Staging – Five Rules for Effective Staging a Home for Sale

 
Correct staging is not only helpful, but crucial in timely home sale, especially in buyer market.
Let me point out that the purpose of staging is NOT to camouflage any hidden defects – that would be very unethical, dishonest, and most likely would be discovered by home inspection. Every home buyer is always recommended to order a home [...]

Read Full Post »

IRS Sets New Rules for $8,000 Tax Credit for Un-Married Home Buyers and Parent Co-signing a Mortgage

The IRS has spelled out additional guidelines for eligibility for the home buyer $8,000 tax credit when co-borrowers purchase a property.
When a home-owning parent of an adult child co-signs for a mortgage and both names appear on the note, the IRS says that under some circumstances, the first-time home buyer can qualify for the whole [...]

Read Full Post »

Mortgage Defaulters Have More Spendable Money Which Can Lead to Economic Recovery

The Wall Street Journal is asking its readers to look on the bright side – all those mortgage defaults could be a blessing in disguise.
As homeowners turn into renters, they are freed from mortgage payments, and thus have more spendable money, which in turn could fuel the economy.
In other words, some analysts say that the [...]

Read Full Post »

New FHA Guidelines for Condo Buyers – Effective December 8, 2009

The Federal Housing Administration issued new condo-loan guidelines which took effect December 8, 2009.
The new guidelines will make it easier for condo buyers to qualify for FHA loan.
Under previous guidelines, half of the units in a new condo development had to be sold before the FHA would underwrite a mortgage in the complex. New guidelines [...]

Read Full Post »

The $8,000 and $6,500 Tax Credit for Home Buyers Expires April 30, 2010 – $8,000 Tax Credit Extended and Expanded

On November 7, 2009 the $8,000 tax credit was extended and expanded. The new tax credit is good through April 30, 2010.
The new tax credit:
1) 10% of purchase price with maximum $8,000 – in other words, homes below $80,000 get 10% tax credit, and all homes above $80,000 and below $800,000 get $8,000 tax credit [...]

Read Full Post »

Loan Modifications are Not a Legal Entitlement – Legal Right to Loan Modifications Denied in Minnesota Case

U.S. District Court in Minnesota determined that borrowers do not have a right to loan modifications.
The decision came in response to a lawsuit by Minnesota home owners that maintained that borrowers had a right to loan modifications. The lawsuit sought class-action status.
.
The lawsuit alleged that the Obama administration’s foreclosure prevention plan violated borrowers’ constitutional rights [...]

Read Full Post »

The Pride of Homeownership – From Renter to Homeowner

A recent study by Bankrate.com showed that despite the economic downturn, 92% of Americans believe that owning a home is a good investment and a hedge against a potential inflation, because even if prices do go up, the monthly mortgage payments on 15 year or 30 year mortgage loan stay the same.
Indeed, the benefits of [...]

Read Full Post »

Renters Can Stay in Fannie Mae Foreclosed Homes – Foreclosures Hard on Renting Families with School Age Children

The Urban Institute published its seventh annual report titled “Housing in the Nation’s Capital.”
According to the report, more than 100,000 mortgages – almost 8% of all loans in the Washington, D.C. region – were delinquent in June, 2009.  And additional 51,500 were more than 90 days past due – with probability quite high that they [...]

Read Full Post »

Interest Rates on Long-Term Mortgages Near Record Low during 2009

Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages moved closer to the all-time low of 4.82 percent reached in May 2009, falling to 4.87 percent the last week of September 2009, according to Freddie Mac.
Home owners who refinance have an opportunity to reduce their payment on a 30-year, fixed-rate loan for $200,000 by nearly $134 a month from a year ago, [...]

Read Full Post »

Mortgage Defaulters De-Mystified – 50% of Defaulters have High Credit Scores. CDPE pre-qualification for a Short Sale.

It is assumed by many that borrowers who default on their mortgages are low-income and purchased their home without being able to afford it by taking advantage of low interest rates and lax lending practices. Or that those borrowers signed mortgages without fully understanding the fine print. Or that they qualified for a loan based on [...]

