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Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

According to the Federal Reserve, 4 in 10 people who go to college incur debt to pay for their education. Currently, individuals with outstanding student loan debt owe as much as $100,000 or more, with more than 40% owing between $20,000 and $99,999. 

If you’re struggling with student loan debt, you certainly aren’t alone. Understanding your loan is an important first step in creating a viable plan to pay it back. You may be dealing with one of many student loan service providers, including Navient. Find out more about Navient below, including what to expect if this company is calling you, so you’re more educated about your student loan debt and avoid making mistakes on your student loans. 

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What Is Navient?

Navient is a student loan servicer. This means it’s a company that handles student loans, including the collection of those loans. Navient previously existed as an arm of Sallie Mae, the Student Loan Marketing Association. However, the company split off from Sallie Mae in 2014.

Is Navient Legitimate?

Yes, Navient is a real company with real contracts with student loan lenders. If this is your student loan servicer, it’s not a scam, and you can make your payments with confidence. Still, it’s always a good idea to keep records of all your debt payments in case you need to prove them later. 

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What Does Navient Do?

Note that Navient is not the lender. It didn’t loan you the money for the student loan or buy the student loan debt from your lender. It’s more of a middleman between the borrower and the lender and is responsible for a variety of tasks, including:

  • Sending information about your student loan balances and when payments are due
  • Working with you on deferrals and other measures when you’re in school or after you graduate
  • Collecting payments from you
  • Working with you to set up payment plans when necessary
  • Reporting payments—both timely payments and late or missed payments—to the credit bureaus

Navient primarily services private student loans after ending its contract with the Department of Education in late 2021.

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Why Is Navient Calling Me?

If Navient is your student loan service provider, it may call you for a number of reasons. Navient reps may contact you due to:

  • A need to update your records or questions about information on your account
  • To ensure everything is on track while you’re still in school
  • Because your account is in danger of defaulting and you need to attend to it or set up payment plans

It’s important to pay attention to communication from your student loan provider so you can keep your account in good standing. Student loan servicers may also send you emails or mail, so watch for those types of communications as well. You should always know what company is servicing your student loan accounts so you can work with it to repay your loans.

Defaulting on your student loans can have great consequences on your finances, including your credit score. So, you should contact your loan servicer to find out what options you may have. For example, you can contact them to learn how to discharge your student loans, and for what programs you may qualify.

What Should I Expect When Navient Calls?

Always verify that someone calling about a debt is who they say they are. Check the phone number on your caller ID. You can look it up online or compare it with phone numbers listed on paperwork you might have from the company. 

Avoid answering questions with personal information. Navient reps won’t call you and ask for specifics like your account number or Social Security number. They already have all the pertinent information they need in their files. 

Whether Navient is calling you or you’re calling your student loan servicer, be prepared to discuss the best ways to deal with your debt. Have a plan for how much you can pay, and don’t be afraid to ask about payment plans and other options to help you get back on track if your student loan payments have fallen behind.

The Bottom Line

Student loan servicers want to collect the debt from you, but they also have a number of tools they can use to help you pay that debt. You also have options, including refinancing your student loans.

Not paying your student loans will affect your credit score. Always make sure you understand the terms of any loans or refinance loans and how they might impact your credit. See where your credit stands at Credit.com by checking out your free credit report card.

Source: credit.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Whether you’re a parent proudly financing higher education for your child or a student signing on the dotted line for your own student loans, it’s important to understand how those debts can impact your future. Do parent PLUS loans affect getting a mortgage, for example? The short answer? Yes, any student loan you’re responsible for can impact your chances of getting approved for a mortgage. Find out more below.

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Do Student Loans Impact Getting a Mortgage?

Student loans are a type of debt. So if they’re in your name, they can impact your chance of getting a mortgage in the future. Luckily they can have a positive impact in some situations, especially if you have good financial habits. 

