Rural Development for Buyers - 100% Financing

USDA has a program called Rural Development designed to help buyers purchase homes in more rural areas. Some of the towns in Chittenden County are Williston, Jericho, and Underhill to name a few. Essex, Colchester and Milton are currently available but will be off the list by October 1. Most towns in Franklin County are included -- in fact, throughout the state, very few towns are not included.

The key piece that helps buyers is that the loan is 100% financing! Yes, 100%! And the rate, which of course, is not a constant, is low! Today at a closing the buyers closed with a 3.25% interest rate! In this case, the buyers also received some closing costs from the seller.

We have done Rural Development loans that were 100% financing and the sellers contributed 100% of the closing costs! In other words, there was no money for the buyer to bring to closing. In fact, he got his contract deposit back at closing! He had to come up with money for inspection, appraisal, radon test, and other miscellaneous fees. But to be able to buy a home for no money down and pay no closing costs is amazing.

Rural Development appraisals are strict in order to transfer a safe property to the new buyer. For instance, if there are electrical issues or peeling paint in a pre-1978 home with the potential of lead paint, the appraiser notes the deficiencies. In past closings, peeling paint has been painted and electric issues repaired before the house closed. In fact, on a sale in Winooski, we as agents were told about having to scrape and peel paint only a few weeks before closing. The sellers couldn't afford to have the work done. Dave and I are certified for safe handling of lead paint. So, what did we do? We scraped and painted with a team of REALTORS in our office! I hope we never have to do that again, but we go the extra mile!

For the right buyer, in the right town, this is a great program. Be sure to talk to your mortgage officer about USDA's Rural Develpment to see if you qualify.

Istanbul Kabob House at Cornerstone Commons



Istanbul Kabob House www.istanbulkebabhousevt.com



I went to a great restaurant tonight on Kellogg Road in Essex. Located at Cornerstone Commons, this restaurant offers great dining for the area and a special feature of Cornerstone Commons. How many condo associations can boast that they have a great restaurant on site? The Istanbul Kabob House offers all kinds of Turkish and Mediterranean foods. Prices are reasonable and the variety is impressive. I do not eat meat and there were many choices for me. I had veggie stuffed eggplant with yogurt cucumber dressing.

The atmosphere is really great and the owner was very friendly!

I had dinner with a client who just sold her condo in Cornerstone after it was on the market for just a few days! Cornerstone has many unique designs and this was one of them. I still have another for sale there for only $102,500. Secure building gives you a good feeling about living here.



Condo at Cornerstone Commons for $102,500

Check out this link to the listing by RE/MAX North Professionals!

http://www.nnerenmls.com/nne/maildoc/eri1768_1344392618-Aug-07-2012-10_23_38pm.html



Dining area to living room

Pool on site

Consider a tour at this wonderful and affordable condominium! It is a corner condo so there is great light. Compact but with a kitchen with many cabinets, this is a great starter or retirement condo. Perfect for "snow birds." Another feature is the large storage unit in the lower level - each unit has its own 6 x 9 lockable storage.

Day in the Life of a Real Estate Agent, August 2, 2012

I was thinking of how diverse my day is and how many different deals I keep track of. It does feel like I'm "spinning plates" and trying to keep them all in the air without breaking any.

Today I drove back from NH and did business from the car for four hours. I did it on the way down the day before. I have been wondering what people did before cell phones were so popular. Everything just took a lot longer.

Examples:
- Negotiated inspection issues
- Called a lender to see where our approval was for a purchase
- Contacted the agent on the other end of that deal to inform him
- Silently cursed that we weren't getting the info we needed from the lender!
- Emailed other clients about the status of the loan for their buyers
- Made appointments for showings
- Set a closing time
- Negotiated an offer
- Called my assistant to email a document to me
- Arrived back at noon and ran home to get paperwork for an appointment
- Appointment to show property
- Had to call a seller and say a buyer had to terminate a deal
- Sent off the termination
- Negotiated the inspection issues more
- Got a call from the lender that the loan was approved (it is 6 pm now)
- Called the buyer, called the listing agent, then did a "happy dance!"
- Continued to negotiate the inspection issues and think we have verbal agreement


And this is not a busy day! I like that my job is diverse,  but I prefer it when the work takes 8 hours, not 12! But, I'm not really complaining because the market is strong and the interest rates are low.

Gotta go to bed and start over tomorrow!