Speaking to the National Association of Home Builders Spring Board of Directors Meeting, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will allow homebuyers to apply the Obama Administration's new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit toward the purchase costs of a FHA-insured home. Donovan said that today's action will help stabilize the nation's housing market by stimulating home sales across the country.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers homebuyers a tax credit of up to $8,000 for purchasing their first home. Families can only access this credit after filing their tax returns with the IRS. Today's announcement details FHA's rules allowing state Housing Finance Agencies and certain non-profits to "monetize" up to the full amount of the tax credit (depending on the amount of the mortgage) so that borrowers can immediately apply the funds toward their down payments. Home buyers using FHA-approved lenders can apply the tax credit to their down payment in excess of 3.5 percent of appraised value or their closing costs, which can help achieve a lower interest rate.
To read the entire news release click here.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Short Sales
Many sellers in today’s market have little or no equity, or simply, the seller owes close to or more than the property is worth. In these situations, lenders are apt to accept less than the full amount due, commonly referred to as a ‘short pay’ or ‘short sale’.
Many folks who are ‘upside down’ on their mortgage opt to simply ‘walk away’ from their home, and allow it to foreclose. The short sale offers a much better solution and provides a win-win for the lender and home owner.
From the lender’s perspective, a short sale saves many of the high costs associated with the foreclosure process: attorney fees, the eviction process, delays from borrower bankruptcy, damage to the property, costs associated with resale, etc. In a short sale scenario, the lender gets their money faster and is able to cut its losses.
The bottle line, if your home is worth less than you owe, you can still sell it via a short sale – without bringing any money to the closing.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact me.
Many folks who are ‘upside down’ on their mortgage opt to simply ‘walk away’ from their home, and allow it to foreclose. The short sale offers a much better solution and provides a win-win for the lender and home owner.
From the lender’s perspective, a short sale saves many of the high costs associated with the foreclosure process: attorney fees, the eviction process, delays from borrower bankruptcy, damage to the property, costs associated with resale, etc. In a short sale scenario, the lender gets their money faster and is able to cut its losses.
The bottle line, if your home is worth less than you owe, you can still sell it via a short sale – without bringing any money to the closing.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact me.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Austin Down-Payment Assistance Program
The Down Payment Assistance Program (DPA) provides qualified, first-time homebuyers, with a zero interest loan to assist with purchasing a home located within the Austin City Limits. DPA funds cover the down payment and eligible closing costs and pre-paid expenses associated with buying a home.
The DPA Program options are as follows:
Standard DPA: Up to $10,000 in a deferred, forgivable, 0% interest loan for 10 years. Up to $1,000 additional for borrowers in a Mortgage Credit Certificate Program and up to $4,999 for people with disabilities. The loan is forgiven if the borrower remains in the home ten (10) years without transferring title. Otherwise the loan is due and payable if the borrower sells, leases, transfers title, refinances, gets a home equity loan, or pays off the first lien within ten (10) years.
(NEW) Shared Equity DPA: Up to $40,000 in a deferred,0%-interest loan for 30 years. Borrowers must pay back the DPA loan plus a percentage of their equity (that is the same percentage as AHFC's contribution) when the borrower sells, leases, refinances, gets a home equity loan, pays off the first lien, or otherwise transfers title within 30 years. When selling the home, the borrower agrees to give AHFC the chance to purchase the house at market rate ("right of first refusal").
For more information you can visit: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/ahfc/first_dpa.htm
The DPA Program options are as follows:
Standard DPA: Up to $10,000 in a deferred, forgivable, 0% interest loan for 10 years. Up to $1,000 additional for borrowers in a Mortgage Credit Certificate Program and up to $4,999 for people with disabilities. The loan is forgiven if the borrower remains in the home ten (10) years without transferring title. Otherwise the loan is due and payable if the borrower sells, leases, transfers title, refinances, gets a home equity loan, or pays off the first lien within ten (10) years.
(NEW) Shared Equity DPA: Up to $40,000 in a deferred,0%-interest loan for 30 years. Borrowers must pay back the DPA loan plus a percentage of their equity (that is the same percentage as AHFC's contribution) when the borrower sells, leases, refinances, gets a home equity loan, pays off the first lien, or otherwise transfers title within 30 years. When selling the home, the borrower agrees to give AHFC the chance to purchase the house at market rate ("right of first refusal").
For more information you can visit: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/ahfc/first_dpa.htm
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Credit is Key to Real Estate Recovery
Improving the availability of credit and access to capital are essential to recovery in the real estate market. Addressing these challenges was the focus of the "Financing Real Estate for Tomorrow" session, part of the National Association of Realtors®' day long “Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy.”
“As the leading advocate for housing issues and homeownership, NAR knows that real estate is the road to economic recovery,” said NAR President-Elect Vicki Cox Golder. “It is vital for the health of both the residential and commercial real estate markets to improve the flow of credit, and we look forward to identifying paths toward a successful resolution of this current credit crisis."
In his keynote address to the attendees, former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan identified two major problems confronting a housing recovery and ultimately an economic recovery in the near-term – falling home prices and increased inventory. Falling home prices decrease homeowners’ equity, and when mortgage debt exceeds equity, defaults increase. To exacerbate the problem, increased inventory of unsold single-family homes continues to depress prices.
