Expanding the tax credit could help to stimulate home sales REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Home Buyer Tax Credit Could Expand
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Tenants occupying foreclosured properties have additional time to stay in their homes based on the new law that went into effect May 20, 2009. The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act requires that current leases be honored by the new owners of foreclosures. A minimum of 90 days notice to the tenant is required under the new law with few exceptions.
If you are a homeowner upside down on mortgate payments or victim of a recent job loss that may find yourself in trouble with paying for your home you should educate yourself on options that could help you save your family home. Most important in these troubling times for homeowners is to beware of anyone offering to recuse you from a desperate situation by requesting cash payments in advance of services.
Just like credit repair companies that will help individuals to rebuild their credit for a fee, loan modification companies that request upfront payments could be looking to take advantage of homeowners in crisis.
The truth is that homeowners can do the same thing a credit repair or loan modification company offers to consumers. In fact there are a number of free options to homeowners for help in most communities and handing over limited funds to these companies can only add injury to those already strapped for cash due to job losses. Copyright 2009, Sandra Bundy, Broker-in-Charge, B&P, Inc.
Homeowners in trouble with making mortgage payments should beware of scam artists riding the wave of increasing foreclosures. While there are legitimate companies that can help, there are also individuals out to make money off of innocent victims who fall prey to empty promises of foreclosure rescue scammers. This disturbing trend is likely to increase and homeowners should learn about foreclosure options from reliable sources.
Individuals who find themselves behind on monthly mortgage payments should always contact their lender at the first sign of trouble. A majority of loan servicers have loss mitigation departments that work exclusively with homeowners to help avoid foreclouse if at all possible. Unfortunately, many homeowners fail to take this obvious route and by doing so leave lenders with no choice but to foreclose on delinquent accounts.
The scammers find out about delinquent accounts through public records and promise to help for an upfront fee. Homeowners can avoid these so call rescue services by making calls directly to the lender themselves. They can’t do more for you than you can do for yourself.
Many servicers contract with third party home retention consultants to make contact with homeowners who are behind on payments. This service is free to the homeowner. Contact me for more information. Copyright©2008 Sandra Bundy, Broker-in-Charge, B&P, Inc. This work may not be copied or reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the Author.
If you have ever wondered how much value a remodeling project might add to your homes value or if refinancing your home is a good idea you are not alone. Getting unbiased answers to these and other real estate related questions is coming of age with a fresh approach to Real Estate provided by Real Estate Consultants. I am pleased to announce that I have joined the ranks of ACRE Accredited Consultant in Real Estate® and now offer consulting services and have developed “Real Estate Services Your Way”™ and offer my clients a choice in Real Estate Services.
No longer are you tied to the traditional home buying or selling services provided by our Real Estate Professionals for a set commission as the options and services we can provide by acting as your Real Estate Consultant put you in charge. Contact me for more information. Copyright©2008 Sandra Bundy, Broker-in-Charge, B&P, Inc. This work may not be copied or reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the Author.
Across this country homeowners are in financial trouble especially those families that lost jobs in the last several months that has pushed the Nation’s Unemployment Rate to the highest it has been in many years. The fear in our economy is growing and along with it so are the unemployment lines. Undoubtly the number of foreclosures will also continue to rise. Understanding the reasons for and the effect foreclosures have on any given market is essential in order to evaluate home values and why foreclosures have far reaching effects in areas hit by the foreclosure crisis.
Busting the Housing Bubble – Certainly there are a large number of homeowners who purchased more home than they could afford by falling prey to lenders with numerous creative financing options. Sad but true, these buyers and maybe your neighbor falls under this senario. They bought in the best neighborhood or school district and their ARM is about to or has already reset to a monthly payment that is more than they can now afford. They honestly had all intentions and the good credit to refinance before the loan reset or they planned to sell before the higher interst rate kicked in and higher payment would be their responsibility. We all know how this story ended and see the fallout daily with falling home prices and increasing foreclosures.
Mortgage Fraud – In the Coastal Market I would suspect there could be a number of cases where individuals claimed they were going to use property as a second home on the loan application. Having no intention of occupying the property and placing it back on the market for sale hoping to reap gains by appreciating home prices could have drawn any number of scammers to participate in such actions for a quick profit. Another storybook ending with default and foreclosure that have a definite effect on the innocent homeowners losing value.
Family crisis – Life events such as job loss, divorce, illness or death of a family member are indeed a tradegy in that many of these families end up with financial difficulties that lead to foreclosure. Again if this is someone in your neighborhood, chances are your home value will suffer. One bright spot for individuals that find themselves facing one of these events should be able to work with their lender to avoid foreclosure but it takes honest efforts on the part of the homeowner and communication with the lender should not to be delayed.
The effect on your homes value is directly tied to the number of foreclosures in your neighborhood. In newer neighborhoods builder closeouts and special offers can also put a strain on home prices. Sure prices will rebound but if you need to sell your home in the coming year and there are foreclosures or short sales in your neighborhood your home value will suffer.
It is said that for every foreclosure in a neighborhood that home prices can decline by as much as $10,000. Real Estate is and will remain a solid investment in our families overall wealth and offers advantages over the long term. By nature all real estate prices are local and if foreclosures are increasing in your neighborhood consult your agent for how it is affecting your home value. Contact me for more information. Copyright©2008 Sandra Bundy, Broker-in-Charge, B&P, Inc. This work may not be copied or reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the Author.
