Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Another Mortgage Change

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) plans to reintroduce a rule it put on hiatus during the national housing recovery: After Dec. 31, investors will once again have to own a property for at least 90 days before reselling it at a higher price if they use agency financing.

The government waived the 90-day mandatory ownership period in 2010, and FHA estimates that about 102,000 properties were renovated and resold under the waiver.

However, the 90-day rule was designed to protect consumers from con artists who flipped homes at hyper-inflated prices after completing only surface repairs and doing shoddy construction.

According to FHA, the waiver has "done its job" by stimulating growth and stabilizing prices. But "inherent dangers exist when there are no minimum ownership periods for flippers," according to Harney.

Some investors and lenders hate to see the waiver end.

"The sad part is the majority of these properties were improved and [located] in underserved areas," says First Mortgage President Clem Ziroli Jr. "Having a rehabilitated house available to these borrowers" helped them get previously dilapidated homes that were made safe for occupancy."

Colonial Mortgage Group President Paul Skeens, meanwhile, warned that, as a rehab investor, he will have to ask more money for the homes he renovates and resells.

"FHA seems dead set on reverting to its pre-bust flipping restrictions," says Harney. "Financing will still be available, but selling prices of the end product – rehabbed houses for moderate-income buyers – are almost certain to be higher."

The new standard is slated to take effect after Dec. 31.
Here we go again!!!!!!
Paul Antonelli
THAT SHORT SALE GUY .com
Broker / Owner Antonelli Realty
Orlando, FL.
info@PaulAntonelli.com
http://www.GetFreeShortSaleHelp.com

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Many people are now losing their loans . . . . .

In the days before the great times, actually 60 days ago, if the borrower had a short sale over 2 years ago AND has 20% down payment then the borrower is eligible for a new Conventional loan without having to document an extenuating circumstance. Now the new rule is more restrictive and no longer allows borrower’s to obtain financing after 2 years unless an extenuating circumstance can be completely documented (regardless of down payment). In an extenuating circumstance cannot be documented (as defined by Fannie Mae’s rules of what is “extenuating”) then the borrower must now wait 4 years to obtain financing.
The new rule says that the borrower must wait 7 years now after a foreclosure unless they can  document extenuating circumstances.
The Waiting Period for Mortgage Debt Discharged through Bankruptcy is effective immediately. The Waiting Period after a Preforeclosure Sale or Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure and Charge Off Accounts – Mortgage Debt changes are effective for mortgage loans with applications dated on and after August 16, 2014
The waiting period requirements for borrowers who have had a previous deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or preforeclosure sale are being updated to now require a four-year waiting period; though a two-year waiting period will be permitted if the event was due to extenuating circumstances and the loan complies with all requirements specific to a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or a preforeclosure sale due to extenuating circumstances.
For loan applications taken on or after August 16, 2014, the lender must document that the deed-in-lieu of foreclosure was completed four or more years from the disbursement date of the new loan, or two or more years from the disbursement date of the new loan when the lender confirms that the mortgage loan meets the applicable timeframes and eligibility requirements for a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure due to extenuating circumstances, in order for the loan to be eligible for delivery to Fannie Mae. For loan applications taken before August 16, 2014, the lender must document that the event was completed two or more years from the disbursement date of the new loan, and that the loan complies with all other requirements specific to a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure specified in the Selling Guide in order for the loan to be eligible for delivery to Fannie Mae. If the account was subject to a foreclosure, the foreclosure must have been completed seven or more years from the disbursement date of the new loan.
Waiting Period for Mortgage Debt Discharged through Bankruptcy
The Selling Guide has been updated to indicate that if a mortgage debt has been discharged through bankruptcy, even if a foreclosure action is subsequently completed to reclaim the property in satisfaction of the debt, the borrower is held to the bankruptcy waiting periods and not the foreclosure waiting period. Lenders must obtain documentation to verify that the mortgage debt in question was in fact discharged as part of the bankruptcy.
Waiting Period after a Preforeclosure Sale or Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure
The current requirements that apply to waiting periods following a preforeclosure sale (short sale) or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure provide for different waiting periods of 2 years or 4 years and set out different maximum loan-to-value ratios (LTV) for those timeframes. These requirements are being updated to remove the LTV restrictions tied to different waiting periods, and establish a standard 4 year waiting period, with a 2 year waiting period permitted if a borrower has extenuating circumstances.

