NELA Live

2011 FHA and VA Loan Limits for Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County 2011 VA loan limits dropped to $700,000, as did Orange county,  The 2011 VA loan limits for Ventura County was set at $562.500.  Riverside and San Bernandino counties' limits remain at $417,000. These loan limits are the maximum base mortgage amount for a zero-down VA home loan.

2011 FHA loan limits for Los Anegeles County are $729.750 as is Orange County.  Riverside and San Bernandino Counties have an 2011 FHA loan limit of $500,000.

View the full list of 2011 VA loan limits for California counties.

VA mortgages allow veterans to borrow above the county loan limit if the buyer has a down payment.  You can use this VA mortgage down payment requirement formula to calculate the amount needed.  Los Angeles County homebuyers have found VA loans to be a particularly good option for loan amounts up to $1,000,000, because of the low down payment requirement, in 2009 and 2010.

VA loans do not require private mortgage insurance (PMI) because they are insured by the VA, which collects a funding fee from the buyer.  This makes most VA loans a less expensive option than FHA or conventional loans, where PMI is required.

ESCROW SURVIVAL GUIDE - For Homebuyers In Northeast Los Angeles - PART ONE: What is Escrow?

ESCROW SURVIVAL GUIDE -For Homebuyers in Northeast Los Angeles - PART ONE:  What is Escrow? 

Many eastern states use a settlement/closing process to effect a purchase of real estate.  California and several other western states use a process known as "escrow".

It's bad enough that the word "escrow" itself can be used is so many different ways.

"Escrow" can be a verb:  As in "We will escrow the money".

"Escrow" can be a company name:  As in "Arroyo Village Escrow".

"Escrow" can be a generic noun, a word for the process itself:  "We are in escrow".

And "escrow" as a process is not limited to real estate transactions.  You can escrow items you buy and sell on eBay.  eBay's one approved escrow service provider is escrow.com.

Escrow.com describes the eBay escrow process this way (I am paraphrasing here):

1.  Buyer and Seller agree to terms

2.  Buyer submits money to escrow.com

3.  Escrow.com confirms receipt of money

4.  Seller ships item

5.  Buyer confirms receipt of item

6.  Escrow.com forwards the money to the seller.

Substitute the idea of shipping the item with the idea of recording the transfer deed, add a few layers of complexity, a few additional steps, and a few zeros to the price of the item, and you will understand the process as it applies to a real estate transaction.

An escrow company is a neutral third party.  Buyers and sellers deposit documents and money with this neutral third party.  The neutral third party holds the money and the documents, until whatever conditions agreed upon by both buyer and seller are met, then the third party distributes the documents and the money.

In a California real estate transaction, the neutral third party (the escrow company) has some requirements to of their own to complete before the transaction can close.

So while the buyer is busy obtaining inspections and completing paperwork for final loan approval, and while the seller is busy making agreed upon repairs and making moving arrangements, the escrow company will: 

1,  Receive buyer's initial deposit and prepare escrow instructions. Obtain all signatures.

2,  Order a title search and receive the preliminary title report.

3.  Distribute copies of the preliminary title report to all parties and obtain approval.

4.  Request "demands" (that is, pay-off statements) from the seller's existing lenders.

5.  Obtain seller's signature on grant deed. Hold grant deed until all terms are meet, and all money is deposited.

6.  Calculate prorations on property taxes, rents, insurance, or other expenses as required.

7.  Coordinate with buyer's lender. Order and process buyer's loan documents.

8.  Receive buyer's down payment funds and request funds from buyer's lender.

9.  Order recording of grant deed to buyer and distribute all funds: Pay-off existing loans; pay required costs, such as termite completion; release net proceeds to seller.

Don't worry!  If you are working with one of the experienced real estate agents at Bob Taylor Properties, Inc., in Highland Park,  we will constantly monitor your escrow to make sure that all participants are performing their tasks correctly and on time; so that your escrow proceeds smoothly and closes successfully.