Arizona Mortgage Blog by Kelly Zitlow

Over the next several months I'm going to address some of the many questions I get regarding credit, scores, repair, and more. We will tackle a few issues and share some credit tips in an easy to read and understandable format for those of us in the Arizona mortgage and real estate industry as well as our friends, family, and clients.

Click here to read the complete update on the "Basics of Credit" including scores and what are they and where do they come from.

In our current market, there are many who have had a short sale, foreclosure, or bankruptcy and don't know where to start to reestablish their credit. Feel free to share this information as well as my website www.buyingahouseafter.com.

~ Kelly

Using an authorized user account to help a spouse or child can be a good idea to help them establish or re-extablish credit. But this should be only for short term and should be looked at before thinking about applying for a mortgage.

Mortgage guidelines now require borrowers be romoved as authorized users before approving a mortgage application. Planning ahead and taking the right steps will ensure the borrower is ready and able to obtain a mortgage. With so many first time buyers in our Arizona market it's important that we are constantly being updated to the most recent Arizona mortgage guidelines.

To read the whole market update, click here.

~ Kelly

Teaching "Residential Financing in Today's Arizona Market - What you need to Know" next Tuesday, Oct 11th at Gainey Ranch. Good for 3 hrs Contract Law for ADRE.

We'll cover updates, changes, and the latest revisions regarding qualifying for a mortgage in Arizona today.

If you need the CE hours or are just interested, hope to see you there! For more info click here.

~ Kelly

Believe it or not we are already starting to see buyers who have met their waiting period time frames and are getting close to buying a house after a foreclosure, short sale, or bankruptcy. Many people think they have to wait 7-10 years and their is a lot of rumors and miss-information circling around. Knowing what their individual waiting periods are can be liberating.

The wiating period time frame following a foreclosure, short sale, and bankruptcy is based on their completion date of their unfortunate event.

To read last weeks update which broke down each situation and the waiting period for a FHA Loan, VA Loan, Conventional and more, just click here for waiting period update.

I have also launched a helpful and informative website to educate borrowers about their waiting periods and how we can work together during their waiting period to have them ready when their individual time frames are up.

www.buyingahouseafter.com

If you or a client ever has a question, do not hesitate to call me. I'm here for you.

Our Arizona market has many investors paying cash today! These buyers are in a position to pay cash now with the intention to obtain a mortgage on the property in the future. Standard waiting period has been 6 months.

Great News! Fannie Mae just released and "Exception" which can waive the 6 month waiting period.

Read the requirments that need to be met here.

I know, I know.....there's a lot to digest! Good news is you don't need to know ALL of the details. That's what I do!

If you're currently working with cash investors, I am happy to research the mortgage guidelines and prepare a personal financing strategy for them to leverage their cash position. Don't hesitate to call me.

~ Kelly

Did you know that ARMLS reported 10,868 residential sales last month, surpassing the record of 10,252 set back in the bubble of June 2005. At the same time a record was also set in single family leases signed with 2280 and the highest number of short sales reported at 2,734.

Also, CNN Money ranked Phoenix in it's top 10 cities in the nation to invest in rental property.

To read more about these exciting developments in more detail, just click here.

We may find the business of being an Arizona Realtor and Arizona Mortgage Lender to be frustrating at times, there is no doubt the housing market in Arizona is thriving and opportunity exists!

~ Kelly

During the liberal Arizona mortgage lending practices from 2002 - 2007 an appraisal in Arizona just wasn't scrutinized like it is today. If an appraisal was needed for a mortgage it was rarely questioned, it just needed to be in the file.

In 2009 Fannie and Freddie implemented the HVCC policy and then FHA followed. The intent was to correct abuses within the industry. One of the most important revisions that came down was that loan officers could no longer order their appraisals or communicate directly with an appraiser.

Many Arizona mortgage lenders turned to outside firms to handle the appraisal process for them. That led to many other problems including appraisers having to do appraisals all over the valley and not in their specific area of expertise.

I want you to know that Cherry Creek does not work with outside firms to handle our process. We manage the Arizona appraisal process in-house and actually have an appraisal dept. devoted to communicating with approved Arizona appraisers.

To read my whole Arizona Mortgage Market update regarding this  - click here.

Here to assist you, don't ever hesitate to call!

~ Kelly

Did you know a 3% down conventional mortgage is once again available in Arizona? Cherry Creek Mortgage is one of a select few mortgage lenders in Arizona who can offer this program!

Click here to read more about this great Arizona Mortgage program.

This is exciting news and we are proud to have been selected for this program in Arizona! Give me a call if you have any questions about this fantastic opportunity or if you have buyers interested in taking advantage of this 3% down conventional mortgage and want to learn more about it.

Make it a great day!

~ Kelly

The 1^st quarter of 2011 closed out with a bang! ARMLS reported nearly 10,000 residential sales in March in the Greater Phoenix, Arizona area! June 2004, June 2005 & August 2005 are the only other months in Arizona history when sales have hit 10,000.  This is great news for our stressed housing market and indicates buyers are taking advantage of the phenomenal affordability that the Greater Phoenix area offers today.

How were these single family homes purchased?

46% with cash ~ investors are back in our market

23% with an FHA loan

4% with a VA loan

And much more....

To read the complete summary I compiled and put in my last Arizona Mortgage Market Update click here.

There's no doubt our Arizona market is one of the most unique in the country and it takes strong, hard working individuals to survive! If you haven't already done so don't forget to RSVP to our FREE Thriving in Challenging Times event this Friday! Join me for a wonderful breakfast and learn a few key items that will help to catapult your business! RSVP to me or Lynn Doiron at ldoiron@ccmclending.com.

This is an exciting time....we're gaining true momentum!!! Let's keep it up. Don't hesitate to call me in our current mortgage environment with any scenarios or Arizona mortgage questions. I look forward to talking with you.

~ Kelly

There are more and more jumbo priced homes coming into the Arizona market and with such the demand for jumbo financing is growing. ARMLS shows 4,588 active listings priced over $450,000 right now. I wanted to share with you a few of the many very aggressive jumbo mortgage programs we have to offer our Arizona mortgage clients.

Listed on my most recent Arizona Mortgage Market newsletter were two terrific Arizona jumbo mortgage programs. Click on the link below and please don't hesitate to call me with any Arizona mortgage related questions. I look forward to talking with you.

Jumbo Mortgages in AZ Coming Back

~Kelly