Interviewer: Today we are talking with Tom Yoswa. He is a renovation loan specialist. How are you?

Tom Yoswa: Hi Dan. I am doing well.

Interviewer:Tell me about how do you get a renovation loan and what is it exactly?

Tom Yoswa: Well basically it's like any other loan that you are going to qualify for, the difference being is that we are going to loan you the money to purchase and renovate a house and we are going to do it all with one loan and one close.

Interviewer: Okay, so there is not a loan to buy the house and then another loan to go get some money to improve it?

Tom Yoswa: No.

Interviewer: It's all lumped in one?

Tom Yoswa: It's all put into one loan.

Interviewer: And who is it offered by?

Tom Yoswa: Well there is, there is probably several lenders that do it, but there are very few that really specialize in it.

Interviewer: And it's primarily done through FHA, correct?

Tom Yoswa: FHA... there is a conventional product but right now probably 80% of my loans are FHA.

Interviewer: And it's called the 203(k) loan through FHA, right?

Tom Yoswa: 203(k) loan, yep.

Interviewer: And explain how that works?

Tom Yoswa: Well basically you know, you have someone that wants to buy a house, maybe it's a bank foreclosure or something like that, where they might need a new kitchen new flooring, new roof, new windows, it can be just about anything, and what we are going to do is basically loan them the money to purchase, you know, they get it under contract and then there is an Escrow that we set up post-close from which they draw from to do the fix-ups in the house.

Interviewer: And how do you determine how much they get to use to fix it up?

Tom Yoswa: Well a lot of times it just depends on, you know, what the issues are with the house lot of things we have an inspection that's done. The Home Inspector might go in and have a whole laundry list of things that need to be done, other times they might just have two or three things and it's a simple one, so really it just kind of depends on the house.

Interviewer: So do you know, going in ahead of time before you give the loan, how much work of repair needs to be done?

Tom Yoswa: Yes, yes, that's the key is there before we close the loan we have a work with Escrow or a bid from a contractor and then we close the loan based on that bid and my appraisal is done with that bid in mind, subject to the repairs that are being made.

Interviewer: And then after they close, do they have to use that contractor?

Tom Yoswa: Pretty much. I mean, many times we have already got somebody in line, but you know there are people who want to change after the fact but typically they use the same contractor.

Interviewer: Right now after the close deals you just hand the customer a check, how do they get the money?

Tom Yoswa: No and that's not necessarily how it works I mean to kind of protect the customer against their contractor we put their money into an Escrow account.

Interviewer: Right.

Tom Yoswa: And then they draw money out of the Escrow account for the repair. So, that lot of times there is an Inspector involved and things like that.

Interviewer: So if I am reading you correctly, let's say some repairs were done, the contractor submits the bill to the bank, who is holding the Escrow account.

Tom Yoswa: Yeah.

Interviewer: The bank then cuts the check to the contractor for the repairs you did?

Tom Yoswa: More or less, yeah there is a draw process and there is photos that have to be taken, you know things have changed a little bit over the last few years so...

Interviewer: More work?

Tom Yoswa: Yeah, so you know it's a little bit more intensive than just that but you know there are forms, they fill it in, they get their money within 72 hours.

Interviewer: What benefit is this to realtors?

Tom Yoswa: Well I mean the realtors you know, it's a whole different animal for them because it's another notch in their belt I would like to say. It's a product that lot of them don't know about. So if you are a realtor and you have got a listing that is in need of repair and you know it's in need of repair, maybe it was a house and it hasn't been, you know, it's cosmetically challenged, hasn't been touched in 30 years.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Tom Yoswa: It's a way to maybe you know put it into their listing or into the MLS. In other ways it's beneficial because the customers that they are working with, they know about this loan and if they find a house that needs repair then they have, they know about the loan and you know we go from there.

Interviewer: So instead of a buyer walking in and walking out after they see the place, they go, whoa, wait there is money that can be set aside to fix this in your loan?

Tom Yoswa: That's exactly what I do and it's exactly the way that I present it to realtors.

Interviewer: Tom, thanks, great information. I appreciate it.

Tom Yoswa: Thanks, Dan.

You can reach Tom at 303-668-4499 and at MyProspectMortgage.com online.