5 Reasons for a Mortgage Refinance Other Than Lowering Your Payment
Article From HouseLogic.com
By: Barbara Eisner Bayer
Published: October 22, 2010
There's more to a mortgage refinance than lowering your monthly payments.
Naturally, if you're paying 6% for your mortgage and you can refinance at 5%, you're gonna do it. Although cutting your monthly payment remains an important motive, there are at least five other reasons to consider a mortgage refinance, for long-term savings and convenience.
1. Change your mortgage term
If you decrease the term of your mortgage in a refinance by going from a 30-year to a 15-year, you'll pay a lower interest rate and shorten your total interest costs. You'll build home equity more quickly, and pay off your loan sooner, even though your monthly payments go up.
2. Move from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate
ARMs offer low introductory rates, but they also offer long periods of uncertainty that make it hard to budget. It makes sense in a mortgage refinance to go from an ARM to a fixed-rate loan during a low-interest rate environment. You'll get emotional security and your rate won't fluctuate (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/do-adjustable-rate-mortgages-make-sense-now/) with changing economic conditions.
3. Take out cash
With a cash-out mortgage refinance, you can turn an intangible asset-accumulated home equity-into a tangible one-cash. It makes sense for a project that will generate long-term benefits, like a home improvement or funding a child's college education (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/deduct-mortgage-interest-home-equity-loans/). However, don't do it for frivolous reasons. Unless you're extremely disciplined, you could find yourself in even deeper debt.
4. Consolidate two mortgages
When interest rates are low, a mortgage refinance lets you consolidate your main mortgage and an outstanding home equity loan to realize a lower overall monthly payment. Plus, you'll have only one mortgage payment to make each month.
5. Recover from divorce
If your home is jointly owned with your soon-to-be ex-spouse, a mortgage refinance will turn a joint obligation into the responsibility of the person keeping the home. Nothing is more frustrating than tracking down a former spouse who doesn't keep up with his or her end of the mortgage payment.
Lay the groundwork
If one of these reasons resonates with you, contact your current lender to see if it'll offer you preferred rates or reduced closing costs on a mortgage refinance. But don't assume the current lender is best: Leave no stone unturned by searching for lenders online and calling community banks and local credit unions.
No matter which lender you choose, a mortgage refinance for the right reasons can save you lots of money-and that's the best reason of all.
Barbara Eisner Bayer has written about mortgages and personal finance for the past 16 years for the Motley Fool, Mortgages.com, and Nursevillage.com, and has been the Managing Editor of MortgageLoan.com, CompleteGrowth.com, and Credit-land.com. She has recently survived the challenge of refinancing her second home.
Showing posts with label piercy group. Show all posts
Showing posts with label piercy group. Show all posts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Friday, November 5, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Virtual Tour - 5300 W. 71st Street, Prairie Village, KS 66208
Beautifully updated ranch in Nall Avenue Gardens. New contemporary kitchen, updated bath, refinished hardwood floors, updated HVAC, new roof, gas fireplace, and fresh paint. Large fenced yard with deck and flower garden. Finished basement with media room and fourth non-conforming bedroom & still roof for expansion. New sump pump and french draine installed. Walk to Prairie Village shops, trails and parks! Click photo to preview home.
Virtual Tour - 2711 W. 73rd Street, Prairie Village, KS 66208
Virtual tour of 2711 W. 73rd Street, Prairie Village, KS. This home has been reduced and is ready for a new owner! 3 bed, 1.5 bath, huge great room, hardwood floors and so much more. Expandable attic ready for a master suite. Click photo to preview this home.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Free parking for caregiver?
Rent it Right
Janet Portman
Inman News
Q: My elderly mother needs a caregiver twice a day to help her with dressing, bathing and food preparation, because her ability to walk is severely curtailed. Mother lives in an apartment complex that allocates one parking spot to each resident (mother has kept her car and parks it there so that her visiting children can use it to take her to doctor appointments).
The caregiver has to park on the street, sometimes more than a block away, which means that she bills my mother for the extra time it takes her to get to and from mother's unit.
Mother asked for an extra space, which is available, but management requires her to pay for it. As a person with a disability, isn't she entitled to a free parking space for the person whom she relies on for help with daily living activities? --Kelly P.
A: From your description of your mother's condition -- requiring help due to significant mobility problems -- it's clear that she qualifies legally as a person with a disability. That is, she is significantly impaired in one or more major life activities: namely, walking.
As a person with a disability, she could clearly ask management to make available a close-in parking spot for her personal use, because she could face injury or pain if she had to travel long distances from the house to the car. In other words, without a parking space close to the apartment, her use and enjoyment of the dwelling would be diminished.
Once a tenant can establish this direct link -- that the accommodation is necessary to address the problem -- then the question becomes whether it is reasonable to require management to provide the accommodation.
So, for example, if your mother were asking to bypass a wait list and be assigned a close-in spot immediately, a judge would consider the burden on the landlord of complying with this request. Most of the time, a situation like this is decided in the tenant's favor, because varying the normal parking policy in this way is not a big deal.
With this simple scenario as a backdrop, let's look at your mother's specific request. She's not asking for parking for herself; she's asking on behalf of a third party.
To prevail, your mother would have to argue that having to pay for the second parking spot for her helper would make it impossible for her to live comfortably in her rental; or, that the extra commute time she pays for as her helper walks to and from her car also makes it impossible for her to live there safely.
You can see that the neat, one-jump causal chain in our first scenario is missing here. Paying for the spot, or paying extra for the helper's walking time, doesn't necessarily prevent your mother from getting the care she needs. And for this reason, she might have a hard time convincing a judge that a free spot, or even an available spot, must be given to her caregiver.
One can imagine other situations in which the outcome might be different. Suppose, for example, that a husband and wife who both have disabilities and share a one-bedroom apartment ask for permission to have a live-in helper, in a state with an occupancy standard of two people per bedroom (that's the national guideline; some states are more generous).
Without a live-in, the couple will face many hours alone and will be unable to meet their basic needs.
Would it be reasonable to expect the landlord to adjust its policies, assuming building code space requirements would not be violated by the addition of one more occupant? Arguably yes, because of the direct link between the couple's ability to live safely in the rental and the accommodation sought.
And would it be reasonable to ask that no more rent be charged for this additional occupant? Now we're into the tricky waters posed by your question. Many judges will uphold the landlord's desire to charge for one more occupant, reasoning that this additional rent will not, by itself, defeat the couple's ability to live safely and comfortably in the rental.
Q: The street in front of my apartment building has become a popular spot for day laborers to hang out and wait for jobs. The place is quite messy and my tenants are upset. They don't like having to walk through the crowd, say they feel intimidated, and have asked me to do something about it or they'll move out. I'm also worried that if they are harmed, I'll be responsible. Any suggestions? --Arnold J.
A: The legal issues raised by the situation you describe are similar to the issues landlords face when the sidewalks in front of their buildings are taken over by drug gangs, prostitutes or other less savory types. Not that day laborers are in any way as fearsome and dangerous as some of these folks, by a long shot.
But the legal issue for the landlord is the same: To what extent are you responsible for dealing with a dangerous or even potentially dangerous situation taking place on public property directly adjacent to your building?
Put another way, if you do nothing and the situation continues, do tenants have a legal justification to break their leases without future liability for rent?
We know that if a landlord tolerates illegal behavior on his property, and fails to evict the criminals, the answer is simple: Tenants who are injured as a result can look to the landlord for damages, and those who are fed up get to move without responsibility for future rent.
