I thought you all might find this interesting. We are normally slow in the first quarter of the year but with the tax credit we were and are pretty busy. I have buyers scrambling to get it now. Some are even doing short sales which may or may not pan out. You still have time to take advantage, I hope you all do.
Here is an interesting article that was just published. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/business/27home.html?src=twt&twt=nytimes
I am getting ready for GARD in Tallahassee from April 6-7. I hope to see you all there to fight for our Real Estate issues. Please let me know if there is anything pressing that you have questions about and I will do my best to get it answered.
I look forward to updating you on the busy couple of days and hope to get a lot accomplished. I also will be attending our Education Foundation meeting and will be picking the winners of the essay contests. I am looking forward to seeing the letters from the kids.
Warren Buffet has predicted the end of the downturn. He is basing this on the available inventory currently in the market. I am no genius or think I am smarter than him but I see the banks and government flooded with homes that have yet to hit the market. The transition period from foreclosure to listing is usually a few months sometimes more.
He is banking on simple supply and demand. There will also be very affordable homes for families who are looking for that perfect fit for their family that they could not afford before. I do think the prices will still drop about 20% which is great for buyers waiting, but buyers think they can chase and pin point the exact right time to buy on it’s upswing. We usually don’t realize this until 6 months later so it is virtually impossible. Real estate has and will continue to be the best investment you will make. It is not a short time investment and never claimed to be.
Chuck Bonfiglio Jr., e-PRO
AAA Realty Group Inc.
Broker/Owner
2010 Florida Realtors Director
2010 RAGFL Board Of Directors
954-445-9818
chuckbonfiglio@aol.com
www.aaarealtyfl.com
I do not understand the point of taking listings without servicing them. I have two clients interested in a REO listing. the listing agent put about 5 attachments on it of which one is you must get pre-qualified with their lender prior to submitting offers. One of my clients called the guy just to appease the agent. The mortgage guy acts like he is the busiest person in the world and could care less about doing this in a timely manner. The icing on the cake is that you call centralized showing for instructions which is fine but you want to make sure this is available. The only number listed is the office number which has a voice mail that says we are closed Saturday and Sunday. I am amazed at how often this is happening. Broker gets in with a bank or asset manager and opens a firm up to just list these properties and has no intention or does not know how to service them. I am tired of reading do not call, if it is active in MLS then it is available we take pride in our accuracy. Funny thing is it is usually a multiple offer situation or pending and you don’t change it. We do not like to waste our time showing just like you apparently don’t want to waste your time talking to agents. Last time I checked it is your job to service the listing for the seller. Do your job and stop giving us a bad name..
Chuck Bonfiglio Jr., e-PRO
AAA Realty Group Inc.
Broker/Owner
2010 Florida Realtors Director
2010 RAGFL Board Of Directors
954-445-9818
chuckbonfiglio@aol.com
www.aaarealtyfl.com
(New!)
A revamped good faith estimate and HUD-1 settlement form mean fewer last-minute surprises at closing because of limits on fee increases. Read
The Treasury Dept announced Thursday that they are now requiring the necessary documents in hand first before they agree to the 90 trial modification. The main reason being is that when they allow the 90 trial without seeing the documentation it gives the borrower false hope in thinking they will get the permanent modification. To date 43.2 mods have been due to extending the loan terms to 40 years. Just a reminder that they are trying to lower your payments to the magic number of 31% of your before tax income for five years. If your mortgage company has opted in to the government program then they will only see you as a number either fitting in this criteria or not. There is no gray area like before so be prepared if your income doesnt qualify then be prepared for a short sale, deed in lieu or foreclosure.
The average 30 year fixed rate mortgages is at 4.98 down from 4.99. Last year at this time is was at 5.10. It is nice to see that Fed understands keeping the rates down is critical for our recovery.I hope everyone will be taking advantage of these historical low rates and will buy or refinance.
Announced FHA Policy Changes:
Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be increased to build up capital reserves and bring back private lending
The first step will be to raise the up-front MIP by 50 bps to 2.25% and request legislative authority to increase the maximum annual MIP that the FHA can charge.
If this authority is granted, then the second step will be to shift some of the premium increase from the up-front MIP to the annual MIP.
This shift will allow for the capital reserves to increase with less impact to the consumer, because the annual MIP is paid over the life of the loan instead of at the time of closing
The initial up-front increase is included in a Mortgagee Letter to be released tomorrow, January 21st, and will go into effect in the spring.
Update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers.
New borrowers will now be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA’s 3.5% down payment program. New borrowers with less than a 580 FICO score will be required to put down at least 10%.
This allows the FHA to better balance its risk and continue to provide access for those borrowers who have historically performed well.