For more information http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/05/re_recovery
“As the leading advocate for housing issues and homeownership, NAR knows that real estate is the road to economic recovery,” said NAR President-Elect Vicki Cox Golder. “It is vital for the health of both the residential and commercial real estate markets to improve the flow of credit, and we look forward to identifying paths toward a successful resolution of this current credit crisis."
In his keynote address to the attendees, former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan identified two major problems confronting a housing recovery and ultimately an economic recovery in the near-term – falling home prices and increased inventory. Falling home prices decrease homeowners’ equity, and when mortgage debt exceeds equity, defaults increase. To exacerbate the problem, increased inventory of unsold single-family homes continues to depress prices.
For more information http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/05/re_recovery
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
This Month In Real Estate: May 2009
I thought you would want to see the latest in a series of news reports on real estate trends. It's called "This Month in Real Estate."
We understand how hard it is to escape the national media's dire predictions for home buyers and sellers in today's market.
But there's another side to the real estate story: this market offers amazing opportunities for buying and selling real estate right now -- in your area.
Get the Flash Player to see this video.
We're not missing those opportunities, because we're in the market every day, working for our clients to make the most of this market. And we can't wait to do the same for you!
If you would like the best deals on the market, then please email me at cyndi_bell@kw.com.
We understand how hard it is to escape the national media's dire predictions for home buyers and sellers in today's market.
But there's another side to the real estate story: this market offers amazing opportunities for buying and selling real estate right now -- in your area.
Get the Flash Player to see this video.
We're not missing those opportunities, because we're in the market every day, working for our clients to make the most of this market. And we can't wait to do the same for you!
If you would like the best deals on the market, then please email me at cyndi_bell@kw.com.
Forbes ranks Austin No. 8 on best places for biz list
Forbes.com ranks Austin the 8th best place for business and care-ers in its latest list.
Texas' Capital City rose significantly from 47th on last year's list. Austin was behind cities such as No. 1 Raleigh, N.C. And No. 4 Fayetteville, Ark. The list was ranked according to factors such as cost of doing business and projected employment growth.
Forbes.com cited Austin's projected annual job growth rate of 2.3 percent--the fifth fastest in the country, and its relatively low sub-prime mortgage exposure.
For its reporting on Austin, Forbes.com spoke with the Charles Schwab Corp., which expanded its Austin presence in 2007 when it purchased the 401(k) Co. "The city of Austin is extremely business-friendly. They have bent over backwards to accommodate us," Glenn Cooper, head of real estate at Schwab, told the news site.
The top 10 cities on the list were as follows:
Raleigh, N.C.
Fort Collins, Colo.
Durham, N.C.
Fayetteville, Ark.
Lincoln, Neb.
Asheville, N.C.
Des Moines, Iowa
Austin, Texas
Boise, Idaho
Colorado Springs, Colo.
"Source: Austin Business Journal; Friday, March 27, 2009 "
Texas' Capital City rose significantly from 47th on last year's list. Austin was behind cities such as No. 1 Raleigh, N.C. And No. 4 Fayetteville, Ark. The list was ranked according to factors such as cost of doing business and projected employment growth.
Forbes.com cited Austin's projected annual job growth rate of 2.3 percent--the fifth fastest in the country, and its relatively low sub-prime mortgage exposure.
For its reporting on Austin, Forbes.com spoke with the Charles Schwab Corp., which expanded its Austin presence in 2007 when it purchased the 401(k) Co. "The city of Austin is extremely business-friendly. They have bent over backwards to accommodate us," Glenn Cooper, head of real estate at Schwab, told the news site.
The top 10 cities on the list were as follows:
Raleigh, N.C.
Fort Collins, Colo.
Durham, N.C.
Fayetteville, Ark.
Lincoln, Neb.
Asheville, N.C.
Des Moines, Iowa
Austin, Texas
Boise, Idaho
Colorado Springs, Colo.
"Source: Austin Business Journal; Friday, March 27, 2009 "
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Economy
"Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it". Lily Tomlin
The reality of our current economy is stressful for many of us, is there some good news out there? This past Friday's job report shows we lost 539,000 jobs in April. The expectation had been 610,000. This represents the smallest job loss since October. Even as the unemployment rate hits a 26 year high, this might be an indicator that the worst could be over for the job market and possiblely lessen the stress in this area.
The reality of our current economy is stressful for many of us, is there some good news out there? This past Friday's job report shows we lost 539,000 jobs in April. The expectation had been 610,000. This represents the smallest job loss since October. Even as the unemployment rate hits a 26 year high, this might be an indicator that the worst could be over for the job market and possiblely lessen the stress in this area.
Experian FICO Credit Scores No Longer Available
As of February 14, information on Experian credit scores will be more difficult for consumers to obtain. Experian will no longer sell its information through MYFICO.com or any other external credit reporting agency. Consumer may still receive the free credit report that they are entitled to by law through the Annual Credit Report request service and may purchase a credit report and score directly from Experian. However, these score may vary from the scores used by lenders. According to The New York Times and Tom Quinn, vice president for scoring at Fair Issac (the company that formulated the FICO score), “Experian cannot distribute its FICO scores to consumers itself or though other outlets. Experian does produce another propriety three-digit credit score and make it available to consumers, but it is not the one that lenders base their decisions on.” Lenders will still have access to the complete FICO scores, including FICO scores from Experian. It will be increasingly important for consumers to check for errors on their credit reports.
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