Four Loans to Get Your Greenovation Done

Working with Home Buyers on historic home greenovation projects has been a specialty of my real estate career. The greenest properties in Atlanta are those that are already built in the 45 historic neighborhoods that touch the BeltLine. A search of FMLS today for homes classified as “Fixer Uppers” shows a total of 155 on the market, many of which are in said nabes. So there’s plenty of stock available to purchase and renovate for those kindred spirits out there.

Of course, to pull off a purchase + upgrade property play requires a good renovation loan program, unless you happen to be flush with cash. Renovation loans are a specialty of Brent Brownlee of Southeast Mortgage. Brent has been so kind as to highlight four programs for us here. They are the FHA 203k Streamline, the Full FHA 203k Renovation Loan, the Fannie Mae HomeStyle Renovation Loan, and the Fannie Mae Homepath Renovation Loan.

FHA 203k Streamline

• Available for a purchase or a refinance
• Up to $35,000 in renovations that are non-structural or cosmetic
• Maximum loan amount for the primary mortgage plus renovations is $346,000 in the metro-Atlanta area

Full FHA 203k Renovation Loan

• Available for a purchase or a refinance
• Can be used for a complete rebuild up to the max FHA loan limit of $346,000 in the metro-Atlanta area

Fannie Mae HomeStyle Renovation Loan

• Available for a purchase or refinance
• May be used for comprehensive construction projects up to the Fannie Mae loan limit of $417,000
• Can include landscaping and “luxury” renovations (pools, etc.)
• Can be used for 2nd homes and investors

Fannie Mae HomePath Renovation Loan

• Allows for up to $30,000 of renovations on Fannie Mae foreclosures (HomePath properties)
• “Streamline” program
• Can be used for investor purchases of HomePath properties

Man, me and my clients would have loved to have access to programs like these, back in the day.

And there’s more good news on the FHA front. This past month, the FHA released a revision to their guidelines on previous foreclosures, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and short sales.  It is called the FHA Back to Work program.  The short and sweet of this program is that if a borrower/buyer previously lost a home through any of the above means, and this hardship was due to a documentable loss in income then the new waiting period for obtaining an FHA mortgage is now only 1 year!  Previously, the wait period was 3 years if there was a foreclosure or short sale event of any kind.  This should help a fair number of potential buyers get into a home sooner than they expected, but please keep in mind that loss of your home due to a loss in income must be documented. The FHA is also requiring that buyers take a homeownership counseling course before they apply.

So there you go. For more information on these loan programs and to get pre-qualified, give Brent a call at 678.201.3430. Then, let’s find you a property and get ‘er done!