Now that the 2012 Presidential Election has finally ended, one of the hot topics that’s on the mind of future homebuyers and Realtors is what’s going to happen to the housing recovery in the United States?
During the debates, both Obama and Romney didn’t lay out any specific plans for what they would do to help keep the housing recovery moving forward and all voters across the United States could do was wait until one of them was elected until we could find out what either administration would do to help the housing recovery in the United States.
Since President Obama has been re-elected to another four years in office, it’s time for us to start talking about what the housing recovery will look like over the next four years of the Obama Administration.
Refinancing Is Going To Continue 
One of the biggest things that we can expect from the Obama Administration on housing over the next four years is that refinancing will continue to be within the reach of homeowners across the United States who have high hopes of refinancing their existing mortgages and listing agents across the United States are happy about this. It will hopefully translate into more consumers buying homes that better fit their needs instead of just buying a home that they can afford like we saw during the previous boom.
Sadly, one thing refinancing doesn’t do (unless you have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan) is help homeowners who are underwater with their mortgages. Those homeowners who are underwater with their mortgages now, may want to consider a short sale if they are no longer able to afford their payment or are experiencing some other hardship where they will be unable to stay in their home. The short sale exemption expires on December 31 st 2012 and a homeowner who is underwater on their mortgage after then will be faced with paying taxes on any debt that’s forgiven once their short sale is approved unless congress approves an extension. With the looming fiscal cliff discussions, it is unsure whether this will make it into pending negotiations or not.
Big Changes Will Come To Mortgage Lending Standards
In the past, lenders had been able to get away with approving mortgages that some borrowers would never be able to repay. But thanks to the Dodd-Frank Act, which will become a reality in January 2013, lenders will have to follow tighter standards in regards to who they can approve for a mortgage loan.
Mitt Romney pledged to repeal this piece of legislation but now that the President has been re-elected, we can expect the law to stay in tact for the foreseeable future with the possibility of more coming.
To learn more about what to expect in the 2013 housing market or to view Orange County homes for sale, contact Fred Sed & Associates today at (949) 272-0125.
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