It’s important to note that student loans only impact your ability to get a house if you’re the one who’s responsible for paying the loan. Parent PLUS loans affect getting a mortgage if you’re the parent who’s signed as the responsible party, for example, but they wouldn’t impact your child’s chances at a mortgage. 

But if a student took out a loan with the parent as a cosigner, the loan impacts both people’s credit. It might impact the chances of getting a mortgage for either party.

How Do Student Loans Impact Your Ability To Get a Mortgage?

Student loans are often pretty hefty. The average cost of attending a four-year college or university is $35,331, so you’re looking at total loans that are tens of thousands of dollars. That’s nothing to scoff at, nor is it a small mark on your credit report. Find out how it impacts your mortgage application below.

Student Loans Reduce How Much You Can Save for a Down Payment

You may not have to start paying back your student loans until you’re out of college or a forbearance period has passed. But the time will come when you’ll need to make those monthly payments. Depending on how much you borrowed and what your terms were, student loan payments can be a big hit to your monthly budget.

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That hit makes it harder to save money quickly for a down payment. While options do exist for mortgage loans with a lower down payment or even no down payment, not being able to save limits your choices. 

Mitigate this impact by:

  • Asking your mortgage broker for information about options with low down payment requirements.
  • Applying for down payment assistance to help you cover the costs of down payments.
  • Working to increase your income so you can save more money.
  • Keeping other types of debts and expenses low to facilitate savings.

They Increase Your Debt-to-Income Ratio

Any amount of debt you have to pay back increases your debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Mortgage lenders look at DTI to understand whether you can afford the payments on any loan you take out.

There’s not a single hard-and-fast rule for where your DTI needs to be to get a mortgage, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes that 43% is a good number to consider. That means your total debt payments monthly, including any prospective mortgage, should be no more than 43% of your total monthly income. Some lending programs may have stricter DTI requirements.

Here’s an example to demonstrate how a student loan can change DTI. If you have student loan payments of $500 a month, a car loan of $500 a month and credit card payments totaling $300 per month, you have $1,300 in debt. If you want to get a loan to pay for a home and the loan would result in a $1,200 a month mortgage, that’s a total of $2,500 per month.

If you only make $5,000 a month, your debt-to-income ratio would be 50%. That may be too high for a favorable mortgage loan to be approved. If you take out the student loan and keep all the other factors the same and the DTI is now 40%. That’s a better DTI for most mortgage loans.

Offset the impact of student loans by reducing your other debts. For example, in the above example, you could work to pay off the credit card debt before you apply for a mortgage. You might also refinance the car loan, bringing your monthly payment down to $300. That would leave you with a 40% DTI.

Student Loans Impact Your Credit Score

Most lenders do report student loans to one or more of the credit bureaus. This is actually good news, because paying your student loans on time can help you build credit and have a positive impact on your credit score. On the flip side, if you miss payments or end up defaulting on your student loans, the negative impact on your credit can bring your score down and keep you from getting approved for a mortgage. 

Keep this from being a problem by paying your student loans on time every month. Consider setting up auto bill pay so you don’t have to worry about accidentally missing a payment. You may also want to find out more about the required credit score to buy a house so you know what you’re shooting for.

Does Applying with FAFSA Effect Buying a House?

No, completing FAFSA doesn’t impact your credit at all. And it doesn’t mean you’re taking out a student loan. FAFSA simply lets you apply for any potential student financial aid that might be available for you. You’re then offered aid that you can choose from. 

More Tips for Ensuring a Successful Mortgage Application

Doing a bit of homework before you apply for a mortgage can increase your chances of success. Here are some things to do related to your student loans:

  • Consolidate multiple student loans into one if possible, which will reduce the total amount you have to pay each month. This makes it easier to save and can reduce your DTI.
  • If student loans report as deferred on your credit report, get the specific payment amounts from the servicer or a payment letter from the servicer stating an approximation of what the payments will be when they come due and payable.
  • Avoid any student loan delinquencies, especially in the last 12 months. Ignoring this could result in your application being denied for a government loan such as an FHA- or VA-backed mortgage. Government programs are strict about delinquencies on federal debt, which is what a student loan is.
  • If any student loans are paid in full but your credit report shows a current payment obligation, provide supporting documentation showing it’s been fully paid off to the mortgage company.
  • Review your credit reports before you start the mortgage application process. If there are inaccuracies on your credit reports related to student loans—or anything else—file a dispute and request the credit bureau to investigate and correct the information.  