So, if you have been waiting for a short sale and already have submitted your pre-approval before the Aug change, you should probably have that updated. Many people are now losing their loans due to this current change.

Paul Antonelli
Broker / Owner 
ANTONELLI  REALTY
Orlando, FL
321-443-4028
info@PaulAntonelli.com
www.ThatShortSaleGuy.com                         www.PaulAntonelli.com

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Prepare your properties for fall and winter

The seasons are finally changing and temperatures dropping, say good bye to those dog days of summer. It’s important to remember that your Central Florida home needs some extra attention. Doing seasonal and monthly maintenance will help your home be prepared for the cooler months and save you major costs in the future.

Here are some maintenance items for your home this fall:

·  Check around your windows for air drafts. An easy way to do this is to hold a lighter or candle by the window frame (watch out for the curtains and drapes) and seams and see if the flame moves with the breeze.  Also check the caulk on the exterior frame, which can dry out in the summer – If there are gaps and cracks, it is time to re-caulk.  Here are some caulking tips from the DIY Network.

·  Doors – you can check for drafts the same way, and adjust or replace the door sweep if there are leaks at the bottom of the door.  Inspect the exterior caulking of doors, as well.  
   
·  Inspect window and lanai screening and repair/replace if necessary.

·  Oil moving parts on your garage door

·  Check for cracks on the cement finish of your exterior walls and seal with a flexible masonry (elastometric) caulk.  Once dried, the caulk can be painted. 

·  Visually inspect your roof from the ground for broken shingles, and check inside the attic for signs of leaks.  On the roof, check your ridge vents – they can come loose in high winds.  Check soffits (around your eaves) to make sure they are clear of debris, and if you have gutters, clear them of debris.

·  Our Florida weather can often be rainy in the summer, so if you have mildew on your soffits, porches or walkways, pressure wash or hire someone to do so.
In addition to those seasonal maintenance tips, here is a list of maintenance that should be performed every month:

·  Check air filters and clean or replace as necessary. Also, vacuum air supply and air return registers to remove dust and lint.

·  Clean garbage disposal blades by grinding ice cubes. You can also freshen the garbage disposal with baking soda and by grinding up citrus fruit rinds.

·  Check for cracks or separations in caulking around sinks, bathtubs, toilets, faucets, countertops and back splashes.  Re-caulk as necessary.

·  Clean or replace the dirty filter in your range hood fan.

·  With the holiday’s right around the corner, the chances of a home fire increase, so make sure to check that your fire extinguishers are fully charged and your smoke detectors are working.

Performing regular home maintenance ensures that your investment will remain beautiful for years to come.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

The Housing Recovery Is Decelerating

Six years into the so-called "housing recovery," consumer sentiment toward homeownership has never been worse.

According to Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey, the number of Americans who said "now is a good time to buy a home" dropped to 64% in August - down from 67% in July to reach the lowest point in survey history.

What's more, the number of people who said now is a good time to sell a home dropped to 38%, down from 42% in July.

As a result, Fannie Mae is forecasting that 2015 "will likely not be a breakout year for housing."

"The deterioration in consumer attitudes about the current home buying environment reflects a shift away from record home purchase affordability without enough momentum in consumer personal financial sentiment to compensate for it," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. "To date, this year's labor market strength has not translated into sufficient income gains to inspire confidence among consumers to purchase a home, even in the current favorable interest-rate environment. Our third quarter Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey results, to be released later this month, are expected to show whether mortgage demand from the lender perspective is in line with consumer housing sentiment."

The main problem facing the housing industry is that, although the job market posted some gains last month, the vast majority of new positions added are part-time, low-wage jobs that don't pay enough to cover the cost of a mortgage on a median-priced home. What's more, wage growth has almost completely stagnated for existing positions. Meanwhile, inflation continues to drive up the cost of living for most Americans.

Add to this the fact that home prices continue to rise and lending standards are stricter than ever, and it's easy to see why so many Americans feel they have been shut out of the housing market. Hurting Americans' morale even further is the fact that more than a third of transactions are now all-cash sales to individual private investors and investment firms - many of which are foreign-based.

"We have always believed that for the housing recovery to be considered robust, we will need strong and sustained full-time job and income growth," Duncan added. "Recent data indicating the creation of more than 200,000 jobs over each of the last six months, combined with this month's improvement in the share of consumers reporting significantly higher household income than a year ago, does provide some reason for optimism. If these trends continue, they could lead to some upside in housing in 2015."

