Real Estate Information Archive

Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®). The survey results showed lower mortgage rates for both long- and short-term rates, with the 30-year reaching a four-week low.

30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.71 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending January 13, 2011, down from last week when it averaged 4.77 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.06 percent.

15-year FRM this week averaged 4.08 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.13 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.45 percent.

5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.72 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.75 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.32 percent.

1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 3.23 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.24 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.39 percent.

Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac, reports, “Bond yields drifted lower following the release of the December employment report , which was weaker than the market consensus forecast and implied that the labor market is still in a sluggish recovery. Fixed mortgage rates followed bond yields lower for a second consecutive week, bringing them to a four-week low.”

Welcome to 2011, it is going to be a great year and I'm excited to see where it takes us!

Changing Short Sale Rules - The HAFA program has been a mixed bag, but last week the Treasury Department changed the rules to make short sales easier. 

Here are the primary changes to HAFA: 

- Those seeking a short sale must get an answer within 30 days
- Lender Servicers are no longer required to verify a borrower's financial information
- Lender Servicers are no longer required to determine if the debt-to-income exceeds 31%
- Though Second lien holders no longer must accept 6% of the unpaid balance - 

Overall, these changes should help expedite short sales, which is good news for Home owners, realtors, investors and ultimately the banks.

If you are looking for a way to sell you home that you feel is worth less than you owe on it, we can help.  Please contact us on this link or try the chat button at the bottom of the page.  You can also stop by this helpful short sale information site as we by clicking here.  

Here is to a healthy, wealthy, and exciting 2011!

Here are 4 things Home buyers need to know about this breaking real estate news, and how it impacts them. 

1.  What is robo-signing is, and what all the fuss is about?  The phrase robo-signing refers to what we’re now realizing has been a very common practice in the banks’ foreclosure document processing divisions, where one person was essentially given the job of signing as many 10,000 foreclosure documents per month, by hand.  These individuals were supposed to be reviewing the files, making sure grounds for foreclosure actually existed, signing the docs in front of notaries. But because of the volume of documents, what they actually did was just sign thousands of documents at a time, without even reading them, and ship them off somewhere else to be notarized.

If you do the math on an 8 hour workday, you'll see that that only gives the staffer 1.5 minute to review each file and documents to make sure the foreclosure is warranted.  That's not humanly possible, which is how these staffers got the nickname “robo-signers”
    
Government regulators are very concerned that the banks may have been taking people's homes without following the proper legal procedures.  As a result, 40 states' attorneys general are teaming up to launch a multi-state investigation, and the federal Comptroller of the Currency and federal attorney general may also get involved in investigating this issue. 

2.  Will the freeze will make the banks cancel buyer contracts on REO properties? Currently, the freeze impacts bank-owned properties that are owned and/or serviced by Ally Financial/GMAC Mortgage, JP Morgan Chase, and some properties that were owned by Bank of America. Generally, contracts to buy these homes are being put on hold and extended for 30 days.  As well, the banks are often reaching out directly to buyers and offering them the option to cancel their contracts and recoup their deposit money.

3.  Is it safe to buy a foreclosed home? There's lots of talk right now about the "clouds" that this scandal will create on the titles to homes that were foreclosed by the banks' foreclosure mills. And that makes sense: if the home wasn't properly foreclosed on in the first place, then the legitimacy of the bank's resale can be called into question.  Normally, I'd say: Don't worry about it, buyer - that's why you'll get title insurance!  But last week, 3 of America's largest title company insurers declared that they will not offer title insurance on a number of the homes that may have been involved in this scandal.

In the vast majority of cases – when the foreclosure was justified and a bona fide purchaser, someone who was not involved in the bank’s wrongdoing, has purchased the home, courts will not reverse these foreclosures or their sale to buyers.  But if you’re in the market for a foreclosure, get clear on which bank owns the place as soon as you can, and run the property past your title insurer before you get too far into the transaction to make sure they can write a policy of title insurance on the property before you spend too much money on inspections and appraisals.  (And see my Bonus Buyer Advice at the end of this blog post!)

4.  How the foreclosure freeze will impact American home values, say after you buy.  In the short term, these freezes might cause prices to stabilize, as we expect to see the supply of foreclosures for sale start to shrink.  However, if these freezes stretch out for a long period of time, they could simply be delaying many inevitable foreclosures, which could delay the recovery of the housing market and home prices, over time.  I wouldn't expect to see the freezes cause prices to drop much beyond where they are now, but if they stretch out, they could keep appreciation flat for a longer period of time.

P.S. - Bonus Buyer Advice : Don’t underestimate the deals you can get on non-foreclosed properties. You can often get just as good of a price on a better property with more flexibility on the seller’s part in terms of repairs and other negotiation points if you buy a home from an individual seller, as opposed to a bank-owned property.  

P.P.S. - Click here for more direct access to the broker MLS system and listings.

If you’re a military member or veteran in the market for a VA Home loan, there are two basic things you need in order to get the process moving. One is your basic eligibility for the VA mortgage it self, the other is how much of that entitlement you have coming. First time home buyers with enough time in the service to qualify for a VA mortgage don’t have any worries when it comes to the entitlement issue; if you have never used your VA loan benefits and you qualify, you have 100% of your VA loan entitlement available to you.