Learn More About Mortgages Today

It’s also a good idea to learn more about how a mortgage works and read up on terms you need to know in a mortgage glossary. The more you know, the more confident you’ll be in the entire process. For the best information on your credit, consider signing up for ExtraCredit, where you can get 28 of your FICO scores and a report card that helps you understand what you need to do to improve your scores.

Source: credit.com

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Apache is functioning normally

Bankruptcy can happen to anyone—despite their best efforts. And while most people understand that bankruptcy is generally bad for them, many don’t realize the details of how it can impact you. Read below to find out what happens to your credit score after bankruptcy and what you can do to repair your credit afterward.

What Happens to Your Credit Score after Bankruptcy?

After bankruptcy, your credit score can plummet. It will have a devastating impact on your credit health. The exact effects will vary, depending on your credit score and other factors. But according to top scoring model FICO, filing for bankruptcy can send a good credit score of 700 or above plummeting by at least 200 points. If your score is a bit lower—around 680—you can lose between 130 and 150 points.

That said, people with good to exceptional credit scores will see the most notable impact of bankruptcy. If your credit score is already fair or poor—below 670—you may not see large point drops. Yet, the end result will often still be a very low credit score. You simply don’t have as many points to lose to fall to that very poor rating.

Additionally, lenders may hesitate to lend to you if there is a bankruptcy on your credit report.

Do All Bankruptcies Have Equal Impact?

The type of bankruptcy you file and the amount of debt you need to get rid of have varying effects on your credit score.

What Happens to Your Credit Score after Chapter 7 and Chapter 13?

Consumers and small business owners usually choose from two types of bankruptcy filings—7 and 13. These are chapters in the federal bankruptcy code.

  • Chapter 7: This option is designed to liquidate, or sell off, your non-exempt assets or valuable property. The proceeds are used to discharge, or wipe out, your debt. In most cases, debtors don’t have enough non-exempt assets to repay their debt. But the court discharges those bills anyway. Chapter 7 is reported on your credit report for up to 10 years.
  • Chapter 13: With this option, you can discharge some of your debt, like medical bills. Meanwhile, you can also partially repay other debts—like a home mortgage or car loan—over a three to five-year period. The three major credit bureaus include Chapter 13 bankruptcy on your report for up to seven years.

Of the two options, Chapter 7 has the more negative impact on your creditors. That’s because you make no repayments. So, financial institutions view you as a higher credit risk. Your score may take a bigger hit with Chapter 7 because of this negative impression.

With Chapter 13, you’re making good on some or all your debt. So, it isn’t reported on your credit report for as long as Chapter 7. Also, you may give future lenders a bit more of a desirable impression of your credit worthiness due to this payment history. This can translate to a slightly more beneficial outcome for your credit rating.

What Bankruptcy Debt Discharges Do to Your Credit

The number of debts and amount you discharge also impact your bankruptcy credit score. Defaulting on several accounts with large balances has more effect than low debt elimination. Your credit history may also play a role if you have positive accounts as well as negative ones. Whether the ratio between these accounts is high or low can make some difference in your score.

Overall, these factors don’t carry much weight for your credit score after bankruptcy, though. The bankruptcy itself and how recently you filed are the most important things that credit agencies and lenders consider. No matter how high your credit score was before a bankruptcy, there will be a noticeable drop immediately after filing. But over time, the impact lessens.

