Florida mortgage brokers and Realtors take note. We’re in full swing now with the new Form 1004MC- “MARKET CONDITIONS ADDENDUM to the APPRAISAL REPORT” - will be required on all Florida appraisal reports for single to 4-family home loans dated on or after April 1, 2009. If you’ve still not heard about the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) - which is tied to the competition of Form 1004 MC - it requires appraisers to provide more information about market trends, supply and demand, marketing times, prior listings, and the like.
There’s a lot to the HVCC, but at the least, Florida mortgage professionals and Realtors should become familiar with it - at least on a cursory level.
Here are 8 of the main questions I receive most regarding the HVCC:
1. What is an Appraisal Management Company?
2. Can my Florida mortgage broker talk to the appraiser?
3. What’s the buzz about the fact that “value trending” appraisals must now include a trending analysis on the appraisal report?
4. What if the value comes in lower than the sales price?
5. Can an appraisal be assigned to another lender?
6. Can the borrower/client pay for the appraisal at the door?
7. What’s the 3-day appraisal notice to the borrower all about?
8. Are FHA and VA Loans Required to Use the HVCC Appraisal Process?
Florida homeowners are no strangers to the idea of mortgage modification, as put forth via wide-spread publicity efforts announcing home loan modification as part of President Obama’s foreclosure-prevention program.
As recently as last week, Chase Mortgage, the servicing side of JP Morgan Chase, had negotiated more than 15,000 modifications under this program. Chase Mortgage isn’t’ the only major bank facilitating mortgage modifications.
Back in April of 2009, Bank of America delivered as many as 100,000 letters to borrowers who could potentially benefit from home loan modification. Although BOA has yet to release information as to how many mortgage modifications it’s performed, the lender is clearly involved in the process.
Making Home Affordable - Key Goals and Intended Outcomes When the Making Home Affordable plan went into effect on March 4, the Obama administration believed that it could help as many as 4 million people steer clear of mortgage default and/or foreclosure. The plan’s key focus involved encouraging lenders to help past-due borrowers or those at-risk of falling into this category lower their interest rates to levels where their monthly housing payments would not exceed 31 percent of their gross monthly income. While the Making Home Affordable program isn’t available to all Florida mortgage borrowers, it may very well be an option for you.
To find out if this program fits your individual situation, follow these important home loan modification steps...
One of the things holding most Winter Havenfirst-time home buyers back from purchasing a home is the 3.5% downpayment requirement for FHA mortgages. Add closing costs to this total and many would be first-time home buyers - despite having jobs that can maintain monthly mortgage payments - simply can't swing getting into a home at all.
With DPAs now a thing of the past, another source of downpayment funds for first time home buyers a home is a LOAN from an immediate family member. Although it cannot be a requirement of the loan, qualified first time home buyers can borrow the money from their parents and repay it with the $8,000 tax credit.
Effective use of social media marketing via the social web means focusing on building your brand and your reputation. There are no magic bullets when you're striving for maximized search engine optimization. It's pretty much a mixed bag between using good on-page optimization techniques and maximizing your brand through the use of social media sites. These can range from the more general sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, and Propeller and the more specialized sites like LinkedIn and ActiveRain.
Social Media SEO is About Branding and Reputation
Again, we're focusing on building your brand and reputation. It's not about achieving spikes in web traffic from one or two carefully worded blog post titles sent up through your networks. What it takes is time - time to seek out the social media niches where your potential customers are to be found, and then proving yourself as both a consistently valuable resource and a thoughtful community contributor.
As your brand and reputation grow, you'll see connections begin to form. The contacts you make will begin recommending your blog or website to others, and you will see your overall traffic increase over time through naturally occurring - and long lasting - backlinks. As you grow your presence, you'll be practicing what experts call organic SEO (as opposed to the wham-bam type referenced above).
