THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 11, 1994 TAG: 9406100594
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAMELA REEVES, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: 940611 LENGTH: Medium
Generally, you can spend 28 percent of your gross monthly income on housing, and your total monthly debt can be as high as 36 percent. The down payment cannot be borrowed and your credit history must show you pay bills on time.
{REST} But in reality, these rules are flexible, especially when business is as slow as it is now.
``In about 25 percent of the cases, we exceed our guidelines,'' said Gordon Steinbach of Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Corp., a private mortgage insurer in Milwaukee.
For example, Steinbach told the trade magazine Real Estate Today that his company routinely considers utility and rent payments when looking at credit history, especially on low-income loans.
``It's important that borrowers have good credit, but the fact there's no credit history shouldn't be a problem,'' he said.
While down payments generally cannot be borrowed, ``In some cultures, it's common to draw money from a community fund,'' Steinbach said, and that's acceptable to many lenders.
On debt ratios, affordable housing programs for low-income borrowers allow ratios of 33 percent for housing and 38 percent for overall debt. But sometimes, Steinbach said, even those ratios can be exceeded.
What lenders look at is the overall financial picture, Steinbach said, and too many risk factors can scare them off.
``A combination of problems - high debt ratios and a short credit history, for example - might warrant a declination.''
\ Changing times: The sturdy 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is back in vogue. All through 1993 and in all but one month in 1992, that mortgage accounted for less than 60 percent of the loans sold to Fannie Mae, the mortgage buyer.
But this year, as interest rates rose and refinancing business fell off a cliff, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have accounted for more than 60 percent of business since February.
\ Senior citizen meccas: It's well known by now that most seniors want to age in place. Only 15 percent of those over age 55 want to move, and most want to stay in the same county or state, reported the American Association of Retired Persons.
That's why the suburbs of major metropolitan areas now have some of the fastest-growing populations over age 65, American Demographics reported.
Here are the counties - and their metro areas - with 20,000 or more senior citizens that had the largest percentage growth in elderly population between 1980 and 1990:
Hernando, Fla. (Tampa): Senior citizen population totaled 31,048 in 1990, up 186 percent from 1980.
Clark, Nev. (Las Vegas): Seniors numbered 77,678 in 1990, up 121 percent from 1980.
St. Lucie, Fla. (Fort Pierce): 31,534 in 1990, up 113 percent in 1980.
Collier, Fla. (Naples): 34,583 in 1990, up 111 percent.
Marion, Fla. (Ocala): 43,189, up 106 percent.
Indian River, Fla.: 24,592, up 101 percent.
Virginia Beach: 23,214, up 94 percent.
Fairfax, Va. (Washington): 57,118, up 94 percent.
Arapahoe, Colo. (Denver): 29,171, up 94 percent.
Yavapai, Ariz.: 25,613, up 92 percent.
Here are the counties with fewer than 20,000 residents aged 65 and over that had the largest percentage growth in seniors between 1980 and 1990.
Gwinnett, Ga. (Atlanta): Senior citizens numbered 16,776 in 1990, up 96 percent from 1980.
Howard, Md. (Baltimore): Seniors numbered 11,399, up 87 percent from 1980.
by CNB