| Fannie Mae Launches Foreclosure Help | The nice thing about Fannie Mae's new website, Know Your Options, is the talking head speaks only one sentence before giving you the option to click "continue." So, if you're at work and you click on this site without adjusting the volume control, you don't need to click off the page. Because she doesn't keep yakking unless you ask her to.
The other nice thing about the site is it explains in detail short sales, deeds-in-lieu, forbearance plans and loan modifications, including giving you forms to complete. It warns you against foreclosure scams. It also has links to HAMP and HAFA programs.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
Technorati tag: know your options foreclosure
Fannie Mae Launches Foreclosure Help originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 05:00:37. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Cash-in Refinances Are on the Rise | Lots of borrowers lately, says the New York Times, are opting to do a cash-in refinance. As opposed to a cash-out refinance, in which a borrower pulls money out of their home and blows it on a European vacation or cocaine like the freewheeling days of years gone by, a cash-in refinance means a borrower puts in cash to get the loan.
Some borrowers bring in cash because they owe more than the lender will lend. But not everybody is in that boat. Some borrowers don't want to finance their closing costs.
My own refinance closed yesterday, and my husband and I paid all of our loan costs out-of-pocket. Fortunately, we have equity and could have financed those costs, but why? Why would we want to increase our loan balance? We refinanced from a 30-year amortized loan with 21 years remaining into a 15-year loan at 3.75%. We want to pay off our loan sooner than later.
Many borrowers who buy a home pay their closing costs in cash, why should a refinance be any different? There are some home buyers who ask the seller to pay their closing costs, but those borrowers are financing their closing costs. Unless a borrower really doesn't have the cash, doing a seller credit isn't the best way to pay closing costs. The financial mindset among borrowers seems to be changing, though. And that's a good thing.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
Technorati tag: cash-in refinance
Cash-in Refinances Are on the Rise originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 05:00:07. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| The Rules Are Strict for a Condo Loan | If you're not paying cash, then you're definitely getting a condo loan to finance a condo.
It's not as easy as you may think. Condo loans aren't like regular loans. You've got to jump through a bunch of hoops to make sure the development qualifies for the loan. Not every complex will qualify. Some lenders will make only owner occupant loans on condos. Others want the percentage of rentals to be very low. Heck, with some of the condo prices lately, you've got to wonder why even get a loan. Some of them are selling for the price of a used car.
It might be cheaper and easier to just pay cash . . . read more about how to get a Condo Loan.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
©Big Stock Photo
Technorati tag: condo loan
The Rules Are Strict for a Condo Loan originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 05:00:28. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Federal Reserve Bans Yield Spread Premiums Paid to Mortgage Brokers | In a story reported by the LA Times last week, the Federal Reserve, as expected, banned the practice of lenders paying brokers yield spread premiums in exchange for getting borrowers to take out higher interest rate loans.
Lender-paid bonuses to mortgage brokers have been common practice for as long as I can remember, and even though I may not remember precisely what happened in the 1960s, I do know YSPs have been around for a long time. Proponents of the YSP, primarily mortgage brokers, say the YSP doesn't make a difference to the borrower as long as the borrower is happy with the rate charged. That's sort of like saying a kid doesn't mind getting kicked in the butt as long as the kid is content to have his butt kicked. Under pressure, the Fed disagrees and has disallowed that practice. And it's about time.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
Technorati tag: ysp
Federal Reserve Bans Yield Spread Premiums Paid to Mortgage Brokers originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 05:00:03. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Bank of America To Roll Out Cooperative Short Sale Program | An unnamed source at Bank of America has verified the buzz throughout the short sale community. He says it is true. Bank of America is rolling out a new program designed to approve short sales in two weeks. Some agents have tentatively named it Bank of America HPO short sales but my source called it Bank of America Cooperative Short Sales. It's developed to recognize and embrace the real estate professional.
It's modeled, in part, after a Wachovia short sale. There is no hardship letter. To apply, the listing agent submits to Bank of America a purchase offer, the buyer's proof of funds and loan commitment letter, and a copy of the listing agreement. Bank of America orders a BPO. Within 2 weeks, the short sale is approved. This is a pilot program and is not available to all real estate agents.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
Technorati tag: bank of america short sale cooperative program
Bank of America To Roll Out Cooperative Short Sale Program originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 05:00:50. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| California First Mortgages to be Exempt from Deficiency Judgments After a Short Sale | A quiet little bill with huge implications for short sale sellers in California, Senate Bill 931, passed unopposed last week and is headed for the Governor's desk. I guess media eyes had been diverted to following SB 1178, which eliminates the right of lenders to pursue borrowers who have refinanced and later defaulted, so the hoopla over SB 931 was overlooked.
