Southern Oregon ABC’s of Homebuying Class this Saturday December 13th at Rogue Community College

The next "ABC's of Homebuying" HUD approved course for first time homebuyers is coming up this Saturday December 13, 2008 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Rogue Community College in Downtown Medford. Not only is this is the required course for several first time homebuyer programs, but it is a great source of information for the first time homebuyer AND buyers who are re-entering the market after being on the sidelines of the real estate market for several years.

For information on registration and directions, follow this link, or contact the Southern Oregon Housing Resource Center at ACCESS, Inc. (541)774-4329.

If you are planning to attend and saw this notification here, look for me as your Instructor for Section 2 on Financial Preparation and possibly Section 3 on Mortgages.

See you at the closing table!

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com

To Be Or Not To Be...Higher USDA Income Limits for Jackson County Oregon?

It looks like the proposed revisions for the USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing program may go in to effect January 20, 2009 for their programs. If so, Southern Oregon home buyers looking to purchase a qualified property outside of the Medford and Central Point city limits will fall in to only two income categories vs. the many we have been using.

For example, presently the income limits for qualifying USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing Home Buyers in Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Jacksonville, White City, Eagle Point, Shady Cove, Trail, Gold Hill and the surrounding rural areas would be qualified using the following income chart:

Medford, OR MSA GUARANTEED HOUSING PROGRAM INCOME LIMITS
STATE: OREGON ------------------- A D J U S T E D I N C O M E L I M I T S -----
1 PERSON 2 PERSON 3 PERSON 4 PERSON 5 PERSON 6 PERSON 7 PERSON 8 PERSON*

MOD.INC-GUAR.LOAN 49550 56600 63700 70750 76400 82050 87750 93400

Come January 20, 2009, if no changes are made to the proposed policy, any qualified borrower(s) with 1-4 person household will be qualified up to $70,750 annual income. Familes of 5+ will be qualified using $93,400 annual income.

This will help a LOT more Southern Oregon home buyers to buy a home on this great 30 year fixed rate mortgage program that doesn't have PMI! Plus, it is a much needed solution to offset the loss of the CashAdvantage Oregon Bond program, as well as the loss of most down payment assistance sources in our area here in Jackson County, Oregon.

If you wish to find out if you are qualified for this great program so you may BUY instead of RENT your home, contact us today at (541)608-6003 or go online at Quality4Loans .

See you at the closing table!

Karen Cooper - Mortgage Consultant - Southern Oregon Housing Resources

Home Buyers - Forget Wall Street and Main Street, How About Opportunity Street?

This week has made me feel a bit like this hamster. Running, running, running…but still in basically the same place. Trying to re-boot this mentality, I thought I’d do some market research for this gorgeous area I live and work in, Southern Oregon.

Just out of curiosity, I thought I would go explore how many homes are on the market in the Rogue Valley that might suit the entry-level buyer. Imagine my surprise when I had to cut the criteria back over and over again after finding 700+ homes for sale under $200,000! Narrowing in to categories, I found:

75 homes on the market priced from $ 90,000-135,000
73 homes on the market priced from $135,000-155,000
118 homes on the market priced from $155.000-170,000
302 homes on the market priced from $170,000-200,000

When was the last time Southern Oregon buyers have had the opportunity to find homes - this many homes! - available in these price ranges? My criteria stipulated 2+ bedrooms and residential, so this includes houses, townhomes/condominiums, and manufactured homes on land. It also includes a home for $154,900 in Ashland Oregon! And 8 homes built in 2003 or later in Medford Oregon priced from $170,000-200,000!

I saw so many potential buyers miss the boat in Southern California after the market picked up again after the Northridge Earthquake in 1994 and again after the 2001-2002 market slow down. I sure hope home buyers looking to purchase in our many fine Southern Oregon Cities – Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Medford, Central Point, White City, Eagle Point, Shady Cove, Gold Hill, Rogue River, Grants Pass, Merlin, Cave Junction, and Applegate/Ruch – don’t miss the boat this time around, while sidelined by the often times inaccurate portrayals they are reading/hearing/seeing in the news!

Tools are available, like Oregon Bond Loan and USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan. Financing IS available.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/746737/Can-Ashland-Oregon-Buyers-Still-Get-100-Financing-in-October-2008
http://activerain.com/blogsview/726683/Oregon-Jumbo-Real-Estate-Loans-Still-Available
http://activerain.com/blogsview/635993/Seventy-Five-Hundred-Reasons-for-First-Time-Home-Buyers-to-Buy-NOW
http://activerain.com/blogsview/208966/Oregon-Bond-Loan-Still-the-Best-Deal-In-Town


See you at the closing table!

Karen Cooper – OR/CA Mortgage Consultant – http://www.quality4loans.com/