Vendee loans are loans to help finance the purchase of VA REO Properties. Vendee financing is available for both veterans and non-veterans. Keep in mind this is for VA REO properties only, but is one of the best loans for investors out there. There have been some changes to the program since last year when it was available. Here are some of the in and outs of the program.
Seller (VA) may contribute up to 6% of the contract sales price to pay for closing cost, prepays and other expenses associated with closing. The funding fee CANNOT BE FINANCED.This loan is not credit score driven and they available for 15 or 30 yr at a fixed rate. The interest rates are very competitive and an appraisal is not required for underwriting. The funding fee is still 2.25%.
Non owner occupied still requires a down payment as low as 5% but there is no maximum amount of investment properties. Since there are slim choices for investor loans this is in my opinion one of the better ones. Here is the contact number to get in touch With a qualified vendee representative from Countrywide(soon to be Bank Of America) 800-816-4346. They can get you prequalified and then all you have to do is call me and I will help you find the VA property you want.

Now that changes to VA foreclosures have been in place for a few months I wanted to try to explain how the new system works and where to get the info on it. Last year Ocwen Loan Serving LLC lost their contract to manage VA foreclosed properties and it was awarded to Countrywide. When the transition finally to place so did the way offers are placed made and this month a new roll out for the VA vendee financing.
Offers are now placed on regular offer to purchase forms for the state or area the property is located with Countrywide addendum’s attached instead of all the VA generated forms such as their old VA form 26-6705. The Countrywide addendum’s say pretty much the same things that most Bank or Corporate owned addendum’s say, buying as-is. Make sure to ask me and I can forward a blank copy for your review. All the properties are listed on a new site as well https://va.reotrans.com or you can go to www.reotrans.com and see all bank or corporate listings on their site. This is a user friendly free site and homes are easy to locate for different cities and states. It will also list the contact information for the agent handling the property. If you are working with agent have them contact the listing agent.
In my opinion all the changes thus far have been for the better. The pricing has been more competitive and in line with other bank and corporate owned properties. Real estate here in Fayetteville NC has been insulated and not hit as hard as real estate in other areas of the country. There are still a lot of foreclosures that have been held off the market because of the moratorium but they should start to trickle out any time now. Look for more articles and information coming soon on Vendee financing.

I want to start a new post for Fridays. Something short that talks about our Real Estate market here in Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Raeford and surrounding areas, that sums up rates and sales and tips on New Construction, Existing and Investment properties. Homes below $150,000.00 continue to move well. I received a call from a gentleman today who stated “It’s a buyers market”. I let him know that it depended on the price range. I listed a house for a family member last Friday and by Wednesday had 2 offers one that was full priced.

Don’t believe all thats in the news. We have 3 new construction neighborhoods we are currently working on to get developed and start construction. My advise has always been I want to be one of the first homes built in a new area, and it has paid off well for my clients from 3 and 4 years ago as we sell their homes because of orders.

Buyers have seen some deals in the upper price ranges - take your time looking around plenty of choices and options. The investment property remained the same. The good ones got offers quickly and the bad ones got price reductions. Please add any comments or questions to the posts, or contact me if I can help you in anyway.

I arose early this morning as normal; put the coffee on went out and grabbed the paper to see what was happening. I was hit with the normal onslaught of murder, crime and wrecks, and then in the Business Section I was hit again with the news of layoffs in the Mortgage industry, Real estate sales tumble. Real estate sales at all time low, Sub-prime loans going into foreclosure. I thought, “Man this looks terrible for everyone. Should I even go to work today?” But knowing what I do about our market I am going to dig in and find out how it really is here in Fayetteville.

So I looked for the areas our MLS covers Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Hope Mills, Spring Lake, and Raeford. Along with Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, and a few other counties and small towns. Keep in mind the MLS is not a know all, it is only as good as the information we as brokers and agents enter into it. I looked at sales data from September 13-September 13 for the years of 03-04, 04-05, 05-06, and 06-07. These are the numbers I found:

• 03-04 there were 6192 Residential properties closed
• 04-05 there were 7341 Residential properties closed
• 05-06 there were 8275 Residential properties closed
• 06-07 there were 7566 Residential properties closed

To me that shows steady growth except for this year, which is not that far behind considering everyone is deployed with the troop surge we have had and this years numbers are still above ‘03 and ‘04.

I don’t think we should be concerned with the home sales in Orlando or California because I think our glass is half full with BRAC (Base Re-Alignment Commission) and the hopefully soon safe return of our Troop/Hero’s home. Remember these are my opinions please feel free to add your own.

Everyone says the market is down, that it is a terrible time to buy, that it is a terrible time to sell, so I am going to add my two cents as someone in the industry day in and out. OUR MARKET IS FINE. We don’t see the big swings of appreciation that some of the other markets see, But we show steady appreciation. Homes are still selling in the price ranges where people qualify and quite well, as rates go up less people qualify in certain price ranges so those in a higher price range will sit on the market a little longer. We have a great amount of homes at $180k and above on the market because rates are a little higher and we also have about 12,000 troops deployed. Our Market is different from any other in the US except another one by a large military base so we shouldn’t be alarmed by the nay sayers on the national news. It’s not changed to a buyer’s or a seller’s market its a good market for us and we are doing just fine.

Reading this post about investor exit strategies brought a few thoughts to mind that I have on the issue. This is classic of what is happening because of all the people jumping on the investor band wagon with little or no experience or a good agent to guide them, also don’t forget the hyped up tv shows that make it look easy. Most received poor advice on their market and rental history. It shows me the investor didn’t do their homework and neither did the agent, if they worked with one. Research is everything in investment real-estate. I believe most used investor loans that were out there with interest only, 100% and 80/20 loans to purchase (which in most cases puts you in a negative cash flow), they were probably also using no doc loans too. Sorry to drag on but it makes me mad because an investor in this situation will not recover for a long time.