Monday, January 14, 2008

Open Question: Question on refinancing a home?

A new buyer has purchased a condo in our condo association (the "HOA") with a mortgage backed by the FHA. The FHA has a policy that they will not guarantee mortgages on properties where there is a Right of First Refusal (ROFR) on that property, owned by the other co-owners. The selling agent attempted to get this ROFR eliminated via an amendment to the HOA but they made a mistake in interpreting the CC&Rs that only a simply majority of co-owners needed to sign for the amendment to be binding. No! My real estate attorney reviewed the documents and it is clear that a UNANIMOUS vote is needed and the selling agent did not achieve that.

I informed the Title Company / Closer at the time of the closing that a unanimous vote was needed and there may be a cloud on the title if they close without the other votes. They closed anyway.

So money and property have changed hands & this is now the Underwriter's / Mortgagee's issue. What should happen next? FHA withdraws guarantee? Waiver? The ROFR has economic value. It is a property right that increases the appeal of the investment by giving buyers a priority position to increase their investment in the HOA as a reward for their investment in and maintenance of the property. At a minimum, I would argue the ROFR saves a co-owner from having to hire a buyer's agent to purchase an HOA property because they already know the property well and have followed it's progress via the HOA. Real Estate Commissions in this state are 6% & are split if there are two agents, i.e. a buyer's agent and a seller's agent. So at a minimum, I would value the ROFR as 3% on the selling price of each condo since that expense is avoided by the ROFR, and up to 6% if it is sale by owner.

In this scenario, I would say we as owners of this property right can sell away that right if properly compensated by the mortgagee, the FHA, the buyer, the seller, or the real estate agents. But it isn't FREE as they were hoping to take it from us quietly To Responder Mary B: I appreciate your previous experience in underwriting FHA loans but I have, in fact, spoken to the FHA now three times. The FHA Appraisal Dept. in Denver says they DO have a policy where they will not guarantee properties containing a ROFR and they refer me to their Publication 4265.1 Appendix 24. I have ordered it by mail to read chapter and verse. Maybe this is new since you were an underwriter of FHA backed mortgages?

You express irritation over my posting a similar question a couple of weeks back, however we have new information since then and that is that the loan has closed. Now the focus is how do they mop up their mess. And you may have my position backwards. I am not trying to get this Amendment approved. I want it BLOCKED unless I expressly agree to give up the ROFR and I am compensated, and neither of those two things have occurred.

I am trying to get the HOA Pres. to follow the letter of the CC&Rs so don't assume I've not studied them. As to the ROFR being a "marketable agreement", I disagree. It is entirely transferable and goes along with the estate of the owner to the beneficiaries in their will. I've not seen any attempt by an owner to try to sell this ROFR to a separate party, but note that it is not just the owners who must unanimously approve of amendments to the CC&Rs but their beneficiaries to their deeds of trust as well. So that means the mortgage holders as beneficiaries under the deeds of trust must approve amendments too which my real estate attorney stated was rare. He is quite experienced so please don't assume this situation has gone without independant legal review. The attorney, however, is not a lender and this question goes to what the mortgagee and guarantor should do. The FHA says it is the Underwriter's/Mortgagee's issue. If co-owners incur damages, we can sue / go for injunction. Ready to go! I'm hoping for a simpler fix but the heat must rise before the Underwriter will make a move

Open Question: If i earn 20k how much is the maximum i can borrow from a mortgage company?


i want to buy a place preferably summer next year in brighton. see i probably will be on abit more money then but just out of interest if im putting down a deposit of 20k would i be able to afford anything??i dont want a studio tho!!!

Open Question: When you get preapproved for a mortgage are you not suppose to apply for new credit until you close?



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Open Question: Question on refinancing a home?


My friend has a home loan of $80,000 at 6.5% interest.
I believe the current loan rate is about 5.75%.
Should she be thinking about refinancing the 80k.
She doesn't want an adjustable rate mortgage.
Thanks for your response.

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