MOST RECENT ARTICLES

• 10 biggest home-buying mistakes

• 10 ways to come up with a home down payment

• 15 must-know mortgage terms

• Mortgage brokers' top 5 pet peeves

Historic Neighborhoods

• All Central Phoenix
• Alvarado
• Arcadia
• Ashland Place
• Brentwood
• Campus Vista
• Central Avenue
• Cheery Lynn
• Coronado
• Country Club Manor
• Country Club Park
• Del Norte Place
• Earll Place
• East Alvarado
• East Evergreen
• Encanto Vista
• Encanto-Palmcroft
• F. Q. Story
• Fairview Place
• Garfield
• Idylwilde Park
• La Hacienda
• Los Olivos
• Luxury Historic
• Margarita Place
• Medlock Place
• North Central
• North Encanto
• Oakland
• Phoenix Homesteads
• Pierson Place
• Roosevelt
• Villa Verde
• Willo
• Windsor Square
• Woodland
• Yaple Park

Architectural Styles

• Art Deco
• Bungalows
• Cape Cod
• French Provincial
• Pueblo Revival
• Spanish Colonial
• Ranch
• Tudor Revival

If you’ve got a question about Real Estate in Arizona, why not ask it here?  
Either Don or Maureen would be happy to answer –
OR we may even ask one of our preferred partners to help!

  Dear Don,

I’ve been a big fan of historicphoenix.com for years! I got pre-approved for a mortgage in 2006 during the “boom”, but when I called you to see homes, you told me to wait (THANK YOU). Now that the prices have gone down significantly, I’d like to purchase a historic property, but when I called to get pre-approved again the lender asked alot of different questions and had some doubts as to whether I could even make a purchase at all!

My FICO score hasn’t changed since 2006 and I make more money now than I did then. Why would getting a loan now be a problem when it was SO easy before?

Sincerely,
Kathy, Peoria AZ

Hi Kathy,
Since this is a question that really has more to do with lending than anything else, I’m going to send it to two of the top lenders in the valley! I’ll post their responses as I get them.
Thanks for writing,
Don

Hi Kathy,

The entire mortgage industry has changed since 2006. There are no longer programs for Stated Income, No Ratio or No Doc loans. In other words, we now have to document income though pay stubs, W2’s and/or tax returns. There are also much higher minimum credit score requirements for all programs. 

There was no minimum credit score for an FHA loan in 2006,
now most investors require a minimum credit score of 620 for each person on an FHA loan.

In 2006 we could do zero-down conventional loans,
now most MI companies require 10% down in a declining market like Phoenix and they require a minimum credit score of 680.

In 2006 FHA allowed for seller funded down payment assistance, which allowed clients to purchase with zero down.
FHA no longer allows this.

These are only a few of the changes that have occurred. It is hard to say which change is effecting you or if there is an alternative without all the details, but I would be happy to speak with you about your situation and see if we can structure a loan based on the current regulations.

Mike Moshofsky, PrimeLending; A PlainsCapital Company
Office 480-346-8383
Cell 480-332-8545
Fax 866-908-6596
Email: mmoshofsky@primelending.com