This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February and, after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
Reduce allowable seller concessions from 6% to 3%
The current level exposes the FHA to excess risk by creating incentives to inflate appraised value. This change will bring FHA into conformity with industry standards on seller concessions.
This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
Increase enforcement on FHA lenders
Publicly report lender performance rankings to complement currently available Neighborhood Watch data – Will be available on the HUD website on February 1.
This is an operational change to make information more user-friendly and hold lenders more accountable; it does not require new regulatory action as Neighborhood Watch data is currently publicly available.
Enhance monitoring of lender performance and compliance with FHA guidelines and standards.
Implement Credit Watch termination through lender underwriting ID in addition to originating ID.
This change is included in a Mortgagee Letter to be released tomorrow, January 21st, and is effective immediately.
Implement statutory authority through regulation of section 256 of the National Housing Act to enforce indemnification provisions for lenders using delegated insuring process
Specifications of this change will be posted in March, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in early summer.
HUD is pursuing legislative authority to increase enforcement on FHA lenders. Specific authority includes:
Amendment of section 256 of the National Housing Act to apply indemnification provisions to all Direct Endorsement lenders. This would require all approved mortgagees to assume liability for all of the loans that they originate and underwrite
Legislative authority permitting HUD maximum flexibility to establish separate “areas” for purposes of review and termination under the Credit Watch initiative. This would provide authority to withdraw originating and underwriting approval for a lender nationwide on the basis of the performance of its regional branches
In addition to the changes proposed today, the FHA is continuing to review its overall response to housing market conditions, and continuing to evaluate its mortgage insurance underwriting standards and its measures to help distressed and underwater borrowers through FHA/HAMP and other FHA initiatives going forward.
Courtesy of HUD.gov
News Release
January 7, 2010
Fannie Mae Launches Special Approval Designation to Support Florida Condo Market
Realtors Commend New Flexibility
WASHINGTON, DC — Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) announced today that it is undertaking a comprehensive review of hundreds of condominium projects in the state of Florida in an effort to allow additional projects to become Fannie Mae-eligible through a new “Special Approval” designation.
A dedicated team of six Fannie Mae professionals based in Florida is conducting a thorough examination of condominium projects across the state that may not currently meet Fannie Mae’s standard eligibility criteria and assessing specific criteria more closely, including occupancy, homeownership association dues, financial stability of the project and property condition. Projects deemed to be sufficiently stable following the closer examination are granted a Special Approval designation, meaning lenders can originate and deliver mortgage loans secured by units in these projects to Fannie Mae.
Fannie Mae has been granting exceptions to its condominium eligibility guidelines on a case-by-case basis when requested by lenders. The Special Approval designation streamlines the process for lenders and catalogues projects across the state that are Fannie Mae-eligible. Projects deemed eligible will be listed on www.eFannieMae.com as project reviews are completed, and qualified borrowers wishing to purchase units in these projects will be eligible for financing.
“This new initiative is geared toward providing maximum support for Florida’s distressed condo market as we continue to provide liquidity to the housing market more broadly,” said Karen Pallotta, Executive Vice President, Single Family Mortgage Business. “The state’s condo market has been particularly hard hit by the housing downturn and we’re working with the industry and our partners to do all we can to stabilize the market and help spur recovery.”
“NAR applauds Fannie Mae for taking this important step to make condo loans more readily available in Florida,” said Moe Veissi, National Association of Realtors® First Vice President and broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc. in Miami. “Our state is probably the hardest hit as far as the condo market is concerned, and Fannie Mae’s new effort to take a closer look at project eligibility could go a long way to putting projects back on a healthy financial track.”
Special Approval designations are effective for periods between 9 and 18 months, and lenders are required to confirm the project’s Special Approval designation on the date of the loan application. The Special Approval initiative is for established condominium projects only.
Fannie Mae exists to expand affordable housing and bring global capital to local communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America’s secondary mortgage market to enhance the liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankers and other lenders so that they may lend to home buyers. Our job is to help those who house America.
___________________________
John M. Sebree, DPL
Vice President of Public Policy | Florida Realtors®
P.O. Box 1853
Tallahassee, FL 32302
talk: 850-224-1400
visit: http://www.floridarealtors.org
Florida Realtors®
A brand new real estate organization with 93 years of experience!
Over the holidays the Obama administration announced that the Treasury Dept. will basically furnish an open check for the two government run agencies. It was previously reported that they would be capped at 200 billion.
It is important for the housing market to continue to get the much needed help it deserves. Everyone realizes that the housing market is the cornerstone to the economy from the local Home Depot to the little mom and pop stores that survive on it.
This will also hopefully help extend the needed help to borrowers that are underwater and behind by offering principal loan reductions along with the modifications. The HAMP program has been minimally successful so far due to the ones that are deeper than others and they are just walking away. Let’s hope this coupled with the new short sale changes coming will help stabilize price values.