Archive for August, 2009
Making Home Affordable Program - Refinance and Loan Modification Options for Homeowners
August 28th, 2009 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Home Owners
If you have a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or now, FHA-insured mortgage (HUD recently announced that FHA-insured mortgages will also qualify, effective August 15, 2009), you may have the option of refinancing or modifying your loan through the Making Home Affordable program.
Do I have a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA mortgage?
I couldn’t find a loan lookup for FHA so I suggest you contact your loan servicer (the company you pay your mortgage to) or review your loan documents.
Note: If your loan is not backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA, you still may be able to take part in the program. Participation in the Making Home Affordable is mandatory for these types of loans but optional for others.
What’s the Difference Between Refinance and Loan Modification?
The Home Affordable Refinance Program is designed to help home owners who are current on their mortgage (no late payments in last 12 months) and upside down in their mortgage - the amount owed on the first mortgage is up to 125% of the home’s current market value. There are other qualifications but essentially, the home owner must be able to afford the new payments and it must be a better overall deal for the home owner. It’s important to note that this program will NOT reduce the principal owed on the mortgage - it only reduces the interest rate.
The Home Affordable Modification Program is designed to help home owners who have fallen behind in their payments. The program is available only for primary residences and for the first mortgage originated before January 1, 2009. Home owners must show that they:
Have a monthly mortgage payment (including taxes, insurance, and home owners association dues) greater than 31 percent of their monthly gross (pre-tax) income; and
Have a mortgage payment that is not affordable due to a financial hardship that can be documented.
Participation in HAMP will reduce the interest rate to as low as 2% and may even extend the term of the mortgage. However, home owners may be required to agree to a principal forbearance, which defers (not eliminates) repayment of the principal owned to a later date.
Applying Immediately Stops a Short Sale and Foreclosure
Please note that if you are in the process of asking your lender to approve a short sale, contacting your lender to also qualify for a refinance or loan modification automatically stops the short sale approval. It will also stop a foreclosure until you complete the application process.
Who do you contact?
That’s the question of the hour. The web site offers several phone numbers - one to speak to a HUD counselor, one to call the HOPE NOW hotline and another to find your loan servicer’s contact information to contact them directly.
My advice is to determine which you are most likely to qualify for - the refinance or the modification based on the criteria above and the FAQ’s on the site. Then, gather all the information recommended on the HUD counselor page and call your loan servicer directly. Ask them to either apply for a refinance or modification under the Making Home Affordable program.
You may not qualify for either program so your option may still be to do a short sale.
You may also enjoy reading:
Alternatives to Abandoning Your Pet When Facing Foreclosure or Eviction
Is Your Connecticut Real Estate Overtaxed?
Do you dig real estate news, tips and advice? Sniffing around for pet-related information in Connecticut? Get Unleashed - the blog that’s helping to find homes for people and pets.
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As the Market Turns…Here Come the Multiple Offers
August 25th, 2009 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Real Estate Market
With the first time home buyer credit set to expire, interest rates low and the feeling that maybe all this good stuff is about to come to an end (with inflation, higher taxes, e.g.), home buyers have a sense of urgency that they haven’t had in years. This is the stuff of a seller’s market. This is gettin’ while the gettin’s good.
What’s my evidence?
I called yesterday to set up a showing for an average home in Rocky Hill and it’s gone after two days on the market. Three offers, baby.
I spoke to a listing agent yesterday about two of her listings in Wethersfield. Four offers between the two. Both on the market for months before getting any offers.
I had three offers on my listing Avon and just received another call on it from an agent asking to write a back-up. On the market for over a month with no offers.
Anecdotal evidence to be sure but when each agent I talk to says the same thing - one minute there’s no interest and all of a sudden there are two or three buyers or that homes that have been sitting for months are suddenly selling, I know there’s something going on.
