Good morning. My name is Tom Heath with the Heath Team at Nova Home Loans. Today is December 7th and this is our weekly update on Mortgage and Real Estate Related Matters.
Welcome to the month of December. We are wrapping up 2020 and in preparation for the new year of 2021, the loan limits from the agencies have been announced. There has been an increase, which means more buying power for your clients.
The Conventional Loan, sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have increased their Pima County loan limit to just under five hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($550,000). It’s a jump of almost 40 Grand ($40,000), meaning we can do a larger loan amount for those individuals and still stay within the conforming loan limits. Anything above that would become a Jumbo Loan, which becomes a little bit more complex and sometimes can be a little bit pricier. That’s good news for people buying in the upper end!
FHA is also followed suit and they have moved their base loan amount up to three hundred and fifty six thousand ($356,000). That is another increase in buying power for those using FHA Loans. Please keep in mind, these are for single family residents, as the number of units increases, so does the loan amount.
On FHA, you can get up to around six hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars ($685,000) for a four-unit property. So be mindful of that as your clients are out looking. They can put three and a half percent (3.5%) down on a four-unit property if they’re going to occupy one of them, and they can get a loan amount of up to six hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars ($685,000) with FHA. Not a lot of people take advantage of that but it’s certainly something to consider.
VA Works a little bit differently, in general there really is no VA cap. Borrowers can get, at this point, an unlimited VA loan. However, once you get above that conforming limit of about five hundred and fifty thousand ($550,000), the rules change a little bit. Definitely want to talk with your loan officer if you’ve got someone in that VA category, but they might be able to purchase, with no money down, a substantially larger home.
Well today is December 7th. It is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. And if you are looking for a way to get out of the house safely, I recommend, if you can, maybe head over to the University of Arizona’s Mall, the outdoor area there right in front of the Student Union. There is a USS Arizona Memorial and all Eleven Hundred and Seventy-Seven (1177) Sailors and Marines who lost their life on December 7th in the attack of Pearl Harbor are commemorated with plaques. It’s a very moving and touching place to be especially this time of year. Hope you have a great week and we’ll talk to you. next Monday!