New HUD Rule / More Eligible for Mortgages? Maybe Not!

Posted by Duke Rountree on

New HUD Rule / More Eligible for Mortgages? Maybe Not!

 

WASHINGTON – Sept. 16, 2013 – Federal housing authorities want to make it easier for people who lost their homes due to bankruptcy or foreclosure as a result of the economic downturn five years ago to qualify for a new mortgage – sooner rather than later. The Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD) last month changed its rule requiring a 3 year waiting period for people who have lost their home due to foreclosure or bankruptcy, opening the door for them to buy another home in only one year as long as they have fixed whatever financial problem caused them to lose the previous home.

 

This is an effort to help boost the housing industry, which is a major part of jump-starting the economy.” “Three years can be a long time for a family to wait for a loan, and putting money into a rental instead of an investment can result in a loss,” said Don Frommeyer, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers in Plano, Texas. At a time when interest rates are ticking up and new mortgage applications are on the decline, the rule change could make more people eligible for mortgage loans, even if their credit was ruined during the Great Recession. But the Achilles’ heel of the rule change is that banks and other mortgage lenders are not required to abide by it.

 

What does this all mean for you? Well probably not much because banks are still very reluctant to stray far away from their current standards. Most lenders currently have more stringent requirements than HUD does anyway. Banks are now a little too overly cautious and scrutinize every details of a consumers credit and history. All because they, banks, were more worried with the value of collateral rather than the creditworthiness of the borrower. Contact your local REALTOR today for assistance in finding a great lender to help with a mortgage or refinance today.

 

To buy, or not to buy pre-1990 home

Posted by Duke Rountree on

Did you know that more than 70% of the U.S. single-family homes were built before 1990 – but only 60 percent of the 2013 sales year-to-date were for homes built before 1990. Of course all things are “local” when talking real estate and the likelihood  of purchasing an older home varies by state with 14 states having sales up 80% year-to-date 2013 for pre-1990 homes. According to RealtyTrac homes built in 1990 or later sold at an average price of $256,292 year-to-date in 2013 while homes built before 19190 sold at an average price of $233,221.

“The high percentage of homes that are at least 20 years old and likely in need of some major repairs is eye-opening,” says Jake Adger, chief economist at RealtyTrac. “However, given the low inventory of homes available for sale in today’s market, this challenge of aging U.S. housing supply can also be an opportunity for buyers looking for a bargain and homeowners looking to update their living space and improve the value of their homes.”The lower price point on older homes is not surprising given many are in need of some rehab and are more likely to have maintenance issues,” Adger says. “But this also presents an opportunity for buyers willing to take on that older inventory. Those buyers can purchase at lower price points and face less competition from institutional investors.”

SO what is the solution? Maybe it’s the government-backed rehab financing loan known as the FHA203(k) program. These loans allows owner-occupant buyers to finance the purchase, rehab, and upgrade of an older home, while allowing for all of the rehab cost to be rolled into the loan. This program is underused in my opinion because there is a lack of experienced lenders with experience in 203k program, the difficulty of meeting all of the requirements, and the additional upfront and closing cost involved in completing the purchase.

The perception that a new homes have less issues compared to pre-1990 homes is not always true either. Of course every home is built with codes and permits in place to ensure minimum or basic standards that every  home is safe, sound and secure. The reality is many of the older homes can be a great value and remodeled to meet current customers wants and needs.

SEARCH FOR A NEW HOME or JUST BE A NOSY NEIGHBOR AND CHECK OUT THE HOUSES AROUND YOU! [wnt_search title=”QuickSearch” /]

CLICK HERE >>>  http://search.ocalarealtyonline.com/

Source: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=3&id=298796

⅓ of All U.S. Foreclosures in Florida

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⅓ of All U.S. Foreclosures in Florida

 

167,680 vacant(abandoned) homes make up about 20% of all U.S. properties that are somewhere in the foreclosure process and sit ready for new owners but the banks do not own the homes yet. Florida also leads all states with the most owners abandoning their home before the lender officially take it back. Out of the 544,274 bank-owned homes nationwide, at least 55,503 Florida homes still sit empty and will remain so until they have been officially foreclosed and sold to a third party.