Lawyers sometimes tell potential short sale sellers that a foreclosure or a bankruptcy offers better protection for the homeowner than a short sale. These guys favor foreclosures over short sales. I wonder if these same lawyers are those who don't know how to get paid to negotiate a short sale. Because the California lawyers I know who negotiate short sales get the deficiency language removed for purchase money loans. That makes a short sale better than a foreclosure. And so far, lawyers tell me that first mortgage lenders who have the right of recourse have not yet filed suit in an appellate court but it doesn't mean they couldn't.
Now, SB 931 will exempt all first mortgages, hard-money or purchase money, from a deficiency after a short sale as well. It prohibits deficiency judgments on a property secured by a first trust deed for a dwelling of 1 to 4 units. Every potential short sale seller with a refinanced first mortgage should be screaming for joy right now. Well, unless for some reason Governor Schwarzenegger doesn't sign it.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
Technorati tag: Senate Bill 931
SB 931
California First Mortgages to be Exempt from Deficiency Judgments After a Short Sale originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 05:00:52. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Volume of Short Sales Triple Since 2008 | The Los Angeles Times chased down a report released last week by Core Logic that projects short sales will mushroom in 2010. It says short sales have tripled in the Sunbelt over the past several years. A short sale happens when the bank accepts a payoff for less than the amount owed.
Until we actually embark on the road to recovery, which seems to be a long way off in the future, I predict short sales will continue to rise. The question isn't whether a seller wants to unload an underwater home, the question is when. Sellers are finding out that loan mods aren't working and appreciation can't be found lurking anywhere on the horizon. Government programs aren't making the huge impact they were touted to make, and nothing is getting any better.
Last week, Wells Fargo foreclosed on a condo in Sacramento it had been considering for a short sale. No warning, just foreclosed. We had brought the bank an all-cash offer for $100,000, which was how much the last condo sold for. Wells Fargo insisted on $115,000. The buyer agreed to $115,000. Then, Wells Fargo then said it wanted $125,000 and foreclosed. It walked away from the trustee's sale at $96,000. Obviously, not every bank will agree to a short sale even if it says it will. These are strange times we're in.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
Technorati tag: short sales
Volume of Short Sales Triple Since 2008 originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 05:00:30. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Are Cheap Condos Worth Buying? | CNN scoured the Trulia website last week to find a bunch of cheap condos offered for sale for less than the cost of a new Prius. As a side note, let me say that one of the biggest complaints that I hear about Trulia is the site shows homes for sale that are not really for sale. A buyer's best option for online listings still lies with those a real estate agent can obtain.
I looked through Sacramento condos to see if any matched those prices and was surprised to find fewer than the number I can count on one hand priced under $30,000. But once I bumped the price from $31,000 to $50,000, more than 5 dozen popped up. Good luck trying to buy one, though. Lots of agents, especially in California, don't like to work in that price range because the net commission is too low for the effort expended.
Moreover, if you're thinking you can pick up a cheap condo and rent it out, you better check with the homeowner association to find out if rentals are allowed in the complex or if the HOA determines the rental percentage allowed. Check the financial health of the HOA. Some distressed condo complexes are saturated with foreclosures and short sales, and can't collect enough money in dues to cover obligations.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
Technorati tag: cheap condos
Are Cheap Condos Worth Buying? originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 00:05:33. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| It's Hard to Sell a Unique Home | It's not difficult to sell a unique home if it sits in a neighborhood of unique homes, each with its own set of unique qualities.
But it's almost impossible to sell if that home has been ruined by achieving its unique status. The sellers who own what I would call unique homes did not set out to ruin their homes. They made improvements they thought were tasteful and those that accommodated their particular needs. The problem with this approach is often nobody else in the universe seems to share those unique needs . . . read more about how to Sell a Unique Home.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
©Big Stock Photo
Technorati tag: selling unique home
It's Hard to Sell a Unique Home originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 05:00:43. Permalink | Comment | Email this |
| Fannie Mae Offers Relief to Dead or Dying Homeowners | I don't mean to sound so gruesome about this, but the facts are what they are. If your military spouse was injured or killed in action, Fannie Mae will step up to the plate by easing its foreclosure policy, as reported by The New York Times. Fannie Mae will also help those homeowners who develop serious health problems from exposure to Chinese drywall and are forced to move out of their homes.
What will Fannie Mae do? Its new policy, which went into affect on August 1, will let borrowers skip up to six months of mortgage payments. Of course, a homeowner can't just stop making mortgage payments under these circumstances. First, a borrower needs to get permission in writing from Fannie Mae. It also can take several months to get that permission.
More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:
Technorati tag: fannie mae mortgage relief
Fannie Mae Offers Relief to Dead or Dying Homeowners originally appeared on About.com Home Buying / Selling on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 05:00:20. Permalink | Comment | Email this |