Appraisals: Five Common Questions Answered

WHAT IS AN APPRAISAL?

A real estate appraisal is required on a property whenever it’s financed, whether you are buying or refinancing a home. (With a few exceptions, contact me for more information). It is done after an offer is made on a home, or during a refinance.  An appraisal costs several hundred dollars, and generally the borrower pays this fee.

Even before the government takeover, more changes at Fannie Mae

As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac await the government takeover, they both continue to tighten lending guidelines. The latest from Fannie Mae limit the combined loan to value for those who have an equity line on their home or are using an equity line to purchase a home. In addition, unless you are putting 25% down or more on investment properties the cost to acquire the loan has gone up. For investors there is even more bad news as the number of properties financed continues to shrink. For all of the changes, please go to this link;

https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2008/0822.pdf

For questions or comments on this post, please contact Chris Scheer at cscheer@cornerstonestl.com or 314.223.9824.