 

Florida also accounted for the most vacant foreclosure by zip code- 85 of the top 100 nationally, led by zip code 34668 in the Tampa/St. Petersburg metro area. Indiana, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, and Georgia are states where the percentage of owner vacated foreclosures was above the national average of 20%. Vacancy rates were higher on lower-end foreclosures: 29 percent on homes valued below $50,000 and 25 percent on homes valued between $50,000 and $100,000. However, 12 percent of homes valued $1 million or more were vacant.

 

“Efforts to prevent unnecessary foreclosures and mitigate their impact on home values have resulted in a foreclosure process that takes an average of 477 days nationwide, and more than two years in some states – which is holding many of these must-sell properties off the market,” says Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.“Even if all these homes flooded the market simultaneously, they would likely not cause the once-feared double dip in prices given supply constraints from non-distressed sellers and stronger demand,” he adds. “Given these market dynamics, it’s not surprising to see that Florida, Illinois and New Jersey – states with three of the four longest foreclosure timelines – have all had laws take effect in the last six months that speed up the foreclosure process on vacant properties. These laws should help provide some extra supply and possibly help reduce the threat of another housing price bubble forming in these markets.”

 

“Make Greatness Attainable By All” John Wooden

Perrywell Branch Mini Tree Farm 3 & 5 Acre Tracts

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3 Tips For Landing a Mortgage

Posted by Duke Rountree on

What is happening with todays current mortgages and how did we get there?

I can tell you one of my most challenging obstacles is financing. The banks/ lenders went from the “fog the mirror” loans to overly strict lending requirements. What is a “fog the mirror loan? Back in the good old days if you could breath and fog a mirror the bank would just ask how much you earned(which you did not have to verify, by the way) and the lender would qualify the loan based on no income verification or documentation. Simply qualify for the 0% first year months payments and it was yours. Now we have good people, with good jobs, money saved and finding it difficult to get a mortgage. I have even had buyers with enough cash to pay for a property outright to be told by the bank they could make the loan. If you are an entreprenur or private business owner good luck getting a decent mortgage.

What can you do to get a mortgage today?

Hope, Pray, Beg….. No not really but be prepared and shop around.

1.) High Credit Scores Count- surprise the lowest interest rates go to the ones with the highest credit scores of 760 or higher. Make sure you don’t open lines of credit or loans for at least 3 months prior to shopping for a loan. Also, try to pay off loan balances — “One large balance — even if it’s paid off at the end of the month — can ding your score by 20 points or more,” according to the article at Money Magazine.

2.) Gather plenty of quotes. Shop around, it can pay off big! Gather at least 6 quotes from lenders on rates because they can vary between lenders. Request quotes from local, regional and even online vendors like www.quikenloans.com or www.rpfunding.com. MOST IMPORTANTLY! Ask about the closing cost, they can vary from 2-3% of the loan amount.

3.) Lock in the Rate. When you chose the lender make sure to lock in the rate. During this period the lender agrees to not raise the rate within a certain time period. Make sure you check with your REALTOR and lender to verify how long the loan will take to close so you know how long to set the lock in rate for.

Lastly, ask for referrals to local professionals that can help. Ask ME! I have several preferred mortgage folks with different banks to serve your needs.

“Until Next Time”

Source: “For Your Customers:…” REALTOR Mag May 2, 2012 http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2012/04/30/for-your-customers-3-tips-for-landing-mortgage

Are Discount Foreclosures Gone? For Good?

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Foreclosure discounts may not be gone for good but they are drying up fast, according to the latest housing reports. The discounts on foreclosed homes compared to other homes has fallen to a 12% average which is about the same percentage as prior to the housing crash. Last year the foreclosure discount averaged about 30%. There are several factors affecting the trend of foreclosures falling, including less foreclosure starts(new foreclosures being filed), ultra-low mortgage interest rates and moderate job growth are all contributing factor for the trend.

What does this mean for home buyers in todays difficult buyers market? With the number of bank owned homes available for sale at an all time low, many buyers are turning to short sales to find deeper discounts. The Florida REALTORS January 2013 Monthly Market Summary reveals that median price for short sale homes is $61,000 which is less than median sales price for foreclosures at $62,500. According to these numbers short sales are a better bargain for buyers but come with many more challenges than foreclosures.

