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Tampa Mortgage News | Tampa Property Investor Buys Your Home From Distressed Home owners

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:15:05 -0500

Tampa Distressed Properties Sold

Realtors, do you have short sale homes for sale in Tampa? Consider it your Tampa home sold!

As a Tampa Mortgage lender we know many property investors still looking to buy distressed homes. We are working with investors willing to buy homes from home owners who are facing foreclosure or short sale.

These home seller options are available for short sale properties all across the United States who aren't able to refinance their home mortgage. The benefits to you and the homeowner are numerous. For starters you will earn double the commission, up to 12% and no lower than 6% (call for full details) just for letting my investor buy homes from your distressed borrowers. That is how much the investor is willing to pay you. The next benefit to you is that you do not have to spend countless hours on gathering paperwork for the short sale submission, chasing down the seller for missing documents and phone calling the bank. Not to mention the added frustration of working with a bank who doesn't return phone calls promptly. Do what you do best, which is selling, instead of shuffling paperwork.

Benefits of Tampa Short Sale Solution Program

The benefits to the Tampa property owner are many. Your home seller will have an offer submitted to the bank right away (as soon as we have their short sale paperwork). Your home seller doesn't have to wait months hoping that an offer will come their way and may never get one. We will negotiate that the bank settles the debt for less than what is owed and not report the account in their credit profile as a foreclosure. So in effect, they are avoiding a foreclosure. This alone can save many points on their credit score. As you may know, a foreclosure prohibits them from buying a home through Fannie Mae for at least 5 years. This will eliminate that problem. We will also negotiate with the bank that they do not enter a deficiency judgment against the seller. To know that the bank will not go after them for a deficiency is a huge benefit.

For further information, email or call Jim Costello specializing in Tampa mortgages and Tampa Short Sales at 813.785.8602 cell, or work 813.988.1776 x701.

If you are reading this and you are a Tampa Property Investor or home buyer interested in getting a Tampa real estate bargain - give us a call as well and we'd be happy to match you up with these property bargains!

Do Realtors like or hate short sales?

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:36:25 -0500

I am curious to know if Realtors like to work with short sales. Obviously they could provide a great deal for your client, but is it worth the hassle?

Home loan mortgage rates will continue to decline through the end of the year

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:22:42 -0500

Why do I believe that home loan mortgage rates will continue to decline through the end of the year? The reasons are twofold.

I will start first off with the stock market. As stated in a previous blog last year when the market was hitting all time highs, I predicted a 15% correction. This has come to pass. I believe the market will continue its fall, well into next year The market will take another 10-15% (1000-2500 points) hit by the end of the year. There are many reasons why. First of all, the market hasn't factored in all of the affects caused by the real estate market crash. Earnings from corporations are down in the order of 10-15% last quarter and they will continue this fall. Foreclosures are continuing to make record highs. I believe the 10-15% decrease on the Dow is conservative. We will definitely see a test of the 10000 level. This is based on level of support in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Chart. If the Dow cannot hold that level, it is Katie bar the doors, because the Dow will then go in a free fall to test the 7000 level, the next level of support. Short the Dow, plain and simple, you will make tons of money. How does this affect mortgage rates? The smart money will have to go into the safety and security of bonds and I believe FNMA bonds will benefit.

The second reason is the government will get its act together in the way in it relates to Fannie Mae. There is no way that the government will let Fannie Mae collapse. The governments intervention with Fannie Mae will lend it credibility and support. This will help restore confidence in Fannie Mae bonds. Oh by the way, oil will continue its fall to find support near the $70 level. However that discussion is for another blog.

Which is better, a short sale or a foreclosure?

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:21:24 -0500

Short Sale or foreclosure, investor buy houses and saves your credit. Right now as you may know, a record number of homeowners are facing foreclosure with no option for them to avoid ruining their credit or having their assets seized, including other assets besides the home itself. However, there is a solution and it doesn't involve bankruptcy. I represent investors who are willing and able to buy your home, even if you owe more than what the home is worth! Do not let a foreclosure ruin your financial situation! However, before I explain the program, I will let you know the consequences of a foreclosure.

The bank will file a Lis Pendens in the county the property is located in. You will also receive the notice. A Lis Pendens is a notice to foreclose. You will have a specified time to answer the claim, usually 20 days. After the waiting period is up, the bank proceeds to place the house up for sale at the courthouse. The bank will usually be the high bidder to protect their interest in the property. Once the property comes back to them, it goes to their Real Estate Owned (REO) department. This department is in charge of disposing the asset. Once the asset is sold, the bank will issue a deficiency judgment. A deficiency judgment comes from taking the amount you owe on the loan, plus attorney fees, late fees, court costs, interest and penalties, subtracted from the amount the bank sells it for. This usually adds up to a lot of money. The bank will then go after you for the deficiency amount. If you do not have the money to pay it, then the bank will attach the judgment to other assets that you own. This could force you to file bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will stay on your credit for 10 years and a Chapter 13 will stay on for 7 years. An unpaid judgment stays on for 20 years and is renewable for another 20 years at the discretion of the creditor. Under current Fannie Mae rules, a foreclosure will disallow you from buying a home for 5 years. If you have other assets, the trustee in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy will liquidate them to satisfy the deficiency. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will have to make payments to your creditors based on the assets that you own.

