Real Estate Update

Posts Tagged ‘Mortgage’

If you’re planning to buy a condo or refinancing your condo you might sense the mortgage credit and mortgage refinancing squeeze.

Due to the results of the huge investors like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac including the new stiffer restrictions by mortgage insurers for condos, being able to refinance your condos mortgage seems to be tougher than one might have thought.

Starting May 1st one of the biggest private mortgage insurers will not cover refinancing condos or new buyers of condos in countless ZIP code areas around the country that have seen a “decline” in mortgage credit and market conditions.

Even if the market was at its healthiest a condo buyer will need to put a minimum of 10 percent down payment. Mortgage insurers would also reject and condo applications if more than 30 percent of the owners of the condo are investors.

Those condo buyers that have a 20 percent down payment would not feel the affects of the mortgage insurers cutbacks. Mortgage insures will continue to refinance mortgages and continue to take applications for condo buyers that have at lest 10 percent.

Huge mortgage refinancing lenders have issued new guidelines that make it tougher for mortgage refinancing lenders to make loans available to buy condos or refinance mortgages.

To insure these guidelines for condo buying or refinancing are followed loan officers now need to take into account the number of condo owners are late on fees, their legal information, the amount of commercial space available and percentage of investors that are owners of condos.

Smaller lenders find these new guidelines for condo buying and mortgage refinancing unfair. The complain that smaller insures due not have the man power to carry the extra work to help mortgage refinancing and condo buying.

Loan officers are required before approving applications for mortgage refinancing or condo buyers to confirm that minimum 10 percent of the condos budget is available for “capital expenditures and deferred maintenance.” Some lenders feel that many loan officers would not approve applications for mortgage refinancing or condo buyers if they see that less than 10 percent of the “budget” is available in non physical items even if it includes insurance.

The bigger mortgage lenders say that although mortgage refinancing and condo buying applications are going to be more difficult because of all the extra paper work including the extra man power needed is going to be difficult it is necessary because of the decline in condo and homes around the country.

President of Family Choice Mortgage Corp a Connecticut based business has said that in these difficult times in the economy potential condo buyers and people who would like to have their mortgage refinanced many will hear that they can not be accepted as qualified buyers until all of the paper work is submitted and qualifies. Some condo buyers and people that want to have their mortgage refinanced even with good credit and equity may find the process difficult.

Some private mortgage lenders are now refusing to approve condo units in the same condo project after a certain percent to help restrict their exposure to any losses.

President Of Equitable Mortgage Corp., Bruce Calabrese has said that even he would have trouble refinancing his mortgages on his two condos even though he is in the business.

-M Petrone

Refinance FAQ & Advice

According to ABC news, more than 2.3 million American homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, which was an 81 percent increase from 2007. And as of March 2009, about 5 million are currently in default, or at least one month behind, on their mortgage.

So does it have to be all “Doom and Gloom” or are there REAL solutions for homeowners facing this stress? The truth of the matter is there are several solutions to this problem, but it is very common for homeowners to not be aware of all their options. Foreclosure is NOT the only possible outcome. Neither is listing with a Realtor to try to sell fast. Neither is trying to get refinanced.

So if payments are behind on your Austin Texas home, what are your options?

In times like these, most homeowners believe they only have 4 options:

List with a realtor (But do you have time to wait for it to sell? What if it doesn’t sell? No Equity?) Refinance (Thousands of homeowners try only to be turned down because they are behind in payments, have less-than-perfect credit, or have little-to-no equity! And it would cost at least ,000-5,000 to refinance the average Austin Texas home.) Reinstate your loan (Do you have the amount of $ $ $ your lender is asking for?) Do nothing and just let the bank foreclose on it (There are many better options, and they can be EASY, too! Plus, if the foreclosure sale is not enough to pay off the mortgage in full, the lender can still come after the borrower for the difference. Yikes!)

