If you are considering whether or not to purchase a home in the near future, let us discuss why this might be the optimal time to do so. There are five excellent reasons to buy a home now instead of waiting until later. Let’s go over them quickly in this post.
From: http://ping.fm/HASJi
Friday, March 26, 2010
5 Good Reasons to Sell Your House NOW!
The reason more people should be jumping in to buy is because of the Homebuyers’ Tax Credit and low interest rates. Combined these two situations will dramatically lower the ‘cost’ a buyer will pay even if home prices continue to soften.
Selling now makes sense because, once these advantages disappear, there will probably be a drop-off in demand. And we all know that ‘price’ (which the seller is most interested in) will be determined by supply and demand. So let’s go over those 5 good reasons to sell NOW!
From: http://ping.fm/zfnga
Selling now makes sense because, once these advantages disappear, there will probably be a drop-off in demand. And we all know that ‘price’ (which the seller is most interested in) will be determined by supply and demand. So let’s go over those 5 good reasons to sell NOW!
From: http://ping.fm/zfnga
A Short Sale on the New HAFA Program
The new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program is rapidly approaching. As of April 5, 2010 the new guidelines for short sales will be in effect. Everyone should be aware of the changes and understand why this will have a tremendous impact on the real estate market throughout 2010.
From: http://ping.fm/Uk2qa
From: http://ping.fm/Uk2qa
Texas Posts Nation's Largest Monthly Foreclosure Increase: Study
Texas claimed the biggest increase in foreclosures during the month of February with a rise of 35.3 percent, according to new data published this week by ForeclosureListings.com.
From: http://ping.fm/VHDqA
From: http://ping.fm/VHDqA
Monday, March 22, 2010
Loan Modification Scams - Don't Pay These People For Help, You Won't Get It - CBS MoneyWatch.com
Are you in loan modification hell?
Do you worry that your loan modification paperwork has been lost or relegated to your loan servicer’s “circular file?” Do you believe that if you pay someone $1,500, $2,500 or even $5,000 you’ll be able to get the permanent loan modification you so desperately need?
If so, you’re just the kind of person loan modification scam companies have been looking out for.
From: http://ping.fm/EIf6w
Do you worry that your loan modification paperwork has been lost or relegated to your loan servicer’s “circular file?” Do you believe that if you pay someone $1,500, $2,500 or even $5,000 you’ll be able to get the permanent loan modification you so desperately need?
If so, you’re just the kind of person loan modification scam companies have been looking out for.
From: http://ping.fm/EIf6w
Loan Modification Hell: 500,000 Borrowers Could Lose Their Temporary Loan Modifications - CBS MoneyWatch.com
Loan modification hell: Fixing this has become a good news/bad news situation:
Good news: According to the latest numbers on the Making Home Affordable Program, mortgage lenders increased the number of borrowers in permanent loan modifications by 45 percent in February.
Really bad news: Only about 170,000 loan modifications have been made permanent through HAMP.
Good news: Those borrowers who have had their loans modified will have much lower payments (because the interest rate has been lowered to around 2 percent) for five years before the payments begin to rise.
Bad news: There are 835,194 borrowers still in temporary loan modifications.
Good news: 91,843 borrowers are in “pending permanent modifications.” This means that the servicer has approved a permanent modification, but the homeowners has yet to accept it.
Bad news: Nearly 90,000 trial loan modifications have been canceled.
Good news: According to the mortgage loan servicers, approximately 1.354 million trial loan modifications have been extended to homeowners so far, including just over one million HAMP modifications.
Bad news (with Treasury’s best spin possible): According to Treasury, the 1.354 million trial loan modifications is 35 to 45 percent of the 3 to 4 million homeowners President Obama said the plan would help.
But here’s the worst of it: Even though a total number of temporary loan modifications is a seemingly respectable 1.354 million, up to 500,000 borrowers could lose their temporary loan modifications.
More than half a million borrowers have already made the three required trial loan payments with no permanent loan modification offer from their lender, according to Treasury data. In a Washington Post analysis, reporter Renae Merle concludes that many of those borrowers will not be receiving an offer for a permanent loan modification.
Some won’t qualify for a permanent loan modification because their lender feels they make too much money. Some because they make too little. Or, it might all come down to an extra $200 in a checking account.
What will happen to them? Some will get a non-HAMP private label modification from their lender. Most will fall into foreclosure. Some might be able to get away with a short sale.
In short, it’s hard to see how the government will wind up helping 3 to 4 million avoid foreclosure.
From: http://ping.fm/DI2DQ
Good news: According to the latest numbers on the Making Home Affordable Program, mortgage lenders increased the number of borrowers in permanent loan modifications by 45 percent in February.
Really bad news: Only about 170,000 loan modifications have been made permanent through HAMP.
Good news: Those borrowers who have had their loans modified will have much lower payments (because the interest rate has been lowered to around 2 percent) for five years before the payments begin to rise.
Bad news: There are 835,194 borrowers still in temporary loan modifications.
Good news: 91,843 borrowers are in “pending permanent modifications.” This means that the servicer has approved a permanent modification, but the homeowners has yet to accept it.
