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“Statewide sales in January edged past the 600,000 threshold for the first time since October 2005,” said C.A.R. President James Liptak. “The strength in California home sales in recent months signifies that the market is gradually working its way through the large numbers of distressed sales that have followed in the wake of the troubled mortgage problem. With favorable home prices and historically low mortgage rates, affordability in the California housing market is now at its highest since the start of the decade.” (more…)
These limits are governed by the new stimulus plan, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), that the President signed into law ten days ago. National floor limits: Under both HERA and ESA, and thus under ARRA as well, the FHA national floor limits remain set at the 65 percent amount (the “floor,”) by property size: One-Unit $271,050, Two-Unit $347,000, Three-Unit $419,400 Four-Unit $521,250. Any area where the limits exceed the floor is known as a “high cost” area. Because ESA used a higher multiple in establishing the national FHA loan limit ceiling, as a percentage of the conforming loan limit, than does HERA (175 percent versus 150 percent), the ESA national ceiling is binding under ARRA for 2009. By property size, these national “ceiling” limits are as follows: One-Unit $729,750, Two-Unit $934,200, Three-Unit 1,129,250, Four-Unit $1,403,400. For a list of high-cost areas listed by county, which includes much of California, Aspen, Salt Lake, D.C. suburbs, many counties in New Jersey and New York, and Nantucket, see High Cost Areas. See a list of counties between the floor and ceiling. For more information of these limits, see FHA Letter to Mortgagees. See our feature, Fannie Mae Unshackes Investors. American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords related to your real estate investment including REAL ESTATE FORMS, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.To subscribe to our blog, click here.
The group, which represents four of the largest associations of real estate appraisers, objects to potentially soft language in the plan that allows alternative methods of valuations– valuations they say could be unreliable. Inaccurate values place homeowners at risk that they won’t qualify for cheaper mortgages, and may increase the need for more taxpayer bailouts when those modified mortgages fail.
But setting up your electronic rent payment program requires some cooperation from your tenant. One way to gain your tenants’ support is to make auto payments a part of your overall tenant incentive program. Everyone wins with a tenant rewards plan. The goal is to retain good tenants that help you keep your costs down. Present your rewards plan with your lease agreement. Here’s a sample tenant incentive plan: Making Health Insurance a Rental Expense
Structuring your rental property as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) may permit you to deduct these costs for you and your family, but you should talk to a tax advisor to find out more. You might want to refer with IRS Publication 535 to learn more about business expenses. Everyone’s tax situation is different, and this information should not substitute professional advice. Taxpayers should always consult with their tax advisors to consider specific factors that might affect their situation. For more Tax Tips and FREE Property Management Software for real estate investors, check out TReXGlobal.com. Did you miss these tax tips?Home Office Deduction by Howard Bell, Your Property Path.com Well, few are actually convinced this plan will even pull us out. Personally, I think this is just the prologue to the big event. The Obama team will peer into the banks’ books under the “stress test” mechanism to determine which banks could survive with help and which ones should be let go without taxpayer money. This is the psychological set up that will allow the Govt to declare the problem is worse than thought. I’m sure we will see a replay of that great film Casablanca, where Claude Rains shuts down Rick’s cafe. “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here…..” We have spent trillions to prop up the financial system and still it’s a black hole. I think everybody knows that the banks are insolvent. My guess is that we will find trillions more in bad debt or debt that cannot be evaluated. Once this is out and the damage revealed, the rest of the plan to save the world will be unveiled to a public that is willing to go the distance….this is gonna cost…. Howard Bell PFP CCRM is the founder/editor of Your Property Path.com, featuring over 450 articles on property management, Your Property Path SF, trade talk for the San Francisco real estate industry, and Your Property Path Amazon Store. Howard is a property manager in San Francisco and holds a certification in financial planning. See Howard Bell’s feature, Is is a Bailout or Bail? American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords related to your real estate investment including REAL ESTATE FORMS, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at http://www.joinaaoa.org./ To subscribe to our blog, click here. by Jack Guttentag, Inman News Lender Approval Dependent on 5 Key Factors
In the 1930s, which was the last time we had a foreclosure crisis comparable in magnitude to this one, lenders were so spooked by the foreclosures that there was almost no refinancing. That changed only after the creation of the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) in 1933, which refinanced many borrowers at the government’s risk.
