Changes to Mortgages for Home Buyers

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has endorsed major changes to regulations in the financial system.  Bernanke believes that by giving the Fed more responsibility for guarding against financial crises, great power will be given to regulate the activities of key financial players.

In a speech at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Bernanke says “Regulators must consider what can be done to make the U.S. financial system itself more stable without compromising the dynamism and innovation that has been its hallmark,”

Bernanke also partially endorsed a proposal, first made by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., to give the Fed more explicit power to combat financial crises.  This would allow the Fed to come to the aid of any financial crisis that poses a risk to the system as a whole.

New Rules to Ban Misleading Lending Practices

New rules to ban deceptive lending practices are being vowed by the Fed.  “Besides offering broader protection for consumers, a uniform set of rules will level the playing field for lenders and increase competition in the mortgage market, to the ultimate benefit of borrowers,” Bernanke said at an open Fed board meeting.

Bernanke wants a ban on prepayment penalties on such loans if the monthly payment can rise during the initial four years and non-verification of borrower’s income and assets.  The new rules also require lenders to establish an escrow account for property taxes and insurance payments. No more no escrow loans.

Reaction to Bernanke

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

How can the pending Housing Rescue Bill help you if you are facing foreclosure?    The House on Wednesday passed a 300 billion housing rescue bill.  President Bush withdrew his threat to veto the bill that can potentially help thousands of at-risk borrowers to refinance their old mortgages into a new low-cost fixed FHA loan.

There are an estimated 400,000 borrowers with $68 billion in loans that may benefit from the program. 

Who Qualifies for the Program?

To qualify, borrowers must:

Have lived in thier homes and have loans issued between January 2005 and June 2007.

Must be spending at least 40% of their gross monthly income on all household debt.

Prove they can’t continue to pay for their existing mortgage.

Must retire any debt such as home equity loans or lines of credit on their home.

Total debt cannot exceed 95% of the home’s appraised value.

A voluntary Program

This is a voluntary program, so lenders may be very cautious as to who will be given a rework.  The bill requires lenders to write down the value of the loan to 90%.  This is helpful in areas where prices have dropped in value.  If you originally had a $200,000 home, the refinanced loan will be based on $180,000 at a considerably lower rate.

What is Will Cost the Borrower?

Borrowers are responsible for paying an insurance premium to the FHA guaranteeing the loan, which will be 1.5% of the principal annually.

Borrowers will also share any profits from future home-price appreciation with the FHA. To do that, they’ll pay a “3% exit fee” of the mortgage principal to the FHA when they resell or refinance.

Borrowers will agree to pay the FHA 100% of any profits they realize from higher home prices if they sell or refinance within a year. So if the original loan principal is $200,000 and the home sells for $250,000, the borrower will owe the FHA $50,000, minus costs.

What if You Do Not Qualify?

If you feel you do not qualify for the program, still call your lender and inquire about the possibility of a rework on your loan.  If you are still having problems, contact us today and speak with me at (704) 559-5988 X 5.  As a licensed loan officer and contract loss mitigation specialist with lenders who fund loans in NC, I may be able to assist you with some options to help you if you are facing foreclosure in the Charlotte North Carolina area.

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

Days on market has increased from an average 119 days in May of 2007 to an average 131 days in May of 2008.  Yes, I know, I know… “THE MARKET”.  Does the term “the market” have a meaning, or is it just something a broker or homeowner says to give an excuse for an expired listing or a home with little to no traffic.  Guess what?  Homes ARE selling for Charlotte real estate.  We’ve been through dozens of real estate cycles.  It’s similar to the mortgage cycles we’ve gone through as well.  Home buyers have purchased homes during cycles of high interest rates in the 1980’s, so the big blow-out with ARMs will not curb a buyer from wanting to view or put an offer in on the purchase of your home.

Increase Realtor Response with Pricing.

What will ease the traffic on a buyer viewing your home is having too many homes to look at. For Charlotte area real estate, our inventory levels are just too high.  We are currently at 10.6+ month inventory levels.  Price it right, price it right they say.  How do you know HOW to price your home when the mindset of today’s buyer is not fair market price.  It’s not a fair market.  One of the best ways to increase Realtor and buyer response to your home is rock bottom pricing.  If you are a serious seller and need to sell, forget about your improvements, new landscaping and curb appeal efforts, staging costs, and neighborhood comps.  If your competition has beat you by a couple of thousands dollars, your house will not receive an offer.  $2,000 means a lot to a first time home buyer in additional closing costs.  So you ask….”how do I price my home when my competition can lower their pricing daily without me being able to keep track”

Home Auction and Online Bidding!!!

Sure the MLS is fine, but online bidding is great!  Why:

• Online bidding will drive up the price of your home.Buyers will not be turned off by an initial “listing price” and the market will determine what the buyer will pay.  You have the final say so as to agreed price.
  
• Home sellers will get more traffic directed to their home during preview days.  Preview days allows the buyer to gain a perspective on the home and their idea of value.  A fanstastic way to get the buyer through the door.
• It creates a competitive bidding environment.
• It more cases than not, the National Auctioneers Association states that an auction will bring a fair market price or higher. 

