Friday, February 5, 2010
Another Short Sale Approved!
8 Short Sales closed in the past 3 months and now another approval, with closing set for next week. We wanted to put up an example of what an approval letter looks like. Our system for getting approval and making it to closing is now fine tuned and we’re ready to take on more assignments. If you know anyone who is upside down in their mortgage or they’re facing a hardship and can’t make their mortgage payment, tell them to visit my website at www.HomeRescueVirginia.com – read through it and contact me. They can even apply for more info online. Tell them we have a 99% Success rate. We’ve helped hundreds and we can help them too!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
California Foreclosures
February 4, 2010—(MCT)—Ethelda Lopez, a retired telephone company worker recently watched as her dream retirement home was auctioned off on the lawn outside a county courthouse in downtown Merced, California. “When I heard my address, it was so disheartening,” she said. “It’s amazing how it all works.”
For six months, she had made hundreds of calls to her mortgage company, federal officials, local political leaders—begging them all for lower payments or more time. No one paid heed. Wracked with depression and anxiety, she was too ashamed to tell her friends that she was losing her sprawling stucco-and-stone ranch home in the Atwater countryside.
Merced County ranked first in California for foreclosure filings in 2009, and sixth among counties nationwide, the national firm RealtyTrac reported recently. One in seven homes in this county of 250,000 people has been foreclosed on since September 2006, according to Foreclosure Radar, a California reporting service.
Over and over, residents caught up in the foreclosure crisis—homeowners, renters, even Realtors—report that they are suffering from stress or depression and are sometimes too ashamed to reach out for help. This is the hidden human fallout of foreclosure.
Thousands of new homes like Lopez’s sprouted from farmland countywide in the past five years. Merced was gearing up for a bright new future as a college hub. Optimistic developers dreamt of throngs of buyers paying $300,000 and more so that they could raise their children in neat stucco homes along tranquil cul-de-sacs. But the dream crumbled, and so did the peace-of-mind that home ownership is supposed to guarantee. Now, many homeowners are caught up in a nightmare, trying to figure out how to pay mortgages on dwellings worth a fraction of what they owe—or whether they should give up the dream and move on.
The drama plays out on the courthouse lawn like clockwork, Monday through Friday, at 12:30 and 3 p.m., when Realtors and investors bid for foreclosed homes like Lopez’s. The crisis shows no signs of abating. In November 2009, one in five Merced County homeowners was 90 days or more delinquent in payments, according to another service, First American CoreLogic. What the statistics don’t show is the human toll. Debt-wracked residents are suffering from anxiety, sleeplessness and depression in a universe gone sideways. Clinically, their suffering may not qualify as PTSD, the psychological state felt by soldiers, cops, first-responders and others after a traumatic experience. But far too many are in sad shape. Some are reaching out for help. At Merced-area health care clinics, workers report an increase in residents experiencing mental distress, and in the seriousness of their symptoms. Many new patients are homeowners or renters fearful of losing their homes and all the stability that a home provides, they say.
Many more feel so much shame about their financial and emotional distress that they shut themselves off, too fearful to ask for help. Entire families suffer as stress radiates from debt-plagued parents to their frightened children. “The trickle-down of this is big. Kids have stomach aches. They don’t want to go to school. Then you find out they’ve just moved in with someone else, their parents are about to lose their homes, they’re having trouble paying the mortgage,” said Elizabeth Morrison, clinical director of behavioral health at Golden Valley Health Centers, a network of 25 nonprofit community clinics and eight dental sites serving the Merced area.
School leaders are concerned, too. In the Merced Union High School District, which covers students in all of Merced, Atwater and Livingston, 613 students, or 7%, reported this year that they were “doubled-up” with another family in a single-family home. At Atwater High School, the number was 12%. Some residents fear they soon will have no home at all.
For residents on the verge of losing their homes, knowing that their neighbors and friends are in the same straits may or may not be reassuring. The stigma of foreclosure and bankruptcy may sting less here because so many people are struggling. But jobs remain scarce, and that, coupled with the high foreclosure rate, may make residents even more pessimistic, said Jim McDiarmid, director of behavioral sciences at the Mercy family medical residency program.
(c) 2010, Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.).
For six months, she had made hundreds of calls to her mortgage company, federal officials, local political leaders—begging them all for lower payments or more time. No one paid heed. Wracked with depression and anxiety, she was too ashamed to tell her friends that she was losing her sprawling stucco-and-stone ranch home in the Atwater countryside.