Need Help? Find a local REALTOR and they can help you assist in finding the best solutions and course of action to help in the home buying process.

Next week we will discuss what this means for current and future sellers entering the market.

“Make each day your masterpiece”

 

National Mortgage Settlement says still time to apply!

Posted by Duke Rountree on

Did You Lose Your Home to Foreclosure between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011?

If so, you may “still” qualify for National Mortgage Settlement which expired on January 18th, 2013, however Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says, to keep submitting your claims and she is working very hard to get this deadline extended. The settlement provides as much as $25 billion in relief to distressed borrowers and direct payments to states and the federal government.The agreement settles state and federal investigations finding that the country’s five largest mortgage servicers(Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo) routinely signed foreclosure related documents outside the presence of a notary public and without really knowing whether the facts they contained were correct. Both of these practices violate the law. The settlement provides benefits to borrowers whose loans are owned by the settling banks as well as the many borrowers whose loans they service.

Key Provisions of the Settlement
– Immediate aid to homeowners needing loan modifications now.
– Immediate aid to borrowers who are current, but whose mortgages currently exceed their homes value.
-Payment to borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure.
-Immediate payments to signing states
-First ever nationwide reforms to service standards
Learn how to find out if your loan is affected by this settlement,the timeline for relief, how you will know if you are eligible and find links to State Attorney General’s website for specific news.

You can contact the National Mortgage Settlement Administrator at 1-866-430-8358 or visit www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com.

Information obtained from www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com and Legislative & Political forum with guest speaker Pam Bondi / Florida Attorney General attended at 2013 Florida REALTORS Meetings

N.O.W – “No Opportunity Wasted”

Google New Patent Ad

Posted by Duke Rountree on

“Advertising Based on Environmental Conditions”

This is the goal of the newest Google patent that will use data gathered by smartphone sensors to target ads at users, PC World reports. Temperature can be gathered from the smartphone, web browser or search engine located  at the user’s site and obtain information on the environment including temp., humidity, light, sound and air composition.

Why would they care?

Example would be winter season comes and triggers ads for Local Heater & Repair companies and vice versa for warm climate or rainy climate. The patent will also allow Google to analyze background noise. Say you are at a concert and make a phone call, Google could be able to determine your taste and push ads for albums, tickets or musical equipment to the phone.

What Can You Do To Protect Yourself?

Well you don’t have to do anything now, because it is only a patent filed by Google. Google also assures us they will notify users if and when they implement the technology to protect your privacy by opting in or out. If you use Google products now you should always check your user setting to make sure you are not sharing information, you do not wish to share.

Happy Smartphone Surfing or Appling, Whichever You Prefer!

“Until Next Time”

Buy a Home, Get A Date! Or maybe even more….

Posted by Duke Rountree on

Did you ever think your home could be an aphrodisiac?

This is a funny story reported by CNNMoney was conducted with 1,000 single people with more than a third of women and 18% of men saying they would much rather date a homeowner rather than a renter. Only 2% of women and 3% of men preferred to date someone who rents compared to owners of their home.

62% Prefer to Date Singles Who Live Alone w/ No Roomate

What about boomerang kids(these are your adults who went off to college, graduated and then would up back in their old bedrooms.) It’s going to hard to find love, well maybe not from your parents, but less than 5% of all singles surveyed said they would date someone  living with their parents. “Thats a real deal breaker,” said Michael Corbett, of Trulia, “if your still living with your folks, your’re dead-on-arrival for dating.”

What does this ALL mean for you?

First, If you are single, Call, Text, Email or visit the www.OcalaRealtyOnline.com  to search for your next home. In today’s market, many times, it less expensive to own a home than to rent.

Second, a few benefits of homeownership; same monthly payment for life of loan(no more increased rent/lease), IRS mortgage interest deductions on your taxes, customize the home to your likings, not your landlords, and more likely to land a second date or possibly even more.

Third, call, text, or email me to find out about USDA(0% Down), FHA (3.5% Down), or if your a veteran apply for your VA(0% Down) benefits. We can help find you a loan to fit your needs and many times for less than first, last, and security. Don’t Wait the market is gaining steam and there are many choices between $50-$100k.

“Until Next Time”

 

By Les Christie @CNNMoney February 14, 2012: 5:30 AM ET