Though Chapter 7 stays on your report for up to 10 years, the debt you discharge may go away sooner. That’s because most negative accounts fall off your report seven years or so after any final payment or activity. But some Chapter 13 debts may show up on your report after the bankruptcy drops off. That’s due to the three to five year repayment time frame. The seven-year period doesn’t start until the account becomes inactive.

How Soon Can You Improve Your Credit Score after Bankruptcy?

Some people mistakenly believe that getting rid of a debt will help their credit rating. So, they think their credit score might increase after bankruptcy discharge. Unfortunately, making regular debt payments is the only method that could improve your credit. But, you can still start working on raising your credit score immediately after a bankruptcy.

Your score won’t go up right away. But the sooner you get started on good credit habits, the sooner the impact will show on your report.

Your low post-bankruptcy credit score doesn’t mean you can’t get some forms of credit. However, it will be more difficult and the terms will likely be expensive. Your best option is a secured credit card. Responsible use and timely payments can help you down the road to a better credit score.

How to Rebuild Your Credit Score after Bankruptcy

While the details of your bankruptcy may remain on your credit report for up to 10 years, this doesn’t mean you have to wait that long to rebuild your credit. There are steps you can take to restore your credit score after bankruptcy.

Over time, your credit score will start to rise if you’re handling credit responsibly. In fact, you may notice an increase in your credit score in as little as 18 months. This increase may be enough to help you obtain some forms of credit, such as a credit card or auto loan, even with bankruptcy on your credit report.

Here’s a look at several steps you can take to start rebuilding your credit score after bankruptcy.

1. Check and Monitor Your Credit Report and Score

It’s important to check and monitor your credit report and score after a bankruptcy. Start by requesting a free copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus. Next, check to make sure all the information listed is correct. For example, make sure every account included in your bankruptcy now reports a zero balance. Once you make this initial assessment of your credit report, use a service, such as Credit.com’s Free Credit Score, to regularly monitor your credit.

2. Dispute Any Inaccuracies

If you find any inaccuracies on your credit report, be sure to file a dispute with the credit reporting agency. This includes any accounts under your bankruptcy that don’t show a zero balance. The credit dispute process can take 30 to 45 days to complete, but it’s an important step to take. In many cases, you can complete the dispute process yourself, but you can also seek help from a reputable credit repair service company if necessary.

3. Make On-Time Payments

If you’ve had a bankruptcy, it’s more important than ever to be sure you’re making on-time payments. Building a history of on-time payments can help restore your credit score and show lenders you’ve taken control of your finances. If you haven’t done so already, create a budget to help manage your money. This step can ensure you always have enough funds available to pay your bills on time and help you set up an emergency fund.

4. Make Your Phone and Utility Payments Count

You may not realize it, but your phone and utility payments aren’t usually included in your credit report. Even if you pay these bills on time every month, it won’t impact your credit score. After bankruptcy, you need to make sure you get credit for every positive step you take.

Fortunately, there are services available, such as Credit.com’s ExtraCredit®, that help you report these payments to your credit report. Be sure to sign up for one of these programs as soon as possible.

5. Pay Down Debt

If you have any credit accounts that weren’t part of your bankruptcy, make sure you continue to repay these loans as quickly as possible. Do your best to pay off at least 70% of this outstanding balance to bring your credit utilization rate under 30%. For larger credit accounts, such as student loans, paying off 70% right away may not be possible. In these cases, making your regular monthly payments is enough to start rebuilding your credit score after bankruptcy.

6. Obtain a Secured Credit Card

Once you start rebuilding your credit, you may qualify for a secured credit card. This type of credit card requires you to put down some type of security, typically cash. Regularly using this credit card and making on-time payments is a good way to start repairing your credit. After a year or so of making on-time credit card payments, you may qualify for an unsecured credit card.

7. Control Spending

If out-of-control spending led to your bankruptcy issues, take the time to get control of your spending. Set a strict budget that allows you to pay all your bills plus set some money aside each month for savings. Once you start rebuilding your credit, resist the urge to open too many credit accounts. Instead, only open credit accounts that fit your budget.