But in your situation, the activity (putting aside for the moment whether it's criminal) is taking place on public space. You can hardly evict the laborers from the sidewalk, but you can take steps to mitigate the effect they are having on your tenants.
First, consider talking with your city attorney about the situation. Your city may have an "anti-loitering" law on the books that could address the situation, depending on how it's worded. It may even have a law that targets day laborers, prohibiting them from standing on streets and highways and soliciting work, or requiring them to wait only in specified areas.
Not that having such a law is a sure winner for you, however -- in the western U.S. alone, judges in several cases have struck down such laws as an infringement on free speech.
You might also consider a political approach to the problem of how unaffiliated people can look for work. Some cities have put aside land and even facilities for use as a sort of "day laborer hiring park or hall." These solutions are controversial, but they at least address the problem in a nonpunitive way. Your city government might be receptive to such a suggestion.
It would be wise to meet with your tenants, perhaps with a local policeman in attendance, to talk about the situation. Doing so will make it clear that you've heard their concerns, and the officer may have suggestions on how your tenants can safely interact (or not) with the laborers and minimize any chance of confrontation or problems.
If you have your meeting but get nowhere with an anti-loitering law, and there's no designated alternative area for laborers to congregate, you will be able to at least say that you did all that you could reasonably do to remedy the problem.
This is important: The law requires you to make a reasonable response to the situation, not a supernatural one. This means that if, for example, a tenant were accosted by one of the laborers, he'd have a hard time holding you partly responsible.
But whether a lease-breaking tenant could leave without responsibility for future rent is another matter. If a situation becomes intolerable, no matter how hard the landlord tries to fix it, tenants can leave. A graphic example is the current scourge of bedbug infestations.
Landlords are going to Herculean lengths to rid their buildings of the problem, but if they fail, their tenants can justifiably break their leases.
Again, the comparison is awkward, but the legal theory applies: Despite your efforts, if the gauntlet of workers remains as daunting as you describe, your tenants may be able to leave without responsibility for future rent.
Janet Portman is an attorney and managing editor at Nolo. She specializes in landlord/tenant law and is co-author of "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" and "Every Tenant's Legal Guide." She can be reached at janet@inman.com.
Janet Portman
Inman News
Q: My elderly mother needs a caregiver twice a day to help her with dressing, bathing and food preparation, because her ability to walk is severely curtailed. Mother lives in an apartment complex that allocates one parking spot to each resident (mother has kept her car and parks it there so that her visiting children can use it to take her to doctor appointments).
The caregiver has to park on the street, sometimes more than a block away, which means that she bills my mother for the extra time it takes her to get to and from mother's unit.
Mother asked for an extra space, which is available, but management requires her to pay for it. As a person with a disability, isn't she entitled to a free parking space for the person whom she relies on for help with daily living activities? --Kelly P.
A: From your description of your mother's condition -- requiring help due to significant mobility problems -- it's clear that she qualifies legally as a person with a disability. That is, she is significantly impaired in one or more major life activities: namely, walking.
As a person with a disability, she could clearly ask management to make available a close-in parking spot for her personal use, because she could face injury or pain if she had to travel long distances from the house to the car. In other words, without a parking space close to the apartment, her use and enjoyment of the dwelling would be diminished.
Once a tenant can establish this direct link -- that the accommodation is necessary to address the problem -- then the question becomes whether it is reasonable to require management to provide the accommodation.
So, for example, if your mother were asking to bypass a wait list and be assigned a close-in spot immediately, a judge would consider the burden on the landlord of complying with this request. Most of the time, a situation like this is decided in the tenant's favor, because varying the normal parking policy in this way is not a big deal.
With this simple scenario as a backdrop, let's look at your mother's specific request. She's not asking for parking for herself; she's asking on behalf of a third party.
To prevail, your mother would have to argue that having to pay for the second parking spot for her helper would make it impossible for her to live comfortably in her rental; or, that the extra commute time she pays for as her helper walks to and from her car also makes it impossible for her to live there safely.
You can see that the neat, one-jump causal chain in our first scenario is missing here. Paying for the spot, or paying extra for the helper's walking time, doesn't necessarily prevent your mother from getting the care she needs. And for this reason, she might have a hard time convincing a judge that a free spot, or even an available spot, must be given to her caregiver.
One can imagine other situations in which the outcome might be different. Suppose, for example, that a husband and wife who both have disabilities and share a one-bedroom apartment ask for permission to have a live-in helper, in a state with an occupancy standard of two people per bedroom (that's the national guideline; some states are more generous).
Without a live-in, the couple will face many hours alone and will be unable to meet their basic needs.
Would it be reasonable to expect the landlord to adjust its policies, assuming building code space requirements would not be violated by the addition of one more occupant? Arguably yes, because of the direct link between the couple's ability to live safely in the rental and the accommodation sought.
And would it be reasonable to ask that no more rent be charged for this additional occupant? Now we're into the tricky waters posed by your question. Many judges will uphold the landlord's desire to charge for one more occupant, reasoning that this additional rent will not, by itself, defeat the couple's ability to live safely and comfortably in the rental.
Q: The street in front of my apartment building has become a popular spot for day laborers to hang out and wait for jobs. The place is quite messy and my tenants are upset. They don't like having to walk through the crowd, say they feel intimidated, and have asked me to do something about it or they'll move out. I'm also worried that if they are harmed, I'll be responsible. Any suggestions? --Arnold J.
A: The legal issues raised by the situation you describe are similar to the issues landlords face when the sidewalks in front of their buildings are taken over by drug gangs, prostitutes or other less savory types. Not that day laborers are in any way as fearsome and dangerous as some of these folks, by a long shot.
But the legal issue for the landlord is the same: To what extent are you responsible for dealing with a dangerous or even potentially dangerous situation taking place on public property directly adjacent to your building?
Put another way, if you do nothing and the situation continues, do tenants have a legal justification to break their leases without future liability for rent?
We know that if a landlord tolerates illegal behavior on his property, and fails to evict the criminals, the answer is simple: Tenants who are injured as a result can look to the landlord for damages, and those who are fed up get to move without responsibility for future rent.
But in your situation, the activity (putting aside for the moment whether it's criminal) is taking place on public space. You can hardly evict the laborers from the sidewalk, but you can take steps to mitigate the effect they are having on your tenants.
First, consider talking with your city attorney about the situation. Your city may have an "anti-loitering" law on the books that could address the situation, depending on how it's worded. It may even have a law that targets day laborers, prohibiting them from standing on streets and highways and soliciting work, or requiring them to wait only in specified areas.
Not that having such a law is a sure winner for you, however -- in the western U.S. alone, judges in several cases have struck down such laws as an infringement on free speech.
You might also consider a political approach to the problem of how unaffiliated people can look for work. Some cities have put aside land and even facilities for use as a sort of "day laborer hiring park or hall." These solutions are controversial, but they at least address the problem in a nonpunitive way. Your city government might be receptive to such a suggestion.
It would be wise to meet with your tenants, perhaps with a local policeman in attendance, to talk about the situation. Doing so will make it clear that you've heard their concerns, and the officer may have suggestions on how your tenants can safely interact (or not) with the laborers and minimize any chance of confrontation or problems.
If you have your meeting but get nowhere with an anti-loitering law, and there's no designated alternative area for laborers to congregate, you will be able to at least say that you did all that you could reasonably do to remedy the problem.
This is important: The law requires you to make a reasonable response to the situation, not a supernatural one. This means that if, for example, a tenant were accosted by one of the laborers, he'd have a hard time holding you partly responsible.