Merced County ranked first in California for foreclosure filings in 2009, and sixth among counties nationwide, the national firm RealtyTrac reported recently. One in seven homes in this county of 250,000 people has been foreclosed on since September 2006, according to Foreclosure Radar, a California reporting service.
Over and over, residents caught up in the foreclosure crisis—homeowners, renters, even Realtors—report that they are suffering from stress or depression and are sometimes too ashamed to reach out for help. This is the hidden human fallout of foreclosure.
Thousands of new homes like Lopez’s sprouted from farmland countywide in the past five years. Merced was gearing up for a bright new future as a college hub. Optimistic developers dreamt of throngs of buyers paying $300,000 and more so that they could raise their children in neat stucco homes along tranquil cul-de-sacs. But the dream crumbled, and so did the peace-of-mind that home ownership is supposed to guarantee. Now, many homeowners are caught up in a nightmare, trying to figure out how to pay mortgages on dwellings worth a fraction of what they owe—or whether they should give up the dream and move on.
The drama plays out on the courthouse lawn like clockwork, Monday through Friday, at 12:30 and 3 p.m., when Realtors and investors bid for foreclosed homes like Lopez’s. The crisis shows no signs of abating. In November 2009, one in five Merced County homeowners was 90 days or more delinquent in payments, according to another service, First American CoreLogic. What the statistics don’t show is the human toll. Debt-wracked residents are suffering from anxiety, sleeplessness and depression in a universe gone sideways. Clinically, their suffering may not qualify as PTSD, the psychological state felt by soldiers, cops, first-responders and others after a traumatic experience. But far too many are in sad shape. Some are reaching out for help. At Merced-area health care clinics, workers report an increase in residents experiencing mental distress, and in the seriousness of their symptoms. Many new patients are homeowners or renters fearful of losing their homes and all the stability that a home provides, they say.
Many more feel so much shame about their financial and emotional distress that they shut themselves off, too fearful to ask for help. Entire families suffer as stress radiates from debt-plagued parents to their frightened children. “The trickle-down of this is big. Kids have stomach aches. They don’t want to go to school. Then you find out they’ve just moved in with someone else, their parents are about to lose their homes, they’re having trouble paying the mortgage,” said Elizabeth Morrison, clinical director of behavioral health at Golden Valley Health Centers, a network of 25 nonprofit community clinics and eight dental sites serving the Merced area.
School leaders are concerned, too. In the Merced Union High School District, which covers students in all of Merced, Atwater and Livingston, 613 students, or 7%, reported this year that they were “doubled-up” with another family in a single-family home. At Atwater High School, the number was 12%. Some residents fear they soon will have no home at all.
For residents on the verge of losing their homes, knowing that their neighbors and friends are in the same straits may or may not be reassuring. The stigma of foreclosure and bankruptcy may sting less here because so many people are struggling. But jobs remain scarce, and that, coupled with the high foreclosure rate, may make residents even more pessimistic, said Jim McDiarmid, director of behavioral sciences at the Mercy family medical residency program.
(c) 2010, Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.).
Thursday, January 28, 2010
FHA TO TIGHTEN REGS
The Federal Housing Administration, which is supporting the housing market by insuring thousands of new mortgages every day, is expected to announce on Wednesday that it is tightening standards. Borrowers who get an F.H.A.-insured loan will soon have to pay a higher initial insurance premium. The new premium will be 2.25 percent of the value of the loan, up from 1.75 percent. Starting this summer, sellers will not be able to offer as much help to buyers to pay their closing costs. The maximum amount of assistance will drop to 3 percent of the value of the property, from the current 6 percent. While most borrowers will still be able to make a down payment of 3.5%, lower scores will require higher down payment.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
FHA Has Waived their 90 Day Flipping Rule!
HUD TAKES ACTION TO SPEED RESALE OF FORECLOSED PROPERTIES TO NEW OWNERS
Measure to help bring stability to home values and accelerate sale of vacant properties
WASHINGTON - In an effort to stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced a temporary policy that will expand access to FHA mortgage insurance and allow for the quick resale of foreclosed properties.
The waiver will take effect on February 1, 2010 and is effective for one year, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by the FHA Commissioner. To protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of "flipping" where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers, this waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following general conditions:
* All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.
* In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller's acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.
* The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.
Click the link below to access the announcement from the FHA web site:
FHA 90 Day Flipping Waiver
The waiver will take effect on February 1, 2010 and is effective for one year, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by the FHA Commissioner. To protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of "flipping" where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers, this waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following general conditions:
* All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.
