Yesterday my broker forwarded an email that she received, announcing the forthcoming restoration of DPA from sellers. I wrote her back with a "hold your horses" tone, being skeptical of all things coming through Washington...especially with promises of "help." Programs like Nehemiah & Ameridream are lobbying hard to get it through Congress...mainly because it is their very existence that is on the line.
It is w-a-a-a-a-a-y too early to get all hot & bothered about Seller Down Payment Assistance being revived. For one thing, with prices being what they are, how many properties will appraise at a level high enough to allow sellers to contribute more than closing costs anyhow? How many rules, exceptions, clauses and regulations will be attached....and how many revisions will be done before the bill comes to a vote?
There's absolutely no reason to get worked up about DPA until it becomes a reality. Then take a look at how it is allowed (assuming it even makes it through the voting process). Could be a boon, could be a bust. It certainly is too early to tell.
Specializing in Buyer & Seller Representation in the Tucson, Arizona real estate market.
All original material written by Kent Simpson unless attributed to source.©2011, 2010, 2009,2008,2007
"Never forget - Real Estate Is About People"
Kent... I semi agree, but disagree... people are working harder on the seller-funded DPA than many know... and for good reason. There are many foreclosures selling 10 to 15% below market value.. this won't help everyone, but it could certainly help some get their houses off the market and to help many buyers. There are many qualified buyers with credit and income, just no savings. Can you blame them in this market. Besides, there were many misleading facts about how DPA's preformed and for reason. It's called politics and HUD... another story.
I just wrote about seller-funded down payment assistance programs the other day. Please read Ken Cooks post that I linked in my blog, it's excellent and might open some eyes. thanks
PS.... Nehemiah themselves have been working on 2 to 4 programs of their own also, that could be ready by March...
Thanks for the input Jeff - I'll be sure to read your post as well as Ken's. It would be nice to see DPA make a comeback, but I'm skeptical until I see what is really & truly on the table.
when they eliminated seller funded daps they threw the baby out with the bathwater. if washington truly wants to revive the housing market, they need to bring this back, just in a different form. which if they do bring it back, i'm sure it will be an animal of a different color.
I hope they'll do good with it, but will reserve judgement until it is a reality. Thanks for dropping by, Joseph.
I have gone from 80% FHA with DAP's to 20% FHA without. Clearly it was a very utilized program in my area and in today's society it is a necessity. I was emailed by one of my DAP companies last week telling us that they are committed to getting things back up and running, so I hope it will be soon.
I'm with ya. One of my mortage people just shot me an email all excited about DPA comming back. When its back in full force let me know . Till then lets just keep working. It's not time to celebrate yet .
there Kent, my friend
It looks like ya have been spamed. And they have missed your post up, in doing so.
I don't really know and thing about DPA. So I reckon that, I best be looken the info up about it.
Thank ya, for given me something to go learn about. I always like learning about things that are new to me.
Adam - thanks for dropping by. Welcome to the community (check out his first few blog posts--they're good stuff!). Are you finding more use for the FHA 203k due to foreclosures in your market?
Justin - amen to that!
Dale - thanks for the 'heads-up' --the problem was resolved by deleting the spam comment.
Tucson Kent are you still looking for down payment assistance? Don't wait. Get excited. We are right up the I-17 from you and have been offering a 1% down FHA loan with the help of a local non profit providing a gift of up to 2.5% for close to 2 years. Qualify more buyers. Sell more homes. Make happy homeowners.
I'm actually against DPA programs because they just increase the likelihood of appraiser pressure.
Let's call them what they are and push for a 0% Down FHA program instead!
Anything else, and we set ourselves up for "unintended consequences" which we have way too much of already.
David - thanks for dropping by & informing us of what your company if offering.
Drew - I agree with you - would rather see an "honest labeling" of a 0% Down FHA Program than a mishmash of different DPA programs.
All-in-all, as a kind of "watchdog" for my clients' best interests, I'm not a big fan of being able to purchase a home with no money down. The statistics don't bode well for the foreclosure rate of homes purchased by people who aren't putting 'skin in the game' - it seems like they're being set up to fail. That being said, I can't ignore these programs altogether because it isn't my role to judge whether someone is going to make a poor decision on whether they can afford to buy or not.
Ultimately, it is the consumer who has to make the choice - what we are all aiming to do is help ensure that their decisions are informed ones.