Brand Building Works - Take Google's Vince Update for Example
Earlier this month, Google issued what Matt Cutts referred to as an algorithmic modification called the Vince update. A quick Google search for Vince Update will provide you with the particulars. The key here though, is that this update apparently gave a bump to some of the major brand names out there - ones who have, by virtue of their "time of service" on the web, garnered the social trust, authority, and significant PageRank. What spurred on more than a little chatter, is that the major brands apparently got more of a push than long time "lesser" brands. Take a look at what Matt Cutts had to say about the Vince Update:
Tend Your Brand and Reputation Garden by Nurturing Others
I've long been a believer in the idea that you need to cultivate and nurture your clients in order to forge natural, meaningful, organic relationships. Social media marketing is all about paying it forward. Putting the needs, interests, and strategic goals of others before your own - at least some of the time. I say this, because it would be silly to say that we shouldn't always be looking after our own interests. Just be sure that you take time out to keep the social part of social media alive.
Remember in the "olden days," when Gurus used to tell you to collect clipped or photocopied newspaper or magazine articles your boss might find useful, and then give them to her so that she might start to look at you as an intuitive, informed, and valuable employee?
Your approach to social media marketing (i.e., marketing) is like that which I just described... only now - you're sending links through Twitter and peppering relative hashtags in with your tweets so that other like minded folks may benefit from the little golden nuggets you find!
Each "hey, thought you might like to read this after our last conversation" brings you one step closer to "Hey she's a darned useful member of my network-ville!"
As you move forward with your social media marketing and SEO efforts, consider developing a routine. I like to look at my social network as a neighborhood. On a loose, yet fairly orderly schedule, I swing by and say howdy to folks, drop off bits of news and information, and then get the heck out of their way. It's never about making the sale. At least not overtly. You'll get to the bottom line of your bank book over time. For now - just sew the seeds in quality soil (carefully selected / targeted contacts) and water, water, water! Oh - and a Sunny Disposition always helps!
In closing, look at brand and reputation building as an important part of your long term (long-tail) SEO efforts. Stick with it, and you're sure to see results that stick with you!
CALL TO ACTION: Have you experimented with social media marketing? Have a story to share? Comment here so we can all learn together!
For those of you not receiving it, the regular SiteProNews SE Optimization newsletter is one of the best information and news update services on Search Engine Optimization out there.
In this post, Titus provides some of the salient SEO tips I've read, so I wanted to share them with you here. I'm sure he won't mind the link love, so the bulk of what he says can be found below. Be sure to check out his Internet Marketing Tools site, as well as his FREE 7 Day Internet Marketing Course. I'm sure you will gain a lot of very useful tips on how you can increase website traffic from what Titus has to share.
Of all the myths perpetuated byleading SEO gurus out there, the one that says you must practice perfect SEO strategies to get top rankings is perhaps one of the biggest. Does it help to follow standard proven SEO practices when optimizing your website? Sure. But, there's no magic bullet. What you'll need to do is test, test, and then test some more to be sure you're achieving the results you desire.
True, there are some big SEO mistakes you should steer clear of. Things like keyword stuffing, keyword spamming or linking out to bad neighborhoods such as link farms, pharmaceutical or gambling sites may get you blacklisted. (Note, while you cannot control who links to you, you should always be careful about who you are linking to.)
(Read the rest of Titus' Intro here... ) Now on to the tips!
Understanding that you may or may not be fully gung-ho about your site's SEO effectiveness, you may want to implement some of these steps now and save some for later. However, here are a few things you can do if you want to go into the SEO battle full-force. (Warning...Follow these steps ONLY if you want to see marked improvement in your Google page placement!)
1. Download SEOquake and place this free SEO toolbar plug-in on your Firefox browser. (Kevin's note: I use it, and it's awesome!)
2. Go to Google and type in the keyword or keyword phrase you're targeting with your site or content.
3. Click on the number one ranking and observe how many pages it has indexed, PageRank, how many backlinks it has, age of the site... and so on.
4. Then click the page info button and study all the on-page factors this site has and notice what it's doing with its page and keyword density lay-out.
5. Check all the backlinks this site has in the different search engines. Copy or try to get the same backlinks for your site that your competitor has acquired. Then get more backlinks and/or higher quality backlinks than your competitor.
