The City of Milwaukee has a number of programs to assist home buyers. Many of these programs are for targeted areas or incomes. These programs are designed to help revitalize neighborhoods by reducing he amount of vacant, foreclosed homes.
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 provided the City of Milwaukee with $9.2 million in federal funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to address foreclosed properties in Milwaukee neighborhoods impacted by the foreclosure crisis.
The NSP Home buyer Assistance Program provides funding to help prospective homeowners purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes they will occupy as their primary residence. Both financial and technical assistance are provided as part of the program.
There are a number of local associations with help for those facing foreclosure. Marquette Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program is among this group. Following is the contact information.
Contacting a legitimate mediation service as soon as possible will allow you the greatest amount of options. The Marquette Milwaukee Foreclosure Mediation Program can connect you with professional mediators, working with you and the lender to find a solution when possible.
HUD is introducing a new GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE to help reduce the amount of surprises at the closing table.
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) was enacted in 1974 to provide consumers with improved disclosures of settlement costs and to reduce the costs of closing by the elimination of referral fees and kickbacks. Through the years, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued regulations and policy statements to provide RESPA guidance to industry and consumers alike.
On November 17, 2008, HUD published a new final rule "To Simplify and Improve the Process of Obtaining Mortgages and Reduce Consumer Settlement Costs." The rule mandates use of a new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 which go into effect on January 1, 2010.
Http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/respa
Following is a link to the new GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE.
As I look over this new form I see it is designed to explain the charges in detail and inform the Buyer they can shop around for some of the services, to see if they can save some money at closing.
Overall this is a very good idea. I do see one item missing on the form which should be explained before the total settlement charges are calculated. Real Estate Taxes. This is the one area I see questioned most often at closing. Many lenders will require the Buyer to pay a number of months of Real Estate Taxes at closing. This is especially true at the end of the year. Maybe HUD should require this detail to be explained before the lender makes the phone call to the Buyer, giving them the total amount they will have to bring to closing. When this figure does not agree with the GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE, Buyers will continue to question the final figures. How often has this happened to you?
Real Estate Taxes may have been caused most of the confusion on the first place.
I dare you. Do a search on the Internet to find information to avoid foreclosure. You already know what you will find. An endless list of sites selling a list of foreclosed properties. How do you think this makes the home owner looking for help feel? Hopeless.
There is little if any effort to help people facing foreclosure. Chances are an Internet search will not supply the information people in need are seeking. The search engines are flooded by paid ads from companies trying to make money from the unfortunate situation a home owner finds themselves in. Is this how we want the home sales industry portrayed to the public?
It doesn’t matter who runs these sites, people think these sites are owned by Real Estate Companies. What do you think this is doing for our image? How many people are getting the impression, Real Estate Agencies are out to make money and have no feelings for those in need? If we like it or not the publicity we are receiving from these actions is an image of circling vultures, waiting for the next foreclosure.
Here in Wisconsin our continuing education hours have been increased by 50%. Many of these additional hours involve training designed to understand foreclosures and the loan process. Having agents take additional hours of training, aimed at understanding foreclosures may give a good fuzzy feeling to our state officials. They may feel they have done their part in reducing the number of foreclosures. They may have received a sizable federal grant to introduce this program. But what is being done with this information? After we receive this additional training, what do we do with it? Does anyone know we have this information?
The training includes a few links we can pass along to people in need of help, but that’s about it. The training does not cover the concept of how we are supposed to use this information. Why doesn’t the state government of WRA advertise the fact Real Estate Agents can help point people in the right direction for help?
The quickest way we can get back to a normal market is to reduce the amount of foreclosures. There are a number of tools available to us. Passing along information on loan restructuring, the name of a good real estate attorney, providing sales figures to give an estimate of property value and days in the market.
Local Real Estate Associations need to provide links to government approved agencies providing help to home owners. Many cities have targeted grant and loan programs for neighborhoods hit hardest with foreclosures. This information should also be provided.
Before we can hope to see a stable housing market, Real Estate Agents need to become more proactive in providing useful information to the public. Our federal, state and local governments are not going to do the job. The media is a joke. The only way we can make a difference is to accept the responsibility. Information is power.
Beware of shop at home scams. I received an e-mail with an offer to get paid for being a secret shopper. This scam used a well known established name and appeared to be sent by an Internet job search. The only problem is, I am not registered at the Internet job search which appeared to send the e-mail.
It was easy to see it was a scam because the reply e-mail address was not for the company on the offer but through a free e-mail server. Major companies do not use free e-mail servers.
To check out these offers, copy and paste the name of the company in a search engine. If the company lists the address and phone number on the contact page but not on the e-mail, it may be a scam. E-mail signatures from major companies will usually contain the contact information.
This particular company included a page on their web site warning about scams and how to avoid them. One of the suggestions listed is, never send money or share financial information via e-mail.
It is usually easy to find Blog sites warning about scams.
