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Non-Owner Occupied Co-Borrower

Are you looking into buying a home? Are you going to have someone help you buy a home as a co-borrower? Before you go any further, you must watch this video. It talks about the importance of making sure you have the right person in your life helping you. Very interesting insights!

Tips for today’s home buyer

Today’s real estate market seems to be increasingly difficult for home buyers to navigate the waters of obtaining a loan. Here are a few tips that will make it easier for you.

1. Get your credit in order. Lenders are requiring a minimum FICO score of 620 in most cases. Do what ever you can on your own or with a credit repair company to get your score as high as possible. The higher your FICO score, the lower your interest rate.

2. Steady income. Lenders must see proof of your income, now and in the past. They want to be possitive they are lendeing to someone with a good track record of earned income.

3. Steady employment. Be ready to prove that you currently have a job, you’ve had it for some time, and it’s a job that you will not be losing any time soon. The lenders are very worried about lending to someone that may lose their job and income soon.

4. Debt to income ration. The cap, in most cases, of your debt to income ration is 45%. Obviusly lenders want to see “the numbers”. They want to see that your debt does not exceed 45% of your income.

5. Down payment, reserves and closing costs. Have your money in order. You will need a down payment, minimum of 3 1/2% down. The higher your down payment, the better for the lender and the lower your monthly payment. Closing costs usually run between 2 and 3% of the purchase price. This can sometimes be covered by the seller, but not in all situations. A lot of lenders want to see 2 or 3 months of payment reserves in the bank. It shows that you will be able to sustain the payments (at least for the first few months).

6. Be prepared and patient. Be prepared with all of the above and the knowledge that their will be many hoops to jump through even if you are the perfect borrower. Between paperwork, documentation, updated bank statement and paycheck stubs and more, it can seem overwhelming at times. Become educated in the market and the system in today’s market, be patient with the process, and enjoy your new home.

Homeowners double down on mortgages ~ short sale not necessary in all cases

There are some homeowners willing to bring money to the table to close escrow on a home they owe more on than it’s worth, so they can buy another, larger home, have a slightly higher payment and almost twice the size of a home!

For some, this makes complete sence. Low prices and low interest rates make this a good plan of attack for the right homeowner! Read this article from MSN below!

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomeFinancing/HomeFinancingDyn.aspx?cp-documentid=25138956&GT1=33006

Short Sales, Foreclosures and Tax Consequences

If you are going through a short sale or you are faceing foreclosure, there is a chance that you may have some tax consequences to work through.

Before Foreclosure or Selling, Plan Ahead

Before you sell on a short sale or go through a foreclosure, seek legal and tax advice. Do tax planning ahead of time, before it is too late.For more information, contact a Certified Public Accountant or check the IRS Web site.A temporary fix, called the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, provides relief from debt forgiveness taxation for certain owner occupants until December 31, 2012. Call your lawyer to determine if you are exempt from taxation.

California Home Builders Rent Out Finished Units to Finance Completion

So, builders have built a brand new community, they need additional financing, can’t get it, have a ton of units that have not sold, so they decide to rent the units out to finance the completion of their project! I think that is a brilliant answer to a challenge than many home builders have in today’s market. Take a look at this article and let me know what you think! http://www.housingwatch.com/2010/07/26/california-home-builders-rent-out-finished-units-to-finance-comp/#AddCommentForm

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended Through September

The Senate has passed a bill, following the House, to to extend the home buyer tax credit until September 30, 2010. The extension allows home buyers who entered into contracts by April 30, 2010 until the end of September to complete the closing process on their new home. This extension provides some extra breathing room for home buyers who were trying to complete a sale on June 30, 2010.

The home buyer tax credit has been extremely popular, but not without its criticism. Many economists say that home sales were pushed forward to March and April instead of a natural healthy growth through the rest of the year. Sales for homes since tax credit expired have dropped to historic lows due to the artificial increase in sales for the first part of the year leaving a glut of unsold homes on the market. Recovering from the tax credit is expected to take several months. Some home buyers claimed they would back out of deals if the closing date had not been extended.

More than 2.6 million taxpayers claimed the tax credit through April, totaling $18.7 billion, says the Internal Revenue Service. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) pushed hard for the extension of the home buyer tax credit saying. “These are not buyers who just entered into the market. These are buyers who previously met all the qualifications for the tax credit, but find themselves at the mercy of a workflow jam with lenders or other delays such as lapses in the National Flood Insurance Program, Rural Housing Service, and new home construction, and might not be able to complete the purchase of their homes by the [June 30] deadline. It would be a tragedy for them not to be able to complete the purchase in time to claim the credit,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder.

