Many people are facing foreclosure these days, especially because of sub-prime mortgages and adjustable rates. Unfortunately, due to the market turn, many homeowners owe more than their house is presently worth. It’s terrifying and disheartening, and it’s very easy to feel like you should just throw your hands up in the air! You don’t know who to trust or what you can do, so you consider just staying until you get evicted.
DON’T do it! The worst thing you can do to your credit is to default on a mortgage! This is not even in the same category as other debts you may have, and the damage to your credit could cost you a lot of money over many years.
You have options. One option that many homeowners are taking advantage of is the short-sale. The basics of this transaction are that a homeowner who has missed some payments, and owes too much to realistically sell the home for enough to cover the mortgage balance, enlists the help of a realtor to negotiate with the bank. Banks are responsible to the Federal Reserve to make prudent decisions when granting mortgages. Therefore, it is bad for them to have to foreclose on a home. It also costs them a great deal of money to foreclose, evict homeowners, and then resell. All of this means that they want an opportunity to avoid foreclosure when possible.
Once you’re behind on payments, a realtor can negotiate with the bank so that they will consider settling for less than is owed on a home. This would never mean you’d get money in your pocket; however, you would get the golden opportunity of saving your credit and walking away with no further obligation. The realtor will market your house and present any offers to the contact at the bank. If the bank approves the offer, they will lower the balance on the mortgage so that you will be able to sell the house and not owe them any more money.
Challenges sometimes come along that seem like they are the end of the world, but they aren’t. By executing a short sale in time to stop foreclosure, you leave the door open for future opportunities. If you’re facing a struggle like this, contact me so that I can explain the details of your options.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Help for Adjustable Rate Mortgage Holders! FHA Secure
Help for Adjustable Rate Mortgage Holders! FHA Secure
Has the interest rate on your adjustable mortgage gone up, making it difficult for you to manage payments? This is a problem faced by many homeowners in today’s market. You have options! FHA’s new program can help! Under this program, homeowners who have been hurt by changes in interest rates on ARMs may be eligible to have their loans insured by FHA. In order to qualify, homeowners must have a history of on-time payments before the interest rate increase, and they must have at least 3% equity in the home. It's important that you act right away!
Go to the FHA site for details.
http://www.fha.gov/about/fhasfact.cfm
Has the interest rate on your adjustable mortgage gone up, making it difficult for you to manage payments? This is a problem faced by many homeowners in today’s market. You have options! FHA’s new program can help! Under this program, homeowners who have been hurt by changes in interest rates on ARMs may be eligible to have their loans insured by FHA. In order to qualify, homeowners must have a history of on-time payments before the interest rate increase, and they must have at least 3% equity in the home. It's important that you act right away!
Go to the FHA site for details.
http://www.fha.gov/about/fhasfact.cfm
A Great Time to Buy in Tampa!
With so many houses to choose from, prices lower than they've been in years, and a v-shaped recovery predicted by economists, this is an opportunity to buy that you shouldn't pass up!
Various factors have resulted in a housing slump in the Tampa market, making this a golden opportunity for buyers. People often wait on the sidelines during market changes, and by the time they jump on the bandwagon, it’s too late. During the real estate boom a couple of years ago, many buyers lamented that they hadn’t bought sooner.
Some sellers sold during that great seller’s market and made a substantial profit, while other sellers waited. Presumably, they waited because they wanted to make more money. By the time most of those people put their homes for sale, there were already too many homes on the market. Days on the market dragged on, and prices fell. Those sellers jumped on too late. Now that it’s a buyer’s market, those who bought too late were wishing that they’d had better timing.
There are great deals in the Tampa area right now. Anyone who has been considering buying, should not let this opportunity pass by! Builders still have brand new homes in inventory left over from the housing boom that they are practically giving away. That fact is also driving down prices on resale homes. Tampa still has a great economy. We continue to grow at an astronomical rate, there are plenty of jobs, and we all seem to continue to spend money. Because of this, we’re expected to have a v-shape recovery. In layman’s terms, economists believe that our home values should increase sharply in the near future. So, if you’re considering buying or investing, now is the time!
Last, but not least, always use an agent to buy. Some people think that by working without a buyer’s agent, they’ll save more money. This is rarely true. An agent naturally knows more about the market than you do, and the people on the selling side know this. A builder’s agent will tell you with a straight face that he cannot go down any lower on a price, and cannot include your appliances. That same builder, when faced with a well-qualified buyer’s agent, would drop that price another 10% or more and include those appliances too. There’s also a lot more to a purchase contract than just price. If your financing falls through, will you be able to get your deposit back? What if the agreed upon repairs are not complete before walk-through? You need an agent to see to all of the details in the contract, several of which could either protect you or hurt you. The best part about being a buyer is that your buyer’s agent works for you, but gets paid by the seller!
Various factors have resulted in a housing slump in the Tampa market, making this a golden opportunity for buyers. People often wait on the sidelines during market changes, and by the time they jump on the bandwagon, it’s too late. During the real estate boom a couple of years ago, many buyers lamented that they hadn’t bought sooner.
Some sellers sold during that great seller’s market and made a substantial profit, while other sellers waited. Presumably, they waited because they wanted to make more money. By the time most of those people put their homes for sale, there were already too many homes on the market. Days on the market dragged on, and prices fell. Those sellers jumped on too late. Now that it’s a buyer’s market, those who bought too late were wishing that they’d had better timing.
There are great deals in the Tampa area right now. Anyone who has been considering buying, should not let this opportunity pass by! Builders still have brand new homes in inventory left over from the housing boom that they are practically giving away. That fact is also driving down prices on resale homes. Tampa still has a great economy. We continue to grow at an astronomical rate, there are plenty of jobs, and we all seem to continue to spend money. Because of this, we’re expected to have a v-shape recovery. In layman’s terms, economists believe that our home values should increase sharply in the near future. So, if you’re considering buying or investing, now is the time!
Last, but not least, always use an agent to buy. Some people think that by working without a buyer’s agent, they’ll save more money. This is rarely true. An agent naturally knows more about the market than you do, and the people on the selling side know this. A builder’s agent will tell you with a straight face that he cannot go down any lower on a price, and cannot include your appliances. That same builder, when faced with a well-qualified buyer’s agent, would drop that price another 10% or more and include those appliances too. There’s also a lot more to a purchase contract than just price. If your financing falls through, will you be able to get your deposit back? What if the agreed upon repairs are not complete before walk-through? You need an agent to see to all of the details in the contract, several of which could either protect you or hurt you. The best part about being a buyer is that your buyer’s agent works for you, but gets paid by the seller!
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