ON THE MORTGAGE FRONT

I went to session with some local lenders this week sponsored by Tony Valencia at Superior Mortgage. The really good news is that the FHA or government backed loans are better than ever. The limit for an FHA loan here has moved from $201,000 to a whopping $271,000. That jump is incredible and bodes well for sales of home in the four hundreds or below. The buyer just needs to bring in 3% cash and there in might lie the issue as most buyers are now anticipating the old 100% loans. These are still available depending on credit scores et al. The conventional rates are hovering around 6% which is terrific even though they went up abit this last week. There is also a terrific Hero Loan program for teachers, firemen and police. The bad news for our State is that we will probably not be given any relief if the Feds ease up on Jumbo loans because we don't qualify as overinflated or distressed in that arena.