1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended to Dec. 31

C.A.R. applauds Gov. Schwarzenegger’s signing Homebuyer Tax Credit legislation into law

LOS ANGELES (March 25) – The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today praised California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his leadership in signing the Homebuyer Tax Credit legislation into law.

“We are pleased that Governor Schwarzenegger recognized the positive impact the tax credit will have for families hoping to buy their first home,” said C.A.R. President Steve Goddard. “Successful passage of this legislation was the result of our efforts in Sacramento over the last several weeks as REALTORS® and our team in the capital worked for the bill’s passage before it landed on the governor’s desk earlier this week.”

California’s previous home buyer tax credit program was so successful that it ran out of tax credits by the end of June 2009, eight months before it was set to expire and just as housing markets appeared to be turning a corner. Unlike last year’s legislation, the Homebuyer Tax Credit signed into law today adds a tax credit for the purchase of an existing home by a first-time home buyer.

“The positive impact of the home buyer tax credit at the federal level is clear,” Goddard said. “Nearly 40 percent of first-time home buyers said they would not have purchased a home if the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers was not offered, according to C.A.R. research conducted last year. We expect the state tax credit for home buyers to have the same impact.”

AB 183 will provide $200 million for home buyer tax credits, allocating $100 million for qualified first-time home buyers of existing homes and $100 million for purchasers of new, or previously unoccupied, homes. The eligible taxpayer who purchases a qualified personal residence on and after May 1, 2010, and on or before Dec. 31, 2010, or who purchases a qualified principal residence on and after Dec. 31, 2010, and before Aug. 1, 2011, pursuant to an enforceable contract executed on or before Dec. 31, 2010, will be able to take the allowed tax credit. The credit is equal to the lesser of 5 percent of the purchase price or $10,000, in equal installments over three consecutive years. Under AB 183, purchasers will be required to live in the home for at least two years or forfeit the credit (i.e., repay it to the state).

“AB 183 also will significantly contribute to efforts to stimulate jobs creation within California's housing market by helping to incentivize first-time home buyers to purchase homes that have been abandoned, foreclosed upon, and returned to the lender; or have been sitting on the market for extended periods of time,” Goddard said. “It is these homes that will require substantial rehabilitation by the new owners, which will in turn generate a tremendous increase in jobs and accessory purchases connected to home improvement activities.”

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with nearly 150,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Prom Dresses Needed for Foster Teens - Can You Help?

I am so excited by the wonderful souls who have so far dropped off 22 prom dresses for San Diego foster teens. We still need 50 more gently used, dry cleaned, prom dresses and fancy party dresses. All sizes & styles (short or long) are needed. There is a special need for plus size dresses as well. If you have accessories, jewelry, or wraps that would be wonderful! I am collecting them at my office by April 15. I am located at 700 La Terraza Blvd. #100 in Escondido. Call me at 760-580-9195 with any questions.

Could you please move this video around? What a great feeling to be a "Fairy God-Dresser" for a very deserving lovely young teen! Thank you with all my heart.

Psst...bank owned home in Valley Center! 3 bed/2 ba, 2 acres!

You better hurry on this one! It will be on the market in the next week or two & you can beat the crowds. I expect multiple offers on this one so jump in early! It was built in 2004 and has wonderful mountain views. Approximately 2200 sq ft with a 3 car garage. Open floor plan, high ceilings and upgraded kitchen with granite counters & tile floors. Call today and I will get you in early on this one!!

Here's the video for your sneak peek!

So How Come I Only Know One Person Who Got a Great Loan Mod???

Here's the latest report on the success of the Obama Stimulus for Home Loans. Please...if you were one of the 170,000 who got this awesome loan mod, call me....almost everyone I have spoken with said they bombed out with the bank and the whole deal is a lot of crap!

Making Home Affordable ProgramServicer Performance Report Through February 2010

Report Highlights
Number of Permanent Modifications Increases 45%
•
More than 170,000 permanent modifications have been granted to homeowners, who are guaranteed lower payments for five years.
•
An additional 91,800 permanent modifications have been approved by servicers and are pending borrower acceptance.
Over One Million Borrowers in Active Trial and Permanent Modifications
•
More than 1.3 million homeowners have received offers for trial modifications, representing 34-45% toward the goal of 3-4 million offers extended through 2012.
•
More than 72,000 new trial modifications started in February; borrower savings begin with the first trial payment. Nearly 1.1 million trial modifications have begun under the program.
•
Of the 1 million borrowers in active modifications, more than 168,000 borrowers are in active permanent modifications.
•
These homeowners’ lower monthly mortgage payments represent a cumulative savings of over $2.7 billion.
•
Of modifications that have converted to permanent, 0.9% have been canceled. Of all modifications started, 8.2% have been canceled.
Borrowers in Permanent Modifications Experience Real, Long-Term Savings in Monthly Housing Expenses
•
Borrowers in permanent modifications are saving a median of 36% of their before-modification payment; median savings is more than $500 each month.
•
Qualified homeowners could reduce housing-related expenses from almost half of their gross income to less than one-third of their income.
•
Upon completing one year of on-time payments per program guidelines, borrowers are eligible to earn up to $1,000 to be applied to their outstanding mortgage balance.
HAMP Is One Piece of the Administration Initiatives to Promote Housing and Financial Stability

