fans a whole bunch of great prizes every month instead?

Introducing: The Hawaii VA Loans Veterans’ Club

The Hawaii VA Loans (HVL) Veterans’ Club is a group of Hawaii based residents who either currently serve or have served one of our nation’s Armed Forces. Through the Veterans’ Club, each member can earn points which are redeemable for some great prizes.

We just have 4 main requirements:

You have a Facebook account and become a fan of our Facebook Page.
You sign up for the Veterans’ Club FB app (so you can keep track of your points, see the “Leaderboard”, earn badges & invite your friends).
Are a resident of Hawaii or will be moving to Hawaii in the next 6 months.
You’re either serving or have served (or spouse) in one of our Armed Forces (including Reserves / National Guard).

As long as you meet those 4 requirements – you can start winning prizes as a member of the HVL Veterans’ Club.

Questions you may have:

Is there a cost to join?

Absolutely not.

What kind of prizes can I win?

Every week we’ll have trivia questions on our fan page. The first person to correctly answer the question will win a gift certificate for a local business (usually one of Hawaii’s top restaurants).

In addition, every member has an opportunity to win two big prizes: A random drawing Grand Prize (first one is an iPad which will be given away on April 1st) as well as a prize to the Total Points winner (a $75 Amazon gift card) for the member who earned the most points for that month.

How does the Grand Prize random drawing work?

The more points you earn that month, the more ballots you get for the Grand Prize drawing. If you earn 10 points that month and there are only 100 points outstanding for the entire Veteran’s Club, you now have a 10% chance of getting your name drawn and winning the Grand Prize.

If I sign up for the Veterans’ Club app, what type of information do I have to give?

We only can only see the same information that anyone else (who is not a friend of yours on Facebook) can see. If you win one of our weekly prizes (usually a gift certificate of some sort), we will have to request an email address so we can send you the gift certificate.

Sign Up Now

When you first register to become a member, you automatically earn 1 Point towards your VC account for that month. Well, we decided give a big incentive to our loyal fans who sign up first.

The first 50 people who sign up and register for the Veterans’ Club, will earn extra points to increase their chances of winning the iPad and the $75 Amazon gift card. The first 25 people will earn 10 points, and the next 25 people will earn 5 points once they join.

Hope to see you as a member of the Hawaii VA Loans Veterans’ Club!

By Jim Owens 10th June 2010 0 Comments

How Greece is a Factor in my Homebuying Decision

What Happened?

Greece is in financial trouble and that is affecting economies the world over. The problem is that Greece’s National Debt simply grew too large. Due to government’s spending, the debt expanded 15% annually, but the economy itself was shrinking about 5% each year. As a result, the total government debt grew to 115% of the GDP and it is expected to grow to 150% by 2013. What that means is that the government owes more money than the whole country produces in a year. Believe it or not, the 115% number isn’t that much higher than many other industrialized countries. However, Greece has deep systemic problems. It was forced to cut back it’s spending and because it is a consumer based economy that produces almost no exports, there is little for the economy to do but shrink and make it’s debt burden greater.

Why Now?

(more…)

By James Duggins 27th April 2010 0 Comments

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended (For Some)!

The end of an era is fast approaching. Real Estate professionals and potential homebuyers across the country are scurrying to submit purchase contracts before the swiftly looming April 30^th deadline of the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. This tax credit has been wildly successful; the IRS states that over 1.4 million first time homebuyers took advantage of this program as of September 2009. While those numbers are a bit dated, it does show how successful this piece of legislation was.

So, what does this mean for a good majority of us? Well, it’s just back to business-as-usual. Rates are low, housing prices have settled, and the economy is starting to turn around – even without the credit, it’s still a great time to buy.

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By Jim Owens 20th April 2010 0 Comments

Is Buying a Short Sale Right For You?

In our last post we defined what a short sale is and what it isn’t. Here we will go through the process in more detail. I’d like to thank Attilio Leonardi of Team Lally & RE/MAX Kapolei for his insights into the process. He and his team have sold over 80 short sale properties and gladly shared their knowledge.

Of course, nothing is too good to be true, so let’s take a quick look at the potential challenges one could face when attempting to purchase a short sale property.

Potential Challenges

Short sales can be challenging for a number of reasons: (more…)

By Jim Owens 25th March 2010 0 Comments

What is a Short Sale?

We’ve all heard the sad news that foreclosures are increasing here in the Aloha State. Of course that also correlates to a lot of short sales as well. The reality is that this does present a buying opportunity for people who dreamt of owning a home over the past few years but couldn’t afford it. Not only are values lower than they have been in years, but the large number of foreclosures and short sales have banks ready to sell the properties at less than market value. Is this too good to be true? Let’s take a closer look.

What a Short Sale is…

First of all, what is a Short Sale? Is it different than a foreclosure? Or different than a ‘bank sale’, bank owned property or ‘REO’? They are all related, but there are critical differences between each. A short sale is an event where the owner of a property wants to sell his/her house, but owes more on the house than it is currently worth. So, in order to sell the property, the owner must obtain permission from the bank that services the loan on the property (because the sale amount isn’t enough to pay off the loan). (more…)

By Gabe Amey 16th March 2010 0 Comments

2010 VA Homebuyers’ Guide – Now Available!

We’re excited to announce our new 2010 edition of our VA Homebuyers’ Guide. This updated guide is an expanded version of our original guide that includes information regarding the new VA loan loan limits for all four Hawaii Counties for 2010. In addition, we’ve included a list of the “Top 5 Mistakes a Veteran Should Avoid When Doing a VA Loan”. This write-up is a compiliation of our experiences closing VA Loan transactions in the past & critical information to help Veterans avoid some possible pitfalls when doing a VA Loan.

Here’s the table of contents:

Introduction
Understanding VA Loans
Benefits of Homeownership
VA Loan Benefits
Entitlement
Eligibility
Certificate of Eligibility
Occupancy Requirements
The Funding Fee
Condo Eligibility
5 Mistakes a Veteran Should Avoid
The Home Buying Process
Conclusion
About the Authors

We’re a little bias, but we think that this guide is a must read for anyone interested in utilizing their VA loan benefits to purchase a home in the future. Feel free to download your free copy here.

Hawaii VA Loans

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