8. Apply for a Credit-Building Loan

You can also consider taking out a credit-building loan. Typically, these are smaller loans for amounts such as $500 or $1,000, and they come with a set repayment schedule. These loans are specifically designed to help rebuild your credit. You may find credit-building loans available at smaller community banks and credit unions.

Start Improving Your Credit after Bankruptcy Today

To eventually raise your credit score after Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, you must stay aware and alert about your credit usage. Check your credit with Credit.com’s free credit report card. This provides you with a point of reference as you start rebuilding your credit.

Stay on top of your credit usage and how it’s reflected on your credit report. Access convenient tools that allow you to do this quickly and easily. Be smart and responsible with your finances. Then check on how your efforts are paying off with timely credit score monitoring.

Source: credit.com

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Apache is functioning normally

This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet. 

Mortgage rates have risen to their highest levels in more than 20 years, making it harder to afford a home. And yet, out of necessity or desire, hundreds of thousands of people buy homes every month.

With the 30-year fixed rate topping 7%, NerdWallet asked real estate agents and mortgage loan officers for advice on how home buyers can stretch their homebuying dollars in this time of high interest rates. Here are nine tactics that they suggested.

1. Ask the seller to reduce the mortgage rate

Temporary mortgage rate buydowns have become commonplace since rates surged in early 2022. With a temporary rate buydown, the seller pays a portion of the buyer’s interest payments upfront. This reduces the house payments for the first one, two or three years of ownership.

“This is a common strategy for new-home builders, but it can also be used in the purchase of resale homes,” said John Bianchi, executive vice president for loanDepot. (All sources in this story commented via email.) “Negotiating a temporary buydown with the seller can help soften the blow of high interest rates, reducing your monthly payment for one to three years.”

In one typical setup, the seller’s payment effectively cuts the buyer’s interest rate by 2 percentage points in the first year, and by 1 percentage point in the second year. After that, the buyer pays the full interest rate. This is known as a 2-1 buydown.

Another option is to reduce the mortgage rate permanently, using discount points. One discount point equals 1% of the loan amount; each point typically reduces the interest rate by around 0.25 percentage point.

“Home buyers have an opportunity to get a seller to pay for these methods to lower their interest rate,” said Chuck Vander Stelt, a real estate agent in Valparaiso, Indiana. “Some home buyers should seriously consider offering a more generous price to the seller in exchange for a large closing cost concession and then use those funds to buy down the interest rate as much as possible.”

Also see: Avoiding the 30-year mortgage loan trap can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars

2. Use part of your down payment to pay down debt

When you apply for a mortgage, the lender considers your total debt payments for the house, car, student loans and credit cards. Sometimes it makes sense to divert some of your intended down payment money to cut the higher-rate debt first, said David Kuiper, vice president and senior mortgage banker for Dart Bank in western Michigan.

“While the mortgage payment will be slightly higher, the total debt/payments is lower, making the proposed purchase more affordable,” Kuiper said.

3. Use home buyer assistance programs

State and local governments sponsor an abundance of programs to make homes affordable for home buyers, especially first-timers. Some programs offer down payment assistance and help with closing costs. Others offer favorable interest rates or tax credits.

Details differ from state to state. Some programs are targeted to certain counties, cities or neighborhoods. Others are intended for specific groups of people, such as teachers, first responders or renters who live in public housing. Some programs have income limits.

Don’t miss: We bought a falling-down 100-year-old home. We tried to renovate, but things took a turn for the worse.

4. Ask the seller to finance the purchase

You can give the seller an IOU for part of the home’s value and make monthly payments directly to the seller at an interest rate that’s lower than you could get from a bank. This arrangement is called “seller financing” and has its roots in the early 1980s, when mortgage rates zoomed as high as 18%.

