Reverse Mortgages at Risk in Washington State

by Tom Kelly, Inman News  

Well-intentioned consumer groups have done an admirable job of curbing the abuses of mortgage lenders, but recent legislation passed in Washington state will inadvertently curtail the number of lenders able to offer reverse mortgages.

Lenders in other states are watching with interest.  Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 07.10.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing

Watch ID Theft When Selling ‘By-Owner’

by Ilyce Glick, Inman News

Q: I placed my home on a for-sale-by-owner Web site and was contacted by someone who said he wanted to buy it.

He provided an offer via e-mail and I found that price to be acceptable provided that he put down some earnest money. The buyer asked for a contract offer sheet, which I filled out to include both the price of the home and the earnest money to be required.

I didn’t sign the contract but asked him to sign it and forward it to me along with the earnest money. I had an expiration date on the contract to make it null and void if I did not receive it within a certain period of time.

He responded to my e-mail stating that no earnest money was required, as he intended to pay cash. I ignored that e-mail, and have assumed that since he didn’t want to put down any cash, he wasn’t that interested in the house.

Here’s my question: What risk have I taken by providing this individual with an unsigned “contract to sell” for my house? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 07.10.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing, Property Sales

FHA Waives 90-Day Waiting Period for Resales

Change Intended to Help Lenders Get REO’s Off the Books

by Matt Carter, Inman News 

In an attempt to help lenders speed the process of getting real estate-owned properties off their books, the Federal Housing Administration will temporarily lift a 90-day waiting period for property resales financed by FHA-guaranteed loans.

The 90-day waiting period — instituted in 2003 to counter predatory lending and house flipping — never applied to properties sold by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or state- and federally chartered financial institutions.

But it can be hard to determine which lenders are exempt from the rule, and many who are exempt prefer to transfer title to REO properties over to property disposition firms that are not exempt, FHA officials say. Because a glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes harms neighborhoods and delays a community’s recovery, FHA will lift the waiting period for one year.  Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 06.16.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing, Property Sales

Fed: Lenders Still Tightening Standards

Demand Picks Up In Philly, Cleveland, K.C., and Dallas

Inman News, June 13, 2008

Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve districts suggest residential real estate markets remained weak in most areas during the second quarter, with tighter credit standards reported for most loan categories.

The Federal Reserve’s latest “Beige Book” report documented flat or declining home sales in Boston, New York, Cleveland, St. Louis and Dallas. Inventory levels of new and existing homes remained high or were rising in New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond (Virginia) and San Francisco.
Home sale prices decreased somewhat in Boston, Atlanta, Kansas City and San Francisco, but remained relatively stable in Richmond and Chicago. Residential lending activity remained generally weak in Richmond, Atlanta and Chicago. In contrast, demand picked up in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Kansas City and Dallas, but was about the same in St. Louis. 

Reports from the districts included these details on mortgage lending and housing markets: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 06.16.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing, Property Sales

How Mortgage Bailout Proposals Generate Odd Bedfellows

A Curious Concurrence of Interests?

by Matt DiCharia, May 16, 2008

Doing some research on the housing market, I ran across an article from The Wall Street Journal about a political battle over how the government should address the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

The article, “Mortgage Bailout Infuriates Tenants (And Steve Forbes),” focuses on identifying the sponsors of AngryRenter.com, a site designed to mobilize renters against a federal bailout for lenders and homeowners who have been affected by the rampant foreclosures.

The article refers to AngryRenter.com as an ‘AstroTurf’ political movement. A play on the political term ‘grass-roots’ which refers to the organic, bottom-up organizing brand of political action, an AstroTurf movement seeks to reap the benefits from being perceived as a grass-roots campaign, but is created or backed by Washington power brokers. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 06.05.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing

Secrets to Saving Money on Your Taxes Revealed

Real Estate Investment Trusts and other savvy investors save phenomenal amounts on their taxes that less sophisticated investors generally
don’t enjoy?  How do they do it?  Cost Segregation.

Are you using cost segregation methods to depreciate your property? If your answer is “no”, then you may be missing out on thousands of dollars in tax breaks.

Ninety percent of apartment building owners are not using cost segregation, according to Michael Donohue of Cost Segregation Services, Inc.  But the 10% who do are paying less in taxes and enjoying greater cash flow from their property. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 06.05.2008. 1 Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing

Home Builders’ Blitz May 31-June 7, 2008

By Louisa May

Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the nation are gearing up for a busy week of home building. But much work has already taken place behind the scenes. Land has been secured, house plans and permits have been obtained by HFH affiliates, and agreements have been made. While the builders work in partnerships with Habitat for Humanity, home buyers agree to provide sweat equity hours outside the build week. In exchange for providing these hours, buyers have an opportunity to purchase a home for little money down and obtain a loan that is interest free.

Habitat’s focus is on building, but due to the recent foreclosure crisis, some Habitat affiliates are beginning to offer financial education and training classes for their clients in order to help them avoid the pitfalls of doing business with predatory lenders. Because Habitat buyers obtain their loans at 0% interest, homeowners may be bombarded with calls from such lenders offering refinance packages that come complete with a plethora of hidden penalties and fees. Habitat owners saying yes to these offers could lead to their eventually facing foreclosures.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 05.26.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: Financing

Are You Ready to Shop For Your Own Loan?

Should I Recruit a Mortgage Broker or Lender to Find a Real Estate Loan?

By  Jack Guttentag, Inman News

“How do I know whether I am better off going to a mortgage broker or a lender?”

This question has no answer. The better question is whether you should shop the retail market yourself or retain a broker as your agent to shop the wholesale market for you.

If you shop the retail market, it doesn’t matter whether the loan providers you shop are brokers or lenders. You are looking for the best deal, and it could come from either. The brokers you encounter when you shop the retail market are independent contractors. They receive wholesale prices from lenders, which they mark up, offering retail prices to borrowers in competition with retail lenders.

If you retain a broker as your agent to shop for you, you will pay the agent for that service, but you will receive a wholesale price. Brokers who act as agents for borrowers, called Upfront Mortgage Brokers (UMBs), negotiate a fee for their services upfront, and pass through the best wholesale prices they can find.

Some people should shop for a mortgage, while others should retain a UMB to shop for them. The case for shopping is strongest for borrowers who enjoy haggling, who understand the market or are willing to learn, and whose loan is mostly “plain vanilla.”

Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Kim Ezzell on 05.26.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing

Don’t Refinance for the Wrong Reasons

by Ilyce Glink

Inman News

The economy is going through a rough patch, and the stock market is well below its all-time high. Mortgage rates have been dropping since the end of last year.

For homeowners, that can mean only one thing: It’s time to think about refinancing your mortgage.

“If you can save on the interest you’re paying, then it’s time to do a mortgage refinance,” explains Fred Glick, managing member of US Loans Mortgage LLC, a Philadelphia-based mortgage broker.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 04.25.2008. CLICK to Leave a Comment »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing

 Here’s a Coaching Program for Rehab Investors 

You don’t need to figure out income investing all on your own.

Brookview Financial offers an education program for investors interested in rehabs. 

They help you make sure you are picking the right deal, and help you plan so you are not overimproving or underimproving the property.

Coaching is available whether you are a first investor or you have already rehabbed a number of properties and need to find new deals.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Kim Ezzell on 03.24.2008. 2 Comments »

Filed under: AAOA Forum, Financing