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Senate Bill Could Mean Help For Upside-Down Travis AFB Personnel Who Need To Move

February 3rd, 2009 categories: Fairfield-Gr Valley, Loans / Financing, The Economy

Whether or not this makes it all the way through Congress and to President Obama’s desk remains to be seen, but the Senate version of the Economic Stimulus Bill (SB 336) presently contains a provision that would provide relief to military personnel who are relocated to another base but whose home is upside down mortgage-wise.help-is-on-the-way

Locally, that could be a big help to those military personnel stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield who are being transferred elsewhere but owe more than their homes are worth. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Another Grace Period: Fannie & Freddie Extend Moratorium On Evictions Yet Again

February 3rd, 2009 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales, Loans / Financing

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently extended their temporary moratoria on evictions through the month of February.

eviction-notice-with-red-x-and-shadowOriginally, evictions were halted from Thanksgiving through early January. Then, just before that deadline approached, the two  mortgage market giants announced that they were extending the moratorium until the end of January.

Their latest actions, announced last Friday, will allow both renters and owner-occupants to stay in their homes without the  fear of eviction through at least the end of this month. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Trend or No Trend? Solano Home Inventory Drops Again — That’s Three Weeks In A Row

February 2nd, 2009 categories: Benicia, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Foreclosures / Short Sales, Loans / Financing, Local Stuff, Market Update, Solano, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo

Solano Housing Market Weekly Update

For the third week in row, the number of active listings fell throughout Solano, with all cities except Benicia again seeing a marked decrease from the previous week.solano-weekly-housing-inventory-report-click-here

Suisun City led the way with a 9.5% drop, followed by Vacaville (-6.3%), Fairfield-Green Valley (-6.3%), Vacaville (-6%), Vallejo (-4.6%) and Benicia (-1%).

The raw numbers for this past week:

  • Benicia -1
  • Vallejo -40
  • Fairfield-Green Valley -41
  • Suisun City -19
  • Vacaville -25

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Do You Know How Much You Can Borrow? Bay Area Loan Limits Much Lower In ‘09 Than ‘08

January 15th, 2009 categories: Buying, Loans / Financing

Amid all the hullaballoo surrounding the housing crisis and world economy these days, a major lending change went into effect Jan. 1 which, to date, has gotten rather little fanfare.

But for some Bay Area mortgage borrowers, the impact could be mean the difference between getting a loan or falling short of what’s needed to complete a purchase or refinance.

I’m talking about the new conforming and FHA loan limits, which, throughout Solano County, Contra Costa County and the rest of the Bay Area, have all been adjusted downward from what they were in December.

And if you were planning to borrow an amount near the maximum of last year’s mortgage loan limits, you may be in a for a huge shock, since those loan ceilings no longer exist. They’ve been replaced by lower loan limits, which vary by county. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: 2 Comments »

Fannie Mae Short-Sales Soon To Be On The Fast Track?

January 9th, 2009 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales, Loans / Financing

Fannie Mae is now testing a new program in Orlando and Phoenix, where they will pre-approve short sales in an effort to help stem the tide of foreclosures, according to a report on Realtor Magazine On-Line earlier today, which also sourced the Wall Street Journal.

Short sales, also known as short-payoffs, occur when the lender is owed more than the property is worth and the owner petitions the lender to reduce the amount that needs to be repaid so that the home can be sold at its real market value. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Freddie/Fannie Halt Foreclosures Until February

January 8th, 2009 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales, Loans / Financing

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae both announced today that they’re extending their moratorium on foreclosure sales and evictions through the end of January, in an effort to help both Fannie/Freddie and those in default or renting a foreclosed property to explore other alternatives.

Both organizations announced in early November that they would halt foreclosures and evictions during the holidays, with the moratorium to run from Nov. 26, 2008 to Jan. 9, 2009. With the extension through Jan. 31, that will mean at least a two-month reprieve for those with Fannie/Freddie loans who were originally facing foreclosure or eviction back in November.

To read the entire Freddie Mac press release, click here.

For the Fannie Mae release, click here.

Keep in mind that this extensions only affects those with “conforming” loans, which are now owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

If New Appraisal Rules Stick, Big Changes For Borrowers, Mortgage Brokers & Even Sellers Come May 1st

January 8th, 2009 categories: Buying, Loans / Financing

If you’re planning to take out a conventional loan after May 1, be prepared for an entirely new playing field, as that’s when Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae’s controversial new Home Valuation Code of Conduct is scheduled to take effect.

The new guidelines will affect all conventional (”conforming”) loans and are designed to help ensure that property appraisals reflect the true value of the property. Pumped-up or highly suspect appraisals were a big part what caused the huge real estate mortgage debacle that we’re in right now.

An Objective Evaluation?

So this new policy is designed to shore up some of the problems that allowed appraisers to be heavily influenced by those who stood the most to gain by making sure the sale went through: mortgage brokers, real estate agents and borrowers/buyers. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: 4 Comments »

Where Were You When Mortgage Rates Were Last This Low?

December 14th, 2008 categories: Loans / Financing

Although turmoil still surrounds the world’s financial markets, for those looking to buy or refinance a home, the last six weeks have been a case of Let-The-Good-Times-Roll. That’s because interest rates on long-term (30-year) mortgages have dropped to levels not seen since in over four years.

In its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending Dec. 11, Freddie Mac reported that the national average for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 5.47% (with the buyer paying 0.7 discount points). The week before it was 5.53% and a year ago, that same loan carried an interest rate of 6.11%.

The last time 30-year fixed-rate loans were this low was in March, 2004, when it averaged 5.4%. Fifteen-year loans were also down again this week, with the 15-year-fixed rate at 5.2% (also with 0.7 discount points paid by the buyer). That’s the lowest that rate has been has Feb. 7 of this year.

Short-term mortgage rates, meanwhile, were up slightly, with the five-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage up by 0.05%, to 5.77%. That’s still lower than a year ago, when that same loan was at 5.89%.

If you’ve been thinking of buying or refinancing, the combination of today’s low home prices coupled with low interest rates means more buying power. If you’re interested in seeing how far your housing dollar will stretch today, call or email us and we’ll be happy to help you ‘run the numbers.’

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Finally…Some Positive Foreclosure News On The Horizon

October 23rd, 2008 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales, Loans / Financing, Market Update

Despite the current mayhem and chaos on Wall Street and in the world’s financial markets, there may be a glimmer of hope on the horizon, as we may finally be on the brink of a major change in the foreclosure landscape.

That’s because we’re about to enter a period where fewer and fewer of those ugly subprime loans will reach their initial reset date. And those adjustable rate resets – where a borrower might have seen his or her payment go from an affordable $1,800/mo. to an unaffordable $3,500/mo. – are the root of the mess we’re in right now. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »