Hey, this could be good for some people! Glad they're still thinking of ways to help homebuyers...
"Daily Real Estate News | April 13, 2011 | Share
Fannie Offers Closing Cost Help for REOs
Fannie Mae is trying to lure more buyers to its foreclosure properties by offering to cover 3.5 percent in closing costs for home owners who close by June 30 on its HomePath properties.
Fannie’s HomePath program provides low down payment financing on REO property sales and has no requirements for mortgage insurance or appraisals.
During the fourth quarter of last year, Fannie offered closing cost assistance and was able to recoup 55 percent of unpaid principal balance on defaulted mortgages through the sales."
Source: “To Move REO, Fannie Offers Deals to Consumers,” National Mortgage News (April 12, 2011)
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011041301?OpenDocument
Showing posts with label homes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homes. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Short sale help? We'll see...
Good luck guys! Trying to fix short sales again, are we?? More power to you!
"Daily Real Estate News | April 13, 2011 | Share
NAR Applauds Short Sales Bill
A new bill to improve the process for approving short sales may soon bring relief to distressed home owners who are unable to keep their homes and hope to avoid foreclosure. The bill, introduced in the U.S. House yesterday and strongly supported by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, would impose a deadline of 45 days on lenders to respond to short sale requests.
The legislation, the “Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011,” was offered in Congress by U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Robert Andrews (D-N.J.). “The current short sale process can be time-consuming and inefficient, and many would-be buyers end up walking away from a sale that could have saved a home owner from foreclosure,” said NAR President Ron Phipps.
“REALTORS® and consumers continue to raise issues about delays in the short sale process, because lenders are unable to decide whether to approve a short sale. After many months of delays, and with no response from lenders, potential buyers are losing patience and cancelling their contracts, often resulting in the property entering foreclosure. A short sale minimizes the negative impact on sellers and generally costs the lender less than a foreclosure,” said Phipps.
NAR has been actively pushing the lending industry to improve the process for approving short sales, which represent about 13 percent of recent home sales according to NAR data. Phipps praised Reps. Rooney and Andrews for their efforts on the bill and urged Congress to pass the bill quickly.
“As the leading advocate for home ownership and housing issues,
REALTORS® want to help more home owners avoid foreclosure by facilitating a short sale when a family is absolutely unable to keep their home; however, that can only happen if lenders and servicers approve short sale offers in a reasonable amount of time,” said Phipps. “Streamlining short sales transactions will reduce the amount of time it takes to sell the property, improve the likelihood that the transaction will close and reduce the overall number of foreclosures. This benefits sellers, lenders, buyers, and the entire community.”"
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011041302?OpenDocument
"Daily Real Estate News | April 13, 2011 | Share
NAR Applauds Short Sales Bill
A new bill to improve the process for approving short sales may soon bring relief to distressed home owners who are unable to keep their homes and hope to avoid foreclosure. The bill, introduced in the U.S. House yesterday and strongly supported by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, would impose a deadline of 45 days on lenders to respond to short sale requests.
The legislation, the “Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011,” was offered in Congress by U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Robert Andrews (D-N.J.). “The current short sale process can be time-consuming and inefficient, and many would-be buyers end up walking away from a sale that could have saved a home owner from foreclosure,” said NAR President Ron Phipps.
“REALTORS® and consumers continue to raise issues about delays in the short sale process, because lenders are unable to decide whether to approve a short sale. After many months of delays, and with no response from lenders, potential buyers are losing patience and cancelling their contracts, often resulting in the property entering foreclosure. A short sale minimizes the negative impact on sellers and generally costs the lender less than a foreclosure,” said Phipps.
NAR has been actively pushing the lending industry to improve the process for approving short sales, which represent about 13 percent of recent home sales according to NAR data. Phipps praised Reps. Rooney and Andrews for their efforts on the bill and urged Congress to pass the bill quickly.
“As the leading advocate for home ownership and housing issues,
REALTORS® want to help more home owners avoid foreclosure by facilitating a short sale when a family is absolutely unable to keep their home; however, that can only happen if lenders and servicers approve short sale offers in a reasonable amount of time,” said Phipps. “Streamlining short sales transactions will reduce the amount of time it takes to sell the property, improve the likelihood that the transaction will close and reduce the overall number of foreclosures. This benefits sellers, lenders, buyers, and the entire community.”"
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011041302?OpenDocument
How to get Mortgage Free-- tips to pay it off
Here are some tips to get your mortgage paid off early!
"Daily Real Estate News | April 13, 2011 |
Mortgage Free? Help Home Owners Learn How
Do your clients aspire to live mortgage free? Here are a few ways they can pay off their mortgage early, according to a recent article at Bankrate.com.
Add a little payment to principal. Use mortgage calculators to see how adding a little extra payment to your principal--even $100--can shorten the length of your loan and reduce the amount of interest you'll pay on it. Tracy Piercy, CEO of MoneyMinding.com, says home owners can just round their monthly payments up (e.g. $644 to $650) to find savings too--just an extra $6 per month on a $200,000, 30-year loan can save you four payments at the end of your mortgage loan.