But whether a lease-breaking tenant could leave without responsibility for future rent is another matter. If a situation becomes intolerable, no matter how hard the landlord tries to fix it, tenants can leave. A graphic example is the current scourge of bedbug infestations.
Landlords are going to Herculean lengths to rid their buildings of the problem, but if they fail, their tenants can justifiably break their leases.
Again, the comparison is awkward, but the legal theory applies: Despite your efforts, if the gauntlet of workers remains as daunting as you describe, your tenants may be able to leave without responsibility for future rent.
Janet Portman is an attorney and managing editor at Nolo. She specializes in landlord/tenant law and is co-author of "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" and "Every Tenant's Legal Guide." She can be reached at janet@inman.com.
Solar lighting, decorative panels and options
Paul Bianchina
Inman News
Everyone loves having an outdoor deck to relax on during the summer months. But if your deck is just a little bit on the boring side, there's a wide variety of deck helpers available for turning "ho-hum" into "wow"!
Deck balusters: Instead of standard wooden pickets on your deck railing, how about something really eye-catching? There are a variety of extruded aluminum balusters to select from that combine beautifully with wood to create a sturdy deck railing that's also weather-resistant. Aluminum balusters are available in lots of different baked-on enamel colors, such as black, white, green, bronze, silver and others.
Balusters don't need to be straight up and down either. You can choose from ones that are twisted in classic Colonial shapes, or ones that are arced out in smooth curves or angular bends to suit your particular tastes and style. All of them are pre-shaped, and simple to install.
Deck rail panels: How about something even more dramatic to set off your deck rail. There are laser-cut steel panels available with the silhouettes of trees, wildlife and other outdoor scenes. The panels fit into grooves in wooden supports to make up a sturdy deck railing that will really become a unique feature in your yard. You can ring the entire deck with them, or use just one or two panels as a focal point.
Solar post lights: Here's a quick and easy deck upgrade that looks great and is also a nice safety feature. Solar post lights attach to the top of any standard 4-by-4 posts. A small solar panel on top of the light uses sunlight during the day to recharge batteries inside the fixture, which powers LED lights at night. Solar post lights are available in several different styles and colors, and are easy to install with no electrical wiring required.
Rail-top planters: You can dress up the look of your deck without utilizing any valuable deck space by incorporating some rail-top planters. These attractive planters are made from vinyl, cedar, or other materials, and are designed with a groove in the bottom that fits over standard 2-by-4 or 2-by-6 lumber. Available in both round pot and rectangular box designs, the planters fit over the top cap of the deck's railing. They're easy to install wherever you want to add the beauty and color of fresh flowers on your deck, or even to create a quick herb garden.
Patio misters: If you have a deck that's a little too hot to handle some afternoons, consider the addition of some patio misters. A patio mister is simply a series of micro-nozzles, pre-installed in a length of hose. The hose is attached to the edge of your deck railing, the underside of a patio cover or pergola, or any other convenient location, then attached to an outdoor hose bib.
The nozzles deliver a continuous, very fine mist of water, which in turn will cool down the ambient temperatures and make your deck and your outdoor environment much more enjoyable.
Patio misters are available in different lengths and nozzle configurations, and there are also accessories such as booster pumps, splitters and even in-line filters to help you customize your installation.
Rope lights: For some fun and some added safety, consider adding some rope lights to your deck. Rope lights are tiny bulbs encased in clear or colored flexible plastic tubing, and they can be installed outdoors in a wide variety of locations.
They add a festive atmosphere to any deck or patio cover, and provide additional subtle, non-glare lighting for steps, railings and other areas. Look for lighting that's UL-approved (by Underwriters Laboratories Inc.) for exterior use.
Plan sets: Feeling ambitious? If you'd like to tackle an outdoor project that will improve your yard and give you a tremendous feeling of accomplishment, but you're at a loss as to where to begin, consider buying a set of pre-drawn plans. There are plan sets available for a wide variety of projects, from simple barbecue carts and picnic tables to Adirondack chairs and deck gliders.
You'll find plans for interesting deck railings, pergolas and deck covers, and even for the deck itself. The typical plan set comes with drawings, material lists and assembly instructions, and some are even available with DVDs.
You can find these and other accessories for your deck at your local home center, hardware store and lumberyard, as well as at some larger department stores and warehouse stores. And as always, a search of the Internet will yield a wealth of products and ideas.
Remodeling and repair questions? E-mail Paul at paulbianchina@inman.com. All product reviews are based on the author's actual testing of free review samples provided by the manufacturers.
Inman News
Everyone loves having an outdoor deck to relax on during the summer months. But if your deck is just a little bit on the boring side, there's a wide variety of deck helpers available for turning "ho-hum" into "wow"!
Deck balusters: Instead of standard wooden pickets on your deck railing, how about something really eye-catching? There are a variety of extruded aluminum balusters to select from that combine beautifully with wood to create a sturdy deck railing that's also weather-resistant. Aluminum balusters are available in lots of different baked-on enamel colors, such as black, white, green, bronze, silver and others.
Balusters don't need to be straight up and down either. You can choose from ones that are twisted in classic Colonial shapes, or ones that are arced out in smooth curves or angular bends to suit your particular tastes and style. All of them are pre-shaped, and simple to install.
Deck rail panels: How about something even more dramatic to set off your deck rail. There are laser-cut steel panels available with the silhouettes of trees, wildlife and other outdoor scenes. The panels fit into grooves in wooden supports to make up a sturdy deck railing that will really become a unique feature in your yard. You can ring the entire deck with them, or use just one or two panels as a focal point.
Solar post lights: Here's a quick and easy deck upgrade that looks great and is also a nice safety feature. Solar post lights attach to the top of any standard 4-by-4 posts. A small solar panel on top of the light uses sunlight during the day to recharge batteries inside the fixture, which powers LED lights at night. Solar post lights are available in several different styles and colors, and are easy to install with no electrical wiring required.
Rail-top planters: You can dress up the look of your deck without utilizing any valuable deck space by incorporating some rail-top planters. These attractive planters are made from vinyl, cedar, or other materials, and are designed with a groove in the bottom that fits over standard 2-by-4 or 2-by-6 lumber. Available in both round pot and rectangular box designs, the planters fit over the top cap of the deck's railing. They're easy to install wherever you want to add the beauty and color of fresh flowers on your deck, or even to create a quick herb garden.
Patio misters: If you have a deck that's a little too hot to handle some afternoons, consider the addition of some patio misters. A patio mister is simply a series of micro-nozzles, pre-installed in a length of hose. The hose is attached to the edge of your deck railing, the underside of a patio cover or pergola, or any other convenient location, then attached to an outdoor hose bib.
The nozzles deliver a continuous, very fine mist of water, which in turn will cool down the ambient temperatures and make your deck and your outdoor environment much more enjoyable.
Patio misters are available in different lengths and nozzle configurations, and there are also accessories such as booster pumps, splitters and even in-line filters to help you customize your installation.
Rope lights: For some fun and some added safety, consider adding some rope lights to your deck. Rope lights are tiny bulbs encased in clear or colored flexible plastic tubing, and they can be installed outdoors in a wide variety of locations.
They add a festive atmosphere to any deck or patio cover, and provide additional subtle, non-glare lighting for steps, railings and other areas. Look for lighting that's UL-approved (by Underwriters Laboratories Inc.) for exterior use.
Plan sets: Feeling ambitious? If you'd like to tackle an outdoor project that will improve your yard and give you a tremendous feeling of accomplishment, but you're at a loss as to where to begin, consider buying a set of pre-drawn plans. There are plan sets available for a wide variety of projects, from simple barbecue carts and picnic tables to Adirondack chairs and deck gliders.
