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Displaying blog entries 281-290 of 388

Take Action-Mortgage Interest Deduction Under Attack

by Liz Warren

Do you want to pay more taxes? The mortgage interest deduction is under attack in a big way. The NAR, National Association of Realtors, is asking for you to help send a message to your congressmen that you don't want this mortgage deduction to go away.

Here is a link to a quick message expaining what you can do just by sending an email.

Foreclosure 60 Minutes Segment

by Liz Warren

Did a high school kid sign your foreclosure papers posing as a bank vice president? This recent 60 minute segment aired April 3rd explaining the pervailent fraudulent papertrail of bank forclosure paperwork.

As a follow up, do you know who ownes the deed to your home?

Do the banks need to create a superfund to deal witht his fraud?

Distressed Sale Percentage by State

by Liz Warren

NAR, the National Association of Realtors has provided this map showing what percent of distressed sales make up each state's sales.

Distressed sales

Oregon Foreclosures Halted

by Liz Warren

 

Many foreclosures in Oregon have been halted due to recent court actions involving MERS. If you have a loan that was run through MERS it is highly possible your foreclosure has been stopped in Oregon as this gets sorted out in Oregon courts. What is MERS?

Read this article about recent foreclosures events in Oregon.

 

Home Affordability Numbers

by Liz Warren

Did you know that the last quarter of 2010 had the greatest home affordability for the US in the past 20 years when records were started for this index! No misprint! Taking the average income of a family, this is the most affordable time to purchase a home. It looks like 2007 was the least affordable time to purchase a home. Indianpolois-Carmel, Indiana is the most affordable location in the US to buy a home today with 93% of the average income earners in the area able to purchase a home. At the other end of the spectrum, Santa Cruz, California was the least affordable for the average income earner at a 45% rate able to purchase. If you can qualify for a loan, this is the best time to purchase a home!

Mt. Hood Home Affordability chart

Collins Lake Condo Foreclosures Dominate Condo Market

by Liz Warren

Collins Lake foreclosures are dominating the market in Government Camp. Here is a recent new listing that just became available today.

Collins Lake New Foreclosure

Another foreclosure unit went pending today, listed at $240,000

The last two sales closing in Collins Lake were also foreclosures. Once closing at $207,000 and another at $234,000.

 

 

Interesting Foreclosure Numbers

by Liz Warren

Here are some interesting foreclosure numbers from RealtyTrac concerning 2010's numbers:

*2.87 million homes received foreclosure filings in 2010

*Foreclosure notices were up 1.67% from 2009

*They were up 23.23% from 2008

*1 in every 45 homes in the United States received a foreclosure filing

*Five states accounted for half of foreclosures: California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan

*In California, 1 in every 25 homes received a foreclosure filing

*In Nevada, 1 in every 11 homes received a foreclosure filing

*In the 4th quarter of 2010, foreclosures slowed due to documentation issues

*1 million homes were foreclosed on in 2010

*The documentation delay will push foreclosures into 2011 for a projected 1.2 million foreclosures

*2011 should be the peak of the market downturn

 

Mt. Hood Housing Factors to Watch in 2011

by Liz Warren

There are five factors to watch in housing over 2011 and the impact they will have on our housing nationally and locally.

1. Good news on mortgage rates. They should stay under 5% for the balance of 2011. Four out of five current mortgage applications are for refinancing homes.

2. Nationally, housing prices will possibly bottom out in the first half of 2011. Locally, it may take longer due to our "lagging behind" nationally in Oregon. The second half of the year may see a slight stabilization.

3. Affordability: The affordability index started in 1971. The home affordability has never been better since the inception of the index. There has never been a better time to purchase a home. This could cause an increase in sales for 2011!

4. Fewer mortgage originations: Well, if most people have already financed over the past year and four out of five will be refinancing now, there will be less mortgages taken out over 2011. Estimates are, because of tightening credit and low credit scores that nearly a third of Americans cannot qualify for a mortgage.

5. Gradually lower delinquent rates on mortgages. As the foreclosure mass comes to the market this year there will be lower delinquent rates due to some stabilization in employment. Bernanke predicts 4 to 5 years before employment returns to "normal" rates.

So, with a large inventory of homes and cabins in the Mt. Hood area, super low intersest rates, motivated sellers left and right and many foreclosures to choose from it is a perfect time to buy!

Mt. Hood Mortgages and Credit

by Liz Warren

If you're looking to purchase a new home or second home in the Mt. Hood area one of the most important things you should be concerned about is, will I qualify for a mortgage? One of the most critical components of getting a mortgage, a car, credit card or any other type of borrowing vehcile is your credit report.

There's a new site provided by the Feds that is excellent and explains everything you need to know about credit, how to improve your rating, how to clear up credit report errors and more. 

Make a New Year's resolution to get your credit score up so you don't pay a higher interest rate for consumer goods and loans. Visit the site today and pick up your pointers!

FHA has replaced Freddie and Fannie

by Liz Warren

Here is a new head scratcher direct from the Feds.

First the info:

Since the Feds took over Freddie and Fannie they have been limited to only lending on high quality mortgages. This should reduce "future" losses. BUT

The Fed has since shifted their high risk mortgages over to FHA  and two other government programs.

Did you know that 60 percent of home purchase loans now have down payments of less than 5 percent, compared to 40 percent at the height of the bubble?

In 1990 FHA had about 4%of loans with less than a 3% down payment. In 2008 44%of their loans had less than a 3% down payment.

Pre 1990 policy required 10 to 20% down payments to purchase homes. You had to have good credit and low debt to income ratios. HUD policy loosened lending creating the wonderful bubble we just experienced.

Despite the governments recent regulation of the financial industry, they seemed to have overlooked their own backyard. Will current HUD policies create the next bubble with their lending practices?

I just don't get it!

Here is an article asking these same questions from the Journal of American Enterprise Institute.

Displaying blog entries 281-290 of 388

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