Colorado Springs Vintage Homes Blog
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Don’t plan on closing yet
Closings don’t always happen
Search for Colorado Springs Homes
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Just because you’ve signed the Colorado Real Estate contract and came to terms on the price, it doesn’t mean you own the house yet. I don’t 
know the exact percentage, but I’m guessing 10% to 15% of real estate contracts don’t make it to the final closing. There are many reasons for cancelled contracts, but here’s the 4 most common.
(1) Financing
Even though you got a prequal letter from your bank, things can still happen when your loan gets to underwriting. Maybe the requirements changed for the loan, your credit score may have changed, the underwriters may require additional documentation on expenses. These are just a few of the things that can cause a loan not to get approved. Loan guidelines change daily.
(2) Buyer’s Remorse
As a buyer, you may feel remorse after you submit the contract. You may start to feel you made a big mistake. You may think there are so many great homes on the market, is this one really the right one? Is there something better you haven’t seen yet? Is your dream house still around the corner? Do you think you can get a better price on a different house? Read the rest of this entry »
Financing matters!
If you are getting ready to sell a home, it’s important to know what kind of financing buyers use to purchase a home in Colorado Springs
Are you asking why I would say this? Essentially, financing matters.
If you would like information about selling your Colorado Springs Home, call Kathy Torline at 719-287-1049
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Different financing options effect home sellers in different ways
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Buyers who use FHA and VA financing have certain closing costs they cannot pay for, hence the seller ends up paying for these costs. Over 50% of Colorado Springs buyers are currently using VA or FHA loans.
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Both FHA and VA buyers typically take about 45 days to close.
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Conventional loans can typically close even faster than FHA and VA loans, maybe within 30 days.
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If a home needs substantial repairs, a great option is to market it to be financed with a FHA 203K loan.
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Both VA and FHA appraisals can come back with appraisal conditions that can be required home repair items to be fixed before the loan can be processed. As an example, FHA requires the home to meet minimum living conditions which could cost the seller money; including repainting areas on the exterior of the property where paint is flaking and peeling.
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Both VA and FHA loans limit how much a seller can contribute towards the buyer’s closing costs and down payment
Here’s a chart that shows the financing for homes sold in Colorado Springs for the first two months of 2011.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Are home sales in Colorado Springs really down?
Homes Sales in Colorado Springs continued to decline in September 2010
For a Free Colorado Springs Relocation Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
Related Article:
Here’s a quick run-down on the Colorado Springs Housing Market
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Sales in Colorado Springs are down 24% from September 2010 to September 2009
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VA Loan continue to be a popular choice for Colorado Springs Home Buyers
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15% of the sales in September 2010 were paid for by cash
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The numbers of homes purchased by Conventional Loans has continued decrease, reflecting the state of the current lending environment.
To find out more information about Colorado Springs, Call ……
Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Financing options for Colorado Springs Military — VA Loans are the best!
Are you a military member or a veteran?
Are you moving to Fort Carson? Schriever AFB? Peterson AFB? Air Force Academy?
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With your VA Guaranteed Home Loan benefit you can still obtain a loan with no down payment and a fixed interest rate that is as good as or better than a conventional mortgage rate. Let’s start with some of the basics about VA loans.
What is a VA Guaranteed Home Loan?
Some people have the misconception that the military is the organization loaning the money. Not true. Your VA Guaranteed Home
Loan will be made by a private lender, such as your bank or a mortgage company of your choosing that has VA lending approval.
The guaranty means the lender is protected if you fail to repay the loan. This is also why you will not have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). Normally, a lender would require a down payment and/or PMI to obtain a loan.
For even more facts about VA Guarantee Home Loans in Colorado Springs, go the web site for the United States Department of Veteran Services.
You still must meet loan requirements
If there are items in your credit history that are derogatory, you can be denied a loan even though you have your Certificate of Eligibility. The VA cannot demand a lender make a loan to you that would violate their lending practices.
Lenders also must comply with the VA rules and policies when it comes to income and credit standards. Just having the benefit is not enough, you must be credit worthy and have the correct debt to income ratios.
Is a VA Appraisal the same as an Inspection?
No, these are not the same thing. Read the rest of this entry »
Local lenders vs. a National lender
Choose your lender wisely
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If you are trying to buy a Colorado Springs home with FHA or VA financing, choosing a nationwide bank or lender can raise red flags
for the seller and the Listing Agent. In theory, the nationwide banks may seem to offer the best pricing and best closing costs; but not being local can cause problems.
- Even if you have a letter from the national lender saying you are pre-approved, the house still needs to appraise.
- I’ve heard from some of other Realtor friends that some of the national banks (who don’t have a local office) are using appraisers who are not local and who may not understand the prices and the market trends in Colorado Springs.
- Even if the appraisal does come in at or over the contact price, some of the larger lenders are requiring second, even third appraisals.
- Also, some of the larger nation-wide lenders don’t assign one key contact to your account. Hence, if you have a question, you may be transferred to a person in a call center, and sometimes the call center isn’t even in the U.S. No problem if your loan doesn’t incur any challenges, but if you run into any problems you want one consistent person to talk to to get answers from.
- If you use a local lender, you can walk in their office and talk to a live person. Sometimes that can make the difference in getting a loan.
If you decide to choose a lender that is a nationwide bank or lender, you won’t necessarily have a bad transaction. But there are advantages to staying local.
