Home buyers who are eager to close the deal before the tax credit expires should be prepared to deal only with lenders who will respond quickly.

Even buyers without A-plus credit should be able to get a loan. "If you go to enough lenders, you can typically get a loan even with a low credit score. The terms, of course, are not as attractive," says Spencer Rascoff, chief operating officer of Zillow.com.

Please contact me today for a list of lenders who are as eager as you to get the deal closed before the tax credit deadline.  They will even show you how to apply for the credit and get the paperwork ready.

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Short Sales and Foreclosures Resource / SFR

REALTORS® with the SFR certification can be a trusted resource for short sales and foreclosures.  Have confidence that REALTORS® with the SFR certification have the framework to negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, qualify sellers for short sales, limit risk, tap into buyer demand, develop short sale packages, and direct sellers to finance, tax, and legal professionals. 

Presented by NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

I am proud to announce my SFR certification and be a Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource for Dallas, Fort Worth, Southlake, Keller, Grapevine, Colleyville, Irving, Saginaw, Haslet, Rhome, North Richland Hills, Haltom City, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, Plano, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Denton, Argyle, Grand Prairie, Arlington, White Settlement, Benbrook, Burleson, Mansfield, Azle, Lake Worth, Trophy Club, Roanoke, Watauga, Farmers Branch, Coppell, Carrollton, and more.   

Jon Sutton, SFR
The Sutton Group
Synergy Realty
221 E Southlake Blvd
Southlake, TX 76092
817 793 2367 direct
817 865 1500 office
www.JonSutton.com
Jon@JonSutton.com

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A new program that acknowledges that homeowners are unable to afford their homes is intended to speed up the short sale process.  "The push right now is for servicers to avoid foreclosure and the push is coming not only from The Obama administration and the Treasury but also from the owners of the loans such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And the focus right now is on short sales. So, I think in 2010, you're going to see a lot more short sales and hopefully reduced foreclosures," says Travis Hamel Olsen, chief operating officer of Loan Resolution Corporation.

Guidelines issued earlier in the month for a $75 billion housing plan include the potential for banks to get government incentive payments in cases where borrowers are allowed to sell their home at a loss, bypassing the foreclosure process.  Information available at MakingHomeAffordable.gov will help one see how much of a mortgage modification one might qualify for as well as answer some questions regarding loan modifications.  If the borrower (homeowner) can complete the short sale, then the incentives go like this:

The homeowner can receive up to $1500 in relocation assistance and the servicers can get up to $1000 compensation.

"You have a primary lien holder and they'll love this program because the servicers will get paid an additional $1000 for completing the short sales. On the other hand, you have all the subordinate lien holders in a short sale who also need to give their approval for the short sale in order for it to happen. The problem, though, is that the subordinate lien holders are the ones that are getting totally wiped out and under the program they would receive $3000 for their lien and in exchange they would have to write off the remaining balance of the loan and give up any rights that they would normally have to pursue the borrower thereafter for the remaining balance," Olsen states.

This program will definitely help the homeowner, bank and speed up the short sale process at the same time; a win win situation for everyone.  For more information on short selling your home please visit http://www.jonsutton.com/Short_Selling/page_2144870.html 

The directors of the California Association of Realtors® (CAR) have recently adopted the following motion at their fall meetings: "That C.A.R. in conjunction with NAR, "SUPPORT" the elimination of the FHA 90-day anti-flipping rule, and that C.A.R. write and publish a letter to the FHA Commissioner in opposition to the FHA 90-day anti-flipping rule." While support for the motion was not unanimous, it passed by a significant majority.  Could Texas and other states be soon to follow?  HUD describes flipping as this: "Property flipping is a practice whereby a property is resold a short period of time after it is purchased by the seller for a considerable profit with an artificially inflated value, often abetted by a lender's collusion with the appraiser. FHA's policy prohibiting property flipping eliminates the most egregious examples of predatory flips of properties with the FHA mortgage insurance programs"