Overview of Administration Housing Stability Initiatives
Initiatives to Support Access to Affordable Mortgage Credit and Housing
Initiatives to Prevent Avoidable Foreclosures and Stabilize Neighborhoods
2
Lower Mortgage Rates and Access to Credit:
•
Continued financial support to maintain affordable mortgage rates through the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)
•
Interest rates remain near historic lows. Every 1% reduction in interest rate saves a new borrower a median of $1,500 annually in mortgage payments.
•
Access to sustainable mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
State and Local Housing Initiatives:
•
Access for Housing Finance Agencies to provide mortgages to first-time homebuyers, refinance opportunities for at-risk borrowers, and affordable rental housing. Over 90 HFAs across 45 states are participating.
Tax Credits for Housing:
•
Homebuyer credit to help hundreds of thousands of American families buy new homes.
•
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programs to support affordable rental housing, with total funding of $5 billion.
Making Home Affordable –Modifications:
•
Goal of offering 3-4 million homeowners lower mortgage payments through a modification through 2012.
•
Nearly 1.1 million homeowners have started trial modifications and over 1.3 million offers for trial modifications have been extended to borrowers.
•
Homeowners in permanent modifications are saving a median of over $500 per month on mortgage payments. In aggregate, homeowners have saved over $2.7 billion through trial and permanent modifications.
Refinancing:
•
Refinancing flexibility and low mortgage rates have allowed over 4 million borrowers with GSE mortgages to refinance, saving an estimated $150 per month on average and more than $6.8 billion in the first year.
Neighborhood Stabilization and Community Development Programs:
•
Over $5 billion in Recovery Act support for the hardest hit communities to help stabilize neighborhoods.
•
$1.5 billion HFA Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets to support innovative, locally focused foreclosure prevention efforts.

Interest Rates Likely to Rise Shortly

WEEKEND INVESTOR
MARCH 13, 2010.Nabbing a Bargain-Basement Mortgage Before Rates Rise .ArticleComments (13)more in Personal Finance ».EmailPrintSave This ↓ More.
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close Yahoo! BuzzMySpacedel.icio.usRedditLinkedInFarkViadeoOrkut Text .By JAMES R. HAGERTY
Is it time to rush out and buy a house before mortgage rates go up?

As the Federal Reserve winds down its intervention in the mortgage market, rates on home loans are generally expected to rise at least modestly during the rest of this year from today's unusually low levels. Some analysts believe mortgage rates will jump to around 6% by year end from 5% in recent weeks, while others see only a slight increase.

.Meanwhile, federal tax credits available for some home buyers are due to expire at the end of April, adding to the sense of urgency many shoppers feel.

"I'd hate to miss out on really low [mortgage] rates" or the tax credit, says Jennifer Hale, a veterinarian who is looking for a new home near Minneapolis with her fiance, Lawrence Nystrom.

If rates do go up sharply, that will have a big effect on home buyers. Richard Redmond, a mortgage adviser at All California Mortgage in Larkspur, Calif., offers the example of a couple with combined pretax income of $100,000 a year and debt obligations (excluding mortgage) of $500 a month. At a 5% mortgage rate, he figures, the couple could qualify for a loan big enough to buy a $590,000 house, assuming a 20% down payment. At 6%, that would fall to $540,000.

Since late 2008, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have been available for people with strong credit records at around 5%, near the lowest levels since the 1950s, thanks to the Federal Reserve's heavy purchases of mortgage securities. At the end of March, the Fed is due to stop buying the securities. Most mortgage analysts think the immediate effect of the Fed's withdrawal will be modest.

More Weekend Investor
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Getting Going: The Home-Credit Derby Has Its Price
.Laurie Goodman, a senior managing director at mortgage-bond trader Amherst Securities Group LP in New York, estimates that the Fed move will add a maximum of about 0.25 percentage point to mortgage rates. "There is a lot of private money on the sidelines," waiting to buy mortgage securities once the Fed stops gobbling most of them up, Ms. Goodman says. She points to banks, money managers and foreign investors.

