“World's Most Complete Neighborpedia”
Explore:   What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Hans Iduma, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist

Could the proposal to lower mortgage rate to 4.5% help stop the slide in home prices?

We all know that home values have continued to decline as a result of unprecedented foreclosure and short sale activities through out the country. These actions have also resulted in huge housing inventory. It is a fact that lower interest rates would substantially increase consumers' buying power. But the question to you Active Rain pundits is, Do you think that lowering mortgage rates from a near 50-year low of 5.5% down to 4.5% (1 full percentage point) will help spark a new surge in lending, sell more houses by luring many more potential homebuyers, clear existing backlog of housing inventory, stop the slide in home values and prices and start creating new jobs as the experts believe? Or, do you think it wouldn't make much of a difference since the rates are already low? As a certified mortgage planning specialist, I reserve my comment and wait for your wise comments, instead.

Lenders not particularly rushing to embrace the newly revised Hope for Homeowners (H4H) program.

I recently posted a blog where I encouraged homeowners who owe more on their home than the home is worth to take a new hard look at the newly revised Hope for Homeowners program before considering a short sale or foreclosure. I have received several emails from homeowners who allege that lenders are not honoring or even acknowledging the program. Some write that certain lenders will offer alternatives like refinance referral, rate reduction, changing loan terms, etc. in lieu of the Hope for Homeowners program, especially if the homeowner has not been late on their mortgage payments. I would think that this is better alternative to short sale or foreclosure for lenders and their investors because the H4H program offers them a chance for quick recapture of principal from their non-performing residential mortgage portfolios, especially with the new ltv going up to 96.5% of current home value. This program has been restructed to help them minimize the losses associated with foreclosure or short-sale. So, why shouldn't they be rushing to embrace this newly revised H4H program?

The New HUD-1 Settlement Statement...More confusing or did HUD finally nail this one.

HUD recently released a new page on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/res/hud1.pdf that will allow consumers to easily compare their final loan terms and closing costs with those listed on their Good Faith Estimate. To facilitate comparison between the HUD-1 and the new Good Faith Estimate, each designated line on the final HUD-1 will now include a reference to the relevant line from the Good Faith Estimate.

I think this is pretty cool and less confusing to even the least sophisticated consumers. But hey, this is just my opinion and you are entitled to yours. So let's hear how you think the new page on the HUD-1 will affect your consumers.

Sell More Homes this Month with First Time Homebuyer tax credit.

The first time homebuyer tax credit provides for the reduction of the income tax liability of the homebuyer on a dollar for dollar basis. The homebuyer must itemize all deductions, including income and exemptions for the tax year, among other things, to determine their tax liability. If you qualify for the $7,500 tax credit and your total tax liability for the tax year is $7,500, it becomes a wash and you owe nothing for that year. If the equivalent of $7,500 was deducted from your paycheck during the course of the year by your employer, then you should receive a tax refund of $7,500.

Please note that First time homebuyer tax credit is more like an interest-free loan that must be repaid over a period of 15 years.

Which Agent Would You Believe?

I recently interviewed a few agents in an attempt to build a buyers' agent team to work with our REO listing agents to hold bank-owned open house on their many listings. During the interview, I asked one agent, "What do you like most about being an agent?". She told me what she liked most was handing over the keys to someone else for their dream home. I thought it was a great answer from a caring "buyers" agent. Another agent I had interviewed responded to the same question by sating that she enjoyed the income potential and the time flexibility to spend with family.

I think they are both great answers, but under the circumstance, which agent would you believe if you had to choose between both agents?