Oro Valley, AZ

REALTORS work in the ultimate pay for performance environment. We don't get paid if we don't perform and we are held accountable for everything we do. So, if we are held to the high standard of care and ethics (NAR Code of Ethics), shouldn't the rest of the players in the system also be held accountable with a similar performance expectation?

FHA is taking unprecedented -and long overdue- steps to protect taxpayers from the fast and loose practices that some lenders have engaged in during recent times. The FHA has plans to implement serious credit policy changes to enhance risk management. I have always wondered why an organization like the FHA did not have the same safeguards that a major business would have like an effective Risk Management office with accountability & consequences.

Well, there is a new move toward accountability. The FHA has announced plans to hire a Chief Risk Officer for the first time in the agency's history. Another big plus is the policy shift toward responsibility for mortgage brokers; moving it away from taxpayers to the lenders who use mortgage brokers.

Someone really is paying attention to ethical, reliable and productive practices. For a more in depth understanding of the changes that are coming visit the NAR link. Hot Link

I recently attended a closing with a client -first time home buyer- who commented on the AED hung conspicuously on the wall near the Escrow Officer's private office. He asked, "Is that for resuscitating people who have a heart attack when they see the final cost?" A few minutes later my young buyer & I noticed a difference in fees from the pre-closing HUD-1.

In a few short weeks lenders will be held even more accountable for what happens at the closing table. Transparency will be the rule. The Washington Post writer Kenneth Harney's article lays out the changes. Harney writes, "Here's what's about to happen: Starting January 1, 2010, loan charges and settlement fees will be spelled out on a revised, more consumer friendly version of the good faith estimate form that borrower are supposed to receive within 3 days of their mortgage applications. Charges will fall into three broad catagories on the form:

- Fees that cannot increase from upfront estimates to final closing.

- Fee estimates that come with wiggle room, and can increase by as much as 10% in the aggregate from upfront estimates.

-Fees that can increase without limit, mainly because the lender has no control over them or because they are difficult to predict weeks in advance.

The article is a good read for a basic understanding of what is about to happen and why it is important to consumers. I think all most people really want is transparency into what is going to be paid, where is it going and why.

It's all good. I am a big fan of transparency and disclosure. Life is just better that way!

The active adult community at the foothills of the beautiful Santa Catalina Mountains

Sun City Vistoso is a 1000 acre active adult retirement community conveniently located northwest of Tucson, at the base of the Catalina Mountains in the Town of Oro Valley. The beautiful setting is only the beginning of the quality of the Sun City Vistoso community. With a population of over 4500 active adults, Sun City Vistoso offers a friendly hometown feeling - close enough to the city for convenience but far enough away for tranquility.

The amenities offered include an 18-hole championship golf course intricately blended with its desert base, miles of wide, clean streets and sidewalks ideal for walking and bicycling, and three recreational facilities that offer many programs and opportunities active adults enjoy.

The community, with 2488 homes (single family, garden villa and patio homes) was established in 1986 by the Del Webb Corporation. Control was turned over to Sun City Vistoso Community Association, Inc. in 1995. Sun City Vistoso is governed by a seven member Board of Directors elected by the residents with day to day operations managed by professional staff.

See Sun City homes currently on the market - Just click on link below.

Sun City Vistoso Homes

Richard Lecinski

Long Realty Company

520-834-4663

http://rlecinski.longrealty.com

www.arizonagreatliving.com

Congress extends homebuyer credit

President Obama is expected to sign a bill passed by Congress today extending and expanding the first-time homebuyer tax credit to homes under contract before May 1.

The credit, equal to 10 percent of a home's purchase price, remains capped at $8,000 for first-time homebuyers, but income limits have been raised.

Congress also approved an expansion of the credit to allow homeowners who have been in a principal residence for at least five of the last eight years to claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 if they sell that home and buy another.

That will provide an incentive not only for entry level, but move-up buyers -- a goal supported by real estate industry groups.

An extension of the existing tax credit -- currently set to expire at the end of the month -- was controversial, as it will cost an estimated $10.8 billion over 10 years. Critics said most of those who have claimed it would have bought a home anyway.

Earlier this year, former real estate broker Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., introduced a standalone bill that would have raised the ceiling on the tax credit to $15,000 and lifted first-time homebuyer and income restrictions.

In the end, lawmakers who supported an extension of the tax credit were forced to add it as an amendment to a bill extending federal unemployment benefits, HR 3548, to gain passage.

The bill was amended in the Senate last week and approved Wednesday in a unanimous 98-0 vote.

House lawmakers passed the bill today in a 403-12 vote, with all 12 no votes cast by Republicans.

The Obama administration had previously indicated it would support the more limited extension of the homebuyer tax credit included in HR 3548 (see story).

Although income limits for claiming the credit will be raised from $75,000 to $125,000 for individuals and from $125,000 to $225,000 for couples, homes purchases exceeding $800,000 will not be eligible.

Real estate industry groups hailed the extension of the credit as a necessary step to sustain a fragile recovery in housing markets.

"At a time when we are finally starting to see some signs of life in the housing and mortgage markets, extending and expanding the homebuyer tax credit is a critical step to keeping the momentum," Robert E. Story Jr., chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a statement.

I know this is good for us in the industry but will it really help the ecomony and create jobs?

Richard Lecinski

Long Realty

Tucson, Az

http://rlecinski.longrealty.com

It's time to call it a night. The fun and games of Halloween are done for this year. Tom had really BIG fun playing with all the kids who came trick or treating and now he will start thinking about next Halloween.