The Lund Team Real Estate Blog

Being a first time home buyer in today’s market has it’s pros. You can take advantage of both FHA financing (only requires you to put 3.5% down) and the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit.

However, if you have been looking then you know finding and securing a property can be extremely frustrating. Not only is inventory low in North County, but many sellers are turning down higher FHA offers and accepting inferior all cash or conventional financing offers.

Also, FHA financing requires the property to be in good condition. This rules out foreclosures that have been stripped or properties with any missing appliances. Investors are also purchasing low priced homes in poor condition and then fixing them up and putting them back on the market. This is commonly known as “flipping” a property.

These properties are also not options for FHA buyers because FHA financing requires that the property not have transferred ownership within the last 90 days. This is known as the FHA anti-90 day flip rule. All these factors combined make for a frustrating first time home buyer market.

Buyers stick with it because there is light at the end of the tunnel if you have an experienced agent who is on top of the new inventory.

Above is a picture of my very happy clients. They spent 6 months looking for their perfect first home. They had made two previous offers on other properties, but lost out to competing all cash offers. In their search they learned a lot about the different areas they were interested in and decided that for a little bit more money a month they could get a lot more house. It was a learning process and in the end they secured a wonderful detached home in Shadowridge, Vista. They couldn’t be more excited with the end result and the night after escrow closed they got engaged in their new home!

So, if you are a first time home buyer experiencing some heart ache, don’t give up! As long as you have good representation and a little patience you too will find your home sweet home in time to take advantage of the tax credit and today’s great financing opportunities.