Bad news: Nearly 90,000 trial loan modifications have been canceled.
Good news: According to the mortgage loan servicers, approximately 1.354 million trial loan modifications have been extended to homeowners so far, including just over one million HAMP modifications.
Bad news (with Treasury’s best spin possible): According to Treasury, the 1.354 million trial loan modifications is 35 to 45 percent of the 3 to 4 million homeowners President Obama said the plan would help.
But here’s the worst of it: Even though a total number of temporary loan modifications is a seemingly respectable 1.354 million, up to 500,000 borrowers could lose their temporary loan modifications.
More than half a million borrowers have already made the three required trial loan payments with no permanent loan modification offer from their lender, according to Treasury data. In a Washington Post analysis, reporter Renae Merle concludes that many of those borrowers will not be receiving an offer for a permanent loan modification.
Some won’t qualify for a permanent loan modification because their lender feels they make too much money. Some because they make too little. Or, it might all come down to an extra $200 in a checking account.
What will happen to them? Some will get a non-HAMP private label modification from their lender. Most will fall into foreclosure. Some might be able to get away with a short sale.
In short, it’s hard to see how the government will wind up helping 3 to 4 million avoid foreclosure.
From: http://ping.fm/DI2DQ
Friday, March 12, 2010
HAFA could lead to more fraud, trouble for Realtors...
Treasury Builds Up Short Sale Plan, Appraisers Tear it Down
The Obama administration is proposing yet another solution to the growing foreclosure problems facing American households.Beginning April 5, the Treasury is planning to implement a short sale process where lenders will take the advice of real estate agents to determine the minimum offer to accept on a home, according to the NY Times.
The banks then must accept any offer that comes in that meets or exceeds the minimum established. All participating in the transaction will receive incentive payments; the servicing bank will get $1,000, and another $1,000 will go towards a second mortgage if one exists. The homeowner would also receive $1,500 relocation assistance. The program’s main focus would be to keep bank losses at a minimum and to lessen the amount of abandoned homes.
Just a short time following the Treasury’s program proposal, many leading appraiser groups have expressed much criticism. In a letter from the Appraisal Institute to the Treasury, the concern of a new trend referred to as “property flopping” is discussed. This trend refers to instances where a property is falsely appraised below its actual market value using a broker price opinion instead of an actual appraisal and sold to a related party of the real estate agent. The property is then marketed and sold at its real market value for a quick profit.
The appraisers have deep concerns that allowing this type of arrangement holds too much possibility for fraud. “We strongly believe continuing to allow ‘broker price opinions’ (BPOs) in the property valuation component will not adequately protect the public interest (consumer, borrowers, etc.) or the interests of the various parties to the loan (lenders, loan servicers, etc.) and is likely to exacerbate mortgage fraud,” the appraiser organizations wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “We urge the Department to reestablish independence in the valuation process to protect the safety and soundness of financial institutions, improve transparency, and safeguard the public trust.”
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
$1.010 trillion worth of ARMs will reset or recast during the three-year period.
While several industry observers worry about negative equity and unemployment driving foreclosures, a couple of experts point out that interest rates on mortgages remain a cause for concern.
Credit Suisse made waves in 2007 among housing bears with a chart that estimates the volume of adjustable-rate mortgages to face a reset each month. An updated version of the chart, which was provided to SNL, shows resets remain a worrying force over the next few years.
Most of the resets are expected to occur through 2012. Between 2010 and 2012, the chart indicates that $253.25 billion of option ARMs will adjust, while Alt-A loans totaling $163.71 billion will reset over that time. Altogether, $1.010 trillion worth of ARMs will reset or recast during the three-year period.
From: http://ping.fm/EwAei
Credit Suisse made waves in 2007 among housing bears with a chart that estimates the volume of adjustable-rate mortgages to face a reset each month. An updated version of the chart, which was provided to SNL, shows resets remain a worrying force over the next few years.
Most of the resets are expected to occur through 2012. Between 2010 and 2012, the chart indicates that $253.25 billion of option ARMs will adjust, while Alt-A loans totaling $163.71 billion will reset over that time. Altogether, $1.010 trillion worth of ARMs will reset or recast during the three-year period.
From: http://ping.fm/EwAei
Monday, March 8, 2010
Short Sales and 2nd Liens
Taking effect on April 5, the program could encourage hundreds of thousands of delinquent borrowers who have not been rescued by the loan modification program to shed their houses through a process known as a short sale, in which property is sold for less than the balance of the mortgage. Lenders will be compelled to accept that arrangement, forgiving the difference between the market price of the property and what they are owed.
From: http://ping.fm/r18Mx
From: http://ping.fm/r18Mx
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Adjustable Mortgages Loom as Threat to Housing Recovery - NYTimes.com
As the housing market seeks a bottom, option ARMs, which accounted for $750 billion in mortgages made from 2004 to 2007, according to the industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance, remain a risk, especially because many are not eligible for refinancing. About a third are already in default, according to analysts.
From: http://ping.fm/M9Hvt
From: http://ping.fm/M9Hvt
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