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T he P ortland O bserver • M arch 09, 1994
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(O b stru e r
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S teve C arter , D irector of
S pecial S ervices , C entury 21
N orthwest R egion
M ortgage interest rates are at
their lowest levels in years, and in
many parts o f the country house prices
are more attractive than they’ ve been
in decades. N ot surprisingly, thou­
sands o f Americans who have never
before owned homes are recognizing
this remarkable opportunity and are
rushing to buy.
In some cases, the buyer has more
than enough incom e to co ver a
m onthly mortgage payment but has
been unable to save the 20 percent
down payment required by most lend­
ers fo r fixed-rate and adjustable-rate
and a djustable-rate co n ve n tio n a l
loans. Does this mean that only those
w ho have a large pile o f savings can
benefit from today’ s buyers market?
A bsolutely not.
A lte rn a tive lending programs
that have been around for years can
help first-tim e buyers fin d a mortgage
that fits w ith in their budget. T w o
governm ent agencies, the Federal
Housing A u th ority (F H A ) and Veter­
ans A dm inistration (V A ), can reduce
the hefty size o f that first down pay­
ment form 10 percent to as low as zero
percent. The agencies are not them ­
selves lenders but backers o f your
loan in the event o f foreclosure.
F H A loans are a v a ila b le to a l,
fa m ilie s , re g a rd le s s o f in c o m e
le v e l and c o m m u n ity . T hey re ­
q u ire a d o w n p aym en t o f as l it t le
as zero o r as m uch as 10 p e rc e n t,
w ith buye rs ch o o sin g betw een 15
and 30 ye a r m ortg ag es.
V A loans carry all the same ben­
efits and payment structures as a con­
ventional home loan. They’re o nly
available, however, to individuals
Unsure If You Can Afford To Buy Home?
Then you w ill want to attend a free seminar concerning home buying
and home ownership. The seminars w ill provide an overview o f the home
buying process, explain mortgage financing in general terms and assist w ith
a household budgeting plan. Specific mortgage programs; designed to assist
low to moderate income households w ill also be discussed.
This class is designed for lower income home buyers, w ho arc buying
their firs t house in the city o f Portland, w ith a m axim um house price o f
$65,000.
Some specific questions that w ill he addressed include the fo llo w in g :
• W h a t w ou ld m y m o n th ly paym ent be? I lo w m uch dow n paym ent
w o u ld I need to have?
• W h a t i f I have bad c re d it, o r no c re d it at all?
• W h a t a bout inspectiorts, assessments, b u ild in g codes, home m a in ­
tenance?
The seminars w ill be conducted every m onth and attendance at the
seminars w ill be required in order to q ua lify fo r certain loan programs.
Space is limited-reservations w ill be taken on a first come, firs t served basis.
Please call the Portland Housing Center at 282-7744 to receive your pre-
registration form .
The evening Hom e B u ying Class is a Series o f 4 classes:
Evening Class-Tuesdays & Thursdays
March 1st thorough 10th, 6:15-8:30 pm
PCC Cascade Campus, 705 N. K illin g s w o rth
Cascade H all A udito riu m
The Portland Housing Center is a private, n on -p ro fit organization, and is
funded by the C ity o f Portland, local financial institutions, and foundations.
honorably discharged from m ilita ry
service after tw o or more years o f
active duty or have been an active
duty fo r at least 90 days.
The V A establishes the interest
rate (usually close to market rates)
and requires a small down payment.
V A mortgages are fu lly assumable i f
you sell the property, and the Veter­
ans A dm inistration does not allo w
lenders to charge a percentage o f loan
p rincipal as interest points. An F H A
or V A loan can make the difference
between getting in on this year’ s ex­
ceptionally affordable housing mar­
ket or w aiting u ntil next year - which
could be too late.
For more inform ation contact
Steve Carter, D irector o f Special Ser­
vices, at Century 21 Northwest Re­
gion (206) 248-2100,18000 Interna­
tional B lvd ., Suite 1021, SeaTac, W A
98188.
Small
Household
Repair Hints
1) D id you know that when you have
pin holes, sm all nail or sm all punc­
tures on your w all surfaces, you can
f ill these holes w ith regular w hite
toothpaste, let dry and paint to match
w ith regular o il colors or nail polish.