You'll find plans for interesting deck railings, pergolas and deck covers, and even for the deck itself. The typical plan set comes with drawings, material lists and assembly instructions, and some are even available with DVDs.
You can find these and other accessories for your deck at your local home center, hardware store and lumberyard, as well as at some larger department stores and warehouse stores. And as always, a search of the Internet will yield a wealth of products and ideas.
Remodeling and repair questions? E-mail Paul at paulbianchina@inman.com. All product reviews are based on the author's actual testing of free review samples provided by the manufacturers.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
FHA Launches Short Refi Opportunity for Underwater Homeowners
RISMEDIA, August 9, 2010--In an effort to help responsible homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their property, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provided details on the adjustment to its refinance program which was announced earlier this year that will enable lenders to provide additional refinancing options to homeowners who owe more than their home is worth. Starting September 7, 2010, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will offer certain ‘underwater’ non-FHA borrowers who are current on their existing mortgage and whose lenders agree to write off at least ten percent of the unpaid principal balance of the first mortgage, the opportunity to qualify for a new FHA-insured mortgage.
The FHA Short Refinance option is targeted to help people who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth – or ‘underwater’ – because their local markets saw large declines in home values. Originally announced in March, these changes and other programs that have been put in place will help the Administration meet its goal of stabilizing housing markets by offering a second chance to up to 3 to 4 million struggling homeowners through the end of 2012.
“We’re throwing a life line out to those families who are current on their mortgage and are experiencing financial hardships because property values in their community have declined,” said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. “This is another tool to help overcome the negative equity problem facing many responsible homeowners who are looking to refinance into a safer, more secure mortgage product.”
FHA published a mortgagee letter to provide guidance to lenders on how to implement this new enhancement. Participation in FHA’s refinance program is voluntary and requires the consent of all lien holders. To be eligible for a new loan, the homeowner must owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth and be current on their existing mortgage. The homeowner must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting requirements and have a credit score equal to or greater than 500. The property must be the homeowner’s primary residence. And the borrower’s existing first lien holder must agree to write off at least 10% of their unpaid principal balance, bringing that borrower’s combined loan-to-value ratio to no greater than 115%.
In addition, the existing loan to be refinanced must not be an FHA-insured loan, and the refinanced FHA-insured first mortgage must have a loan-to-value ratio of no more than 97.75 percent. Interested homeowners should contact their lenders to determine if they are eligible and whether the lender agrees the write down a portion of the unpaid principal.
To facilitate the refinancing of new FHA-insured loans under this program, the U.S. Department of Treasury will provide incentives to existing second lien holders who agree to full or partial extinguishment of the liens. To be eligible, servicers must execute a Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA) with Fannie Mae, in its capacity as financial agent for the United States, on or before October 3, 2010.
The FHA Short Refinance option is targeted to help people who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth – or ‘underwater’ – because their local markets saw large declines in home values. Originally announced in March, these changes and other programs that have been put in place will help the Administration meet its goal of stabilizing housing markets by offering a second chance to up to 3 to 4 million struggling homeowners through the end of 2012.
“We’re throwing a life line out to those families who are current on their mortgage and are experiencing financial hardships because property values in their community have declined,” said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. “This is another tool to help overcome the negative equity problem facing many responsible homeowners who are looking to refinance into a safer, more secure mortgage product.”
FHA published a mortgagee letter to provide guidance to lenders on how to implement this new enhancement. Participation in FHA’s refinance program is voluntary and requires the consent of all lien holders. To be eligible for a new loan, the homeowner must owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth and be current on their existing mortgage. The homeowner must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting requirements and have a credit score equal to or greater than 500. The property must be the homeowner’s primary residence. And the borrower’s existing first lien holder must agree to write off at least 10% of their unpaid principal balance, bringing that borrower’s combined loan-to-value ratio to no greater than 115%.
In addition, the existing loan to be refinanced must not be an FHA-insured loan, and the refinanced FHA-insured first mortgage must have a loan-to-value ratio of no more than 97.75 percent. Interested homeowners should contact their lenders to determine if they are eligible and whether the lender agrees the write down a portion of the unpaid principal.
To facilitate the refinancing of new FHA-insured loans under this program, the U.S. Department of Treasury will provide incentives to existing second lien holders who agree to full or partial extinguishment of the liens. To be eligible, servicers must execute a Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA) with Fannie Mae, in its capacity as financial agent for the United States, on or before October 3, 2010.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Piercy Group Current Listings
Take a look at our current listings. If none of these listings match what you are looking for be sure to email us. We will find exactly what fits your needs.
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Saturday, July 31, 2010
FHA has its day
5 tips to secure a federally insured mortgage
Mary Umberger
Inman News
In the heady days of the housing boom, so-called FHA loans ended up being the lonely guy sitting on the sidelines.
After all, at that time the mortgage market had a free-flowing and apparently limitless pipeline of funds for borrowers who had little to no money for a downpayment. Demand for the Federal Housing Administration's programs to help first-time and low-income buyers dwindled.
That was then, as they say. This is now, when lending policies have gotten considerably more stringent in the wake of the housing downturn.
Suddenly, the government program that's been around since 1934 is looking a lot more attractive to a lot more people: The agency went from being involved with just 464,000 loans in 2007 to 2 million loans in fiscal 2009, according to a recent speech by its commissioner, David Stevens.
Its share of the market, depending on the region, is 30 to 50 percent.
So, for many homebuyers, FHA is the name of the game these days. Five things to know about FHA mortgages:
1. The FHA doesn't make loans, it insures them. Participants in FHA-insured mortgages get their loans through conventional lenders whose standards meet the FHA's.
The agency's guarantees mean that lenders can be confident that they won't lose money on the loans and can make more of them -- thus, in theory, helping to keep the housing market flowing.
2. FHA loans are attractive to many borrowers because they require as little as 3.5 percent down, compared to the so-called conventional market, which these days typically requires 10 percent down or more for competitively priced rates.
They're relatively easy to qualify for: The FHA places no income restrictions. Borrowers can have middling credit histories. In addition, FHA policies allow borrowers to include gifts from family members in their downpayments.
Currently, the FHA doesn't set a qualifying credit score for borrowers, according to FHA spokesman Lemar Wooley.
"We don't really have a hard minimum score requirement," he said. "We ask our lenders to look at the entire credit picture, with the major requirement being the ability to repay the loan."
However, Wooley said, a 580 score (on an 850-point scale) is set to become the minimal requirement, though an implementation date has not been set. Currently, applicants with scores below 500 do need to increase their downpayments to 10 percent, he said.
The FHA allows borrowers to allocate as much as 43 percent of their income to housing and long-term debt costs, which in the mortgage business is called a back-end ratio; conventional loans vary slightly in that cap, although they generally limit their borrowers to a back-end allocation that's several percent less.
3. FHA's insurance isn't free: Homebuyers with FHA-insured loans will pay an upfront premium at the time of closing (2.25 percent of the purchase price) and then for an extended period will make monthly payments to cover the annual cost of the insurance, 0.5 percent of the amount of the loan, Wooley said.
4. As popular as they are these days, FHA-insured loans aren't for all borrowers.
"I'm not a big fan of government loans," said Dale Robyn Siegel, a White Plains, N.Y., mortgage broker and author of "The New Rules for Mortgages" (Penguin/Alpha).
Siegel says that if conventional loan paperwork is significant, the FHA's is even more daunting. In addition, the FHA is strict about the physical state of the home that's being purchased.