Drive more value to your home with home auction.  Charlotte real estate is selling.

Need to know if your home makes a good online bidding home. 
Get the facts with a home value report.

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

The northern corridor of Mecklenburg county has some fantastic neighborhoods and has always been a favorite area for home buyers relocating.  The cities included in north part of the county include: Davidson, Huntersville, and Cornelius.  
Today I will give some real estate market information on the town of Cornelius

Real Estate Sales Statistics

The average sales price for homes last year in the town of Cornelius was $426,691.  So far according to the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association Multiple Listing Service, this year there has been a slight decrease in sales price to $422,803.  There has been a total of 166 homes sold with sales price ranges from $145, 000 to $3,420.000.  Average days on market were 116 days, which is below the county area average.

Low Incidences of Foreclosures

Foreclosures have been minimal with only one pre-foreclosure listed in Heritage Green. 11104 Aprilla Lane was listed at 169,900 and was sold in 57 days for 165,000.  The short sale did not cause too much of a decrease in value for the neighborhood.  A great foreclosure that went really fast was a 4,000 square foot home in The Penisula listed for $799,000.  It was only listed 5 days with an apparent bidding war that sold at $905,000!

From a Small Mill Town to Posh Upscale Living

Beautiful waterfront houses lace this town that was once a mill village and abundant famrland. 

Request Information

If you would like up-to-the minute information on real estate foreclosures, excellent homes for sale or home sales statistics if you are considering selling, please register for this information and it will be automatically delivered to your email box.

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

Well, when you think about it, it may sound bad.  Maybe it is, or maybe not.  55 homes have expired in the University area since June 5th.  Some were staged perfectly, lots of media pictures and some were in somewhat stable neighborhoods.  You are going to have expired homes when the supply outweighs the demand.  With a current 2624 homes for sale alone in the University, if you are a serious seller, you and your broker need to know what you are doing.  The longer your home sits, the less attractive it can become with the description “market worn”.  Okay your broker says “everything is going to be market worn in a down housing market”.  I would then say good-bye.  If you don’t have a plan of attack with a particular date in mind to close, just get comfortable lingering out in the universe until the perfect buyer skips along.  

Now lets discuss some reasons why some of these homes expired:

1. 2 story home on Aberglen Drive – OVERPRICED!  It sat on the market for 184 days.  It shouldn’t take 6 months to discover pricing may be an issue

2. Back Creek Church Road – 99 Days and no pictures?
3. Shuman Court, no interior pictures
4. Most of the other homes…boring, canned descriptions.

Is Your Listing Description BOOORING???
The one thing among all the homes that was a constant was the description.  Each home had a gorgeous this, and a beautiful that.  And?  I’m sure it is, but what’s in it for me?  Are you paying my buyer’s discount points?  Throwing in a year of landscaping?  Security?  Paying a few month’s mortgage?  Okay I know you’re saying “I’m paying 6 percent commission and plus I need to pay their kid’s first year of tuition?” 

Yes, you are correct.  That’s traditional real estate in a down housing market.  

So, if you are selling during our current market, know HOW to market to engage today’s buyer without giving everything away.

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

On a 63-5 vote, Senate passed a mortgage rescue.  Banks that agreed to take substantial losses on those distressed loans  could avoid costly foreclosures and be assured of recovering at least some money.  Aimed to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage and avoid foreclosure.  Under the plan, homeowners who can’t make their mortgage payments can get a more affordable mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration.  The plan calls for as much as $300 billion in new mortgages insured by the FHA.  This would help an estimated 400,000 homeowners.  Challenges lie ahead with the House of Representatives planning to rewrite some key details of the plan and the White House threatening a veto.

Why a Veto by the White House?

The White House cites 3.9 million in the measure for buying and rehabilitating foreclosed properties it said would help lenders, not homeowners.  The measure also includes a modernization of the FHA and would create a new regulator and tighter controls on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Trouble for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Housing finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be getting a larger credit line by the U.S. Treasury.  This measure will prevent them from liquidity problems.  The goal is for Fanne and Freddie to respond to their shareholders and keep financing real estate, not be taken over by the Government.  According to  White House Press Secretary Dana  Perino “It is crucial that Congress quickly works to enact this legislation as a complete package along with the strong oversight reform legislation recently passed in the Senate.

IndyMac Opens Monday ‘Strong and Safe’ says New Boss

According to IndyMac’s new boss John Bovenzi, “Come Monday morning, it will be business as usual for all insured customers”.  The bank has 265,000 customers with insured accounts.  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. guarantees traditional bank accounts up to $100,000 and individual retirement accounts up to $250,000.  IndyMac lost $184.2 million in the first quarter of 2008, on top of $614 million last year, and announced last week it was expecting a wider loss for the second quarter.

No word yet on the status of the sale of IndyMac’s assets.  The FDIC is hoping to find a buyer for the bank within three months. Homeowner’s PLEASE keep paying your mortgage!!!