6. Watch your rankings rise...
Titus then goes on to explain that some keywords are just too tough to compete for. Other times, keywords can be won, but it will take you a long time to do so. What you should pay special attention to are the long-tail (multi-worded) keywords that are relative to your site but have little competition. In doing so, you can greatly increase the speed at which you rise in the search rankings. As always, it's advisable that you locate and use a solid search engine optimization tool or resource as you progress with your blogging.
What most people don't consider - and what Titus rightly calls a "Sweet Detail," is that long-tail keywords are often what brings folks to your site. For your Real Estate SEO efforts, I'd add that this is especially true when targeting long-tail phrases with localized geographic information (city name, state, etc.).
Work outside the box here. If you specialize in the Orlando, Florida real estate market, or Clearwater Beach real estate, think of phrases that folks might search for and then test them via one of several available keyword research tools, like the Google Adwords Keyword Research tool. Wordtracker.com also provides a great write up on long-tail keywords.
For in the final analysis, you don't want just SEO, you want smart SEO. It won't take you long to realize that, most times, you can often out-smart your competition, even if you can't out-rank them.
Hats off to author and WebProNews Blog Partner Michael Stelzner, who authored a timely and statistically valid white paper about what some 900 online social media marketers, many of whom are small business folks - like we Real Estate Professionals - think about using the medium as a means of growing their business.
Some of the more interesting statistics from the report include:
Females edged out males, representing 56% of all participants
88% indicated they were employing social media for marketing purposes
72% have only been using social media marketing for a few months
64% of marketers are using social media for 5 hours or more each week
39% are using it for 10 hours a week
81% say the number-one benefit is generating exposure, followed by increasing traffic and building new business relationships
Over half saw a rise in search engine rankings
Out of social media tools marketers most wanted to learn about, social bookmarking sites ranked highest followed by Twitter.
Without a doubt, social media marketing is taking off, but as more and more people join the party - questions abound. The report looks at the top ten questions they have:
What are the best tactics to use?
How do I measure the effectiveness of social media?
Where do I start?
How do I manage the social balance?
What are the best sites and tools out there?
How do I make the most of my available time?
How do I find and focus my efforts on my target audience?
How do I convert my social media marketing efforts into tangible results?
How do I cohesively tie different social media efforts together?
Does social media marketing work, and if so, how effective is it?
It's clear from this report that social media marketing works. However, those expecting overnight results will be disappointed. Note, that 64% of the 900 folks surveyed reported that they spend an average of 5 hours or more on their social media marketing efforts!
As Chris points out in his article on this report, social media marketing is still pretty young. Some of the best resources for answers on the topic are the people you see using the sites themselves. So... what are you waiting for? Time to hit Stumble, Propeller, Twitter, and Digg - create those accounts... and start marketing! (Pssst... Use the Sociable icons at the bottom of this post to start spreading the word!)
PS - Something I have to remind myself to do more of: Be more Social! These are SOCIAL media marketing resources. Pay it forward, share the love, Stumble, Digg, Propeller, etc. posts for others and they'll return the favor!
PPS - You can see Stelzner's full report as well as a video narrated by Stelzner himself here.
The Market Conditions Addendum to the Appraisal Report (Form 1004 MC) is coming, and many appraisers are searching for ways to complete it online or at least via a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. If the 1004 MC is news to you, it's surely not news to the appraisers you use. In fact, the 1004 is pretty much the main topic of interest around the Appraiser's Water Cooler. I'll go over some of the basics about the 1004 MC here, and I'll try to lead you to a few resources that might provide some additional information.
Sometime around mid November 2008, Fannie Mae announced that it would begin requiring Appraisers to submit a Market Conditions Addendum to the Appraisal Report (Form 1004MC) with each and every appraisal they complete. Basically, Fannie Mae purchases or securitizes mortgages in all markets and under all market conditions. When lenders run out of money to lend, they bundle up mortgages and sell them to Fannie Mae (as well as Freddie Mac) who then turns these ";bundles"; into Mortgage Backed Securities to be purchased on the stock market.