"If the property isn't in good condition, FHA might reject it," Siegel said. "If the FHA borrower is lower-income, and then has lower savings after they close (on the house), you have less money to fix it. So the house needs to be in better condition, out of the gate."
Another potential roadblock: FHA limits the sizes of loans it will insure, from about $271,000 in low-cost areas to nearly $730,000 in high-cost areas.
5. Many borrowers these days think FHA is the only game in town, but it isn't, Siegel said.
"I would always say, 'Get a second opinion,'" she said.
She said some borrowers with bruised credit presume they'd be ineligible for loans in the conventional market, though that's not necessarily so. Borrowers with downpayments of less than 20 percent from those lenders still would have to get mortgage insurance from a private source, she said.
Siegel said the threshold for getting an FHA loan sounds more generous than it would turn out to be in the marketplace. "The FICO score (that FHA will permit) is 580, but good luck, try and get it approved," she said.
More information on FHA-insured mortgages, including its state-by-state listings of mortgage limits, is available at fha.gov.
In the heady days of the housing boom, so-called FHA loans ended up being the lonely guy sitting on the sidelines.
After all, at that time the mortgage market had a free-flowing and apparently limitless pipeline of funds for borrowers who had little to no money for a downpayment. Demand for the Federal Housing Administration's programs to help first-time and low-income buyers dwindled.
That was then, as they say. This is now, when lending policies have gotten considerably more stringent in the wake of the housing downturn.
Suddenly, the government program that's been around since 1934 is looking a lot more attractive to a lot more people: The agency went from being involved with just 464,000 loans in 2007 to 2 million loans in fiscal 2009, according to a recent speech by its commissioner, David Stevens.
Its share of the market, depending on the region, is 30 to 50 percent.
So, for many homebuyers, FHA is the name of the game these days. Five things to know about FHA mortgages:
1. The FHA doesn't make loans, it insures them. Participants in FHA-insured mortgages get their loans through conventional lenders whose standards meet the FHA's.
The agency's guarantees mean that lenders can be confident that they won't lose money on the loans and can make more of them -- thus, in theory, helping to keep the housing market flowing.
2. FHA loans are attractive to many borrowers because they require as little as 3.5 percent down, compared to the so-called conventional market, which these days typically requires 10 percent down or more for competitively priced rates.
They're relatively easy to qualify for: The FHA places no income restrictions. Borrowers can have middling credit histories. In addition, FHA policies allow borrowers to include gifts from family members in their downpayments.
Currently, the FHA doesn't set a qualifying credit score for borrowers, according to FHA spokesman Lemar Wooley.
"We don't really have a hard minimum score requirement," he said. "We ask our lenders to look at the entire credit picture, with the major requirement being the ability to repay the loan."
However, Wooley said, a 580 score (on an 850-point scale) is set to become the minimal requirement, though an implementation date has not been set. Currently, applicants with scores below 500 do need to increase their downpayments to 10 percent, he said.
The FHA allows borrowers to allocate as much as 43 percent of their income to housing and long-term debt costs, which in the mortgage business is called a back-end ratio; conventional loans vary slightly in that cap, although they generally limit their borrowers to a back-end allocation that's several percent less.
3. FHA's insurance isn't free: Homebuyers with FHA-insured loans will pay an upfront premium at the time of closing (2.25 percent of the purchase price) and then for an extended period will make monthly payments to cover the annual cost of the insurance, 0.5 percent of the amount of the loan, Wooley said.
4. As popular as they are these days, FHA-insured loans aren't for all borrowers.
"I'm not a big fan of government loans," said Dale Robyn Siegel, a White Plains, N.Y., mortgage broker and author of "The New Rules for Mortgages" (Penguin/Alpha).
Siegel says that if conventional loan paperwork is significant, the FHA's is even more daunting. In addition, the FHA is strict about the physical state of the home that's being purchased.
"If the property isn't in good condition, FHA might reject it," Siegel said. "If the FHA borrower is lower-income, and then has lower savings after they close (on the house), you have less money to fix it. So the house needs to be in better condition, out of the gate."
Another potential roadblock: FHA limits the sizes of loans it will insure, from about $271,000 in low-cost areas to nearly $730,000 in high-cost areas.
5. Many borrowers these days think FHA is the only game in town, but it isn't, Siegel said.
"I would always say, 'Get a second opinion,'" she said.
She said some borrowers with bruised credit presume they'd be ineligible for loans in the conventional market, though that's not necessarily so. Borrowers with downpayments of less than 20 percent from those lenders still would have to get mortgage insurance from a private source, she said.
Siegel said the threshold for getting an FHA loan sounds more generous than it would turn out to be in the marketplace. "The FICO score (that FHA will permit) is 580, but good luck, try and get it approved," she said.
More information on FHA-insured mortgages, including its state-by-state listings of mortgage limits, is available at fha.gov.
Mary Umberger
Inman News
In the heady days of the housing boom, so-called FHA loans ended up being the lonely guy sitting on the sidelines.
After all, at that time the mortgage market had a free-flowing and apparently limitless pipeline of funds for borrowers who had little to no money for a downpayment. Demand for the Federal Housing Administration's programs to help first-time and low-income buyers dwindled.
That was then, as they say. This is now, when lending policies have gotten considerably more stringent in the wake of the housing downturn.
Suddenly, the government program that's been around since 1934 is looking a lot more attractive to a lot more people: The agency went from being involved with just 464,000 loans in 2007 to 2 million loans in fiscal 2009, according to a recent speech by its commissioner, David Stevens.
Its share of the market, depending on the region, is 30 to 50 percent.
So, for many homebuyers, FHA is the name of the game these days. Five things to know about FHA mortgages:
1. The FHA doesn't make loans, it insures them. Participants in FHA-insured mortgages get their loans through conventional lenders whose standards meet the FHA's.
The agency's guarantees mean that lenders can be confident that they won't lose money on the loans and can make more of them -- thus, in theory, helping to keep the housing market flowing.
2. FHA loans are attractive to many borrowers because they require as little as 3.5 percent down, compared to the so-called conventional market, which these days typically requires 10 percent down or more for competitively priced rates.
They're relatively easy to qualify for: The FHA places no income restrictions. Borrowers can have middling credit histories. In addition, FHA policies allow borrowers to include gifts from family members in their downpayments.
Currently, the FHA doesn't set a qualifying credit score for borrowers, according to FHA spokesman Lemar Wooley.
"We don't really have a hard minimum score requirement," he said. "We ask our lenders to look at the entire credit picture, with the major requirement being the ability to repay the loan."
However, Wooley said, a 580 score (on an 850-point scale) is set to become the minimal requirement, though an implementation date has not been set. Currently, applicants with scores below 500 do need to increase their downpayments to 10 percent, he said.
The FHA allows borrowers to allocate as much as 43 percent of their income to housing and long-term debt costs, which in the mortgage business is called a back-end ratio; conventional loans vary slightly in that cap, although they generally limit their borrowers to a back-end allocation that's several percent less.
3. FHA's insurance isn't free: Homebuyers with FHA-insured loans will pay an upfront premium at the time of closing (2.25 percent of the purchase price) and then for an extended period will make monthly payments to cover the annual cost of the insurance, 0.5 percent of the amount of the loan, Wooley said.
4. As popular as they are these days, FHA-insured loans aren't for all borrowers.
"I'm not a big fan of government loans," said Dale Robyn Siegel, a White Plains, N.Y., mortgage broker and author of "The New Rules for Mortgages" (Penguin/Alpha).