Refinance. Interest rates are low and you can often can get an even better rate if you refinance into a shorter loan term. For example, 15-year loans are a popular refinancing choice. You’ll have higher payments, but you’ll be paying less overall interest. Or if you don’t want to commit to the higher payments, take out a 30-year loan but make payments as if you had a 10- or 15-year loan, experts recommend.
Make biweekly payments. Pay half your regular mortgage payment every other week instead of once a month. By doing so, you’ll have made 13 full monthly payments by the end of the year and on a 30-year mortgage, that extra payment can chop about six years off your mortgage."
Source: “4 ways to pay off your mortgage earlier,” Bankrate.com (April 2011)
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011041306?OpenDocument
"Daily Real Estate News | April 13, 2011 |
Mortgage Free? Help Home Owners Learn How
Do your clients aspire to live mortgage free? Here are a few ways they can pay off their mortgage early, according to a recent article at Bankrate.com.
Add a little payment to principal. Use mortgage calculators to see how adding a little extra payment to your principal--even $100--can shorten the length of your loan and reduce the amount of interest you'll pay on it. Tracy Piercy, CEO of MoneyMinding.com, says home owners can just round their monthly payments up (e.g. $644 to $650) to find savings too--just an extra $6 per month on a $200,000, 30-year loan can save you four payments at the end of your mortgage loan.
Refinance. Interest rates are low and you can often can get an even better rate if you refinance into a shorter loan term. For example, 15-year loans are a popular refinancing choice. You’ll have higher payments, but you’ll be paying less overall interest. Or if you don’t want to commit to the higher payments, take out a 30-year loan but make payments as if you had a 10- or 15-year loan, experts recommend.
Make biweekly payments. Pay half your regular mortgage payment every other week instead of once a month. By doing so, you’ll have made 13 full monthly payments by the end of the year and on a 30-year mortgage, that extra payment can chop about six years off your mortgage."
Source: “4 ways to pay off your mortgage earlier,” Bankrate.com (April 2011)
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011041306?OpenDocument
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
More taxes we don't need in real estate
Hello, check this out-- new bills that cost us more money in the long run!!
Can they just work to fix our economic situation WITHOUT always thinking of new ways to tax us to death?? This one sounds like its small in the beginning, but DO NOT allow this ball to roll downhill... more and more transfer taxes/etc will really add up...
"How AB 827 & 985 affect your business:
AB 827 allows counties to collect up to an additional $3 for the recording of a real estate document, on top of other existing recording fees. Counties will then be allowed to use the proceeds from the additional "fees" to pay for the archiving of historical documents, including those from local agency meetings, records pertaining to transportation or "other records of public or historical" interest. Again, since the charge doesn't directly pay for the RECORDING of documents, it is a TRANSFER TAX, and under existing law must be approved by the voters.
In the case of AB 985, county recorders are using computer scanning now to search for, and expunge, social security numbers from records and C.A.R. has sought to have the same mechanism applied to illegal restrictions. The author has refused. C.A.R. has continued to oppose the bill because it does not utilize modern data processing methods to search for illegal restrictions and is a disguised tax. Over the last three years only about two dozen correction requests have been received statewide. AB 985 will encourage local government to overcharge for a correction program and use these funds for other programs. The $60 million the bill will raise in the first three years far exceeds the costs of actually correcting the property records in question. Again, since the fee collected does not directly pay for the RECORDING of documents, it is a TRANSFER TAX, and under existing law must be approved by the voters."
http://takeaction.realtoractioncenter.com/carealtors/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=42608098&r=Fp3nAn6aN5kj
Can they just work to fix our economic situation WITHOUT always thinking of new ways to tax us to death?? This one sounds like its small in the beginning, but DO NOT allow this ball to roll downhill... more and more transfer taxes/etc will really add up...
"How AB 827 & 985 affect your business:
AB 827 allows counties to collect up to an additional $3 for the recording of a real estate document, on top of other existing recording fees. Counties will then be allowed to use the proceeds from the additional "fees" to pay for the archiving of historical documents, including those from local agency meetings, records pertaining to transportation or "other records of public or historical" interest. Again, since the charge doesn't directly pay for the RECORDING of documents, it is a TRANSFER TAX, and under existing law must be approved by the voters.