What happens to interest rates over the rest of this year depends on many factors that are hard to predict, including the strength of the economy, Fed policies and foreign investors' willingness to buy U.S. debt.

Projections vary widely. At the lower end of the scale, analysts at Credit Suisse and FTN Financial Capital Markets forecast that mortgage rates will be in a range of roughly 5% to 5.25% at the end of 2010. Moody's Economy.com projects about 5.7%, and Barclays Capital 6%. Barclays cites a general rise in interest rates propelled by heavy government borrowing and a strengthening economy as the main factors.

John W. Anderson, a broker at Twin Oaks Realty of Crystal, Minn., who is helping Ms. Hale and Mr. Nystrom search for a house, says the tax credit and fear of higher interest rates are motivating buyers "to move a little faster." But he cautions against moving too fast because of the risk of overpaying or ending up with a home you don't really like. "Getting the right home is the No. 1 thing," he says.

Short Sale Sellers to Receive $1,500 incentive via Obama

According to a New York Times Article dated March 7, 2010, the Obama Administration will pay $1,500 to homeowners who want to short sell their home. This stipend is an encouragment to short sale instead of going full foreclosure. The article details the benefits to the economy to shorten the life cycle of upside down homeowners and help this country get on with other issues. Additionally, foreclosed homes are in typically rougher condition than short sale homes creating a downward trend in home prices.

If you just want straight talk...for free....call me now. I have a high success rate in helping other families close the door on that chapter of their life. I want to help you or someone you may know get throught this difficult time. This is not something you planned for, let me guide you through it.

Click the link below to see the full article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/business/08short.html

10 percent reportedly late on mortgages

The following article appeared in The San Diego Union Tribune on 2/18/2010

"10 percent reportedly late on mortgages
County figure up from 6.2 percent year earlier
By Roger Showley, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Nearly 10 percent of San Diego County homeowners with mortgages are at least two months late on their payments and are likely to default and fall into foreclosure, a sampling of area credit records shows.

According to Chicago-based Trans-Union, a credit and information management company, a record 9.9 percent of mortgage holders in the county were 60 days or more delinquent in the fourth quarter of last year. That’s up from 6.2 percent a year earlier and 1.5 percent, the historic average, at the beginning of 2007.
California’s delinquency was even higher, 11 percent, while the nation as a whole was at 6.9 percent — both record levels. TransUnion used a sample of 27 million consumers’ credit records, about one-tenth of the total available, to calculate the delinquency rate.
TransUnion said the average mortgage debt for San Diego households at the end of 2009 was $379,271, about $10,000 less than at the beginning of 2007. With the median home price at $325,000 in the fourth quarter, that suggests the typical homeowner owes more than his or her mortgage.
A monthly mortgage payment on a $379,000, 30-year fixed loan currently runs about $2,034, so someone two months in arrears would owe about $6,000, including the current payment.
Norm Miller, a real estate professor at the University of San Diego and vice president of CoStar Group, said the distress is not as widespread as the numbers suggest. About 60 percent of homes carry a mortgage — roughly 600,000 countywide — and about one-third of those were bought at the peak of the real estate boom, 2004 through 2007.
“A point to remember is that 80 percent of foreclosures are in 20 percent of the submarkets,” Miller said — such as in parts of Oceanside, Escondido, East County and South Bay. “I’m not saying Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla and Cardiff don’t have any foreclosures — they do — but there’s not so much that it creates a tipping point in falling values.”
In lower-priced areas where most foreclosures have occurred, many homeowners have lost value because of their neighbors’ plight. That doesn’t mean they will go delinquent and end up in foreclosure.
“Hopefully, they’ll ride this thing out,” Miller said.
That’s because many owners, while underwater on their loans, are still employed, can afford the payments and know they could suffer severe financial setbacks if they walk away from their obligations.
“These are people that don’t pay attention to the lawyers on TV, are stressed out by the threat of foreclosure and feel they should be responsible and make their payments,” Miller said. “So even though they don’t have any equity in their homes, they understand they’d lose a lot if they walked away.”
He estimated that about 60,000 properties might be delinquent and headed to foreclosure or short-sale — a lender-approved sale for less than the mortgage balance.
“The good news is this — in the last couple of months, if you wanted to do a short-sale, it didn’t take as long,” Miller said, one month instead of six.
Miller and other economists say short-sales and foreclosures will clear the housing distress better than the Obama administration’s loan-modification program, which the Treasury said yesterday had helped only 116,000, or 12 percent of homeowners, out of more than 1 million who have started the process.
“I would say it’s a complete failure at this point,” said Alan White, law professor at Valparaiso University in Indiana.
Phyllis Caldwell, Treasury’s chief of homeownership preservation, said the program was working as intended.
“Struggling families are receiving payment relief and the housing market is showing signs of stabilization,” Caldwell said.
Other observers say many owners soon redefault after their loans are modified. Miller said the program does not work in high-priced California markets where values are far below mortgage balances.
FJ Guarrera, TransUnion vice president of financial services, predicted delinquencies in California would rise to 13 percent by the second quarter of next year, while the national rate may peak at 8 percent.
Guarrera did not estimate a peak for San Diego.
“It got bad over a two-year period and we’re suggesting into the foreseeable future, delinquency rates are going to hang around where they are,” Guarrera said. “I would not be surprised if it would take several years for things to improve in terms of mortgage delinquency.”
Miller said California’s rate is likely to peak at 12 percent, San Diego’s at 11 percent, and distress to start to easing in 1½ to two years as the economy stabilizes and unemployment starts to fall. He noted that unemployment and delinquency go hand in hand — as one falls, the other does, too.
“I think we are about at the peak of unemployment and probably close to a peak in the percentage of delinquency,” Miller said.
Nevertheless, Guarrera said history shows that anyone who is 60 days behind on the mortgage has a tough time making up the difference and becoming current.
“Many if not most of the (delinquent) homes are going to end up in foreclosure,” Guarrera said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Roger Showley: (619) 293-1286; roger.showley@uniontrib.com"