* In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller's acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.
* The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.
Measure to help bring stability to home values and accelerate sale of vacant properties
WASHINGTON - In an effort to stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced a temporary policy that will expand access to FHA mortgage insurance and allow for the quick resale of foreclosed properties.
The waiver will take effect on February 1, 2010 and is effective for one year, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by the FHA Commissioner. To protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of "flipping" where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers, this waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following general conditions:
* All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.
* In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller's acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.
* The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.
Click the link below to access the announcement from the FHA web site:
FHA 90 Day Flipping Waiver
The waiver will take effect on February 1, 2010 and is effective for one year, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by the FHA Commissioner. To protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of "flipping" where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers, this waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following general conditions:
* All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.
* In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller's acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.
* The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.
Monday, January 18, 2010
New Guidelines on Short Sales Meant to Speed System
Financially-stressed homeowners left hanging while their banks consider whether to approve the short sales of their properties may benefit from new federal guidelines that give lenders a 10-day limit in which to respond to purchase offers.
The rules from the U.S. Treasury, which also allow financial incentives for both sellers and lenders, could figure prominently in struggling housing markets all over the country. There are, however, limitations which include the stipulation that only banks that owe the federal government TARP bailout funds must comply. The Treasury rules, in addition to imposing a 10-day deadline for bank decisions, call for sellers to receive $1,500 moving allowances—and for the sellers to not have to repay any of the debt. Also, lenders will get $1,000 to cover administrative and processing costs, while investors owning the mortgages will receive a maximum $1,000 for allowing as much as $3,000 of a short sale’s proceeds to be distributed to less senior lenders.
The 83 loan servicers participating in the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable loan modification program are required to follow the guidelines for all borrowers who have requested short sales or who did not complete loan modifications. The rules do not specifically apply to loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which constitute about half of all U.S. mortgage debt. The two government-run mortgage companies are working on their own guidelines.
In a short sale, the homeowner sells the property for less than what is owed on the mortgage, and the lender forgives the difference. Many single-family mortgage holders in Virginia are “under water,” meaning they owe more than their homes are currently worth if they were to be listed for sale in today’s market. The Treasury’s new plan is aimed at helping homeowners like the ones we help everyday must be implemented by lenders no later than April 2010.
The rules from the U.S. Treasury, which also allow financial incentives for both sellers and lenders, could figure prominently in struggling housing markets all over the country. There are, however, limitations which include the stipulation that only banks that owe the federal government TARP bailout funds must comply. The Treasury rules, in addition to imposing a 10-day deadline for bank decisions, call for sellers to receive $1,500 moving allowances—and for the sellers to not have to repay any of the debt. Also, lenders will get $1,000 to cover administrative and processing costs, while investors owning the mortgages will receive a maximum $1,000 for allowing as much as $3,000 of a short sale’s proceeds to be distributed to less senior lenders.
The 83 loan servicers participating in the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable loan modification program are required to follow the guidelines for all borrowers who have requested short sales or who did not complete loan modifications. The rules do not specifically apply to loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which constitute about half of all U.S. mortgage debt. The two government-run mortgage companies are working on their own guidelines.
In a short sale, the homeowner sells the property for less than what is owed on the mortgage, and the lender forgives the difference. Many single-family mortgage holders in Virginia are “under water,” meaning they owe more than their homes are currently worth if they were to be listed for sale in today’s market. The Treasury’s new plan is aimed at helping homeowners like the ones we help everyday must be implemented by lenders no later than April 2010.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Fannie Mae Adopts New REO Policy
January 11, 2010 - In an effort to expedite REO sales, Fannie Mae has adopted a new policy. As part of this policy, Fannie Mae may accept offers to purchase homes it has repossessed without notifying loan servicers, and loan servicers may be required to reimburse Fannie Mae for a loss if it turns out the original mortgage on the home did not meet its eligibility or underwriting requirements..
Previously, if there was a question over whether a mortgage on a repossessed property met Fannie Mae’s requirements, servicers were given 15 days to turn over loan files for review. Rather than reimburse Fannie Mae for an incurred loss, loan servicers had the opportunity to try and find a better offer for the property or buy it themselves.
The rules have changed, though. In a recent announcement to loan servicers, Fannie Mae said it has implemented a change regarding assurance reviews. When the company is notified that a property has been acquired, it will begin the disposition process by obtaining opinions on the market value of a repossessed home and list it with a real estate broker.