Siegel says that if conventional loan paperwork is significant, the FHA's is even more daunting. In addition, the FHA is strict about the physical state of the home that's being purchased.
"If the property isn't in good condition, FHA might reject it," Siegel said. "If the FHA borrower is lower-income, and then has lower savings after they close (on the house), you have less money to fix it. So the house needs to be in better condition, out of the gate."
Another potential roadblock: FHA limits the sizes of loans it will insure, from about $271,000 in low-cost areas to nearly $730,000 in high-cost areas.
5. Many borrowers these days think FHA is the only game in town, but it isn't, Siegel said.
"I would always say, 'Get a second opinion,'" she said.
She said some borrowers with bruised credit presume they'd be ineligible for loans in the conventional market, though that's not necessarily so. Borrowers with downpayments of less than 20 percent from those lenders still would have to get mortgage insurance from a private source, she said.
Siegel said the threshold for getting an FHA loan sounds more generous than it would turn out to be in the marketplace. "The FICO score (that FHA will permit) is 580, but good luck, try and get it approved," she said.
More information on FHA-insured mortgages, including its state-by-state listings of mortgage limits, is available at fha.gov.
In the heady days of the housing boom, so-called FHA loans ended up being the lonely guy sitting on the sidelines.
After all, at that time the mortgage market had a free-flowing and apparently limitless pipeline of funds for borrowers who had little to no money for a downpayment. Demand for the Federal Housing Administration's programs to help first-time and low-income buyers dwindled.
That was then, as they say. This is now, when lending policies have gotten considerably more stringent in the wake of the housing downturn.
Suddenly, the government program that's been around since 1934 is looking a lot more attractive to a lot more people: The agency went from being involved with just 464,000 loans in 2007 to 2 million loans in fiscal 2009, according to a recent speech by its commissioner, David Stevens.
Its share of the market, depending on the region, is 30 to 50 percent.
So, for many homebuyers, FHA is the name of the game these days. Five things to know about FHA mortgages:
1. The FHA doesn't make loans, it insures them. Participants in FHA-insured mortgages get their loans through conventional lenders whose standards meet the FHA's.
The agency's guarantees mean that lenders can be confident that they won't lose money on the loans and can make more of them -- thus, in theory, helping to keep the housing market flowing.
2. FHA loans are attractive to many borrowers because they require as little as 3.5 percent down, compared to the so-called conventional market, which these days typically requires 10 percent down or more for competitively priced rates.
They're relatively easy to qualify for: The FHA places no income restrictions. Borrowers can have middling credit histories. In addition, FHA policies allow borrowers to include gifts from family members in their downpayments.
Currently, the FHA doesn't set a qualifying credit score for borrowers, according to FHA spokesman Lemar Wooley.
"We don't really have a hard minimum score requirement," he said. "We ask our lenders to look at the entire credit picture, with the major requirement being the ability to repay the loan."
However, Wooley said, a 580 score (on an 850-point scale) is set to become the minimal requirement, though an implementation date has not been set. Currently, applicants with scores below 500 do need to increase their downpayments to 10 percent, he said.
The FHA allows borrowers to allocate as much as 43 percent of their income to housing and long-term debt costs, which in the mortgage business is called a back-end ratio; conventional loans vary slightly in that cap, although they generally limit their borrowers to a back-end allocation that's several percent less.
3. FHA's insurance isn't free: Homebuyers with FHA-insured loans will pay an upfront premium at the time of closing (2.25 percent of the purchase price) and then for an extended period will make monthly payments to cover the annual cost of the insurance, 0.5 percent of the amount of the loan, Wooley said.
4. As popular as they are these days, FHA-insured loans aren't for all borrowers.
"I'm not a big fan of government loans," said Dale Robyn Siegel, a White Plains, N.Y., mortgage broker and author of "The New Rules for Mortgages" (Penguin/Alpha).
Siegel says that if conventional loan paperwork is significant, the FHA's is even more daunting. In addition, the FHA is strict about the physical state of the home that's being purchased.
"If the property isn't in good condition, FHA might reject it," Siegel said. "If the FHA borrower is lower-income, and then has lower savings after they close (on the house), you have less money to fix it. So the house needs to be in better condition, out of the gate."
Another potential roadblock: FHA limits the sizes of loans it will insure, from about $271,000 in low-cost areas to nearly $730,000 in high-cost areas.
5. Many borrowers these days think FHA is the only game in town, but it isn't, Siegel said.
"I would always say, 'Get a second opinion,'" she said.
She said some borrowers with bruised credit presume they'd be ineligible for loans in the conventional market, though that's not necessarily so. Borrowers with downpayments of less than 20 percent from those lenders still would have to get mortgage insurance from a private source, she said.
Siegel said the threshold for getting an FHA loan sounds more generous than it would turn out to be in the marketplace. "The FICO score (that FHA will permit) is 580, but good luck, try and get it approved," she said.
More information on FHA-insured mortgages, including its state-by-state listings of mortgage limits, is available at fha.gov.
No need for another tax credit
Some markets will hardly notice absence of stimulus
Steve Bergsman
Inman News
The federal homebuyer tax credit is fading away, and it won't be missed by all.
It looked good on paper: an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers and $6,500 for existing homeowners buying a new house.
And, the general consensus is the tax credit helped a lot of first-time buyers enter into homeownership, which a majority of folks still think is a good idea -- despite the destruction of the financial markets and encompassing recession that has forced millions into foreclosure.
So the stimulus did its job, but it couldn't last forever. And if the housing market at this point in the cycle can't push into the positive on its own momentum, there are serious structural problems in the homeownership business and another stimulus would only forestall a reckoning.
In addition, the tax credit literally skipped past a number of individual metros, leaving barely a footprint, so in those particular markets the exit of the tax credit will really not be noticed.
It's going to just take a few months to figure out where we stand, but most believe the housing market has been stabilized and will get stronger before the end of the year.
Before the tax credit headed into the sunset (contracts needed to be signed by April 30 and loans need to close by Sept. 30 -- the closing deadline was extended past the original June 30 expiration), there was a surge of buyers trying to wrap up sales before the contract deadline.
That's going to lead to a drop in sales over the summer months, and normal purchase levels should be reached again in September.
"We got a tremendous jump, both times, when it looked like the tax credits were ending, then there was a fall-off in pending sales," said Jed Smith, managing director of quantitative research at the National Association of Realtors.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the sales decline attributed to the contract deadline for the tax credits was more severe than expected, with some markets showing a drop-off of 25 percent to 30 percent.
In the past, that fall-off was short-lived -- two to three months at the most -- and Smith suspects there will be a pick-up in home sales in August. (According to his data, the fall-off began in May.)
Smith projects home transactions for 2010 will come in around 5.3 million sales, which is where the market has been trending for the last 12 months.
Those are national projections, which, when viewed in isolation, mask a number of anomalies in the tax credit program's implementation.
A few months back, when I interviewed Glenn Plantone -- a Las Vegas real estate investment adviser who founded the Real Estate Insider Club of Las Vegas -- about investor interest in Las Vegas' single-family home market, he alluded to the fact that the tax credit made little impact in his town for the simple reason that so much of the homebuying has been by third-parties (investors) paying cash.
Investors had little use for the tax credit because deals are driven by returns and cap rates.
"Last year, 50 percent of the home purchases were with cash and this year it's 34 percent," said Plantone. "The next largest percentage was by buyers putting down 20 percent or greater of the total cost. The number of buyers actually taking advantage of the tax credit might only be 5 percent to 15 percent."