Obama's Mortgage Plan Not As Effective As Originally Planned

The following article appeared in USA Today on February 23, 2010.

"Mortgage plan helps only 12% of borrowers reduce payments


By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY


A year after the federal government announced a $75 billion plan to slow the rate of foreclosures, more than 1 million homeowners have gotten temporary reductions in their mortgage payments.
But only 12% — about 116,000 — have received permanent modifications after a three-month trial period. Some economists say that's too few to make a meaningful impact when millions of homeowners are in foreclosure or delinquent on their mortgages.

The success of the government program also may be tempered by homeowners who become delinquent even after getting permanent modifications with lower monthly payments.

"The modifications reduce monthly payments, but I think redefaults will be in the 20% to 30% rate," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "There is no principal write-down. (Borrowers) will take the reduced payments, but if there is an interruption in income, they'll redefault, because they're underwater."

Homeowners are considered underwater if they owe more on their homes than they are worth. An estimated 10.7 million Americans— or 25% of homeowners — have negative equity in their homes, according to First American CoreLogic.

Under the government's program, CitiMortgage and GMAC were the best performers in getting homeowners whose mortgages they service into modifications: Half of eligible homeowners were in either a trial or permanent modification at the end of January. Eligible homeowners are 60 or more days delinquent on their home loans.

GMAC also converted a third of the trial modifications it started into permanent ones, which was one of the best conversion records among the large mortgage servicers whose performances are tracked in Treasury's monthly report.

In contrast, servicers handling much larger mortgage portfolios were less successful in producing permanent modifications. JPMorgan Chase Bank's rate was 7%, and Bank of America's rate was 5%.

The modifications lower monthly payments for homeowners through reduced interest rates, extended loan repayment schedules and delaying payment of principal. Mortgage payments for those in permanent modifications have been cut by a median of about $522 a month, according to Treasury.

The goal of the federal program is to offer up to 4 million homeowners lower payments through mortgage modifications through 2012.

Starting June 1, the government will try to speed up the conversion rate by requiring homeowners to provide all necessary documents, such as proof of income, when they apply for trial modifications. Homeowners have to stay current on their modified mortgage for about three months to qualify for a permanent adjustment. Some servicers haven't requested all documents until homeowners complete the trial period, which has delayed moving them into permanent modifications.

Bernard Baumohl, of the Economic Outlook Group, says that despite the government program's problems, it has helped homeowners.

The program "was really never meant to solve the housing crisis but to slow down the foreclosure crisis."

If you know of someone who is struggling with their mortgage or loan modification, please have them call me immediately. I would love to help.

New Short Sale Guidelines in Summary

The following article was created by David Romero, CEO, Century 21 Award, on March 10, 2010.

"The new Short Sale Process will be crucially important in 2010. We believe that having timely information on this issue is vital to our community. Scroll down to find the latest updates and information on the new Short Sale process.

The Treasury department has released new rules to help simplify the ’short sale’ process. For months, we have been preparing our followers for this great announcement. It should mean we will have less foreclosures in 2010. The sellers will be able to leave the property with dignity and on a timetable. Our neighborhoods will have less vacant houses. The negative impact on real estate values will not be as severe.

