Spokane, Washington VA Home Loans - Since 2005 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Veteran Owned And Operated)

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

Creekside Mortgage Inc.

360-571-LOAN 5626

FHA to roll out new premium structure as of April 1st

March 10th, 2012

We receive regular updates about the changes happening in the market. These updates allow us to keep you as a consumer informed of changes which could affect you. As of April 1^st, the FHA is planning on making some changes which will have an impact on all future purchases and refinances through the FHA programs. Please see the updated information below about these changes.

“As part of ongoing efforts to encourage the return of private capital in the residential mortgage market and strengthen the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante today announced a new premium structure for FHA-insured single family mortgage loans. FHA will increase its annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by 0.10 percent for loans under $625,500 and by 0.35 percent for loans above that amount. Upfront premiums (UFMIP) will also increase by 0.75 percent. These premium changes will impact new loans insured by FHA beginning in April l and June of 2012. Details will soon be published in a Mortgagee Letter to FHA-approved lenders.

The UFMIP will be increased from 1 percent to 1.75 percent of the base loan amount. This increase applies regardless of the amortization term or LTV ratio. FHA will continue to permit financing of this charge into the mortgage. This change is effective for case numbers assigned on or after April 1, 2012.

FHA estimates that the increase to the upfront premium will cost new borrowers an average of approximately $5 more per month. These marginal increases are affordable for nearly all homebuyers who would qualify for a new mortgage loan. Borrowers already in an FHA-insured mortgage, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), and special loan programs outlined in FHA’s forthcoming Mortgagee Letter will not be impacted by the pricing changes announced today.

Taken together, these premium changes will enable FHA to increase revenues at a time that is critical to the ongoing stability of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund, contributing more than $1 billion to the Fund, based on current volume projections through Fiscal Year 2013.”

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360-571-LOAN 5626

VOW To Hire Hero’s Act

December 19th, 2011

Congress has passed, and the president has signed into law the VOW To Hire Hero’s Act of 2011. Included in the law is the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) for unemployed veterans. This new program is set to roll out on July 1^st, 2012 and will provide retraining for the veterans hardest hit with the current economic conditions.

The VRAP is offering 12 months of training assistance to unemployed veterans and limited to 45,000 participants during fiscal year 2012 and to 54,000 participants from October 1, 2012 through March 31, 2014. Participants may receive up to 12 months of assistance at the full time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill – active duty program.

Participants must be enrolled in a VA approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school. To see the rules, regulations and guidelines for this Act please go to the US Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Labor.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360-571-LOAN 5626

The Greenwald Team email

October 1st, 2011

One benefit of adding an email for the team is that everyone in the team gets the message and it will help the overall flow of communication in the office. The new email name is: TheGreenwaldTeam@Creeksidem.com which will enable distribution to everyone. Employees associated with title companies, real estate agents, and borrowers can use this email, and this way everyone will get the message and it will be dispersed properly. Ultimately it would prevent tasks from being delayed so the response will happen instantaneously.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360-571-LOAN 5626

Homeless veterans to get additional housing

August 11th, 2011

Space on Vancouver’s Veterans Affairs campus has been picked as a location to build housing for homeless veterans. The 1.35 acre parking lot will be used to expand housing for veterans in need. The project, providing it follow the timeline of previous projects, should break ground in the next 12-18 months pending an executed lease and financing for the development and it could include permanent or transitional housing for up to 24 months. The veterans may also have the option of a rehabilitative program or be able to support veterans with families.

Spokane is the only other VA site that has been slated for the Building Utilization Review and Repurposing Initiative in the state of Washington. The VA and Department of Housing and Urban Development estimate that there are almost 2,000 homeless veterans just the state of Washington.

Michael Frakes

NMLS#71539

www.valoanspecialist.com

Creekside Mortgage

360-571-5626

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VA Service-Connected Disability Claims

July 26th, 2011

We have come across quite a few people recently who have claims in to the VA for VA service-connected disabilites waiting to purchase a home until the disability claim is awarded so they will be exempt from the VA funding fee is a little-known secret out there that you are typically backdated to the filing date of your disability. If you do purchase a house in between that date, you will be refunded the funding fee back from the VA. However, this is not always the best route to go because you technically don’t get the money back in your pocket; it is given back to you to give back to the bank, so in reality you are financing the interest of that cost over the life of the loan. If you wait it is always the best scenario to do, but in that rare situation where you want to buy the house, don’t let waiting for the disability award stop you from doing that.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360.571.LOAN (5626)

WHY PUT 5% DOWN ON A VA HOME?

