Military Members On A Home Buying Mission

The Lawhead Team Blogger — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 22:29:40 +0000

The latest One Cool Thing has some great info for members of the military!

The Lawhead Team would like to share the latest One Cool Thing about “Military Members On A Home Buying Mission”.

Did you know active-service military members and veterans make up the smallest group of homebuyers?

Of all home buyers, 2% are active-service military, 17% are veterans and 81% are non-military. Check out what they are purchasing and how:

Active-Service Military Buyers –

50% are first time home buyers
68% are first time sellers
56% completely financed their home with no down payment
77% of active-service military buyers use a VA loan to buy their home
15% used a conventional loan to buy their home

The average home for active-military home buyers are a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house approximately 2,050 square feet.

Military Veteran Buyers –

19% are first time home buyers
26% are first time home sellers
41% military veterans completely financed their home with no down payment
58% used a VA loan to buy their home
66% of military veterans use a conventional loan

For military veteran buyers, the average home they bought was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with approximately 1,960 square feet.

Non-Military Buyers

35% are first time home buyers and 39% are first time home sellers.
39% non military buyers are first time sellers.
7% completely financed their home with no down payment
66% used a conventional loan to purchase their home.

The average home for a non military home buyer is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with 1,870 square feet.

Source: National Association of Realtors.

Military Homeowners Get A Break On Short Sales

The Lawhead Team Blogger — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 19:52:08 +0000

Military homeowners benefit from new short sale guidelines.

There are some new guidelines being put in place for short sales and one of the beneficial ones has to do with military homeowners.

Check out the article from DS News about the new guideline for military homeowners to make short sales an easier process to sell their homes without having to first go into default.

New Guideline Will Make Short Sales Easier for Military Homeowners

Under a new guideline, military members with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans will now have an easier time with short sales.

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco announced in a release Thursday that military homeowners who receive Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders can sell their homes via short sale without having to go into default first.

“It is in everyone’s interest for the men and women serving in our armed forces to focus on the important job they are doing defending our country, rather than worry about the maintenance and leasing of a property in another jurisdiction,” said DeMarco in a release. “These Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac policy changes, in combination with related guidance last fall, should now provide military homeowners with access to the immediate and automatic full range of foreclosure alternatives.”

Last year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued guidance to servicers to have PCS orders count as a hardship for military members seeking relief.

The new policy takes an even greater step forward and will allow military members with PCS orders to sell a primary residence purchased on or before June 30, 2012 for less than the balance on their mortgages even when current on their payments. Short sales transactions typically require homeowners to be delinquent on their mortgage.

The GSEs also won’t pursue a deficiency judgment or a contribution under the new policy. Typically, borrowers contribute to closing costs and can also be pursued for the remaining balance after a short sale is completed.

Since PCS orders require military members to relocate, they can create a hardship, especially at a time when millions are underwater and can’t sell their home due to negative equity. This led many service members to be stuck with two residences or to default on their mortgage.

In response to the new guideline, Freddie Mac’s Interim Head of Single Family Business and Information Technology Paul Mullings said, “We look forward to working with our servicers on this new short sale policy. Together we can help ease the challenge of relocation for military families when Permanent Change of Station orders are received.”

The guideline was issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Fed’s board, FDIC, National Credit Union Administration, and the OCC.

The new rule is only applicable to military homeowners with a GSE-backed mortgage; this information can be checked by visiting Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac online.

From http://www.dsnews.com/articles/new-guideline-will-make-short-sales-easier-for-military-homeowners-2012-06-21