Name of your website?HaveMyHouse.com
Your name?
Tyler Martin
Your Location (city, etc)
Scottsdale
Please give us a short summary of your website?
HaveMyHouse.com is a searchable database of homes that are currently for sale and have existing assumable mortgages. What does that mean? That means that the person who owns the home has an FHA, VA, or other mortgage that can be taken over by a buyer. There are some qualifications that must be met but for the most part is very simple. If you are looking to buy a home but can not qualify for a good interest rate or can't afford a high payment - you can take over payments on someone's existing mortgage!
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I am a mortgage professional by trade, but as I have watched the housing market change in the past several months I have seen many different things. Lots and lots of people have been forced out of the business (maybe for the better), guidelines have changed drastically on mortgages (again, maybe for the better), and we have all been forced to adapt in order to succeed. Both with in the industry and as consumers.
Through the process of adaptation and elimination, FHA has become a huge part of the business that we do within the industry and one of the only ways for hardworking americans to become home owners. As the lending climate changed and I spent more and more time studying the benefits that FHA could offer my clients I realized that there were several other ways that FHA can be used to help sell more homes and help more people!
HaveMyHouse.com represents one of the added benefits that FHA, VA, and other assumable mortgages can provide.
First, what is FHA and VA? FHA stands for Federal Housing Administration. The Federal Housing Administration is a government backed organization that insures residential mortgages. FHA mortgages are typically one of the safest mortgage options available. The VA, or Veterans Affairs, is another government backed organization that caters specifically to military veterans and their family members.
Loans insured by FHA and VA have always been assumable. During periods when borrowers are concerned about future rate increases, or in times of limited credit availability this gives them an edge.
An assumption of a loan is when one person takes over a loan from someone else. The terms of the loan stay exactly the same but the responsibility changes hands. The person that originally had the loan is completely released of liability and the person who has assumed the loan is now the owner of the home and makes all the payments.
Assumption of these loans requires approval of the buyer by the current note holder. The process is similar to that for a new borrower but with a slightly reduced qualification process. Upon approval of the buyer and sale of the property, the seller is completely relieved of liability.
FHA loans that were closed during the low-rate years of 1996-2003 will become attractive targets for assumption if interest rates rise in future years. Or as the availability of credit becomes less, which is the case currently as a result of the "sub prime" market collapse.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is it!
How did you decide on a name for your website?
catchy, elusive, intrigueing, memorable...
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
Honestly, we are the first of our kind.... There really is no other website that offers our services.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
As our website and company have been recently created - we have chosen to launch the website in Arizona. The concept and business model does not change in the rest of the 49 other states.... So, our goal is to raise capital for national expansion. The beautiful part about this business is that our growth is only limited by our marketing budget!
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
Right now... My investment of time and money outweighs any quanitfiable success..... BUT - we have not disqualfied ourselves from greatness.... yet!
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
Like I said above... our growth is only limited to our marketing budget. The model and concept work flawlessly in all 50 states with out change.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
That problem would be welcome... we would find a way to keep up!
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
So far everything has gone according to plan.... (knock on wood)
What has been your biggest challenge?
patience
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
to be determined
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
so far, so good...
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
We began the project in May of 2008... we will continue to take it one day at a time.
What is your website address?
HaveMyHouse.com