Needless to say, Fannie wants to over its "Fannie" by making sure that the mortgage they buy up are worth the paper they're written on! Form 1004 MC, and the market conditions it requires appraisers to document, is to be the tool appraisers use to make sure that their valuations hold up.
OK. So, Form 1004 MC Helps Appraisers Back Up Valuations. But How?
When I first wrote about the Market Conditions Addendum to the Appraisal Report, I mentioned that it will be required on all Florida appraisal reports for single to 4-family home loans dated on or after April 1, 2009. However, as explained, a good number of appraisers and lenders are asking for the information found on the 1004MC now!
Basically, the 1004MC asks for more information about market trends, supply and demand, marketing times, prior listings, and the like.
The Market Conditions Addendum FAQ provided as part of my earlier post takes care of a lot of the main questions folks have about it. So, be sure to check it out. I’ve provided answers to some of the questions I’ve been asked most about the 1004MC. I hope they help to clear some things up for everyone.
Doesn't the 1004 MC Just Mean More Work for Appraisers?
For some, yes. However, long-time Appraisers like Brian Davis, have been collecting the data and performing trend and market analysis as part of their standard appraisal efforts for a long time now. I popped in over at the Appraisal Water Cooler the other day and caught a few of the Pros talking shop about the 1004 MC. Here's what a couple of them had to say...
Brian, I attached the draft I was sent in August 08 (the whole page). When looking at all of the detail of this new form, it would take at least 1 hour to fill out just this form. Not to mention that lenders and AMCs have demanded we add more market analysis, 2-3 listings adjusted to list-2-sales price ratios with listing photos, much more commentary on the reconciliation section, etc.
All of these add-ons are adding 1-2 extra hours to complete this thorough of an appraisal report. MY BEEF is that they don't want to pay a dime more for all of this extra work and time.
Bill - Thanks. I also provided a link to the final document (bottom of original post). I've also uploaded the announcement pdf as well as Fannie's FAQ sheet on the new form. Over my career, I've seen many of these initiatives. Most often it's a reaction to appraisers not doing what they should have done in the first place. I can remember when we did not have to include photos of the comps. Why? Because it was presumed that all appraisers were doing their job and were at least driving by them.
To make SURE . . . they began requiring photos. It was their insurance that we HAD visited the comp. There's case after case of that happening. More recently we've been required to report on the historical sales and listings of the subject and comps. YEAH . . . we should have been analyzing that all along . . .but many were not. NOW . . .we're all required to "report" that analysis.
That's what I see in this latest Addendum. Because they feel that many appraisers were not doing the proper analysis . . .we now have to "report" those findings.
I agree . . . It take a LOT longer to "Report" those findings than it takes to just do the "Analysis." Primarily because we have to get it into THEIR format and not just a series of MLS, Assessor, or personal charts and graphs.
So, we can see that appraisers are looking at this much as any other professional might. Most of them have already been doing the work that a few of them look at as "extra," so no big deal there. It's just a pain to get the analysis into the format the lenders are looking for.
I imagine I'd share that sentiment.
What are Some Solutions Out There to Make Completing the 1004 MC Online a Possibility?
I can't imagine what it would be like to take paper and pen mortgage applications every time I interviewed a new applicant. Luckily, I don't have to. Whether in person or by phone, I can easily use my Encompass software to get the job done swiftly and professionally. Obviously, it also helps that I provide a way for customers to securely apply online for a Florida mortgage with a few easy clicks and some keystrokes. But are their online 1004 MC solutions out there for Appraisers to use? You bet. Here are a few I've found. If you know of any more - please share.
I found the MLS AnalyzerTM through surfing around on Appraisers Forum for news about how appraisers are dealing with the 1004 MC. According to the site, GeorgiaAppraiser.com, MLS AnalyzerTM MLS Analyzer analyzes downloads from various MLS services and provides appraisers with the appropriate entries for the FNMA 1004MC. I don't know much about this provider. Perhaps some of you can help out by way relaying your first hand experience with it.