But WAIT! There’s a 5th option! = Sell your Austin Texas house to us! We are THE fast Austin Texas Home-Buyers, RedBuysHouses.com. We’re a local, professional real estate investment group that buy houses all over Austin, TX in any area, condition or price range (even no equity) and in virtually any situation.

We can pay all cash and close fast! We don’t care if the house needs repairs because we buy houses in “as-is” condition (so we won’t beat you up about making repairs before closing like other buyers do!). We buy houses in Austin, Texas and the surrounding areas such as Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Lakeway, Buda, Kyle and more. We specialize in finding several CREATIVE solutions to real estate problems that others won’t touch. The fastest way to see if your Austin Texas house qualifies for our “Quick House Purchase Program” is to complete our confidential “Seller Questionnaire” and we will contact you within 24-28 hours.

So, if your payments are behind, the last thing you’d want to do is NOTHING!…Sadly, when times are tough, many homeowners don’t know what to do. Many, many houses have been foreclosed on in recent months because homeowners are not aware of the many alternatives to foreclosure or because:

they expect some money will be found/earned/won/inherited/borrowed to make up back payments in time (Since this isn’t likely, why not at least learn what the other, readily available options are to have a Plan B ready?) they’re embarrassed by the situation. (PLEASE…Don’t let this be the reason you don’t do anything. Things happen in life that can make payments late, and RedBuysHouses.com understands that and wants to help!) they’re afraid and unsure of who to trust (Again, there are trustworthy people out there who want to help…RedBuysHouses.com is an Accredited business with the Better Business Bureau and works with an experienced team of house-buyers who have helped THOUSANDS of homeowners during tough times!) their lenders don’t return any of their phone calls. If they send in any partial payments, it is very common for the lender to send it back. (Dealing with lenders can be very frustrating and confusing!) they didn’t think the bank would “really” foreclose on their house. (Remember, if you get behind on payments and do not do anything, your lender WILL foreclose on your house, even if you have a good relationship with them.) they were not aware that there was help available. (If you remember anything from this article, know that there is help available for you.)

So, if your payments are behind, the last thing you’d want to do is NOTHING! Call us today for a free, risk-free consultation to learn what your options are: Local 512-945-6006, and please leave message if a representative cannot be reached. We may even be able to help you find a solution to stay in your home at a payment you can afford!

We Buy Austin Texas Houses Fast (and we want to buy yours)! If you have an unwanted house you need to sell quickly for any reason whatsoever, call locally 512-945-6006 or visit Red Buys Houses for more information, to receive a free consultation, or to get an offer on your house fast.

The American Dream is often paired with owning one’s own home.  For decades Legislator’s have protected that dream with allowing home owners to claim the mortgage interest paid on their homes as a tax deduction.  With a possible phase out of this deduction, could the dream fade?

“There are no cows more sacred in the tax code than the deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes. Together, they add up to at least the $ 75 billion annual subsidy for housing and Homeowners. ” The New York Times.

In 2002, 37.2 million taxpayers claimed the deduction, writing off $336.6 billion, or about $9,000 per taxpayer. Representing about 37% or so of itemized deductions, it was slightly more than itemized deductions for deductible state and local taxes, and twice as much in deductions as charitable donations.  Clearly, the mortgage deduction is important and worth a huge amount of money.

In 2005 it was estimated that:

* The mortgage interest deduction will cost the Treasury $72.6 billion, according to congressional estimates.

* The $250,000 and $500,000 tax-free exclusions of home sale profits for single sellers and joint filers, respectively, will cost $23 billion .

* Property tax write-offs cost $20 billion, and tax subsidies for local and state housing bond programs account for $1 billion.

When a congressional committee examined the distribution of homeowner benefits for 2004, it found that people earning $200,000 and more a year – just one-half of 1% of all homeowners filing for deductions – pocketed 22% of the $70.2 billion in write-offs in 2004.

In 2007, Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) unveiled a draft of his “carbon tax” legislative reform package. Part of this draft legislation was a phase out the mortgage interest deduction on large homes. The phase-out schedule for the mortgage interest write-off, beginning with houses of 3,000 square feet, which would lose 15 percent of their deductions, and ending with houses of 4,200 square feet and larger, which would receive no deductions at all.