To start the process, you must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility from the Department of Veterans Affairs. When the VA responds to your application, they issue qualified applicants a Certificate of Eligibility telling your lender (and you) two things:

* The borrower has served in the military long enough to earn and use VA home loan benefits.
* The amount of the borrower’s entitlement to use for the VA loan.

It’s easy to assume that because you’ve served in the armed forces you’re automatically eligible for ALL the benefits offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs; the truth is that vets and active service members are eligible for VA guaranteed home loans only when they meet certain general rules:

* The applicant must have served on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard after September 15, 1940.
* The applicant must not have a dishonorable discharge.
* The applicant must have served at least 90 days or more during wartime or 181 continuous days or more during peacetime.

For most veterans on active duty today and for many who have retired or separated, the following rules also apply:

There is a two-year duty requirement for those who served

* As an enlisted member after September 7, 1980.
* As an officer after October 16, 1981.

For all who joined after these dates, VA regulations require;

* 24 continuous months of active duty military service.
* The full period for which called or ordered to active duty, but not less than 90 days (any part during wartime) or 181 continuous days during peacetime operations.

These rules mean brand-new recruits, basic trainees and recent graduates of military technical school programs are not eligible for a VA loan…yet.

New recruits and basic training graduates who want a VA home loan should begin working on their credit history between the time they join the service and the time they become eligible for a VA loan so that when the time comes the military member is completely ready to apply for a VA guaranteed mortgage.

Remember you can search for property listings in the Ann Arbor and surrounding areas by going to www.shelterquest1.com for real time MLS listings.

Understandably, homeowners who apply for a loan modification tend to get a little antsy and perhaps even annoyed when they apply for a loan modification and then fail to hear anything for several weeks, especially if they continue to receive late payment notices and nasty phone calls from collection agencies.

Many homeowners wonder, “How long will it be before I hear anything?” and “What should I do while I’m waiting.” This article should help answer those very pressing questions.

How long will it take?

The loan modification process typically takes 30 to 90 days, depending mostly on your lender and your ability to efficiently work through the process with your attorney or other loan modification representative.

Note: The loan modification timeline is not set in stone. The more complex your situation or the greater the degree of concessions needed from the investor, the longer the process takes. Borrowers with a lot of collateral issues can see their loans take longer than what has become the typical 30- to 90-day timeframe.

A professional can often reduce the amount of time required by processing your paperwork efficiently, presenting your application exactly the way the lender wants it, and knowing from past experience what the lender is able and typically willing to agree to. Although each borrower’s situation is unique, knowing the measures the lender is willing to take for similarly situated borrowers can be a real time saver.

Whether you are dealing directly with your lender or through a loan modification specialist, ask several questions up front:

How long is the process likely to take? Find out the best- and worst-case scenarios and then count out the days and mark them on your calendar.

When can I expect to hear something about my case? Mark this date on your calendar.

If I don’t hear anything by the specified date, whom should I contact? Get the person’s name, employee identification number (if available), phone number, and any extension you need to dial to reach the person directly.

What should I do while I’m waiting?

Playing the waiting game can be agonizing, particularly when you have no idea of whether your application will be accepted or rejected or what the lender will offer in terms of a workout. It feels like your future hangs in the balance, and you remain in the dark. Knowing the standard timeline for processing a loan modification can certainly help relieve some anxiety. In addition, you can continue to make progress on your own by doing the following:

If you hired a loan modification specialist to represent you, do not speak with your lender or lender’s representative. Refer all matters to the professional who is representing you. Anything you say to the lender could confuse things or compromise your representative’s ability to negotiate the best deal on your behalf.

Log all phone calls and correspondence between you and your lender or representative. Write down the number you called, the person you talked with, what the person said, and what you said - not word for word, just jot down the key points.

Keep track of important dates. If you do not hear something back on the date promised, call the next day to find out what’s going on. Lenders almost never call you back with updates. If you hired a third party representative, they will (or should) keep you posted, but the lender simply doesn’t have the time to make follow up phone calls. If you’re dealing with your lender directly, you’ll have to be the one making the calls. Mark your calendar and schedule periodic update phone calls. Consistent follow up is paramount to a successful modification.

Explore other options. If the lender denies your request for a loan modification or presents an offer that you cannot accept, you will need a plan B (and maybe a plan C and a plan D). In addition, other options may be better for you than a loan modification. Consult a real estate agent about listing your Home for sale. Talk to a mortgage broker or loan officer about refinancing. Speak with a bankruptcy attorney to find out whether filing bankruptcy would be a better choice.

Don’t be surprised if you continue to receive delinquency notices or late payment phone calls. Lenders rarely put a stop on the foreclosure process until a workout solution is fully in place. You should ask your lender if your attempts to negotiate a solution will stop or at least postpone other collection actions. If they do not, you should find out what that means for you. If the lender is able to foreclose in 30 days and a workout takes 60 days, there’s a slight timeline problem. Push to have all default and foreclosure actions put on hold while your workout attempts are underway.

When your fate is in someone else’s hands, 30 to 90 days can seem like an eternity. By doing your part to keep the process on track, remain informed, and explore other options, you not only improve your chances of achieving a positive outcome, but you can also reduce the stress that commonly accompanies the waiting process.

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