Starting off the day with more good news - Cheaper homes lure buyers who could spark Sacramento-area economy, Lower Price Draw Skilled Professionals.
With median home prices to 2001 levels in many parts of the region, skilled outsiders and professionals have begun trickling back to Sacramento’s housing market. From July 2008 to July 2009, the population of the four-county capital region comprising Yolo, Sacramento, El Dorado and Placer counties grew 1.1 percent – faster than the state as a whole, according to the California Department of Finance. Read More…
I can’t stress this enough, if you are thinking of buying you need to act fast. By now it is well documented that today’s affordable housing prices, historically low interest rates and federal home buyer tax credit have combined to create one of the most attractive first-time buyer markets in recent memory. What many Americans might not realize is that a recent expansion of the buyer tax credit has created an equally desirable opportunity for existing homeowners. Read more…
Surprise, surprise, not anymore, this is a good thing…Buying a home should be a joyful experience, but all too often, the mortgage settlement process leaves consumers confused, angry and paying more than they anticipated.
When you apply for a loan, your lender will give you a good faith estimate of closing costs. It's important to understand which costs can change when you go to settlement:
Costs that can't change
Origination fees
Points (after you've locked in an interest rate)
Adjusted origination fees after you've locked in an interest rate
Transfer taxes
Charges that can increase
up to 10% in aggregate
Required services selected by the lender
Title services, lender's title insurance and owner's title insurance, if selected by the lender
Government recording charges
No limit on increases
Required services selected by the borrower.
Title services, lender's title insurance and owner's title insurance, if selected by the borrower
Daily interest charges
Homeowner's insurance
Initial deposit for escrow
Read more…
HUD to the rescue, HUD Takes Action To Speed Resale of Foreclosed Properties to New Owners. In an effort to stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced a temporary policy that will expand access to FHA mortgage insurance and allow for the quick resale of foreclosed properties. The announcement is part of the Obama administration commitment to addressing foreclosure. Just yesterday, Secretary Donovan announced $2 billion in Neighborhood Stabilization Program grants to local communities and nonprofit housing developers to combat the effects of vacant and abandoned homes. Read more…
Help is on the way ! Homeowners with FHA-insured mortgage loans who are experiencing financial hardship are now eligible for loss mitigation assistance before they fall behind on their mortgage payments. Previously, these homeowners were not eligible for such assistance until after they had missed payments.
The Helping Families Save Their Home Act of 2009 signed into law by President Obama expanded FHA’s authority to use its loss mitigation tools to assist FHA borrowers avoid foreclosure to include those facing “imminent default” as defined by the Secretary. FHA recently issued guidance to FHA-approved loan servicers on how to assist these FHA borrowers. Read More…
Some good news to share, New December statistics paint 2009 as the year when Sacramento County home prices finally ended a dramatic four-year free fall. Median sales prices for new and existing homes combined rose 0.6 percent in 2009, property researcher MDA DataQuick reported Thursday. The percentage represents a welcome change for thousands of anxious Sacramento County homeowners who saw their values drop 20 percent in 2007 and plunge another 37 percent in 2008. Read more…
More good news from The SacBee . Foreclosure crisis slowing some as banks rethink strategies . La Jolla researcher MDA DataQuick released new Q4 2009 foreclosure numbers this morning, show that defaults are down to their lowest levels since early last year. But the capital region saw 5,081 more foreclosures in the last three months of 2009 - raising the tally since the mortgage crisis began in early 2007 to nearly 52,000.
Statewide, more than 650,000 homeowners have surrendered keys to banks since 1/1/07. Read More…