How do you avoid a foreclosure and a deficiency? Let me explain briefly how my program works. My investor will buy your home regardless of where the property is located, condition or if you owe more than what the house is worth. My investor will place a contract to buy on the home right away. My team of seasoned professionals, which include attorneys, title companies, appraisers, loss negotiators/mitigators, and mortgage professionals have over a combined 88 years experience. They will handle the negotiations with the bank to allow the bank to sell the home for less than what it is worth. Part of the negotiations is that we insist that the bank will not file for a deficiency judgment. We also negotiate that the account will not show up as a foreclosure on your credit report. As part of the negotiation, we insist that the bank will show the account as "settled for less than what is owed".

Do not let the bank let destroy your financial condition. Call for more information at 813.988.1776 x701.

Is the Real Estate and Mortgage industry out of the woods yet?

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:55:50 -0500

Certainly these are difficult times for those in the real estate and mortgage industry. This is particularly true of the professionals in the hardest hit areas of the country like Florida, California and Nevada. Last month, Florida's foreclosure filings hit a recent high. This suggests that there is at least another year or more (2+ years?) for the excess inventory to work itself through the marketplace and get sold.

Now for the good news. Lenders are getting inundated with foreclosures. This will force them to do whatever they can (ie. lower their prices) to move their non-performing assets off of their balance sheets. This will create a bonanza for bargain seeking investors and first time buyers to enter the market and scoop these properties up. Those of us in the industry are seeing some of this activity already. It is not exactly where we would like it to be, albeit a good sign nonetheless.

Home Loan mortgage rates continue to decline

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:24:19 -0500

Home loan mortgage rates continue to fall for 2008. Rates will continue to drop through the end of the year with consumers seeing a low somewhere in the coming months. Why is this the forecast? Several factors will come into play.

The Dow Jones industrial average will continue to fall. As predicted in my previous posting (Where is the Real Estate Market headed for 2008?, Dec. 30, 2007), I predicted a fall of 15-20% back when the Dow was going along strong. So far, the Dow is off 11% from that call, 11, 893 as compared to 13,365 back at December 3oth. This will continue to cause a flight to quality, as institutional investors pull their money out of stocks and place it in safer assets such as Treasury Bills Treasury Bonds, and Mortgage Backed Securities. Indirectly, this will affect Mortgage Backed Securities which set mortgage rates and will help to drive interest rates lower.

Secondly, the Federal Reserve will continue to lower rates to help cause the recession (not officially called yet) to have a so called "soft landing". Albeit their eyes will be on inflation. However for the time being, heading off the risk of a deep recession is the first order of business for the Fed. Once growth in the economy starts to turn upward, all bets are off as far as more lowering of the rates. Unless of course inflation has subsided. Which may be the case if the recession slows down the inflation rate.

If you are shopping for a mortgage loan, you want to work with a professional. Here are four simple questions that the lender must be able to answer:

What are interest rates based on? The only correct answer is Mortgage Backed Securities or Mortgage Bonds, NOT the 10 year Treasury Notes.
What is the next Economic Report or event that could cause interest rates to move? A professional lender will be able to provide this answer.
When the Fed changes rates, what does this mean? The Fed changes both or either the Fed Funds Rate or the Discount Rate. These are short term rates. One is the rate at which lenders charge each other and the other is the rate at which the Fed loans to member banks. The Fed does not directly control mortgage interest rates.

Do you have access to real time, live mortgage bond quotes? If a lender does not have access to live mortgage bond quotes, upcoming economic news, how can he accurately recommend that you float or lock in your mortgage rate? This is akin to a stock broker going off of yesterdays stock quotes and news.

For expert mortgage planning or advice, call Jim Costello of Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. at 813.988.1776 x701. Make it a great day!

What is on tap for the Economy in 2008.

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:50:38 -0600

As the real estate market moves past 2007, those of the professionals who are still in it, who weren't in it for a quick buck, will likely see the beginning of a turnaround. This isn't just good willed thinking, and I will give you the reasons for the provided optimism.