As of now, these seem to be the key points:

Mortgage servicers have 10 days to accept or deny a short sale request. After a sale is completed, the borrower could be completely released from debt.
Borrowers are eligible to receive a $1,500 moving allowance, if they sell their home through a short sale.
Mortgage servicers will receive $1,000 for each completed short sale.
Investors who hold first mortgages can get as much as $1,000 for allowing second lienholders to release their liens.
Second lienholders can get only as much as $3,000 in proceeds from short sale to release their liens.
The property must be the homeowner’s principal residence.
The homeowner is delinquent on the mortgage or default looks likely.
The loan was made before Jan. 1 this year and is less than $729,750
The borrowers’ total monthly mortgage payment exceeds 31 percent of their before-tax income."

If you would like to consider a short sale, or simply have a straight conversation about the options available to you, please call me today. I'm here to help.

A Buyer's Agent Can Sabotage A Buyer's Offer!

Buyer's real estate agents are a necessity to ensure the buyer is represented well, legally, fairly, competitively and successfully in their home buying transaction. A buyer's agent is typically paid by the seller so it is really foolish for a buyer not to have their own agent from the beginning of the home buying process. After all, would you go into the court room and use the other party's lawyer? Of course not. So get your own representation and let the seller pay for it!

This all sounds simple...but here's the tough part. If a buyer selects an unskilled, part-time, agent, the agent may acutually sabotage the deal. One of the main reasons a buyer's offer is not selected by the bank is that the buyer's agent was sloppy in their submission of the offer. The bank's real estate agent, the listing agent, is typically inundated with offers on well priced foreclosure properties. Those listing agents need and demand precision and accuracy with the multitude of offers they receive. If the offer is missing back up documents, a copy of the deposit check, signatures or is simply filled out wrong, the listing agent is instructed by the bank to "clean it up" before the bank will review it. The listing agent will send an email to the buyer's agent, wait for a response and a correction, and then finally submit it to the bank. Meanwhile, other offers have been considered (and possibly have been accepted) by the bank.

Buyers need to select well and give careful consideration to their agent. Here's a list to guide you:

1. Look for a Realtor designation. That assures that the agent is held to a higher standard of ethics.


2. Ask for referrals from friends and co-workers.


3. Check out the online presence of the agent. Is their website current? Are you able to search easily for properties at your leisure? Google the agent. Do they come up easily on the internet. Since statistics show that the over 90% of homebuyers search for their home on the internet, your agent should be prominently represented on the web. Their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube sites show that they stay ahead of the trends and take advantage of the technology you need to beat the competition to that great deal.


4. Ask how many homes they have listed and sold and how many buyers they have represented. The San Diego County average for real estate agents is less that 2 deals per year! And don't be afraid to ask for testimonials from previous clients.

Your agent will be your greatest weapon....or your worst enemy. Select well and go get that fabulous deal you've been dreaming about!!

Buyers Should Consider Jumping in Now... the Bottom is Here!

Housing prices have bottomed out; and in fact, they have risen approximately 8 % since January. In North San Diego County homes, it is typical for the sales price to exceed the list price. In homes listed for $300k or under, there are usually multiple offers in the first 48 hours. Many desperate buyers, especially FHA and VA buyers, are tempted to offer way up over the asking price in an effort to beat out other offers. However, this negotiating tactic is backfiring on those same buyers. More and more banks are requiring that the buyer show proof of funds that they can and will be able to pay the difference between the appraised value and their offer amount. Your agent should know how to strengthen your offer to give you an advantage over the other buyers that won't backfire on you.

Manuevering through this maze of changing rules and face paced real estate transactions can be daunting. You NEED and DESERVE a professional, full time, Realtor who will be your guide.

If you're hearing that giant clock ticking, it's marking the end of the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. One other note of urgency, the buzz is that lending is tightening once more. There's talk that FHA buyers will soon need 5% down payment instead of the current 3.5%. That will price many more homebuyers out of the market.

While I normally don't want to push anyone into the huge decision of home purchase, it does seem as if NOW is the time to jump in to take full advantage of all this great real estate market offers you! Call me today if you would like to talk further.

Follow me on Twitter for the fastest foreclosure updates

The quickest way to view my newest Foreclosures is to follow me on Twitter. You can click the link on the right side of my blog. That's usually where I post the videos first and the teasers of any properties getting ready to be listed.

Speaking of "teasers"...this is your last chance to check out my latest foreclosure in Valley Center. I posted the video on this 5 bed 5 bath beauty and today I received the listing agreement. It will be on the MLS within 48 hours so this is your last chance to beat the crowds. Call for a personal viewing today!