He added, "last year I sold 14 homes to one buyer and 10 homes to another. I know other Realtors here that have sold 10-20 homes to just one person. That being said, I don't think the tax credit has had as big an effect in this local market as maybe some other markets."
Sales in Las Vegas were down in June (3,360 homes sold that month vs. 4,186 homes sold in May), but that could have been because of hot weather, said Plantone. "We need to see what happens over a few months."
One must also clarify the data points. House sales in Las Vegas may have declined on a month-to-month basis going into the spring, but if one compares May 2010 sales to May 2009 sales they are roughly flat.
Miami has experienced the same "cash" phenomenon as Las Vegas, with some local twists.
"Our typical buyers this year are individuals with a lot cash and foreign nationals who have no interest and no idea about the tax credit," said Patrick O'Connell, a senior vice president with EWM Realtors in Coral Gables, Fla.
The tax credit was not really a buying decision for his clients, O'Connell, said, adding that he could see where it was important elsewhere.
"My brother lives in Cincinnati and he recently bought a $92,000 house. That $8,000 tax credit meant a new healing and cooling system for the house," he said. "That was one of the reasons why (he) bought now."
The tax credit was a lesser factor in some high-end markets. When someone is paying $1 million-plus for a condominium in Manhattan or a home in Newport Beach, Calif., that $8,000 tax credit is negligible.
In June, when the National Association of Realtors reported a sales decline compared to May, home prices in the generally expensive Northeast popped 7.9 percent.
Markets in recovery, and especially those beaten down (like Las Vegas), didn't get the full effect of the tax credits either, said NAR's Smith. "The tax credits might have helped a little bit, but the volume would have picked up regardless of the tax credits."
There is little chance for another round of tax credits because the general feeling is that the country is past the point of getting things stabilized. And for expansion to occur, people need to go back to work. Employment levels, not government programs, will be the key growth factor for the housing market in the months ahead.
"The big issue in buying a house is jobs," Smith asserts. "If the job market is declining, regardless of what incentives you offer people, you are not going to get a lot of sales."
Steve Bergsman is a freelance writer in Arizona and author of several books. His latest book, "After the Fall: Opportunities and Strategies for Real Estate Investing in the Coming Decade," has been ranked as a top-selling real estate investment book for the Amazon Kindle e-reader.
Steve Bergsman
Inman News
The federal homebuyer tax credit is fading away, and it won't be missed by all.
It looked good on paper: an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers and $6,500 for existing homeowners buying a new house.
And, the general consensus is the tax credit helped a lot of first-time buyers enter into homeownership, which a majority of folks still think is a good idea -- despite the destruction of the financial markets and encompassing recession that has forced millions into foreclosure.
So the stimulus did its job, but it couldn't last forever. And if the housing market at this point in the cycle can't push into the positive on its own momentum, there are serious structural problems in the homeownership business and another stimulus would only forestall a reckoning.
In addition, the tax credit literally skipped past a number of individual metros, leaving barely a footprint, so in those particular markets the exit of the tax credit will really not be noticed.
It's going to just take a few months to figure out where we stand, but most believe the housing market has been stabilized and will get stronger before the end of the year.
Before the tax credit headed into the sunset (contracts needed to be signed by April 30 and loans need to close by Sept. 30 -- the closing deadline was extended past the original June 30 expiration), there was a surge of buyers trying to wrap up sales before the contract deadline.
That's going to lead to a drop in sales over the summer months, and normal purchase levels should be reached again in September.
"We got a tremendous jump, both times, when it looked like the tax credits were ending, then there was a fall-off in pending sales," said Jed Smith, managing director of quantitative research at the National Association of Realtors.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the sales decline attributed to the contract deadline for the tax credits was more severe than expected, with some markets showing a drop-off of 25 percent to 30 percent.
In the past, that fall-off was short-lived -- two to three months at the most -- and Smith suspects there will be a pick-up in home sales in August. (According to his data, the fall-off began in May.)
Smith projects home transactions for 2010 will come in around 5.3 million sales, which is where the market has been trending for the last 12 months.
Those are national projections, which, when viewed in isolation, mask a number of anomalies in the tax credit program's implementation.
A few months back, when I interviewed Glenn Plantone -- a Las Vegas real estate investment adviser who founded the Real Estate Insider Club of Las Vegas -- about investor interest in Las Vegas' single-family home market, he alluded to the fact that the tax credit made little impact in his town for the simple reason that so much of the homebuying has been by third-parties (investors) paying cash.
Investors had little use for the tax credit because deals are driven by returns and cap rates.
"Last year, 50 percent of the home purchases were with cash and this year it's 34 percent," said Plantone. "The next largest percentage was by buyers putting down 20 percent or greater of the total cost. The number of buyers actually taking advantage of the tax credit might only be 5 percent to 15 percent."
He added, "last year I sold 14 homes to one buyer and 10 homes to another. I know other Realtors here that have sold 10-20 homes to just one person. That being said, I don't think the tax credit has had as big an effect in this local market as maybe some other markets."
Sales in Las Vegas were down in June (3,360 homes sold that month vs. 4,186 homes sold in May), but that could have been because of hot weather, said Plantone. "We need to see what happens over a few months."
One must also clarify the data points. House sales in Las Vegas may have declined on a month-to-month basis going into the spring, but if one compares May 2010 sales to May 2009 sales they are roughly flat.
Miami has experienced the same "cash" phenomenon as Las Vegas, with some local twists.
"Our typical buyers this year are individuals with a lot cash and foreign nationals who have no interest and no idea about the tax credit," said Patrick O'Connell, a senior vice president with EWM Realtors in Coral Gables, Fla.
The tax credit was not really a buying decision for his clients, O'Connell, said, adding that he could see where it was important elsewhere.
"My brother lives in Cincinnati and he recently bought a $92,000 house. That $8,000 tax credit meant a new healing and cooling system for the house," he said. "That was one of the reasons why (he) bought now."
The tax credit was a lesser factor in some high-end markets. When someone is paying $1 million-plus for a condominium in Manhattan or a home in Newport Beach, Calif., that $8,000 tax credit is negligible.
In June, when the National Association of Realtors reported a sales decline compared to May, home prices in the generally expensive Northeast popped 7.9 percent.
Markets in recovery, and especially those beaten down (like Las Vegas), didn't get the full effect of the tax credits either, said NAR's Smith. "The tax credits might have helped a little bit, but the volume would have picked up regardless of the tax credits."
There is little chance for another round of tax credits because the general feeling is that the country is past the point of getting things stabilized. And for expansion to occur, people need to go back to work. Employment levels, not government programs, will be the key growth factor for the housing market in the months ahead.
"The big issue in buying a house is jobs," Smith asserts. "If the job market is declining, regardless of what incentives you offer people, you are not going to get a lot of sales."
Steve Bergsman is a freelance writer in Arizona and author of several books. His latest book, "After the Fall: Opportunities and Strategies for Real Estate Investing in the Coming Decade," has been ranked as a top-selling real estate investment book for the Amazon Kindle e-reader.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Electronic Signatures?
FHA has approved Docusign. What are your thoughts on using electronic signatures? I am starting to use them with some clients and thus far I have had good reviews. Let me know your thoughts.
DocuSign®, the leader in on-demand electronic signature solutions, today announced that e-signed third-party documents, including real estate contracts, are now being accepted by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). DocuSign spearheaded an industry-wide effort to move the FHA to formally recognize e-signed third-party documents. The April 8, 2010 dated FHA mortgagee letter is the first in what is expected to be a series of responses to this initiative. With this policy statement from the nation's largest mortgage insurer, real estate professionals can use DocuSign to get real estate contracts, addenda and other documents signed electronically, and their buyers can apply for FHA insurance with confidence. The FHA mortgagee letter can be found at http://nhl.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/letters/mortgagee/files/10-14ml.pdf.