Cram-down applies to bankrupcty cases. It refers to the court’s power to allow a debtor to restructure loans, including lowering the principal to the fair market value. These provisions help spread more of the debtor’s money to the creditors as a whole, and get debtors back on their feet. With a couple rare exceptions, cram-downs have not been available for loans on a principal residence. The new plan changes all of that. Obama outlined this plan on Wednesday and described it as a life raft to assist homeowners who “have no other options available to them.” If he’s right, the new cram-down option will stall some foreclosures, which he says will “help everyone”, referring to a statistic that a neighborhood loses $6,000 in home values with every foreclosure. The Center for Responsible Lending agrees that the plan will slow foreclosures, and thereby save tax dollars dedicated to that purpose. Many fear, though, that offering cram-downs on primary homes will have a far-reaching impact on mortgages. First, the losses that lenders face are likely to force mortgage costs and rates up, and financing will grow out of reach for some buyers. The plan may also scare away investors from mortgage-backed securities because those become more volatile. The end result will depend largely on whether there is a sudden increase in bankrutpcy filings. While some feel a flood of bankruptcies is an inevitable next step in the economic crisis, new amendments to the Bankruptcy Code have made the option less viable for many debtors. Still, Obama promises a couple of safeguards to minimize the damage to the mortgage industry:
Obama admits that, in this sense, the cram-down is really a ’stick’ to hold over lenders to entice them to modify loans voluntarily so that debtors don’t have to file bankruptcy and endure even more damage to their credit. But he warns that this plan is not intended to help investors. “The emphasis is on familiies, not someone who thought they could buy low, watch the prices rise 10-20-40%, and then sell.” See our feature, Apartment Industry Applauds New Obama Plan. See other articles on Real Estate Financing. American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords related to your real estate investment including REAL ESTATE FORMS, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org. To subscribe to our blog, click here.
 Fannie Mae has changed its 4-property limit for investors and will now allow those who qualify to finance up to 10 properties. The lending requirements are stringent, and inexperienced investors need not apply.
Limits include 25% down, high credit scores with no bankrupcty, foreclosure or delinquencies, and consent for Fannie Mae to view tax records held by the IRS.
Investors will also need to provide two years documented rent history on current investments, and ante up some reserves.
The previous restrictions have hampered interested home buyers, which contributed to falling prices. Investors across the country are cheering this new opportunity to grab up some deals and get back in the game.
Fannie Mae says its a win-win:
“Fannie Mae is committed to providing financing opportunities for high-credit quality, bona-fide investors. Experienced investors play a key role in the housing recovery and Fannie Mae’s continued support for investor borrowers is consistent with its mission to provide stability, liquidity, and affordability to the nation’s housing system.”
To learn more, visit Fannie Mae Announcement 09-02.
See other articles on Real Estate Financing.
American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords related to your real estate investment including REAL ESTATE FORMS, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org. To subscribe to our blog, click here.
by National Association of Realtors
Over the past year, the broader credit crisis that has permeated the world’s capital markets has increasingly curtailed commercial lending activity. Banks have tightened their credit standards and reduced loan volume while the commercial mortgage-backed securities market has stopped functioning effectively. Without liquidity, commercial borrowers face a growing challenge of refinancing maturing debt and the threat of rising delinquencies and foreclosures. (more…)   Add Super Saver to any membership for only $ 19.95! 
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Home sales increased 100.8 percent in January in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.5 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.
This week, FHA announced its loan limits for the 2009 calendar year. 
The nation’s professional real estate appraisers are crying foul over Obama’s plans to modify loans for homeowners facing foreclosure.
In our feature, 
Costs to insure rental property are deductible, so depending on how you structure your rental business, you may be able to cover your life and medical insurance as part of the rental business.
It is unusual to have a refinance boom in the middle of a foreclosure crisis.
Granted, “cram-down” is not the most delicate term, but it does convey the sentiment that lenders feel at the thought of being forced to write down the principal on a home loan. 
WASHINGTON, February 12, 2009. The U.S. Treasury’s announcement that commercial mortgage-backed securities will now be accepted as eligible collateral for the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility (TALF) will encourage investment in the commercial real estate market, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
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