Not all people involved in your next Santa Clarita real estate transaction, are Realtors. When buying or selling a home right here in Santa Clarita, you will come across lenders, escrow officers, home inspectors, appraisers, photographers, and maybe even a home stager, to name a few.

What better way to help you get acquainted with some of Santa Clarita's brightest minds behind these real estate services, that to interview them? That's what we're doing. And hopefully by the time you enter into your very first Santa Clarita real estate transaction, or are ready for your next, you'll have already gained a few helpful tips from our interviews, and maybe even feel like giving these great folks a try, with their products and services.

So far we've interviewed a few different lenders, regarding a few current events happening in the mortgage industry. We've also interviewed a gentleman from the solar energy industry that was offering some great insight into why you may want to go green with their product. We use the WeToKu platform to interview them. It's really cool, plus you can watch live. We always announce the interviews with the live link, over on Twitter, or on our Facebook page.

Check out a few of the interviews we've done, below. This is just our way of bringing you in a bit closer to the world of Santa Clarita real estate, and all of it's nuances. Please contact us at The Robert & Brian Team if you have a suggestion as to who our next interview should be. If you're a bussines owner that has something to offer our local real estate market, whether it be a product or a service, please contact us. We may want to promote your business and interview you too!

On October 4, 2010 the annual premium charged to FHA borrowers will increase to .90% of the loan. This means an increase in monthly payments! Perhaps it's best to buy a home prior to thise going into effect?

Brian discusses this increase, and the FHA upfront fee decrease as well. Overall it will be a net increase in cost to FHA home loan borrowers and will negatively impact purchasing power. Listen in as Brian and Keith Renno from The Renno Lending Team discuss the ramifications of these upcoming changes. Enjoy!

 Be sure to give us a call @ 661-964-1760 when you're ready to buy a home in Santa Clarita. We're available 7 days a week to assist you here at The Robert and Brian Team.

Are you approved for an FHA loan, and on the prowl for a Santa Clarita condo or townhome? If you are, you might have already found out that quite a few condo and townhome communities in the Santa Clarita Valley, and elsewhere, are not FHA approved. What does that mean? It means that FHA won't insure any loans in those particular communities. Which is a nice way of saying, you can't buy your dream home, in there.

Yep, seems a bit unfair, I know. If you have fallen in love with a particular community, and are only eligible for an FHA loan, you'll more than likely have to save up quite a bit more money for a larger down payment (10% down, 20% down), in order to do a conventional loan. And even then, conventional loans generally have stricter requirements, such as minimum FICO scores, etc., in addition to the larger down payments.

There may be help, yet, for your dreams of owning a home, by way of getting an FHA insured loan, in a non-FHA approved community. How? Well, a little bit of hard work, and a smidgen of patience.

Enter a hard working lender, such as Mitch Milat at Augusta Financial, and a few persistent agents, such as The Robert & Brian Team, all working on your team toward one goal, it's possible to get a community that's not FHA approved….approved!

Recently Mitch was helping one of our FHA homebuyers out, and went to battle for them, by trying to get the Mariposa townhomes in Saugus approved. Our clients were first-time homebuyers, and they had fallen in love with the Plum Canyon Mariposa community. They had written an offer on the Mariposa condo, it was accepted, then the seller and their listing agent agreed to let our buyers' lender do the hard work of trying to make the FHA loan work. After about 3 weeks into our 45 day escrow, Mitch @ Augusta Financial received FHA approval, enabling our buyers purchase to go forward. We then closed escrow about a week after the approval came in. They're so happy living there now. And consequently, so are many other FHA homebuyers who can now purchase their home at the Mariposa townhome community.

Other communities have the possibility of becoming FHA approved. Some of them have been in the past, but are no longer. Whether it's a condo or townhome community in Santa Clarita, or not. It is possible. Certain conditions have to be right, and cooperation is needed from third parties, such as HOA's. Don't give up hope, if you have fallen in love with a community that isn't FHA approved. With a little hard work, patience, and good professionals working on your team, anything can happen!

Watch this interview I did with Mitch Milat of Augusta Financial: 

FHA Approved list – CAN CHANGE AT ANY MOMENT! – PLEASE NOTE THIS LIST DOES CHANGE AND CAN BE REVISED ANY TIME, ANY DAY, ANY HOUR. Some communities once approved, can lose approval. What a mess! But it's what we deal with in order to match people to homes, and buyers to sellers.

For help with your Santa Clarita home loan, contact Mitch Milat @ 661-810-3362

Find Mitch on the web, at www.MitchForLoans.com

Email Mitch @ Mitch@MitchForLoans.com

And of course, when you're ready to house hunt in the Santa Clarita Valley, contact us here at The Robert and Brian Team!

We had a great time interviewing Mike Terry, of Verengo Solar. Mike gives us some great insight into the real cost of using Solar enegry in the home, and the benefits of going Solar vs. traditional energy use. Thanks for your time Mike!

For more information on Going Solar…please contact Mike Terry @ 661-755-9549

For information on Santa Clarita Real Estate, always call The Robert and Brian Team @ 661-964-1760.

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We just completed our first Wetoku interview! So much fun. That's the inner-geek in us. Today, I interviewed Keith Renno from The Renno Lending Team @ Prospect Mortgage. We discussed the "State of the Mortgage Market." Keith is very knowledgeable about the mortgage industry, and is very well versed on how best to advise his borrowers, when they come to him, and his team, for their home loan needs.

 Contact The Renno Lending Team at 661-290-3817 or visit their SCV Mortgage Blog

Contact The Robert and Brian Team for all your Santa Clarita Real Estate needs @ 661-964-1760.

Disclosure of material connection: http://cmp.ly/0