The Bad News for Home Sellers
There is still a lot of inventory out there. Not all towns are seeing this type of activity. Not all homes are getting the activity. This uptick in the market is selective. Home sellers should not take the surge in the market for granted. You still need to have a well-priced home, in a desirable area, with features people want for the price.
The Bad News for Home Buyers
If you happen to be shopping in a price range and town that is hot, get ready to pay asking price. Or, wait until Congress approves (maybe) another $8,000 credit.
Maybe this is temporary. Maybe it’s the last heartbeat before the patient dies. Maybe it’s the start of a climb in overall real estate prices that will last into next year. Who knows but all I can tell you is that don’t be surprised if there are multiple offers and don’t be surprised when there isn’t. It’s a weird market out there.
You may also enjoy reading:
CT Real Estate Market Reality Check - 5 Trends Driving the Market
9 Home Features That Sell Real Estate in CT
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Time Running Out for $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit. Or Is It?
August 21st, 2009 categories: Home Buyers
The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In it, Congress authorized a first-time homebuyer tax credit of up to $8,000 for home buyers meeting certain qualifying criteria. The program’s goal was to stimulate the real estate market and the evidence is that it’s worked.
But time is running out for credit - it expires December 1, 2009.
What that actually means is a buyer must have closed on their purchase by December 1, 2009. With closings taking much longer than they did last year, buyers only have a small window of opportunity.
I would recommend that if you’re planning on using the credit, have the home you want to buy under contract no later than October 2, 2009.
There is a good chance Congress will extend the credit but the deficit may get in the way. See Congressional Quarterly article. We’ll see what happens when Congress reconvenes in September.
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No More FHA Spot Approval for Condos
August 19th, 2009 categories: Mortgages & Finance
Back in July I wrote a post about FHA approval for condos and in it I mentioned that FHA can do a spot approval for an individual condo unit in a complex that is not already FHA approved. The spot approval is an option for a home buyer (through their lender) to get a condo they wanted to buy OK’d by FHA.
However on October 1, 2009, the FHA spot approval will be eliminated. In reality though, the deadline is earlier because lenders need to get their loan packages to FHA well in advance of the October 1, 2009 deadline.
If you’re considering a condo that will require a FHA spot approval, my advice to you is get moving fast.
However, if the complex you’re interested in has a “right of first refusal” written into its declarations and by laws, a spot approval will not help you currently since it’s an automatic denial.
What is a right of first refusal?
From National Associations of Mortgage Processors:
“A right of first refusal places a restriction on conveyance of the seller’s title and in short, allows the HOA the right to buy a unit at the price and terms the owner might negotiate with an eligible buyer. Often the association elects to include a right of first refusal clause in their declarations and bylaws because they do not want to allow one of the unit owners to sell at a discounted sales price because they fear that their own market values would be adversely affected.
HUD, however, views a right of first refusal as having the potential to negatively impact the marketability of the property because potential buyers may not be so thrilled about proposing an offer only for it to possibly be refused because of the HOA’s right to override the offer and thus purchase the property themselves. HUD views the right of first refusal as a restriction and thus, an added risk for the property itself. “
It may actually be better to wait until October 1, when FHA will not automatically deny a complex that has this clause in its documents. A full approval will be required for the entire complex and at this point, I’m not sure who will pay for this (the buyer, the lender, or the complex) and how long full approval will take.
Do you dig real estate news, tips and advice? Sniffing around for pet-related information in Connecticut? Get Unleashed - the blog that’s helping to find homes for people and pets.
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Tis’ the Season for Fairs in Connecticut
August 13th, 2009 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information
Around this time of year, I begin to crave apple fritters and fried dough (with red sauce, of course). Although it seems like summer just arrived, fall is right around the corner and nothing is better than all the fairs and festivals in Connecticut celebrating our local agriculture - where one finds apple fritters and fried dough, among other things.
I missed the Lebanon Country Fair last weekend but there are so many more. Click the link below for a full list and map of Connecticut’s fairs for 2009.
The Association of Connecticut Fairs
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