You might wonder why a seller would agree to such a deal. “They will often do this in order to get the price they want,” said Janie Coffey, who leads the Coffey Team with eXp Realty in St. Augustine, Florida. The seller gets full price while you get a break on the interest rate.

Seller financing usually has an end date: Within three, five or 10 years, the buyer must get a mortgage from a lender to pay off the amount owed to the seller. Coffey explained that the type of seller open to this arrangement often has paid off the mortgage “and is OK to wait for their big payoff.”

Seller financing is complex. Use an experienced real estate attorney to draw up the contract.

Related: How the U.S. housing market got stuck in the ’80s

5. Don’t wait for a rate you like better

“If the right house comes along and the payment is affordable (even if you don’t like the interest rate), you should buy the house,” Kuiper said.

You often hear that you should buy now and refinance someday, after interest rates fall. That’s not Kuiper’s point. His point was this: If mortgage rates fall, more buyers will rush into the market. They’ll make competitive offers and drive home prices higher, “essentially wiping out any advantage of the lower interest rate.”

6. Don’t get distracted by things you don’t need

Some sellers want flexibility about the closing date, would prefer the buyer to make repairs, and are scared of accepting an offer from a buyer who ends up failing to qualify for the mortgage.

Vander Stelt advises staying focused on price with these hassle-avoidant sellers, while being flexible on the rest of the offer on the house. “Do this by offering the best terms you can, including buying the home as-is, a closing date and possession that works best for the seller, and illustrating how strong of a candidate you are to get your mortgage approved,” he said.

You can demonstrate that you’re a strong mortgage candidate by showing a preapproval letter and by sharing financial information, such as account balances that prove you have the cash for the down payment.

7. Buy a house that needs work

Buying a fixer-upper is an old-fashioned, time-tested way to save money. “If you can be patient, it’s worth buying a home that needs work and slowly fixing it up over time or taking a renovation loan to acquire the home and do the work upfront,” said Brian Koss, regional sales director for Movement Mortgage, in Danvers, Massachusetts.

Read: Should you buy a fixer? These are the 5 cheapest states to make home renovations.

8. Build a house or buy a brand-new one

“Building a new home can provide more certainty around how long you will have to wait to move in, it can provide more cost certainty, and it can save you money in the short and long term by avoiding costly remodels, appliance repairs and unexpected repairs of older parts of the home,” said Jeffrey Ruben, president of WSFS Mortgage in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Buying a new home in a development has some of the same advantages. And today’s buyers have good reason to shop for new construction because there’s a shortage of existing homes for resale.

Read: U.S. construction spending rose in June, marking seventh straight monthly increase

9. Rent out part of the house

Coffey suggested using an old strategy with a trendy name — house hacking — “buying a property like a duplex, where you live in one unit and rent out the other,” she said.

If you buy a duplex, triplex or quadplex, and you live in one unit, you can include the expected rental income for the others when qualifying for a loan. In some cases, you can qualify for a mortgage using expected rental income from an accessory dwelling unit, such as a basement apartment or a tiny house in the backyard.

Also see: Homeowners locked into ultralow mortgage rates consider short-term rentals, but cities are cracking down

If you buy a home today, you’re stuck with high mortgage rates for the time being. But by employing some creativity, you might find a way to afford homeownership.

More From NerdWallet

Holden Lewis writes for NerdWallet. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @HoldenL.

Source: marketwatch.com

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Our way of honoring first responders is by educating our podcast listeners, readers and coaching clients in the real estate industry about how to help those who helped all of us and are still being of service every day. We all owe a debt of gratitude to those who have our backs in times of need. 

One of the best ways to help first responders is to be of service yourself, as a professional real estate advisor. Listen to all of these really great mortgage programs (most agents and buyers don’t know about these!) for first responders and consider doing any or all the following: 

1. Make a video about some of the special programs available. Send it to your database, post it on your social media and submit a press release to your local media sources. 