The first reason is the stock market. The stock market is unsure of which direction it wants to head, however, it is leaving telltale signs that it will decline. Significant sell off days have occurred in the market over the last month, on significant volume, giving signs that this is a tired bull market. The market will have one last run at its high during the next several months, culminating with a significant drop that will signal a start into a bear market. The trend will continue towards the end of 2008, while seeing a significant drop in the order of 15-20% by the year end. Why is this important to the real estate industry? The most significant is that there will be money flowing out of stocks and back into real estate. The real estate market will see further declines of at least 5%, however, by the end of 2008, real estate will be seen as a bargain by investors, who will start venturing back into the market again. The declining market will be halted, and we will see a stabilization in prices beginning at the end of 2008.

The second reason is the Federal Reserve. Recession talk will slowly take the headlines away from the real estate market. The coming year is an election year. The last thing the Fed wants on its hands, is a recession going into an election year. Inflation fighting will take a back seat to the risk of recession. As I said in prior posts, once the Fed starts moving in one direction, it typically keeps moving in that direction, and that direction is for lower rates. With the subsequent lowering of interest rates, purchasing a home becomes more affordable for first time home buyers.

The third reason is the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD in its infinite wisdom, has brought some of the barriers to working with them down. The legislature has lowered the down payment requirements of buying a home through FHA to 1 1/2%. At the same time, loan limits have gone up. The limit has been raised to the Fannie Mae limit of $417,000 or the median home price, whichever is lower. FHA is also the new sub prime. Nobody in HUD will ever admit to that, but that is reality. I am not talking about the zero down, no income verification loans with bad scores. I am talking about borrowers who have slow credit and possibly mortgage lates. There will be strong demand to place these loans that have nowhere to go.

All in all, 2007 was a year to forget if you were a real estate professional. Thankfully we have 2008 to look forward to.

MORTGAGE RELIEF PLAN...WHAT IT MEANS TO THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:03:43 -0600

On Thursday, December 6th, 2007, President Bush unveiled his mortgage relief plan. The plan which was anticipated for many months, was received with much fanfare. Does the plan liberate the millions of homeowners holding a subprime adjustable loan?

The mortgage relief plan enables borrowers who took out a loan between Jan. 1, 2005, and July 31, 2007 and whose interest rate resets for the first time between Jan. 1, 2008 and July 31, 2010 to freeze or hold their rate. The plan does not allow borrowers who are currently 60 days delinquent or if their credit score is higher than 660 to qualify. If someones credit score has improved 10% since taking out the loan, they will not qualify either. Nor will someone qualify if their payment does not change more than 10% at the time of adjustment.

Subprime loans represent 6.8% of all loans currently outstanding. Most of those loans were originated before Jan. 1, 2005. Many of the subprime loans originated started with a 2 year fixed period followed by the adjustment. If a loan was originated in 2005 and had a reset period in 2 years, then many of those loans have already reset. Those would not qualify for mortgage relief. As a mortgage consultant, I can attest to the fact that the refinance boom was over by mid year in 2005. There are not many loans left that would qualify for this program. Hope Now Alliance, a non-profit set up to help counsel homeowners, estimates that about 600,000 loans qualify. Hardly the type of relief that would get the real estate market back on track. This is a mere flea on an elephant.

Politicians, with all the build up to this program, have merely rolled out a program that sounds good but actually doesn't help much. The headlines look good, now they can say they have done something about the mortgage crisis.

Anyone out there want to open a Hot Dog Stand?

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:00:21 -0500

I saw this story and it really hit home. I think we will do well to hear the meaning. Enjoy!

THE MAN WHO SOLD HOT DOGS

Many years ago there was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold HOT DOGS.

He was hard of hearing so he had no radio.

He had trouble with his eyes so he read no newspaper.

But he sold HOT DOGS

He put up signs on the highway telling how good they were.

He stood on the side of the road and cried: "BUY A HOT DOG, MISTER ?"

And people bought, because he was so enthusiastic.

He increased his meat and bun orders.

He bought a bigger stove to take care of his growing trade.

He was so happy selling Hot Dogs, and people enjoyed doing business with him.

One day his son came home from college to help him out.

And something happened.

His son said, "Father, haven’t you been listening to the radio.? Haven’t you been reading the newspaper.?

The situation in Europe is terrible. The Domestic situation is worse."

Whereupon the father thought,"Well, my son’s been to college, he reads the newspaper, he listens to the radio, and he ought to know."

So the father cut down on his meat and bun orders, he took down all his advertising signs, and no longer bothered to stand on the highway to sell his hot dogs.

And his HOT DOG sales fell, ALMOST OVERNIGHT.

"You’re right, son," the father said to the boy.

"WE CERTAINLY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GREAT DEPRESSION."

Where is the Real Estate Market headed in 2008?

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:57:35 -0500

Many questions remain for Florida's real estate market. Will the market crash and burn in 2008? Will foreclosures continue to rise above the currently high levels? Another question in particular is whether we are at the bottom of what is described as the "perfect storm" in Florida real estate. The perfect storm being a market overbuilt by builders and developers coupled with high real estate taxes, high homeowner insurance costs and a net negative outflow of residents - not to mention the ever looming threat of hurricanes. I have good news to report for 2008 based on my forecast. Several factors come into play for this analysis of an improving market and I will tell you why.