For a list of Colorado Springs Lenders and banks, contact Kathy at KTorline@msn.com
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
VA Vendee Financing helps sell VA Repos
VA Vendee Financing
Related Article: What is a VA Repo?
Search for Foreclosed Home in Colorado Springs
If you are interested in buying a VA Repo home in the Colorado Springs area, you’ll want to understand take advantage of VA Vendee Financing. Here’s some of the basic the facts:
- It’s a loan product offered to individuals and investors to help finance the purchase of VA Repos
- It’s offered to both veterans and non-veterans
- VA may contribute up to 6% of the purchase price for buyer’s closing costs
- Interest rates are determined by the VA
- For investors there is no maximum number of investment properties; down payment can be as little as 5% down
- For owner occupieds, amount can be financed with 0% down.
- Mortgage insurance is not required.
- It’s available to both owner occupied and investors
- Properties are always sold “as-is”
- There is no contingency for financing or for inspection
There are currently several Read the rest of this entry »
What is a VA Repo?
VA Repos in Colorado Springs
Related Article: What makes buying a foreclosure different?
Search for Foreclosed Home in Colorado Springs
There are many different types of foreclosed homes in Colorado Springs, as well as the rest of the US, that hit the market, including VA repos. These are the result of foreclosed homes that were financed with a VA loans. Currently these homes are marketed for sale through Bank America Homes Loans.
The properties are typically listed in the MLS, but they can also be viewed on www.reotrans.com and on www.homesales.gov and www.va.reotrans.com
Here’s some basic facts about VA repos.
- Buyers must use a Real Estate agent to submit their offer.
- VA provides addendums which outline their policies
- VA properties are always sold “as-is”
- VA does not include an inspection period in their offers. If a buyer is interested, they should do the inspection before they put in their offer. Read the rest of this entry »
How do I get a down payment for Homes in Colorado Springs?
Colorado Springs Vintage Homes is happy to feature a great article by
Harry Venik with Adams Mortgage, LLC in Colorado Springs
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Colorado Springs Home Buyer’s Down Payment FAQs
With today’s combination of lower home prices, some of the lowest interest rates the industry has ever offered, and 
the $8000 tax incentive for first-time buyers, buying a home in Colorado Springs has never been so attractive. The only real hurdle left for many Americans is coming up with a down payment. With this in mind, we’ve put together some of the most frequently asked questions we get about down payments in today’s market.
Q. Are there any no-down payment programs left?
Yes. While it’s true that most of the popular no-down payment programs disappeared in the wake of the subprime mortgage collapse, there are still two longstanding government-backed programs that offer mortgages with no down payment: the USDA Rural Development Program and the VA Loan Program.
A USDA Guaranteed Loan is a Read the rest of this entry »
What is allowable for VA Seller Concessions?
VA Loans – Part II
Must Read posts: 6 BIG advantages of VA loans
For a Free Colorado Springs Relocation Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
Must Read Article: 6 BIG advantages of VA loans
One of the biggest areas of confusion about VA loans is the Seller Concessions. In the recent class I was in where the instructors were from the Denver VA office, they did a great job of explaining what can and what can’t be used as 
part of Seller Concessions.
VA Mortgages have a limit of 4% of the Appraised Value that the seller can contribute to a buyer on a VA purchase without it being considered excessive. For VA purposes, a seller concession is defined as anything of value added to the transaction which the buyer pays no additional amount and which the seller is not customarily expected to pay. Some examples of concessions include seller payment of the following:
- Buyer’s VA funding fee
- Buyer’s prepaids (Taxes and Insurance) Read the rest of this entry »
6 BIG advantages of VA loans
VA Loans
For a free Buyers Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
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I went to a training class last week on VA loans and came across all types of valuable information I wanted to share with our Colorado Springs home buyers. (I’m a strong believer that a Realtor needs to constantly increase and update their knowledge about all things real estate, never can learn too much.)
Since Colorado Springs is surrounded by military bases (Fort Carson, Peterson AFA, Schriever AFA, and the U.S. Air Force Academy 
) ; as well as there are many military retirees in the areas, VA loans are very popular. The stats show that 30% of all loans in the area are VA Loans.
Advantages of VA loans
When a Colorado Springs home buyer is trying to decide what type of loan they are going to use, it’s important for them to understand some of the advantages of VA loans:
- No down-payment requirements.
- There are not many loans left that don’t require a down-payment
- No monthly MIP
- MIP is the abbreviated term for the Mortgage Insurance Premium that many FHA loans and Conventional loans add to your monthly mortgage payment
- Assumable Mortgage
- This could be really important in the future if interest rates start to rise; it could make it much easier to sell a property and have a new buyer assume the existing loan
Read the rest of this entry »
- This could be really important in the future if interest rates start to rise; it could make it much easier to sell a property and have a new buyer assume the existing loan
Pre-Qualification or Pre-Approval, which do you need to buy a home?
Pre-approval or Pre-qual?
For a free Buyers Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
Colorado Springs home buyers should be pre-approved (or at least pre-qualified) for a home loan BEFORE looking at homes for sale.
Not only is it good for you, as you know how much you can afford according to the lender; but, its good for the seller as the buyer can include the “pre-qual” or “pre-approval” letter in with the contract which shows the seller that the buyer is serious enough to obtain the first steps in the lending process.
A Pre-Qualification for a loan is the 1st step toward home buying. It means that a lender has looked briefly at your credit score and income and determined that you have the potential to be approved for a loan. Read the rest of this entry »