2. Take that information and provide a Facebook Live session or a series of Facebook Lives, invite your friends and followers to learn more about these loan programs. You can split the programs up and do a weekly series. 

3. Work with a lender who specializes in first responder types of loans, FHA, VA and HUD programs and interview them for a video, Facebook live session or if you have a podcast. 

4. Submit an article to your online and offline news publications about these available programs. 

5. Create a First Responder seminar or webinar, in person or online. Present at local firehouses, police stations and more Bring your first-responder-program lender specialist with you. 

In all cases, close the video, article or session with a call to action: For more information about these and other special programs, call or text today at: enter your phone number.

Let’s take a look at some available programs to help our special first responders.  

You all know people who can benefit from these programs. What a great way to be of service yourself!  

FHA mortgage programs 

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) provides easy-to-qualify government insured loans. These loans have lower down payment requirements and more forgiving credit requirements. For example, first responders who qualify for  this plan may be able to place a minimum down payment as low as 3.5%. 

Requirements for these loans are typically: 

-Two years of stable employment, ideally at the same job. 

-Fewer than two, 30 day late payments over the past two years. 

-30% of the buyer’s gross income should be available to use towards their  mortgage payments. 

-Monthly debt payments cannot be more than 43% of income. 

Of course, other restrictions and overlays may apply. Loan requirements are fluid and we, like  you, are disclosing that we are not mortgage lenders! Ask your professional loan originator for  the details and refer your clients to someone who specializes in these programs.

Good Neighbor Next Door 

Good Neighbor Next Door is a mortgage program by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which is offered to public servants, such as first responders. This program allows qualified applicants to purchase homes in revitalized communities. 

The Good Neighbor Next Door Program allows someone who qualifies to purchase a home for 50% of the appraised value based on where the house is located. 

The HUD provides a listing of properties that you may check to find which houses and locations are available. Check HUD.gov for lots of details on this and tons of other great programs. They’re a little known resource for many Realtors. Be the one who’s in the know! 

Did you know that HUD has an online search where you can find homes for sale  all over the country that qualify for different special programs? You can even search for investors, first time buyers, first responders, etc. Stop relying so heavily  just on your MLS!

To qualify, the buyer must comply with HUD’s program regulations and meet  the first responder requirements. They must be employed, for example, as a full time firefighter, or an EMT, paramedic or law enforcement officer by a fire department, EMS unit or law enforcement agency, a unit of general local government or an Indian tribal government. They must be serving in the locality in which the home is located. Think of how much value you would bring when you present these programs locally to firehouses and police stations. 

VA mortgage program 

Many first responders have military experience. This service record may qualify for a Veteran Affairs (VA) loan. VA loans are not well understood by many Realtors. When you really know the benefits, you’ll be more of an advocate of these loans both on your buyer sides as well as when you’re a listing agent  considering accepting a VA loan. 

VA loans have no down payment requirement. Additionally, qualified borrowers do not need to pay for mortgage insurance, unlike with FHA mortgage plans. These features make VA loans one of the most attractive loan programs available in the  industry. 

Did you know that: In addition to first responders with previous military service, VA loans are also available for active-duty service members, qualified  spouses and other veterans. 

Your buyers can apply for a VA loan if: 

-They or their spouse served 181 days during peacetime or 90 consecutive days in  wartime. 

-They or their spouse served for six years with the National Guard or Reserves.

Other great things about VA loans: 

No Prepayment penalties, sellers can contribute to closing costs, refinancing can  happen up to 100% of the home’s value and repayment workouts if the veteran has  payment issues. 

The more you know about these special mortgage programs, the more you’ll talk about real estate and offer value. Don’t just learn about these things, get out there and present a seminar, a Facebook live session, videos, press releases and social media. Add the links to your website.

Tim and Julie Harris host a podcast for real estate professionals. Tim and Julie have been real estate coaches for more than two decades, coaching the top agents in the country through different types of markets.

Source: housingwire.com