After studying this current economic situation, its causes and effects, I have come to the conclusion, the most effective way to turn this condition around is to find a cure for two situations, jobs and foreclosures. There is little I can do to create jobs. As for reducing the amount of foreclosures, I have taken the time to research programs designed to help people avoid foreclosure and created this web page listing links to the best resources available. Please feel free to contact me with sources which are not listed.
My research has shown there is an unbelievable amount of web sites and businesses created to take advantage of this situation. While searching the Internet a large amount of paid advertising designed to lure unsuspecting consumers will appear in the search results. One of the major concerns is having the ability to find reliable information. To avoid scams begin your Internet search on sites ending with the .gov suffix. The .gov shows the information is listed on a government site, such as www.irs.gov. Many government sites contain links to other sources and agencies.
You may also contact local Real Estate Agents for specific information in your area. Many Real Estate Agents have advanced training in the area of short sales and foreclosures. If you are considering selling your property, my suggestion is to interview a number of agents before making a decision. Ask them about the type of marketing they use to advertise a property. Ask for addresses of current listings and search the Internet to see if they have adequate exposure. Local Real Estate Agents will be able to review current market conditions, giving you an idea of a sale value for your property and an estimated time it may take to sell.
In many cases a number of options may be available. It may also be a good idea to consult an attorney before making a decision. Contact a local government sponsored organization offering credit counseling. Many local governments have grant and refinance programs available. Ask your local Real Estate Agent or search the Internet for web sites supported by your local city and county government agencies.
Visit this web site to view a collection of links designed to answer a host of questions and provide pre-foreclosure counseling and loan restructuring information. http://www.ez1realty.net/1039711.html
The most important factor is, getting in touch with the right sources and beginning the process as soon as possible. The longer you wait the less time you will have to seek alternative solutions.
Following is a list of sites aimed at helping home owners facing the possibility of foreclosure.
One of the major concerns is having the ability to find reliable information from the correct sources. To avoid scams begin your Internet search on sites ending with the .gov suffix. The .gov shows the information is listed on a government site, such as www.irs.gov. Many government sites contain links to other sources and agencies.
Local Wisconsin Information.
Following is a collection of links to government sponcered web sites listing local help in Wisconsin.
Facing foreclosure? Here is a collection of material I have been passing along to home owners looking for answers to many of the most asked questions.
One of the major concerns is having the ability to find reliable information from the correct sources. To avoid scams begin your Internet search on sites ending with the .gov suffix. The .gov shows the information is listed on a government site, such as www.irs.gov. Many government sites contain links to other sources and agencies.
You may also contact local Real Estate Agents for specific information in your area. Many Real Estate Agents have advanced training in the area of short sales and foreclosures. It may also be a good idea to consult an attorney before making a decision. Many local governments have grant and refinance programs available. Ask your local Real Estate Agent or search the Internet for web sites supported by your local city and county government agencies.
Local Real Estate Agents will be able to review currant market conditions, giving you an idea of a sale value for your property and an estimated time it may take to sell.
Contacting your lender may be the first step. Gather information on refinancing and restructuring loans. You can search the Internet using the key words, loan modification .gov. Again, look for sites ending with the .gov, such as HUD.gov.
The most important factor is, getting in touch with the right sources and beginning the process as soon as possible. The longer you wait the less time you will have to seek alternative solutions.
Following is a list of sites aimed at helping home owners facing the possibility of foreclosure.
Here is a portion of information from the IRS site concerning debt relief. Many home owners are looking for information concerning the liability of taxes in regards to a short sale or foreclosure.
Dec. 11, 2008 — The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualify for this relief.
This provision applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007 through 2012. Up to $2 million of forgiven debt is eligible for this exclusion ($1 million if married filing separately). The exclusion doesn't apply if the discharge is due to services performed for the lender or any other reason not directly related to a decline in the home's value or the taxpayer's financial condition.
The following links provide information about foreclosure procedures from state to state. Each site provides a little information to answers some of the questions most home owners may have.
Make sure you do not pass along any personal information unless you know exactly who you are dealing with. When asked to share information, credit card companies and the IRS will ask a number of questions such as date of birth, address and phone number. They will never ask this information if they place a call to you. Know who you are calling. If you receive a letter, confirm the contact information, address and phone number on the Internet before calling. Never give charge card numbers or social security numbers over the phone unless you can verify who you are talking to.
We have heard way too much about this H1N1 flu. The drug companies claim there is a shortage of shots. These are the same drug companies spending BILLIONS in advertising, most of which is during the news hour. I suspect these drug companies are threatening the media, telling them to create a scare so they can make more money. If they create a shortage, they raise th
Talk about CONTROL, this is only the beginning. After spending millions of dollars lobbying against any type of public health insurance plan, the same drug companies want the government to spent $18 BILLION dollars to publicly distribute the shot.
Learn about buying and selling homes, condos, duplexes and foreclosures in Menomonee Falls, Milwaukee, Germantown and all of Southeastern Wisconsin. First time buyer classes.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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