“When Fannie Mae receives an offer to purchase a property that is also subject to an underwriting or servicing review, Fannie Mae may accept the purchase offer without first notifying the servicer, whether or not a final decision has been reached with respect to the review,” Fannie Mae said in its announcement. “If, after completion of the review, Fannie Mae determines that the mortgage loan did not meet its eligibility or underwriting requirements and Fannie Mae has incurred a loss by selling the property, the lender will be required to fully reimburse Fannie Mae for its loss.”
These changes come after recent reports from Fannie Mae showing an increase in the acquisition of foreclosed properties and an escalating rate of seriously delinquent single-family home loans.
According to its most recent quarterly report, Fannie Mae acquired 98,428 homes through foreclosure during the first nine months of last year and sold 89,691 REO properties during the same period. However, at the end of September 2009, Fannie Mae still had 72,275 REO properties on its books, marking a 7% increase year-over-year.
Furthermore, Fannie Mae’s monthly summary for November 2009 showed notable growth in seriously delinquent single-family home loans held or guaranteed by the company. Up from 1.89% in November 2008, loans three or more months behind in payments or in the foreclosure process soared to 4.98% in November 2009.
Article by RISMEDIA
Previously, if there was a question over whether a mortgage on a repossessed property met Fannie Mae’s requirements, servicers were given 15 days to turn over loan files for review. Rather than reimburse Fannie Mae for an incurred loss, loan servicers had the opportunity to try and find a better offer for the property or buy it themselves.
The rules have changed, though. In a recent announcement to loan servicers, Fannie Mae said it has implemented a change regarding assurance reviews. When the company is notified that a property has been acquired, it will begin the disposition process by obtaining opinions on the market value of a repossessed home and list it with a real estate broker.
“When Fannie Mae receives an offer to purchase a property that is also subject to an underwriting or servicing review, Fannie Mae may accept the purchase offer without first notifying the servicer, whether or not a final decision has been reached with respect to the review,” Fannie Mae said in its announcement. “If, after completion of the review, Fannie Mae determines that the mortgage loan did not meet its eligibility or underwriting requirements and Fannie Mae has incurred a loss by selling the property, the lender will be required to fully reimburse Fannie Mae for its loss.”
These changes come after recent reports from Fannie Mae showing an increase in the acquisition of foreclosed properties and an escalating rate of seriously delinquent single-family home loans.
According to its most recent quarterly report, Fannie Mae acquired 98,428 homes through foreclosure during the first nine months of last year and sold 89,691 REO properties during the same period. However, at the end of September 2009, Fannie Mae still had 72,275 REO properties on its books, marking a 7% increase year-over-year.
Furthermore, Fannie Mae’s monthly summary for November 2009 showed notable growth in seriously delinquent single-family home loans held or guaranteed by the company. Up from 1.89% in November 2008, loans three or more months behind in payments or in the foreclosure process soared to 4.98% in November 2009.
Article by RISMEDIA
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
ATTENTION! Mortgage insurance companies are adapting a similar rule as FHA in regards to flipping properties.
ATTENTION! Mortgage insurance companies are adapting a similar rule as FHA in regards to flipping properties. This will impact the mortgage market starting 10/12/2009, not leaving us with much time. If you have Conventional buyers above 80% loan to value, please make sure the mortgage insurance has been ordered prior to this date. This is coming out at rapid speed 3 out of 5 mortgage insurance companies have adopted this rule. The other two are in the process and have strict requirements to do a loan under 90 days and I believe they will be changing their rules as well within the next couple of weeks. Also, ALL are requiring restrictions up to 180 days much like FHA does with requiring improvement details, appraisal reviews & extra underwriting requirements. Please prepare your buyers and sellers, this is something that will impact all of us. If you have sellers/investors, make sure they are making sound upgrades and keeping ALL receipts of services performed. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac have not adapted this rule YET, but there are talks of doing so. Please be prepared.
Below are a few guidelines of what is NOT a flip.
•· A lender, mortgage investor or a mortgage insurance company that acquired the property as a result of a foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure
•· A spouse who acquired the property through a divorce settlement
•· An employer that acquired the property through its relocation program
•· An administrator, executor, or personal representative selling property of an estate
Below are a few guidelines of what is NOT a flip.
•· A lender, mortgage investor or a mortgage insurance company that acquired the property as a result of a foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure
•· A spouse who acquired the property through a divorce settlement
•· An employer that acquired the property through its relocation program
•· An administrator, executor, or personal representative selling property of an estate
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