THE GRUENE TEAM - Keller Williams Realty Heritage

It is getting harder and harder to find a lender who will loan on a manufactured home, but I continue getting more and more calls from people looking for a manufactured home to purchase. I believe people are thinking they can purchase a manufactured home and have lower payments, but heads up, this is not so. Take for example the man who called me about one of my listings that is a manufactured home. When asked why he wanted to go with a manufactured home, he stated it was because he wanted to keep his payments lower. After I asked him if he had considered purchasing a "real" home (many do not consider a manufactured home even on land, a "real" home), he had not. Therefore, I asked him if I could have a lender call him to get him prequalified for both, a manufactured home and a built home. He accepted the offer. After prequalifying him both ways, we found the he could afford my listing of the $49,000 manufactured home on land but his interest rate would be 13% for 15 yrs, and that is with good credit. However, we also found he could afford a $150,000 home at 5% interest for 30 yrs. Also the monthly payment would be basically the same for both. So if a client wants a manufactured home to keep their payments low, find out their qualifications for the purchase of a built home. They, and you, might be surprised and in the end, they will own a home with more selling power when they decide to move.

Looks like we'll be getting the $8,000 Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers for a little longer. At least if President Obama signs the bill. They're offering to extend the Tax Credit for purchases through April 2010, but that's not all. They are also offering $6,500 Tax Credit to people who have lived in their home for the past five years and now want to move up. Couple income limit has also been increased to $225,000 per year. This is great news for the housing industry and Real Estate Market and the general Economy.