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

California based IndyMac has been seized by U.S. banking regulators on Friday after withdrawls of panicking depositors brought about the third largest banking failure in U.S. history.  As a mortgage broker, I brokered many loans with IndyMac for Charlotte real estate.  IndyMac had a large subprime, low documentation line of products.  “Back when subprime was cool”, these loans were very hot. 

Subprime loans should not be mistaken for “bad loans”.  Many borrowers who wanted to become homeowners qualified for subprime loans due to challenged credit.  It does not necessarily mean that a spouse going through a divorce, a person with medical bills not reimbursed, or a victim of identity theft should not have the opportunity to become a homeowner.  It DOES mean when given a second chance, do the right thing…. pay your mortgage.  Charlotte real estate homeowners have struggled with option/Alt-a loans.

IndyMac will reopen fully on Monday as IndyMac Federal Bank under Federal Deposit Insurance Corp supervision. The FDIC, which will seek a buyer for IndyMac, estimated the cost of the bank’s failure to its $53 billion insurance fund at between $4 billion and $8 billion.

What Happened to IndyMac?

IndyMac grew rapidly during the housing boom.  When the housing bubble began to burst, investors ran away from mortgage-backed securities.  This caused the bank to steadily lose money on it’s existing pool of non-performing assets (foreclosures) and not be able to successfully fund new loans.  IndyMac, with assets of $32 billion and deposits of $19 billion, is the fifth bank to fail this year.

If you are interested in bank owned Charlotte real estate and surrounding area properties, search our database now for incredible deals being offered.

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

The National Association of Realtors has recently reported U.S. pending homes sales have moved higher in April. This is the highest since October 2007. But is this news false information for the homeowner. When I say false, I don’t necessarily mean untrue, but does it headline news without going into what TYPE homes are going under contract?

Have You Seen the Bargain Hunters on Your Block?

The bargain hunters are here! They’ve finally put down the remote from CNN and other news sources that have been keeping buyers away with scary market reports. Now we can have negotiations. “Bargain hunters have entered the market en masse,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, remarking on the pending sales increase, especially in the most troubled markets.

Are Foreclosures Causing the Spike in Sales?

What may be another good reason for this jump in pending sales? Global Insight economist Patrick Newport tempered his enthusiasm for the surprising increase in April’s pending sales. “It’s good news, but I’m not jumping for joy because I’m not convinced that it’s telling us things are picking up,” he said “It’s telling me that banks are dumping properties at fire sale prices, spurring home sales.”

Latest Charlotte Area Statistics:

For June 14, 2008, our Charlotte regional statistics show 82 homes pending a closed transaction. We currently have 23,185 active homes for sale.

It gets back to how to make sure your home stands out. What can you do? What is your Realtor doing? Do you know? How can you tell?

HELP, WHY DIDN’T MY HOME SELL?

Please view our report, 21 Questions to Ask Yourself to Make Your Home Sell Faster and gain a competitive edge on thousands of other home owners in the Charlotte and surrounding areas.

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

Welcome to Charlotte North Carolina’s Real Estate Blog. Today’s Real Estate & Auction specializes in residential home auctions for lenders, new home builders and home sellers across the Carolinas. 

We offer today’s buyer up to the minute property information on the best deals available.  We offer today’s seller a way to sell their home outside of the traditional listing method to create a competitive bidding environment among qualified buyers.

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off

Despite families splashing in the neighborhood pool, kids riding their bikes and people walking their dogs, a legal battle is waging in Rock Hill’s Mabry Park Subdivision in western Rock Hill South Carolina.  Homeowners are suing Cornerstone Development, the Rock Hill company that developed Mabry Park and two adjacent subdivisions along Rawlinson Road. 

The lawsuit was filed almost a year ago and is still unresolved.  The following are the complaints from the homeowners:

• Properly maintain common areas;

• Remove construction debris;

• Fill in open pits that turned into pools of stagnant water;

• Repair ruts in the road caused by heavy construction trucks; and

• Build enough parking spaces at the pool and clubhouse.

The homeowners believe that the pool and common areas.  On  weekends, cars park on both sides of the road, making it difficult for traffic to pass through.  According to the homeowners, There are three parking spaces at our pool for 480 homes, and two of them are handicapped

Cornerstone’s response, filed last November, denies any wrongdoing suggested by the allegations.

The complaint asks for a ruling from a master-in-equity judge, but no court date has been set.  Neighbors are hopeful for a resolution, but aren’t sure how long it will take.

The complaint asks for a ruling from a master-in-equity judge, but no court date has been set. Neighbors are hopeful for a resolution, but aren’t sure how long it will take.

Charlotte Area Builders Struggle with the Housing Crisis

One major builder who has struggled during the current foreclosure crisis is Beazer homes. 

The Beazer foreclosures are concentrated in 10 developments, each of which has a foreclosure rate of 20 percent or higher. Together they contain about 1,150 homes and at least 280 foreclosures.  In Beazer’s Brookmere subdivision, according to homeowner Veronica Wilkes, “…31 homes were built on her street.  Thirteen have foreclosed”.

Beazer built 155 homes in a section called Stewarts Crossing between 1999 and 2001 in northeast Charlotte.  Fifty-two of those homes have foreclosed.

Posted in Blog Posts | Comments Off