Dingel said: “In order to address the issues of climate change, we must address the issue of consumption-we do that by making consumption more expensive.”

Naturally, with the real estate market bust, the Dingell package was shelved. Once the housing market recovers, lets’ say two years from now, it’s a very good bet the administration will be looking hard at ways to increase taxes to pay down the huge bailouts. The unusual financial troubles and the move to green, will be the perfect time to push through such legislation.  Unlike the Dingel proposal ,which was aimed at larger homes, the future legislation will most probably cover all mortgage interest deductions. To increase its’ chance at passage, it is a good bet it will be a phased in plan with deductions decreasing over a number of years.

To get the reversal of the sacred deduction started, President Obama’s impending budget proposes a cap on the mortgage interest rate deduction.  Couples earning $208,850 or more would loose the deduction. Where currently households at the 33% and 35% tax rates are allowed the deduction, Obama would reduce their deduction to only 28% of the value of those payments.  This is likely a first step to what seems to be a total elimination of mortgage tax deduction.  If (when) this passes, Obama will find it easier to lower the earning cap for the mortgage tax deduction, leading up to an even lesser amount in the future.  It seems on the horizon that the mortgage interest rate will be only for low income earners.

Realtor referral business is a great way for mortgage professionals to really make a lot of money. A realtor referral is one where a real estate agent partners up with a mortgage professional in order to get access to his clients. The realtor gets his clients approved and may even get a kick back while the mortgage professional will get a consistent flow of leads.

In today’s market, these referrals are incredibly important for many. Not that long ago, mortgage professionals had all the business they could handle with refinances. That was in a market with tumbling interest rates. Like all markets, though, that one eventually adjusted and today we are back in a more traditional market. So the refinance market is down a little, but there is still plenty of fruit to be picked by the right mortgage pro.

Now, though, there are millions of people around the country who are in the market to buy a home. Home buyers may not be as easy as refinancers, but they can certainly be lucrative to you. That is where your relationship with the right mortgage professional comes in handy.

Why Would They Do It

You may not realize it, but there are realtors all over the place that need your help. You see, most mortgage professionals think that they need the realtors, but the truth is that you can find realtors who need you. Isn’t that the situation that makes more sense when it comes to ease of life for you? The key to cashing in on that situation is finding a system that will help you form multiple partnerships with multiple realtors that will feed you business.

On your end, you have to be able to offer the realtor something, so you should continue to think about that. What can you give realtors that other mortgage originators cannot? You can offer them anything, but it has to be of value to a realtor and make sending you business worth their time.

How it Helps You

When you partner up with a realtor, you are getting business without really doing any work. Your partner realtor is like a walking advertisement for you that funnels leads your way. There is no cold calling, no follow up with former clients, and no sitting and waiting and hoping that someone who needs a mortgage saw your flyer.

If you can get a referral business going with a realtor or a slew of realtors, then there is never a worry again about how you are going to get another lead. Additionally, interest rates are no longer a concern to you. You will be spending your time changing renters into buyers and sellers into bigger buyers. That’s all because you hooked up with a real estate agent.

Common Practice

The reason you have to find a system is that there are literally hundreds of thousands of agents paired up with mortgage originators. Without a good system to use, you may have trouble finding partners or yourself may feel like you are drowning in a saturated market. The right system, though, can help you find realtors you can trust and ones who can help you grow your business. In addition, you will be helping them increase their closing rate.

So before you make one more cold call and before you think about one more set of flyers on the doors of an apartment complex, you should start looking for a system that works. Look for someone who can help you partner up with realtors and turn renters into buyers. When you can do those things, then you can accomplish most anything you want in the mortgage business.

As you can see, there are many reasons to build your referral business with real estate agents. With the right agents at your side, you will never have to worry about lead and thus about money again. So get out there on the internet, on the phone, or through other resources and look for the partnership resource program that will help you turn your mortgage business into a booming industry.