Whether the stock market wants to believe it or not, the effects of the real estate market will broadly impact the rest of the economy. The U.S. economy simply cannot sustain the number of foreclosures being absorbed into the economy without any detrimental effects to economic growth. The current foreclosures are impacting real people who used to have money to spend. The downturn is too wide spread throughout the country not to effect the economy. Also, the negative effect of the media's constant barrage of bad news as it concerns real estate is having an effect on the publics perception of the economy. This in turn makes consumers tighten up their wallets. Consumer spending contributes two thirds to our nations gross domestic product. If consumers aren't spending then our economy is not growing.

Now to the good news as it relates to Florida real estate. First, the stock market cannot keep reaching new highs with the current state of the real estate market. In fact, I believe the market will take a serious downturn in the first half of 2008. How much of a downturn? Somewhere in order of a 15% haircut will be in order. When that happens, money will flow back into real estate as it will be perceived as a bargain due to the pull back in prices that have occurred in the last year.

Secondly, Floridians will be voting in the first quarter of 2008 on property tax reform. This should pass by a close vote. Once this passes, many first time home buyers who were priced out of the market will be able to afford to buy their first home.

My third reason. Iraq. Congress will sense the winds of change, coming from the opposition who will lead the charge. Since Bush is a lame duck president, there will be no reason for Republicans that were on the fence about the war to hold fast due to loyalty to Bush. A bi-partisan effort will lay out plans for a troop withdrawal. What does that have to do with the real estate market? Plenty. Oil prices will begin a slow downward retreat, reaching pre-war levels of $30 a barrel because of the troop withdrawal and an end to the war. This decrease in gas prices will nullify the effects of the potential inflationary factors present in the economy. Thus, will allow the Federal Reserve to continue the lowering of interest rates. How low? Figure on another 75 basis point decrease by the end of 2008.

Why do I think oil will be back to $30 a barrel. There is a "war premium" that is priced in the market for the price of oil. The turmoil and war in the middle east have caused uncertainty in the market and therefore have priced in a premium. The withdrawal and subsequent end of the war will take out that premium.

The other reason why I believe that oil will drop is because of increased oil refining. Another factor contributing to the run up in prices was the lack of refiners. Adding new refineries does take time and I believe that due to the profitability of being in the oil business with prices at these levels, the capital markets will see the refinery business as a good business to be in and add more capacity.

The final reason is demand. With the U.S. being the leading consumer of goods in the world economy and with the slowdown in our domestic economy, this will lead to less consumption of those goods. Less consumption will mean countries like China, will not need as many raw materials as before to produce those goods. Their factories run on oil and some of those products, like plastics, use oil in its production.

By no means will 2008 be a blockbuster for real estate. But it will be a welcome respite from a dismal 2007 market. Something we are all ready to cheer for.

Get back into real estate with a home loan from Home Mortgage Lenders - www.HomeMortgageLender.com

The Fed and Bernanke lower interest rates and what it means for the future

Home Mortgage Lenders, Inc. — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:13:37 -0500

The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a half percentage point on Tuesday, bringing a much needed cut in the rates. Many people in the credit markets believe Bernanke is behind the curve and should have lowered rate 6 months ago. Nonetheless, it was a welcome site for the credit market.

Bernanke contrasts in style quite differently than his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. Greenspan would act quickly to calm the markets whenever there was a hint of any problem in the markets. This can be seen in the1997 when the Asian credit crisis hit and dried up the credit markets. That collapse was prevented from being a major catastrophe if Greenspan didn't act as quickly as he did. Back in 2001 when 9/11 became a reality, Greenspan once again came to the rescue to calm the markets and helped kick off the current bull market in the stock market. The current "credit crunch" is much worse than that 1997 crisis. Foreclosures are near record highs and home sales are at its lowest level in 15 years. Bernanke waited too long and he will start seeing the economic data in the coming months to substantiate that claim.

Will the current rate cut affect those in the real estate market? If prior actions by the Fed are any indication, those in the real estate market are in for good times next year (2008). Once the Fed starts moving rates in a particular direction, they usually continue in that direction. The last sequence of rate cuts started in the beginning of 2001, and continued to decrease until 2003. This set off an expansion of the real estate market which lasted until the mid part of 2005. Will the current half point decrease cause a tidal wave of activity? I believe not, at least not in the short term. However, expect another rate decrease before the end of 2007. And if the employment numbers continue to show more unemployed, expect the rate to decrease further during 2008. This will set off an expansionary mini boom in the refinance and real estate markets. It will not be like the previous one, but it will be a welcome one indeed. For information on the refinancing or buying a home, check out www.HomeMortgageLender.com