My Posts/Listings

More Home Owners Try ‘Reluctant Landlord’ Role

More sellers who are tired of their home lingering on the market or don’t want to have to take a loss on their home are opting to become landlords instead. For example, according to an article at NPR, one couple describes owning a two-bedroom bungalow in Oakland, Calif., which they purchased for $500,000, that was appraised recently at $260,000. When a job relocation was sending them across the country,... [Read more]

Tips for Selling a Home in the Winter

Traditionally, the time from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day can be some of the slowest time of the year for home buying due to the holidays and the often less-than-perfect weather. But that doesn’t mean sellers can’t sell during the winter months. In fact, with decreased inventories, sellers may have a better chance to standout and face a buyer pool with more urgency to settle down. Experts... [Read more]

30-Year Mortgage Rates Drop Under 4% Again

For the second time this year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped below 4 percent and continues to hover around record lows, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly mortgage market survey. Yet overall, “fixed mortgage rates were little changed this week amid a mix of economic data reports,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. Here’s a closer look at mortgage... [Read more]

Foreclosure activity rises in October

In another sign foreclosure activity is ramping up, foreclosure filings rose nationwide in October compared to the month before, according to the latest report from foreclosure data site RealtyTrac. One in every 563 housing units, or 230,678 properties, received a filing — a default notice, scheduled auction, or bank repossession — in October. While that’s a 7 percent jump from September,... [Read more]

Falling Rates Send Mortgage Apps Soaring 10%

More borrowers are taking advantage of record low interest rates. Mortgage applications increased 10.3 percent last week over a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported. The purchase index, a gauge of future home buying, increased 4.8 percent while refinancing activity jumped 12.1 percent from the previous week to its highest level in a month, MBA reported. “Treasury rates dropped... [Read more]

Housing Is Key in 2012 Elections, Voters Say

Nearly seven out of 10 American — seven more so for the millennial younger generation — say that candidates’ positions on housings will be very important to them in the 2012 presidential and congressional elections, according to a new survey by Move Inc. of 1,000 adults. Survey respondents identified the following top housing priorities for the next president’s first 100 days in office: •... [Read more]

Buy a HUD Home for Only $100 Down?

In several states, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is offering home buyers foreclosed homes with only a $100 down payment, in trying to unload some of its inventory. The incentive runs until October 2012. To qualify, purchasers must be an “owner-occupant,” intending to live in the property and not rent it out. They also will have to qualify for Federal Housing Administration... [Read more]

Does Paying Cash Expedite a Deal?

Does paying cash for a home net the buyer a discount as it might for other transactions? The answer: “It depends.” If the seller is in a big-time crunch, an all-cash deal can expedite the sale. Also, offering to pay cash gives the buyer less wriggle room, which could comfort a nervous seller. A seller with minimal equity may be looking for a more generous deal than an all-cash buyer is likely to... [Read more]

Number of ‘Underwater’ Home Owners Grows

In the third quarter, the number of U.S. home owners who owe more than their homes are currently worth continued to rise, according to new housing data by Zillow Inc. Borrowers with negative equity on their homes increased to 28.6 percent — that’s up from 26.8 percent in the second quarter and 23.2 percent a year prior. “We still have very high negative equity rates; that’s putting extreme... [Read more]

4 ways to avoid refinance rejection.

“My application to refinance my $200,000 loan was recently turned down … do I have any recourse?” If by recourse you mean a third party of some standing who will direct the lender to make the loan, or attempt to persuade them to do it, the answer is “no.” No third party is going to reunderwrite the loan to see if the lender made a mistake. Such mistakes are very rare because... [Read more]

Many Cities Face Big Backlogs of Foreclosures

In half of the states in the country, it will take more than eight years to clear out huge backlogs of foreclosures at the current pace, new research from LPS Applied Analytics shows. Where foreclosures must go through the courts, it likely will take even take longer, too. In New York and New Jersey alone, it may take more than 50 years at the states’ current sales pace to clear the pipeline of seriously... [Read more]

Survey Reveals Why Buyers Are Waiting on Sidelines

Twenty-seven percent of Americans say they plan to buy a home in the future (with most saying in two or more years), and only two percent say they plan to purchase a home in the next 12 months, according to a new Move Inc. survey of 1,000 American adults. So why are so many buyers continuing to wait on the sidelines when home affordability is high and interest rates are at or hovering near record lows? About... [Read more]

Moody’s: Housing Prices to Fall Until Mid-2011

Housing prices will likely decline through the middle of 2011, Moody’s Analytics reported Tuesday, because of the rising number of bank-owned homes. Moody’s believes bank-owned homes will peak in 2011 at 971,000, up 16 percent compared to 2010. “The housing market is having a tough time shaking off its malaise, and a true recovery in another six to 12 months away,” the report said. Moody’s... [Read more]

Title Insurance: More Important Than Ever

Understanding the tenets of title insurance is especially important considering the turmoil in the real estate industry. Title insurance is intended to protect the insured from improper titling, including defects in foreclosure proceedings, forgery, or impersonation or cases in which no title is legally conveyed. Other defects are partial, such as a neighboring fence or garage encroaching on the insured... [Read more]

How to Lend to a Family Member

Carrying a mortgage for a family member can be a good investment, but it can also be tricky. Here are a few things to consider. The lender must be comfortable with the deal. While a 30-year term is a popular bank loan, private lenders are sometimes more comfortable with shorter loan periods like 15 or 20 years. A 30-year term could be made more attractive to the lender by introducing a higher rate... [Read more]

Attorney Encourages Foreclosure Resistance

A North Carolina attorney has become a folk hero in the legal movement pushing for an end to unfair foreclosures. O. Max Gardner III, 65, has trained 559 lawyers in the last four years to use lenders’ disorganization to give their clients facing foreclosure room to maneuver. “My clients are desperate. They have insurmountable financial problems, and I’m able to give them a remedy and... [Read more]

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