S.M.A.R.T. APPRAISER
Billed as "The Best Fannie Mae 1004MC Solution," the creators of the S.M.A.R.T. Appraiser claim that it allows a real estate appraiser or an agent to define the market (i.e. zip code, city, or by geographical boundaries) and download all activity for the previous 3 years. They also claim that it allows you to breakdown and analyze 1,000's of records with a few clicks - as the software converts MLS data into "drill down" graphs and pre-populates and creates the new 1004MC automatically. As with the previous software solution, I don't know much about this provider. Any insight you might provide is greatly appreciated.
Final Thought
I'm sure the 1004 MC means a bit of extra work for appraisers, and I empathise with the fact that extra time and effort tends to translate into higher labor costs. There do seem to be some viable tools out there to assist appraisers with the completion of Form 1004 MC.
I do know this - if I'm paying for the appraisal, I hope the appraiser is using something to speed up to process (and still do a solid job, of course), as many out there are already stating that without an automated solution, the work required to complete the 1004 MC may cause prices may go up by as much as $150.
Are you an Appraiser? If so, how are you planning on dealing with the 1004 MC Addendum?
Do you anticipate your per appraisal charges to go up based on the extra time spent completing Form 1004 MC? If so, by how much?
Florida first-time home buyers are in a great position right now, thanks to the $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. If you're considering a home purchase between now and November 30, 2009, and you plan to live in your Florida home for 3 years or more, then you simply must take advantage of this true $8,000 Tax Credit.
I've pulled together some answers to five of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) concerning the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. I hope you find them useful:
Who Qualifies for the $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit?
You are eligible to receive this tax credit so long as you adhere to the following:
You have never owned a home - or, have not owned one in the past 3 years - determined by HUD 1 date when previous home was sold (Note: If married and you did not own a home within the last 3 years, but your spouse did, then you do not qualify)
You have or will buy your home as a primary residence between January 1 and November 30, 2009
You can show that if you owned a rental property or vacation home, it was not used as a primary residence over the last 3 years
If you're unmarried and you are buying the home with another person who owned a home within last 3 years but you did not, you can "designate" the tax credit to you - qualifying you as the First Time Home Buyer (FTHB)
If your parents cosign on a mortgage (and own a home) and the you are the FTBH, then they are eligible for the tax credit.
Non-US Citizens may qualify if they meet resident-alien status (IRS Pub 519)
Revenue or Housing Bond financing are eligible for tax credits.
What Types of Properties are Eligible for the Tax Credit?
Primary Residence - Single family, 2-4 units (must occupy one unit) town homes, condos, manufactured homes, mobile homes and houseboats. Yes, houseboats!
For new construction - The "Purchase Date" is the date that you begin to occupy the home (between Jan 1 and Nov. 30, 2009) Note: You can have owned land and be in the process of building.
What Income Limits Are Associated with the Tax Credit?
$75,000 Single Person (Partial Credit up to $95,000)
$150,000 Married Couple (Partial Credit up to $170,000)
Totals are based on Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) line on IRS Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ
What Exact Amount is Awarded via the Tax Credit?
You may be eligible to receive a maximum of $8,000, or the amount equal to 10% of home's sales price - up to this amount. If you buy for $75,000, then you are eligible for only $7,500.
Up to Maximum of $8000
Partial Tax Credit if income exceeds $75,000 or $150,000
Does the Tax Credit Have to be Repaid?
No. As long as you stay in the home for a minimum of 3 years, you do not have to pay back the tax credit.
Note: If you sell within 3 years, the entire tax credit needs to be repaid!
Need to apply for the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit? Be sure to download and complete IRS First-Time Home Buyer Credit Form 5405. As always, you need to consult with your tax professional regarding how this tax credit will impact your finances. That said, if you're planning to buy a Florida home in the near future - or any time up through November 30, 2009 - taking the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is a no-brainer! Have any other questions regarding this issue? Comment here, and I'll do my very best to get back to you ASAP!
