Phillip Scott Hibbard, P.C.

My very talented and wonderful friend Dianne Sessions painted this watercolor of the Central Avenue Engine Co. No. 7 firehouse and presented it to me last evening! Also, check out her "Dawgs" wooden box. Uga's about to leap off it to tear into a yellowjacket! She's a great realtor, great artist, great lady and a great friend. Thanks Dianne!

Working hard or hardly working? Krystal Wednesday at the Hibbard Firm!

Just leaving beautiful Elderberry subdivision after dropping off keys to some happy homebuyers. We got funding approval late last evening. When we don't get funding approval from the lender at the table we go the extra mile to help our buyers get in the house! Congratulations to the Brantleys!

My very talented and wonderful friend Dianne Sessions painted this watercolor of the Central Avenue Engine Co. No. 7 firehouse and presented it to me last evening! Also, check out her "Dawgs" wooden box. Uga's about to leap off it to tear into a yellowjacket! She's a great realtor, great artist, great lady and a great friend. Thanks Dianne!

To all of my realtor and banker friends, I want to make everyone aware of something critically important to the closing business. Please share this post. According to Georgia Law, (O.C.G.A. 44-14-13), when a party is bringing funds to closing, funds in an amount less than $5,000.00 can be delivered in a personal or certified check. Funds in an amount over $5,000.00 must be delivered by wire. I want to emphasize that this is the law and not a matter of choice. (It's also... a really good idea.) My office policy is that a personal check is acceptable up to $1,000.00, then certified funds to $5,000.00 and then wired funds for any amount in excess of $5,000.00. While we try to get the word out every way we can, some people have still missed it. It would be very disappointing to a buyer to drive across five states with a six figure certified funds check to be told that it can't be used at a closing. Unfortunately, I know this from experience. Please note this information and help spread the word to help all of our buyers and sellers! Thanks.

To my realtor/builder friends - significant changes coming on 9-14. We must get a case number issued by the 13th to avoid the below. Student loan payments: Und...erwriters can no longer exclude most student loan payments from debt-to-income (DTI) ratios. Currently, FHA allows lenders to ignore student loan payments if they’ve been deferred for at least the following 12 months. Downpayment gifts: Lenders will be required to obtain a bank statement from the donor’s account and source any large deposits to that account. This will affect buyers as many parents do not want to provide a bank statement showing how much money is in their account. We have been doing this for a while now, but have had some ways to avoid the actual bank statement. That will go away and we will need the bank statement. Short-term debts: Lenders must verify that the borrower paid the outstanding balance on any 30-day accounts, like American Express, in full each month for the past 12 months. If so, they can exclude 30-day accounts paid monthly from the borrower’s DTI ratio. However, 5 percent of the outstanding balance must be included in the debt ratio if borrowers made any late payments over the previous 12 months. Related short-term debts: Lenders must include in a DTI ratio all accounts in which the borrower is an authorized user, unless documentation shows that the primary account holder made all required payments over the past 12 months. Employment: Lenders must take additional steps to verify and document the stability of the borrower’s income if the borrower changed jobs more than three times in the last 12 months or changed lines of work. Of these changes, the ones that will affect most buyers are the gift and student loan changes. These changes will take affect with FHA case numbers ordered on or after September 14, 2015. If you are concerned that this will make it more difficult for you to buy a new home, you may want to look soon so you can get a case number prior to September 14th.

Can Koozies are here!

If you haven't already heard, this is big news. Breathe a little easier, real estate industry people!

Fun times at yesterday's TRID luncheon at the office with a great group of Realtors! If you don't know what TRID is, have questions about "August 1", and are in the real estate profession, then you should email me at [email protected] to reserve a spot at one of our luncheons!

Another happy homeowner receives keys! Thanks SGT Kennedy! Enjoy your new home.

Another Happy Homebuyer getting his keys at a Friday closing! Congratulations Mr. Tabb!

Brooks from Eagle Paint and Body came by in the Mystery Machine to close a transaction today, but we didn't let Scooby in the building.

Phillip Scott Hibbard, P. C. marketing items. Tonya makes these for me at her company Seamsgraphic! I have a multi-talented staff.

This article really provokes some thought about how real estate professionals will respond to the changes in lending that are just around the corner. These changes will fundamentally alter how the entire industry operates. You think closing delays are a problem now...?