Page 25 - AT

BUSINESS Thursday 13 december 2018
A25

For information on one of our featured homes
for the holidays please contact us at

(297) 733- 4663- phone
$ 265,000.00 $ 355,000.00 $ 575,000.00 $ 650,000.00 info@arubahomeminders.com- email
Bubali # 113c Caya Ritmo # 35 Oceania # 213 Tamarijn $ 59 www.arubahomeminders.com- web site
3Bedr w/ additional 4 Bedr 2 Story Home 2Bed/2Bath ocean front 4Bedr home w/ sweeping
guest studio Eagle Beach area Condo. island views

$ 320,000.00 $ 449,000.00 $ 625,000.00 $ 699,000.00 $ 775,000.00
Jardines Del Mar # 12 Opal # 223 Surfside Res. Rooi Santo # 25m Salina Cerca # 37b Oceania Residence # 513
2Bed/2.5 Bath townhome 4Bed/3.5Bath w/ lock off 4Bed/4Bath home with 5Bed home with lush gardens 2Bed/2Bath Ocean front
w pool view apartment pool, jacuzzi, gym & large private pool Penthouse condo w/ jacuzzi
Expand your homebuying options with a fixer-upper mortgage

By HOLDEN LEWIS standard. The limited is for ing on whether the home
Associated Press renovations costing $35,000 is owner-occupied and
It’s the lament of first-time or less that don’t require the borrower is a first-time
homebuyers in just about major structural work. The homebuyer or has a low to
every housing market: standard is for projects up- moderate income.
There aren’t enough entry- wards of $35,000 or involv- HomeStyle loans have few
level homes available that ing major structural work. restrictions on improve-
are move-in ready. A 203(k) standard loan re- ments, other than that they
One solution is to broaden quires a HUD consultant, “should be permanently
the search to fixer-uppers. who helps the homeowner affixed to the real property
With a renovation mort- solicit and analyze bids and (either dwelling or land),”
gage, you can get one In this Oct 2, 2018, file photo a for sale sign stands outside a oversees inspections of the according to Fannie Mae
home loan that combines home on the market in the north Denver suburb of Thornton, work. Consultants are often guidelines. That means
the purchase price with Colo. contractors, architects or HomeStyle may pay for
the cost of improvements. Associated Press inspectors, McMullen says. adding a swimming pool.
NOT ENOUGH AFFORDABLE The two major types of ren- Both FHA 203(k) and Home- HUD has a tool to search PITFALLS TO WATCH FOR
HOMES ovation loans are the FHA Style can be used for struc- for consultants . The most common prob-
Entry-level homes are 203(k) loan , insured by the tural and cosmetic renova- Fannie Mae’s HomeStyle lem is failing to get detailed
scarce, whether new or Federal Housing Admin- tions. With both loan types, loan may be used to buy cost estimates, McMul-
used. Most gains in housing istration, and the Home- renovation work may begin and fix up a primary resi- len says. To prevent cost
inventory have been in up- Style loan, guaranteed by immediately after closing. dence, second home or overruns, make sure esti-
scale homes, according to Fannie Mae. Both cover FHA’s 203(k) loan is for pri- investment property. It re- mates are specific about
Realtor.com. most home improvements, mary residence s only. It quires a minimum credit materials, and include
The decline in entry-level whether major or minor. requires a minimum credit score of 620. Minimum costs for inspections, per-
new construction is stark: “Basically, every kind of re- score of 500 with a down down payment is 3 per- mits and consultant fees (if
36 percent of homes built pair that can be done to payment of at least 10 cent or 5 percent, depend- applicable).q
in 2000 had under 1,800 a property, we do it,” says percent; a credit score
square feet; in 2017, 22 per- Brad McMullen, vice presi- of 580 or higher allows a
cent did, according to the dent of renovation lend- down payment of 3.5 per-
Harvard Joint Center for ing for PrimeLending, a cent. These loans can’t be
Housing Studies. national mortgage lender used for work that the FHA
As for existing homes, re- that emphasizes renova- deems a luxury, such as in-
sales of homes costing tion loans. stalling a swimming pool.
$100,000 to $250,000 were RENOVATION LOANS EX- There are two types of
down 1.9 percent in Oc- PAND OPTIONS 203(k) loans: limited and
tober, compared with a
year earlier, according to
the National Association
of Realtors. The demand
is there: Even with the de-
cline, homes in that price
range accounted for 40.2
percent of sales.
Faced with a shortage of
affordable homes, it makes
sense to consider buying
and fixing up dwellings that
are outdated or in need of
repair.