Florida mortgage interest rate shoppers learned a valuable lesson this week: When mortgage rates take a nose dive unexpectedly, they tend to recover just as quickly.
Wednesday, conforming mortgage rates plummeted to very near their lowest levels since WWII - thanks to the Federal Reserve's $750 billion pledge to help the mortgage market. Di your Florida mortgage broker lock in your rate? Hope so, because not 24 hours later, those rates expired.
Yup. You heard me right. See, after considering the long-term implications of the Federal Reserve -- quite literally -- printing new money to help out the recession, mortgage markets grew fearful that the Fed's plan may eventually lead to... wait for it... Inflation. And, as we've said here many times - inflation is the enemy of mortgage rates.
So, if you were just dying on the edge - yes... the very edge of your seat to know why Florida mortgage interest rates shot up as quickly on Thursday as they fell the day before, now you know!
And, as Duke, Scarlet, Snake Eyes (OK, so - he never actually "talked") and the rest of the G.I. Joe gang always said at the end of those cheesy Public Service Announcements (PSAs) I watched as a kid...
"Knowing is half the battle!" (Watch the Video PSA on this post's page if you wanna geek out!)
A look in the rear view mirror on this one also shows us that rate shoppers might have seen it coming, if only because we've seen the exact pattern oh... FOUR TIMES since January of 2008:
After the Fed's "surprise" rate cut in January 2008
After the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac takeovers in September 2008
After the Fed announced its first $500 in support in November 2008
After the Fed zeroed out the Fed Funds Rate in December 2008
So class, our lesson here is: When mortgage rates drop sharply in short order, they bounce back up at the same pace.
Unfortunately, not every would-be homeowner looking to refinance their Florida mortgage saw the increase coming. People that locked Wednesday captured the lowest rates in 6 decades. Everyone else... well... wishes they had.
I say it a lot here, and I really try not to come off sounding like a used car salesman:
From day-to-day, we don't know if Florida mortgage rates will rise or fall. Hey... nobody knows that. But, we do know that mortgage rates tend to follow patterns, and we've seen the above pattern 5 times now.
When mortgage rates plummet like they did Wednesday, they rarely stay at lows for long. When you find a rate you like, get in and get locked as soon as possible. By tomorrow, it's likely to be gone.
Need someone to watch the rates for you? I'm your guy. Call me at 863-604-3019 or apply online for your Florida mortgage. We'll keep you posted and let you know when it's time to pull the trigger!
In today's world it seems like you can't turn on the television without hearing about how bad the economy is. However, I am not the one to quickly subscribe to the Doom and Gloom theme.
Markets through out history have risen and fallen according to supply, demand, interest rates, inflation, consumer spending, social factors and numerous other economic factors. When we often think of investments many tend to believe investments continue to go up in value. Nothing could be further from the truth. It would be a walk in the park if markets always appreciated in value. Often times markets generally move in three directions.
Up
Down
Sideways
When markets move up, many investors enjoy the gains from their investments whether they are investing in the stock market or the housing market. Investors make money from the difference in the price they paid for a asset to the current value they can liquidate the asset for.
In a down trending market, when values of a certain asset class are depreciating, many investors loose money simply because their assets are worth less than the price they paid for them. In the housing market, this is often called " Being Upside Down "
A sideways market is a market where values of a certain asset class are stagnate. In other words the market is not having much change in price and value of the asset class.
The rule of thumb for investors or anyone looking for a great deal is quite simple, BUY LOW / SELL HIGH. So when I see headlines like " Housing Market Worst Since The Great Depression " I'm not sure about you but I see a GREEN light come on in my head that say BUY !!!
Housing prices and interest rates have not been this low in ages. If you are a first time home buyer this a great time to purchase a home while taking advantage of the huge discounts available. If you are looking to invest or buy a second home, there are literally too many great deals out there for one to take advantage of.
One thing is for certain, just as markets never continue to go up, markets never continue to stay down. This market will rebound and the wise people who took advantage of these discounted real estate prices will laugh all the way to the bank.
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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