Last week the Obama Administration’s Treasury released the new guidelines for the processing of short sales, titled Supplemental 09-09. These guidelines are for loan servicers who sign an agreement with Fannie Mae prior to Dec. 31 to participate in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Along with the guidelines for underwriting and servicing HAMP programs, the Treasury outlined its Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA).

The HAFA program is of interest because short sales have been so difficult and time-consuming that buyers very often get frustrated and pull out leaving sellers frantically searching for another buyer. Streamlining the short sale process would speed up the sale, enabling the sellers to move into more affordable housing and the buyers to take ownership, releasing the banks to move on to the next – a win win for everyone.

The HAFA program sets the underwriting rules and guidelines for Deeds in Lieu of as well as short sales, but lenders are expected to want to try to short sale a property before they accept a DIL.

So, what has changed?

The requirements are these:

Read the rest of this entry »

When it come to choosing a mortgage company, first time home buyers need all the facts. This website can help you know what to look for so you can avoid costly mistakes and save time.

Choosing the company to use is an important process for first time home buyers. Choosing a mortgage company, especially the right company, can mean the difference between a happy experience or a bad experience. So when you start looking around for a home loan, you have 2 choices basically. You can choose to work directly with a lender. If you do this, lenders are loaning out their own money. Normally they have their own in-house underwriters and loan programs.

The other choice you have is to work with a mortgage broker. The difference here is; the mortgage broker has access to many direct lenders. This can be to your advantage. Mortgage Brokers have many loan programs from a variety of different lenders to offer you.

Read the rest of this entry »

This guide will help you know exactly what questions you should be asking when you are looking for a home inspector that will inspect your potential new home. By choosing the right home inspector, you will be providing you and your family with a high level of comfort by allowing yourselves to know if there are any types of problems, disrepair, or breakage within your home. You must choose a home inspector that is professional, knowledgeable, and experienced, by asking just the right questions you will find one that is all of the above.

First, you will want to question what areas of the home the home inspector will inspect. Each government have their own sets of rules in regards to home inspections, therefore you will want to ask up front what is required and that your chosen home inspector will actually look at the required areas. You could ask the inspector for a copy of the checklist they use for inspections, by doing so you will be able to look and see what exactly they will cover. If the inspector will not give you a copy, it may be time to find a different home inspector.

Read the rest of this entry »

In an unstable real estate market such as the one we are facing now, not only do REALTORS® have to be more creative in order to sell properties, but new home builders have begun thinking outside of the box as well.

Reduced costs for construction materials can actually make it cheaper to build than to buy an existing home. Meaning that, in addition to the changing face of the new homebuyer demographic, and the desire to “go green,” home builders are offering buyers more options than ever.

Ki Gray shares some insight about this brave new frontier in home construction.

“Since the bottom fell out of the real estate market last year, builders have had to become more creative in order to survive. New construction trends are giving new home construction a shot in the arm. Builders have basically been re-inventing themselves and becoming more clever in their craftsmanship to draw a new audience.

In many development areas where you previously had only two or three designs to choose from, builders are offering ‘the sky’s the limit’ in order to draw new homebuyers.”

From environmentally-friendly “green” houses, to complex wiring for state-of-the-art security and entertainment systems, the face of new home construction is vastly changing.

The home buyer tax credit- which originally only applied to first time home buyers who had until the end of November to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit- was recently extended to April 30, 2010 and expanded to include buyers who have already been homeowners.

While first time homebuyers who are purchasing a home- new or resale- are still eligible for the $8,000 tax credit, homeowners who have lived in their current home for at least five consecutive years within the last eight, and who want to purchase a different home, qualify for a different $6,500 tax credit.

To qualify for the $8,000 tax credit, first time home buyers must purchase a home on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. For the purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs and the title to the property transfers to the home owner. A limited exception exists for certain contract for deed purchases and installment sale purchases. See the IRS website for more detail. The law also allows home sales occurring by June 30, 2010 to qualify, provided they are due to a binding sales contract in force on or before April 30, 2010. The purchaser has until June 30, 2010 to close.

To qualify for the $6,500 tax credit, homeowners who are purchasing a new home must do so between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, and they have until June 30, 2010 to close.

There are income limits for claiming the tax credit which are as follows:

For sales occurring after November 6, 2009, the income limit for single taxpayers is $125,000; the limit is $225,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The tax credit amount is reduced for buyers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of more than $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The phase-out range for the tax credit program is equal to $20,000. That is, the tax credit amount is reduced to zero for taxpayers with MAGI of more than $145,000 (single) or $245,000 (married) and is reduced proportionally for taxpayers with MAGIs between these amounts.

For more information on the home buyer tax credit call us at 909.260.4060

In the beginning of the foreclosure process, homeowners can still save money, their credit or their house if they act quickly. Even when declaring bankruptcy, avoiding a foreclosure on your credit report can salvage your ability to rebuild credit and buy another house, which makes the struggle against a possible foreclosure well worthwhile.

1. Sell the property. If you can find a buyer before the house is auctioned, you can sell it and keep whatever equity still exists. This is easier said than done in the current crowded marketplace, but there are still plenty of things you can do to make your property more appealing to potential buyers.

2. Work out a deal. Your lender may be willing to work with you, rather than lose money at a foreclosure sale. This is especially true now that the government is engineering set criteria for adjusting interest rate, loan term and principal down to levels struggling homeowners can afford through the Making Home Affordable program.

3. File Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you can’t get caught up in time, you will not be able to keep the house — but you’ll generally be able to delay the foreclosure sale a month or even several months. Any remaining debt to the lender will be wiped out.

Read the rest of this entry »