"We commend FHA's action today. By clarifying its position on electronic signatures, the process of buying, selling and financing of homes across the country will be greatly improved," said Ken Moyle, chief legal officer at DocuSign. "Buyers, sellers and agents can use DocuSign's online process to eliminate the time, expense and environmental impact of printing, delivering and signing large stacks of paper documents, and mortgage lenders can take comfort in knowing that DocuSign's e-signature process is designed for legal compliance in all 50 states and is fully evidenced by a comprehensive audit trail."
Real estate agents can quickly access the DocuSign e-signing service from any laptop with Internet access, drag and drop familiar yellow StickEtabs® onto the contract and send the envelope. The recipient immediately receives an email notification that can be accessed through a computer or any Web-enabled mobile device, including Apple® iPhone®, RIM® BlackBerry®, Google® AndroidTM, Windows Mobile®, adopts an e-signature and signs the document. Once completed, an email notification is sent to all parties with a link to the final executed document. The result is a legally binding, fully ESIGN-compliant document supported by a comprehensive audit trail.
As on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS), DocuSign requires no additional software or hardware purchases and no downtime for training. DocuSign eSignature service offers users one of the easiest, most simple to use and safest electronic signature experiences available today. For more information on DocuSign, visit www.docusign.com
DocuSign®, the leader in on-demand electronic signature solutions, today announced that e-signed third-party documents, including real estate contracts, are now being accepted by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). DocuSign spearheaded an industry-wide effort to move the FHA to formally recognize e-signed third-party documents. The April 8, 2010 dated FHA mortgagee letter is the first in what is expected to be a series of responses to this initiative. With this policy statement from the nation's largest mortgage insurer, real estate professionals can use DocuSign to get real estate contracts, addenda and other documents signed electronically, and their buyers can apply for FHA insurance with confidence. The FHA mortgagee letter can be found at http://nhl.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/letters/mortgagee/files/10-14ml.pdf.
"We commend FHA's action today. By clarifying its position on electronic signatures, the process of buying, selling and financing of homes across the country will be greatly improved," said Ken Moyle, chief legal officer at DocuSign. "Buyers, sellers and agents can use DocuSign's online process to eliminate the time, expense and environmental impact of printing, delivering and signing large stacks of paper documents, and mortgage lenders can take comfort in knowing that DocuSign's e-signature process is designed for legal compliance in all 50 states and is fully evidenced by a comprehensive audit trail."
Real estate agents can quickly access the DocuSign e-signing service from any laptop with Internet access, drag and drop familiar yellow StickEtabs® onto the contract and send the envelope. The recipient immediately receives an email notification that can be accessed through a computer or any Web-enabled mobile device, including Apple® iPhone®, RIM® BlackBerry®, Google® AndroidTM, Windows Mobile®, adopts an e-signature and signs the document. Once completed, an email notification is sent to all parties with a link to the final executed document. The result is a legally binding, fully ESIGN-compliant document supported by a comprehensive audit trail.
As on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS), DocuSign requires no additional software or hardware purchases and no downtime for training. DocuSign eSignature service offers users one of the easiest, most simple to use and safest electronic signature experiences available today. For more information on DocuSign, visit www.docusign.com
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Piercy Group Website Launched
February 02, 2010 – The Piercy Group, the leading real estate firm serving the Kansas City Metropolitan area, proudly announced the launch of its new interactive website – PiercyGroup.com. This website is a significant addition to the online world of real estate; designed to be the singular resource for Leawood, Waldo, Prairie Village and Brookside Kansas City homes for sale, the site complements the many outstanding services the firm offers its clients.
The Piercy Group has been specializing in the Kansas City residential real estate market for a decade, and works with a wide range of clients in this thriving area. Led by Realtors® Wesley Piercy, Catherine Jackson, George Rodri and Krista Votruba, this award-winning firm specializes in everything from the popular condo market to luxury homes. They are also well versed in foreclosures, short sales, and HUD properties, which is especially valuable as these markets are highly challenging for buyers. The advanced skill and experience of the firm is clear from their approach to the website – this is one of the most approachable, straightforward and useful online experiences to date.
The eye-catching homepage presents a sense of organization and unity that is rarely seen in competing real estate websites. It is well laid out from top to bottom, presenting a horizontal navigation bar, a pleasant slideshow, and a welcome message. The set of quick links at the bottom of the homepage offers excellent information on the area, from Prairie Village Kansas City condos for sale to Waldo Kansas City real estate. Visitors can access the pertinent sections of the website from the navigation bar like the ‘Resources’ page that details everything from community profiles to eco-friendly resources. The ‘Buyers/Sellers’ section provides useful information about tackling the real estate process. Finally, ‘Our Team’ is an excellent introduction to the firm’s talented members.
Buyers should pay particular attention to the complimentary MLS search that will get them started on their search for Leawood, Brookside and Prairie Village KS homes for sale in just a few simple steps.
The Piercy Group has indeed achieved another step that confirms its status as the premier firm in the area. To learn more, visit www.piercygroup.com today.
About The Piercy Group: Located in Leawood, Kansas, The Piercy Group is the leading real estate firm specializing in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, including the communities of Brookside, Waldo, Prairie Village and Leawood. Associated with RE/MAX, the firm has earned multiple awards including the Executive Club Award and the Cooperative Spirit Award. The firm is also highly active in the community, working with charities such as Operation Smile, Children's Miracle Network, Susan G. Komen Foundation, amfAR, and Human Rights Campaign.
The Piercy Group has been specializing in the Kansas City residential real estate market for a decade, and works with a wide range of clients in this thriving area. Led by Realtors® Wesley Piercy, Catherine Jackson, George Rodri and Krista Votruba, this award-winning firm specializes in everything from the popular condo market to luxury homes. They are also well versed in foreclosures, short sales, and HUD properties, which is especially valuable as these markets are highly challenging for buyers. The advanced skill and experience of the firm is clear from their approach to the website – this is one of the most approachable, straightforward and useful online experiences to date.
The eye-catching homepage presents a sense of organization and unity that is rarely seen in competing real estate websites. It is well laid out from top to bottom, presenting a horizontal navigation bar, a pleasant slideshow, and a welcome message. The set of quick links at the bottom of the homepage offers excellent information on the area, from Prairie Village Kansas City condos for sale to Waldo Kansas City real estate. Visitors can access the pertinent sections of the website from the navigation bar like the ‘Resources’ page that details everything from community profiles to eco-friendly resources. The ‘Buyers/Sellers’ section provides useful information about tackling the real estate process. Finally, ‘Our Team’ is an excellent introduction to the firm’s talented members.
Buyers should pay particular attention to the complimentary MLS search that will get them started on their search for Leawood, Brookside and Prairie Village KS homes for sale in just a few simple steps.
The Piercy Group has indeed achieved another step that confirms its status as the premier firm in the area. To learn more, visit www.piercygroup.com today.
About The Piercy Group: Located in Leawood, Kansas, The Piercy Group is the leading real estate firm specializing in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, including the communities of Brookside, Waldo, Prairie Village and Leawood. Associated with RE/MAX, the firm has earned multiple awards including the Executive Club Award and the Cooperative Spirit Award. The firm is also highly active in the community, working with charities such as Operation Smile, Children's Miracle Network, Susan G. Komen Foundation, amfAR, and Human Rights Campaign.
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