Read Full Post »

4 Tips to Getting a Loan by Home Buyers – Down Payment, Credit Scores, Documented Income

These days one of the biggest impediments to closing a real estate sale can be the buyer’s ability to get a mortgage.
Here are some tips for anyone who hopes to land a loan:

Turn to the government. The biggest source of loans these days is the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Veterans Administration (VA). These [...]

Read Full Post »

VHDA’s Homebuyer Tax Credit Plus Loan Creates Opportunity for First-time Buyers to Enter the Market

 
The numbers do not lie. In fewer than four months, more than 250 borrowers have applied for VHDA’s new Homebuyer Tax Credit Plus mortgage loan. The loan is definitely sparking the interest of potential first-time homebuyers who thought they’d be left out of the current affordable market due to lack of funds for down payment and [...]

Read Full Post »

IRS Cracking Down on False $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Claims

The IRS is cracking down on people who do not qualify for the first-time homebuyer tax credit but try to claim it anyway.
The IRS says it is investigating several cases of people who falsely claimed the first-time homebuyer credit on their federal income tax returns. Getting caught making a false claim carries a penalty of up [...]

Read Full Post »

Washington, D.C. among Top Cities Destined for Fastest Recovery

Which cities are likely to be the hottest post-economic downturn destinations for young, brilliant, and highly mobile workers?
The Wall Street Journal surveyed six trend-spotting experts and they chose cities based on economic diversity, lifestyle and their own personal preferences.  Similar study was done by Forbes Magazine.
Here’s the top-10 list:

Washington, D.C. (tie) with Seattle
New York
Portland, OR
Austin, [...]

Read Full Post »

Annual Percentage Rate, APR – How to Shop and Compare Loan Programs

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is a tool that consumers can use as a starting point to compare loan programs.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that APR is not a perfect system, and not all lenders calculate APR in the same way.
While the Federal Truth-in-Lending Act does require any mortgage broker or lender to disclose [...]

Read Full Post »

Luxury Homes Share the Housing Market Pain – Jumbo Mortgages in Shortage

  
Luxury homes used to be immune to market downturns, but this recession is different. The housing market is volatile at all price levels.
 
While low and moderately-priced housing markets have taken off in many parts of the country, the higher-end market is still struggling. Sales are slow and more price declines are imminent.
The problem in the [...]

Read Full Post »

Americans Believe in Home Ownership Despite the Housing Bust – Real Estate as Inflation Hedge

The last few years were not kind to homeownership.
However, despite all of the bad news in the media and websites like Zillow.com about homeownership and mortgages, most Americans still believe buying a home is a great investment, according to a new study by Bankrate.com.
Among the findings from the study:

92 percent say that a home [...]

Read Full Post »

Renters Want Air Conditioning, In-Unit Laundry – 2009 Survey by Apartments.com

Apartments.com conducted a survey to determine what renters want most and concluded that the five most-desired amenities by renters in 2009 were:

Air conditioning
 Balcony, deck, patio, porch or yard
 On-site swimming Pool
 In-unit washer and dryer
 Internet access

 
More than 45 percent said they have decided against renting an apartment because it lacked an in-unit laundry and/or air conditioning.
More than [...]

Read Full Post »

FHA 203(k) Loan Program Offers Purchase and Renovation Aid to Owner-Occupants of Residential Homes

 
The Federal Housing Administration is encouraging use of its little-known FHA203(k) loan program.
The FHA 203(k) lets an owner-occupant borrow money for both the purchase and renovation in one loan, and put down only 3.5 percent.
 
The program requires the use of licensed contractors and can include cosmetic improvements as well as major renovations like replacing plumbing [...]

Read Full Post »

Foreclosure and Depression Go Together – Learn and Live, at Whose Expense?

 
Nearly half the people going through the foreclosure process reported symptoms of depression and 37 percent met screening criteria for major depression, according to a study at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
“The foreclosure crisis is also a health crisis,” said lead author Dr. Craig E. Pollack, an internist at Penn University.
“We need to [...]

Read Full Post »