July 20th, 2011

The VA loan allows a Veteran to utilize his/her VA loan multiple times with various combinations depending on military history, service connected disability, down payment, and prior VA loan history. I must preface my topic: Why Put 5% down on a VA Home Loan? with a basic answer to another question: What is a VA funding fee?: The VA funding fee is added as a dollar amount calculated by a percentage to the purchase price of the home you are buying. The VA funding fee guarantees to the lender that if a Veteran fails to repay the loan the lender is protected for $36000 up to $144,000 and additional entitlement up to an amount equal to 25% of the allowed county loan limit for a single family home may be available… My discussion is why put down 5% on my VA Home Loan?? When a Veteran with active duty service (which is nearly everyone including reserves these days due to active duty service in multiple theatres of war) the VA funding fee is set at 2.15% for first time use of the VA benefit and subsequent use ( new purchase, cash-out refinance) is set by the VA at 3.3%. The Veterans who are reserves with no overseas service in Iraq or Afghanistan for example (on active duty ) will have slightly higher fees, and for the purpose of this discussion I will focus on Active Duty and Active Duty Reserves. Here is where we finally get to the meat of it! If you put down 5% on a VA loan your funding fee no matter how many times you have used your VA Home Loan benefit the funding fee drops to 1.5% which is a huge savings for an average 250k home, second use. The VA funding fee for the 250k home at 3.3%, second, subsequent use would be $8250, but if you put down 5% the loan amount is now $237,500 and funding fee drops to $3562.50 a savings of $4687.50! With a first time purchase you still save a substantial amount of money as well. The funding fee on our example 250k home would drop from $5375 to $3562 so a saving of $1813, less savings than the first example however still a good savings and a lower amount to finance which will provide for a lower monthly payment. There is no other loan on the planet that even comes close to your VA Home Loan Benefit…All other loans require some type of mortgage insurance paid monthly when there is less than a 20% equity position. Here is something more to share (resisted saying wait there is more). On a VA Home Loan the seller can pay 4%( based on the purchase price of the home) towards your VA Non-Allowables (fees the Veteran can’t pay),closing costs and pre-paid fees, so lets use our 250k home as an example. On our 250k home lets say the VA Non-allowables, closing costs and pre-paid fees come up to $5000, your VA realtor can make an offer of 250k with seller paying up to $5000 in VA non-allowables, closing costs and pre-paids. This 250k offer as written will net the seller $245,000. So, think of this, rather than paying for some of your closing costs you can use all of your money towards the 5% down since you don’t have to pay the va non-allowables,closing costs or pre-paids. Also if you put down 10% your VA funding fee will drop to 1.25% which to is a limited return for the additional funds required however your choice so had to let you know this option on down payment benefit. Feel free to contact any of us for more information on your VA Home Loan Benefits!

Michael Frakes

NMLS#71539

www.valoanspecialist.com

Creekside Mortgage

360-571-5626

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Creekside Mortgage New VA Logo “NW #1 VA Home Loan Experts”

July 18th, 2011

We changed our logo representing the fact that we are the number NW #1 VA Home Loan Experts. We really want to change our motto towards that, due to the fact that 90% of what we do now is just VA in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. We can do all types of loan options, but VA seems to be the major factor of what Creekside Mortgage has been doing. The majority of employees that work at Creekside Mortgage are prior service, or either had parents in the service or family members who are Veterans. Our pride in continuing to specialize in VA will definitely be something we carry into the future.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360.571.LOAN (5626)

Dodd-Frank Bill and the Mortgage Industry 3 Months in

July 1st, 2011

It has now been over three months since the Dodd Frank Bill was enacted, affecting the mortgage industry as a whole. The take on it from industry professionals is that it has made business much, much more difficult due to requirements to meet the regulations. Many more man-hours are required just to comply with them. Now that we have seen the full effect of the bill,it is clear it has affected two groups and two groups only-individual loan officers who facilitate the transactions, and the consumers themselves. From what we have noticed, interest rates about a quarter different in the negative, with a higher rate for the burrower. The loan officer is making about 15-20% less. The companies and banks that the bill targeted have not felt the effect—the expenses just been passed to the consumer.

Sr. VA Loan Specialist

360.571.LOAN (5626)