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Mt. Hood Home Values

Friday, December 18, 2009
by Liz Warren

How do you decide what to do when you are underwater on your mortgage payment? Do you go for a short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, Just walk away, what do you do? Probably the number one thing to do is talk to an attorney! Find out the implications and financial obligations any choice will give you in these turbulent times.

Here is a web site that was recently put up which may help you figure out what to do prior to visiting your attorney for advise. Visit www.payorgo.comto plug in the numbers. This is not a site with legal advise but if you want to play around with numbers and different senarios of future value, it might help.

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Mt. Hood FHA Loans to Tighten!

Monday, December 7, 2009
by Liz Warren

If you are contemplating using an FHA loan for your purchase in Welches, Government Camp, Rhododendron or Brightwood, take note! HUD secretary Donovan is promising in 2010 qualifying for an FHA loan will tighten up with credit qualifications and higher fees.

Changes may include the following:

1. A higher downpayment requirement from 3.5 to 5%.

2. Seller paid closing costs reduced from 6% down to 3% of the loan amount.

3. Higher mortgage insurance premiums! Currently 1.75%

4. Higher credit standards.

Bottom line, look for 2010 to cost a buyer even more to get a loan with stricter guidelines.

If considering purchasing a home now, get your application in before things tighten up even further.

 

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Foreclosure Facts From Mortgage Bankers Association

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
by Liz Warren

Here are some recent numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

1 in 7 loans are delinquent right now.

1 in 22 families in the US. are in the process of loosing their homes right now. (last year 1 in 34)

There will be 2.9 million foreclosure starts this year based upon these numbers.

This info comes from the Center for Responsible Lending. This is a great website that has information on credit cards, fees, lending and money matters.

 

 

 

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Mt. Hood Area Short Sales

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
by Liz Warren

If you are currently living on the mountain in Rhododendron, Welches, Government Camp or Brightwoodand are considering a short sale, what should you do first as a seller? If it were me I'd pick up the phone and call either my tax preparer/cpa or a good attorney.

First you need to know your credit will be dinged for several years with a short sale. Beyond that, there are the two things you need to be aware of:

1. A seller can be pursued by the lender, after the sale of the home, for the repayment of debt, that is unless your paperwork from the lender specifically says the debt is forgiven. Many lenders will have you sign a promissory note to repay the debt or some other paper saying they can pursue that debt after the sale.

2. The lender then sends a document to the Feds triggering the IRS. They may require you to pay tax on the unpaid debt. The tax bill cometh. You will need to keep your paperwork from the lender showing that you signed a promissory note or other paperwork saying the debt can be pursued to avoid paying those taxes on the debt.

TALK to your accountant or advisor to be sure you are doing the right thing!

Be sure to take these two items into consideration when considering a short sale. You don't want any surprises!

 

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Mt. Hood First Time Home Buyers

Thursday, November 5, 2009
by Liz Warren

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want a complete wrap up of the new changes, READ THEM HERE.

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Mt. Hood Mortgages

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
by Liz Warren

Did you know that approximately one in three people who apply for a mortgage loan or refinance last year were denied approval according to the Federal Reserve? Overall, loan applications and originations were cut in half in 2008 compared with 2006!

Walk-aways are increasing! Despite postitive news on increased sales and in some areas, prices even going upward, many owners according to Housing Predictor  will walk away from their mortgages if housing prices continue to fall. In fact, a recent survey indicates one in three owners will walk away.

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The Myths of Subprime Lending

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
by Liz Warren

When I think about the housing crisis and tsunami of foreclosures that have hit the market I think about Sub-prime Mortgages. This was the first wave of loans that caused foreclosures according to the media. There are many myths that surround sub prime loans and this recent commentary of 10 sub-prime mythes published by the Cleavland Federal Reserve, Senior Research Economist, Yuliya Demyanyk.

Read this article here. 

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Credit Score Under 620?

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
by Liz Warren

If you are planning on purchasing a home in the Mt. Hood area around Government Camp, Brightwood, Welches or Rhododendron pay attention to your current FICO credit score.

Fannie Mae is tightening lending standards for FHA, VA, and HUD loans as of November 1st. Depending upon your specific loan you  may not be able to get a federally insured loan. These types of loans make up about 60% of loans in the US.

Bottom line is be sure you pay attention to your credit scores!

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Mt. Hood Seniors Looking for Reverse Mortgage?

Monday, September 28, 2009
by Liz Warren

Attention seniors looking for a reverse mortgage!\ David Stevens, the new FHA Commissioner announced as of October 1st this year that there will be a 10 percent cut in the mount of money seniors can receive from the reverse mortgage program.

This announcement is a major bombshell coupled with a few more policies concerning FHA appraisal guidelines.

Why did this happen? Due to declining property values, FHA is facing an $800 million dollar shortfall in funds. This deadline is coming at lightening speed so if you are thinking about that reverse mortgage, some of your funds just got cut.

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Strategic Defaults

Monday, September 21, 2009
by Liz Warren

What is a strategic default in today's real estate marketplace? Surprisingly, nearly 600,000  strategic defaults happened in the United States last year according to the LA Times. Most of these defaults happened in Florida, California and Nevada. What is a strategic default? This is when an owner stops making payments on their mortgage thinking that they will walk away from the property since the market has shifted so dramatically that it will not recover for the owner to keep making those payments. This amount is double the number from the prior year.

It is also surprising that the majority of home owners who opted to do this have great credit and good payment histories vs. lower credit scores. They see the writing on the wall and believe walking away, although taking a major hit on their credit ability, is better than being tied to a house without a chance of recovery in these markets.

This trend will probably continue especially in the states mentioned above. Unless there is more stability in the real estate market, it will continue.

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Displaying blog entries 361-370 of 434

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