NAR said the following outstanding sales, by state, will be affected by the extension: Alabama, 2,590; Alaska, 830; Arizona, 5,440; Arkansas, 2,090; California, 17,700; Colorado, 3,390; Connecticut, 1,770; Delaware, 400; District of Columbia, 300; Florida, 14,830; Georgia, 6,270; Hawaii, 710; Idaho, 1,270; Illinois, 7,030; Indiana, 3,560; Iowa, 2, 030; Kansas, 1,840; Kentucky, 2,540; Louisiana,1,800; Maine, 840; Maryland, 2,630; Massachusetts, 3,930; Michigan, 6,470; Minnesota, 3,760; Mississippi, 1,530; Missouri, 3,600; Montana, 760; Nebraska, 1,110; Nevada, 3,800; New Hampshire, 690; New Jersey, 4,300; New Mexico, 1,160; New York, 9,190; North Carolina, 4,890; North Dakota, 460; Ohio, 8,510; Oklahoma, 2,760; Oregon, 2,090; Pennsylvania, 5,830; Rhode Island, 500; South Carolina, 2,460; South Dakota, 500; Tennessee, 3,910; Texas, 15,340; Utah, 1,130; Vermont, 400; Virginia, 3,890; Washington, 3,190; West Virginia, 940; Wisconsin, 2,690; and Wyoming, 390.

Distressed homes market at May 2009 level

Some Southern California areas are seeing a rise in prices, some are seeing a rise in distressed homes! Take a look at these articles and let me know what you think about our current market!

http://mortgage.ocregister.com/

http://lansner.ocregister.com/2010/06/25/home-prices-up-in-54-o-c-zips/70571/

Newest Listing! 7 Bedrooms on a Cul-De-Sac!

This is an awesome  one level, 7 bedroom home, in La Mirada, on a cul-de-sac! Take a look, let me know who you know that would like to take a look at it! It’s priced well, and is ready to move into!

Free Credit Repair Tips to Improve Your Credit Score

Start with free credit repair tips on your road to recovery from bad credit resulting from any number of unfortunate situations:  foreclosure, bankruptcy, bad credit history, or just plain bad personal financial management.

In today’s financially riddled times, it is common to find people trying different ways to manage their finances. The problem is that inflation, global economic crisis, and recession has made it difficult for people to manage things without having to take out a loan. Be it a home mortgage or another form of loan, or credit card debt for that matter, you will find many folks desperately trying to get out of their debt.  Unfortunately, many can only make minimum payments, while others cannot afford it at all. 

With a low credit score, it becomes impossible to secure a new loan. Though it is true that some credit card companies and other lenders forward loans to those who have bad credit rating, the interest rate can be outrageous. But, if you have already taken a bad step and have a bad credit report on hand, you should try to repair it using few of the following free credit repair tips.

• The first important thing to know is that under no circumstances should you be shying away from getting in touch with creditors. Whether it is a mortgage lender or a credit card company, call them, as they can lower the interest rate for a short period. By this way, you continue to make minimum monthly payment and keep your credit report clean.

• One of the free credit repair tips is to know that there is no quick fix to your problem. Yes, you can repair your credit, but it takes time. Once you understand this very clearly, go on and get your three credit reports. Find all negative items after reviewing the report closely. In case of any accuracy, dispute those items and get them removed.

• One of the more important credit repair tips is to send a credit repair letter to dispute an item repeatedly. Since the credit bureau is a tad concerned about the accuracy of items, they just keep a record of all items. It means that there are chances of you being able to have an item removed from your report after disputing an item over and over again. Many creditors don’t put in much effort to defend the negative item, so it may help you repair your credit.

• Sometimes, disputing offers little to no help. It is when the negative information is accurate. In this situation, one of the best free credit repair tips is to negotiate this negative but accurate credit. If you have a collection account that a third party debt collector owns, you won’t find credit bureau offering any assistance in this regard. This is when you have to negotiate with the collection agency to make them accept a reduced payoff. You have to pay off your debt in this situation, but first, you should focus on closing unused accounts with high balance.

• One of the most useful credit repair tips is to hire a professional company for credit repair. Just make sure you know you are asking an authentic and experienced company to handle your case.  

Up To Date Real Estate Market Information

http://donjacks.housingtrendsenewsletter.com/?Newsletter_ID=248&Period_ID=185