Isn't that affordable?

I've been in the mortgage business for over 20 years and I'm pretty sure that I've never seen a time when home ownership was more affordable than it is right now. These are interesting times with a lot of distressed real estate flooding the market but these properties provide unique opportunities for home buyers. The availability of rehab money through Fannie Mae Homepath, NH Housing and FHA, means that you can get the money to replace the roof or the heating system or reside the house or remodel the kitchen or replace the flooring. You can buy a distressed property at a low price, get the money to fix it up and fix it up the way you want it. What a deal!

Just closed a loan for a nice guy who purchased a single family home for $110,000. Because the house appraised for more than the sales price, we were able to roll in the cost of some repairs that needed to be done. The borrower's only out of pocket expense for the loan was the cost of the appraisal -- $400! He even got back his $1000 deposit at closing! And the best part is his monthly payment is only $916/month including property taxes & insurance! That's way better than rent. And he owns a 3 bedroom home with a yard for his children!

There's another one where the house was listed for $129,900. The borrower offered full price with the seller paying $7000 toward closing. This resulted in the borrower needing just under $1500 total for down payment and closing costs. She was able to get $30,000 in rehab funds to freshen up the house and remodel the kitchen. Her monthly payment -- including tax & insurance - just $1,159/month.

Rates are low - House prices are low - required down payments and cash needed to close is very low (sometimes zero) - now is the time to be considering a purchase of real estate. If you believe in the old adage 'Buy low and sell high then you have to be thinking that now is the time to buy. Once the excess inventory of distressed properties is aborbed, the real estate market will be able to start to gain in value. Do your part to keep things rolling. Consider buying a distressed property today. Call me or write to find out more about the opportunities available.

Visit my website at www.NHmortgages.com for more mortgage facts and figures.