The 90 day rule, which is the primary component of FHA's anti-flipping policy. No FHA funding will be provided for properties purchased within 90 days of the seller's acquisition of the property.  Proponents of the CAR motion argued that, in the current environment, the effect of the anti-flipping rule was actually to harm potential FHA buyers and to shut them out of the real estate market.  The fact that buyers using FHA financing are less preferable to many sellers than those who have cash and is especially true in the REO area of home sales.  This is because banks want faster escrows than can be expected from FHA financing.  It is frequently the case that an REO property will be in poor condition, requiring repairs, and will not pass an FHA appraisal. Effectively, then, FHA buyers are shut out of the REO market.

Investors buy REOs to hold; others buy to realize a short-term profit. They usually must do rehab work to bring the property into marketable condition and that work adds value and, of course, the investor(s) will seek to profit from this. Does that mean the property will be sold for an artificially inflated value; of course not.  This is especially not true in today's appraisals where it is hard to get an appraisal to come in at market value.

These realities are shutting FHA buyers out of the REO market and with the 90-day rule they are also shut out of the opportunity to buy a rehabbed house.  Hopefully TAR (Texas Association of Realtors) will jump on the bandwagon and argue the same points along with other states and we can do something about this. 

www.BuyFortWorthForeclosures.com

The Senate has decided to extend the first time home buyer $8,000 tax credit. To be eligible, buyers must be under contract by April 1, 2010 and close by July 1, 2010. They are also going to be offering a $6,500 tax credit for homeowners who have lived in their homes for a consecutive 5 year period in the past 8 years. Also there has been reports of abuse of the tax credit and the IRS is getting more involved in the process.

www.JonSutton.com

A new wave of novice investors has emerged with the increase in foreclosures and bank REOs and they must keep these three tips in mind before diving head first into the business.  Just because the property seems like it is a steal of a deal, they think hurry up and buy it but when in realty there is much more homework that needs to be done before hand. 

First, you must understand the local market and where prices are headed along with the demand for real estate in that particular area.  Due diligence is the key here.  Look into the City and Government's future use plans for that area.  The more you know about that market the better off you will be.

Second, purchase properties with a written business plan in effect.  This is how the professionals do it, this is how you should to.  Make sure you incorporate an entrance strategy as well as an exit strategy for many different scenarios. 

Lastly, analyze all of the costs of ownership upfront.  Everything.  Not just the price you paid for it and what it is worth but how much income it will bring in, what repairs are needed, taxes, insurance, sales commissions, management costs, rental maintenance, etc.  You must know everything upfront because surprises in Real Estate aren't really surprises, they are more like a blow to the head. 

www.JonSutton.com

The extension of the first time home buyer tax credit is at the top of Congress' list of things to do legislative aids say.  After a meeting between President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that was held on Wednesday a comment was released that the governemnt should "continue efforts to strengthen the housing market by extending the home buyer tax credit.  Economist Mark Zandi at Moody's Economy.com says not extending the credit as more foreclosures continue to hit the market will only continue to drive home prices down.     

Bond 74

Overview of Tax Exempt Mortgage Revenue Bonds and advantages to borrowers include:

• Below market interest rates
• Down payment assistance grants
• Second mortgages

A 4% Second Lien Deferred Forgivable Loan May Be Used For Down Payment and Normal and Customary Closing Costs:

• Based on principle amount of the 1st mortgage note
• No Interest
• Deferred 10 years and forgiven 1/10 every year
• Fully forgiven after 10th year

Requirements for the home buyer:

• Must complete a pre-purchase home buyer education course under the program
• The certificate must be included in the closing files

So in a nutshell, this program will replace the short term bridge loan program for using the $8,000 tax credit towards the down payment and closing costs and replace it with a second forgivable lien.  For additional information contact me immediately as this is a first come, first serve program.