2) Save on paper towels and sprays
and soaps. Get the best results a vail­
able. Clean your w indow s w ith fu ll
strenght vinegar and w ipe sparkling
clean and b right w ith old newspaper.
In an effort to increase homcown-
ership opportunities fo r low -to mod-
erate-income and first-tim e home-
buyers,U.S. Bancorp M ortgageCom-
pany (U S B M C ) is expanding its suc­
cessful Homepartners loan program
and introducing a fa m ily o f Home-
partners mortgage loan products.
The Homepartners product line
w ill provide liberal credit guidelines
and flexible downpayment options
for first-tim e an low -to moderate-
income borrowers.
“ The Homepartners fa m ily o f
loans has been designed to address
the most common obstacles facing
first-tim e or low -to moderate-income
home buyers,” said Richard Eichhom,
president o f U.S. Bancorp Mortgage
Company. “ These loans w ill make it
easier for low -to moderate-income
borrowers to get into the growing real
estate m arket.”
SOME OF THE LOAN
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
H om epartners C o n v e n tio n a l
Loan Program is available in select
urban areas served by U SBM C . The
program has no income lim ita tion s
and is designed to stimulate lending
and encourage urban development,
w ith a focus on neighborhood rev ita l-
ization. In addition, U S B M C has re­
ceive investor approval to allow use o f
“ cash on hand” for downpayments.
Homepartners conventional 3/2
loan Program is available in a ll
USBM C markets to borrowers with
incomes up to 100% o f the area me­
dian income. Advantages include up
to 95% loan to value (L T V ), w ith 2%
o f the downpayment paid by USBM C
through the use o f premium pricing,
allowing a borrower to purchase a home
with as little as a 3% downpayment from
their own savings, or cash on hand.
Homepartners F H A Loan Pro­
gram is available in lim ited areas. It
includes many o f the popular features
o f an F H A 203B loan, such as a lower
dow npaym ent requirem ent and a
higher q ua lifyin g ratio. It also in ­
cludes downpayment assistance, sales
price lim its up to S65,000 (depending
on locations) and allows g ift funds to
be used fo r the entire downpayment
and fo r closing costs.
Homepartners U.S. Loan Pro­
gram provides flexible underwriting
guidelines that help overcome the
common obstacles facing first-tim e
homebuyers, such as lack o f down-
payment funds, closing costs and high
debt-to-income ratios. The program
•
A
-
First-Time Buyers Can Use Small Down
U.S. Bancorp Mortgage Launches
Payments To Enter Today’s Housing Market New Homepartners Loan Product Line
by
••
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■F-'i C
offers a 95% L T V loan, allows up to
an additional 5% to be used for clos­
ing costs to a total L T V o f 100%,
long-term amortization w ith a bal­
loon payment, and is available to
borrowers w ith incom esofupto 100%
o f area median income. Q ualifying
ratios have been increased to 36/40
from the standard 28/36 (mortgage
payment to income/mortgage payment
plus all other debt to income). W ith
only one year stable employment re­
quired, and more flexible credit stan­
dards are applied.
“ One o f the reasons U.S. Bancorp
Mortgage Company continues to lead
the mortgage industry is because o f
loan products like Homepartners,”
said Eichhom . “ Homepartners can
help make the dream o f home owner­
ship a reality fo r many Americans.”
Customers interested in learning
more about the Homepartners loan
programs can contact th e ir local
USBM C office.
U.S. Bancorp Mortgage Com­
pany, a subsidiary o f U.S. Bank, is
one o f the largest mortgage lenders in
the Northwest. The company o rig i­
nated over 43,000 residential m ort­
gage loans w ith a value o f $4.4 b illio n
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Contact Home Lenders In Your Community
About Available Property For First Time Buyers
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Killingsworth Chapel
430 N. Killingsworth
Portland, Oregon 97217
503-283-1976
Lombard Chapel
3018 N. Lombard
Portland, Oregon 97217
503-283-0525
d re a m
m a y h a v e ju s t c o m e tr u e .
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T h e r e 's n e v e r b e e n a b e t t e r
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104 NE Russell
Portland, OR 97212
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EQUAL HOUSING
OPPORTUNITY
W E ’LL HELP YOU O W N A PIECE O F A M E R IC A
To qualified buyer» only on homes with FHA insured financing Closing costs and tees additional
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