The share of respondents who said home prices would go up in the next 12 months held steady in August at 42%, while the share of respondents who said home prices would go down increased to 9%.

On average, survey respondents forecast that home prices will rise by about 2.1% over the next year.

The share of respondents who said mortgage rates would go up in the next 12 months fell by four percentage points to 50%.

The percentage of respondents who expect home rental prices to go up in the next 12 months increased to 53%. On average, survey respondents expect rents to rise by 4.1% over the next year.

On a bright note, the share of respondents who think it would be easy to get a mortgage today increased by one percentage point.

The share of respondents who said they would buy if they were going to move fell to 64%, while the share of respondents who would rent increased to 32% - the narrowest gap in over a year.

Still, the survey shows that consumers are, in some ways, positive about the direction the economy is taking. The share of respondents who say the economy is on the wrong track fell three percentage points 56% - and the percentage who expect their personal financial situation to get better over the next 12 months increased to 44%.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Florida Is Still #1

RealtyTrac released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for April 2014 today, and it found that Florida continues to lead the nation in foreclosures.
While the state's foreclosure activity – a count of all homes in some phase of the foreclosure process – declined 9 percent year-to-year in April, the state still led the nation with a foreclosure rate nearly three times higher than the national average.
Nationwide, foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – were reported on 115,830 properties in April, a 1 percent decrease from the previous month and 20 percent decline year-to-year. Overall, one in every 1,137 housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month.
Despite the drop, however, banks repossessed more homes in April – a 4 percent increase month-to-month. Still, repossessions dropped 14 percent year-to-year.
Don't let this happen to you like it did my neighbor in Bellalago. I offered my help but they said their attorney was doing it. Paying their attorney over $4000 just to get foreclosed on is just dumb thinking.  I could have assisted them with a short sale, got the deficiency waived and they could have walked away with some dignity. Now they have a judgment following them around for the next 20 years for over $100,000. 

Looking at the local rag (newspaper) the other day we can all see that the foreclosures here have picked up, a lot. What was once 1 page just 8 months ago has now grown to a whopping 13 full pages of foreclosure notices. 
Need help? Give me a call 321-443-4028  or  info@PaulAntonelli.com 

Usually our clients pay noting out of pocket. And my attorney and i have helped hundreds of distressed property owners all through-out Florida. 

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

The Days of the Deals Have Past

Distressed home sales accounted for less and less of the total market month after month here in Florida the last 6 months. We have seen a normalization to the local housing market, but at the same time putting more of a squeeze on already-burdened buyers.

"The bargain days are gone," said John Tuccillo, chief economist for the Florida Realtors trade group. "That's the bottom line in all of this."

Distressed sales have been slowly shrinking for the past three years. Statewide, nearly half of all property sales involved a short sale or foreclosure in 2009, near the height of the housing bust. The properties typically sold for below market value to ready and willing buyers. Many of those properties would have multiple buyers waiting for their offers to be chosen only to be out bid.

But rising home prices over the past year turned Florida and many other parts of the nation into a seller's market. Short sales and foreclosures now are selling for list price and above, and many still have the attention of multiple buyers.

Thousands of owners who were "underwater" on their mortgages now have equity, even though in some cases it is just enough to get out with taking from their own pockets to make a deal work. They don't have to let the homes fall into foreclosure or need permission from their lenders to sell for less than they owe on the mortgage. Now they can go rent or buy something in the area they now like with out having to wait the two years to qualify, (as long as their credit is still intact when the sale is completed).

"There's less distress in the market, and those who are in distress have the escape hatch of equity," said Daren Blomquist, a vice president of RealtyTrac Inc.,  foreclosure listing firm.

One of the biggest issues here that I feel has been over shadowed is that the Federal lawmakers allowed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act to expire on Dec. 31st of last year. That means the amount of debt forgiven in the short sale of a primary residence is considered income and taxable. An owner with $100,000 in debt wiped away could face taxes of $25,000 or more depending on their individual tax rate. That is huge when dealing with this problem. At one time it was fight just to get the deficiency waived on an approved short sale now; it’s looking at bankruptcy to get rid of the tax burden after the short sale.


There is always talk now and again about renewing the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act but it is always put on the back burner and seems like everything is always behind the Obama care news. Will they ever renew the Act? Will it be retroactive to Jan. 1st? Will it be the same old Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act we know of ? or will it become something new? ObamaDRA ? Your guess is as good as mine.