Atlanta Real Estate Blog

If you’re looking to buy or refinance a home, I have great news to share with you.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Baseline Loan Limit Will Increase to $453,100 for 2018

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) just recently announced they will raise the maximum conforming loan limits for 2018 to a maximum amount of $453,100 – for reference, the loan limits for 2017 are $424,100. That’s $29,000 more buying power in 2018 without getting into Jumbo Loan territory. In certain high cost areas, the loan limit is even higher.

This means you may be able to:

• Purchase a higher priced home with more financing options, possibly including lower rates.
• Refinance an existing, higher-rate “jumbo” loan and possibly drop mortgage insurance premiums, too.
• Combine a 1st and 2nd mortgage.

If you have questions about this 2018 conforming loan limit change, or if you need a referral to a few trusted and proven lenders who have done millions of dollars worth of loans for my clients, please reach out to me. And if you have friends who may benefit from this news, please pass it along. I’ll be happy to help.

Robert Whitfield – Broker/Owner  Advantage Realtors  678-585-9691

This practice is egregious – and so wrong. Consumers are supposed to be able to rely on their agents to be a trusted and non biased adviser – this just goes to show you cannot select an agent simply because they work for a large well known national franchise brokerage firm.

 I want all our clients and prospects to know Advantage Realtors, a small specialized boutique brokerage in East Cobb, has never sought or accepted a kickback fee for referring any vendor. We have refused all such offers from vendors – mostly inspectors and home warranty companies. Our referrals of vendors is based strictly on the quality of the vendors service – and we refer several never just one. Our vendor relationships have been developed over time and our vendors are proven, trusted, performers that are tops in their industry. Advantage Realtors provides unmatched and personalized services and we expect the vendors we refer to do the same.

We have encountered a similar questionable practice pointed out in the article among some listing brokers here in Atlanta – namely the requirement in the broker comments section of a listing that buyers must have a pre-qualification from a specific lender in order to make an offer – even if they already have a letter from a reputable lender! This is an absurd practice known as “writing in”, and it reeks of an unhealthy under the table lead generation arrangement. We advocate for our clients that they do NOT need to get a “second pre-qualification” in order to submit an offer, and we have been successful so far.

Like every agent or broker who knows what they’re doing and how to run a business, Advantage Realtors requires all buyer clients we represent to be pre-qualified by a lender at a minimum, or better pre-approved for a loan or we don’t represent them. The resulting “lender letter” is sufficient evidence for all parties, sellers, banks, etc that our buyers are qualified to submit an offer in a certain price range and not a waste of anyone’s time. Moreover, having buyers get what is known in the industry as a “pre-qual” can be done with minimal effort and a brief phone conversation. It is just sound business practice to assure a buyer is actually qualified to look at certain priced homes – especially since we don’t just meet buyers at homes and open doors – we exert a significant amount of extra time performing extra due-diligence to better inform and protect our buyers – services like micro market price trend and valuation checks, free building structural, workmanship, and major system evaluations, and even monitoring of new homes under construction and advocating for our clients with regard to contract, inspection defects, and new construction quality issues – services other agents don’t provide and in most cases are not qualified  to provide, and not allowed by their broker to provide.  

Robert Whitfield – Broker/Owner Advantage Realtors

RISMedia January 31, 2017

Prospect Mortgage, LLC, a major mortgage lender, and two real estate brokerages have been ordered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to pay more than $3.5 million in civil penalties and consumer compensation for participating in an “illegal kickback scheme” for mortgage business referrals.

Prospect Mortgage, headquartered in Sherman Oaks, CA., Corvallis, OR. based Keller Williams Mid-Willamette and Ventura, CA.-based RE/MAX Gold Coast all three violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), according to the CFPB, which prohibits real estate agents and brokerages from recommending settlement services, such as title insurance, appraisals, inspections, and loan origination, to consumers in exchange for payment from these service providers.

“Today’s action sends a clear message that it is illegal to make or accept payments for mortgage referrals,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a statement. “We will hold both sides of these improper arrangements accountable for breaking the law, which skews the real estate market to the disadvantage of consumers and honest businesses.”

For More Info…

The full impact remains to be seen, but here’s a start – on day one the Trump administration has already taken action that affects real estate – the permanent suspension of the FHA 1/4 % Mortgage Insurance Premium Reduction announced just last week. This reduction was estimated to save buyers about $500 a year – so while not a deal breaker for most buyers, the mortgage and real estate industry naturally welcomes anything that will help buyers qualify for a loan. The good thing, at least for now – the FHA loan limits for the Atlanta Market recently increased to $358,800 which makes this loan a great option for more buyers – especially those who need (or want) to take advantage of the minimum 3.5% down payment – most other loans require 5% down.

From Mortgage News Network:

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a statement that the reduction in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance premium that was announced last week has been suspended indefinitely.

“FHA is committed to ensuring its mortgage insurance programs remains viable and effective in the long term for all parties involved, especially our taxpayers,” the HUD statement said. “As such, more analysis and research are deemed necessary to assess future adjustments while also considering potential market conditions in an ever-changing global economy that could impact our efforts.”

The HUD statement added that “FHA will issue a subsequent Mortgagee Letter at a later date should this policy change.”

This is going to be an interesting year, and I predict more policy changes – hopefully for the best of the consumer and the country.