In the case of AB 985, county recorders are using computer scanning now to search for, and expunge, social security numbers from records and C.A.R. has sought to have the same mechanism applied to illegal restrictions. The author has refused. C.A.R. has continued to oppose the bill because it does not utilize modern data processing methods to search for illegal restrictions and is a disguised tax. Over the last three years only about two dozen correction requests have been received statewide. AB 985 will encourage local government to overcharge for a correction program and use these funds for other programs. The $60 million the bill will raise in the first three years far exceeds the costs of actually correcting the property records in question. Again, since the fee collected does not directly pay for the RECORDING of documents, it is a TRANSFER TAX, and under existing law must be approved by the voters."
http://takeaction.realtoractioncenter.com/carealtors/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=42608098&r=Fp3nAn6aN5kj
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Okay, this one is a bit scary-- however, most of us experienced agents have come in contact with a property that left us wondering... obviously, it is so difficult because we are not experts!! and therefore see many situations where personal property is left behind, homes are damaged, etc... but we don't necessarily know what the story is behind the mess. Now, I can say that I have seen yellowing on walls before, but the older couple that had lived there were persistent smokers (the place smelled like old, stale cigarette smoke, too)-- so, sometimes there can be another explanation? But, that house certainly did not have yellowing sinks and showers, too! Bon apetit, and I'll try to find a "lighter" article for next time.
"5 Signs Your Listing May Have Once Been a Meth LabJuly 16, 2009 by Melissa Tracey By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
The New York Times ran an article this week (”Illnesses Afflict Homes With a Criminal Past” by Shaila Dewan and Robbie Brown) that details a story about a family who moved into a spacious home in Winchester, Tenn., only to soon start battling years of illness — from breathing problems to seizures and migraines to kidney problems.
Their home was making them sick.
Five years after moving into the home, the family discovered the home had once been used as a meth lab.
And apparently these contaminated residences are not all that uncommon. What’s more, some may even be hitting your local market.
“Federal statistics show that the number of clandestine meth labs discovered in the United States rose by 14 percent last year, to 6,783, and has continued to increase,” the New York Times reports.
View a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration map of meth lab incidents by state to see how prevalent it is in your area: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/map_lab_seizures.html
Chemist Lynn Riemer Of The North Metro Drug Task Force provides the following list of signs a meth lab may have been present in a home:
1. Yellow discoloration on walls, drains, sinks and showers.
2. Blue discoloration on valves of propane tanks and fire extinguishers.
3. Fire detectors that are removed–or taped off.
4. Burning in your eyes, itchy throat, a metallic taste in your mouth, or breathing problems when in the home.
5. Strong odors that smell similar to materials often found in a garage, such as solvent and paint thinner, or odors of cat urine or ammonia.
About 20 states have passed laws that require meth contamination cleanup. Cleanup can be costly, though. The family described in The New York Times article would need $30,000 or more to get the necessary cleanup, and that amount doesn’t even take into account their medical bills from living in a contaminated house for so long.
Have you ever come across a house you suspected was once used as a meth lab?"
http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2009/07/16/5-signs-your-listing-may-have-once-been-a-meth-lab/
Take care, and until next time,
Karena Jolley of the MendoGroup team
at Coldwell Banker Mendo Realty, Inc.
707 354 2999
www.MendoGroup.com
http://mendogroup.blogspot.com/
dre# 01482063
"5 Signs Your Listing May Have Once Been a Meth LabJuly 16, 2009 by Melissa Tracey By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
The New York Times ran an article this week (”Illnesses Afflict Homes With a Criminal Past” by Shaila Dewan and Robbie Brown) that details a story about a family who moved into a spacious home in Winchester, Tenn., only to soon start battling years of illness — from breathing problems to seizures and migraines to kidney problems.
Their home was making them sick.
Five years after moving into the home, the family discovered the home had once been used as a meth lab.
And apparently these contaminated residences are not all that uncommon. What’s more, some may even be hitting your local market.
“Federal statistics show that the number of clandestine meth labs discovered in the United States rose by 14 percent last year, to 6,783, and has continued to increase,” the New York Times reports.
View a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration map of meth lab incidents by state to see how prevalent it is in your area: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/concern/map_lab_seizures.html
Chemist Lynn Riemer Of The North Metro Drug Task Force provides the following list of signs a meth lab may have been present in a home:
1. Yellow discoloration on walls, drains, sinks and showers.
2. Blue discoloration on valves of propane tanks and fire extinguishers.
3. Fire detectors that are removed–or taped off.
4. Burning in your eyes, itchy throat, a metallic taste in your mouth, or breathing problems when in the home.
5. Strong odors that smell similar to materials often found in a garage, such as solvent and paint thinner, or odors of cat urine or ammonia.
About 20 states have passed laws that require meth contamination cleanup. Cleanup can be costly, though. The family described in The New York Times article would need $30,000 or more to get the necessary cleanup, and that amount doesn’t even take into account their medical bills from living in a contaminated house for so long.
Have you ever come across a house you suspected was once used as a meth lab?"
http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2009/07/16/5-signs-your-listing-may-have-once-been-a-meth-lab/
Take care, and until next time,
Karena Jolley of the MendoGroup team
at Coldwell Banker Mendo Realty, Inc.
707 354 2999
www.MendoGroup.com
http://mendogroup.blogspot.com/
dre# 01482063
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