Photos from Rick Hauser, ABR, CNE, GRI Exclusive Buyer Agent - 100% Buyers
Waterfall near entrance to Countryside Glen subdivision in Hawthorn WoodsLocated in: Hawthorn Woods, IL
FANNIE AND FREDDIE - HALTING FORECLOSURES SHORT TERM. FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending foreclosures for about 16,000 households during the holiday season.
The two companies said Thursday that they will halt foreclosure sales between Nov. 26 and Jan. 9, while they evaluate whether borrowers qualify for a new loan modification program announced last week.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimates that more than 4.4 million borrowers will become delinquent by the end of next year, not including loans backed by Fannie and Freddie.
(Personally - I think that estimate will turn out to be too low..)
1. You always want to buy low/sell high in any investment, whether it is stocks or real estate. Warren Buffett -- "I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful."
2. Rates are dropping (finally). As rates continue to drop, if you qualify (tighter lending standards are a good thing... it means there’s a very good chance you will be able to afford the house you are approved for) you will find it even less expensive to buy the house of your dreams.
3. Foreclosures, while bad for home values, are a great investment. Buying homes in pre foreclosure, saving the homeowner from a foreclosure that will be put their credit record is a good thing.
4. The baby boomers that will be moving to Sun Belt states in the next 2 to 15 years will help the markets bounce back in those areas which were pummeled by low housing prices.
5. This is a good time to buy a short sale (if you have patience and time on your side) or REO property. The prices are low; the banks are really trying to keep foreclosures off of their books.
6. Real Estate is a good alternative to stocks, particularly if you get positive cash flow.
7. Home builders are giving away upgrades; and in some areas nearly giving away the farm, too.
You want to evaluate:
1. The overall trend in the area you are buying in. Is it still going drastically downward? Is the national average a 4% loss and the loss in the area you want to buy is 30%? This is a red flag. Analyze schools and up and coming community plans (call the zoning person for a heads up.)
2. Are there a lot of people in foreclosure or headed that way - in the area? (We have ways of finding out for you..) If so it’s a sign prices may drop further, and you should wait a bit longer before buying.
3. Is there high crime or low crime? Lower obviously is better. Higher crime leads to people moving away.
4. Good schools? This is always a good selling point if you need to get out quickly.
5. Can you afford it??? Don’t overbuy!
6. Finally.. are jobs moving TO or FROM the area? Moving from is a bad sign (e.g. the rust belt states.. Michigan, Ohio etc..) People are moving to - Round Rock/Austin Texas, etc. (Google where people are moving to) Plentiful jobs will ultimately support the market!
With good decisions and proper research, it’s a FANTASTIC time to buy.
As Exclusive Buyer Agents - we provide expert research and negotiation for home buyers and investors in the Chicago area - covering both downtown and many Chicago suburbs. Unlike "buyer agents" - we are specialists -- always 100% on the buyer's side.... NEVER EVER REPRESENTING SELLERS! If you are thinking about buying / purchasing a home in the Chicago Illinois area, you should ensure that you have an agent that is on YOUR side – looking out for your best interests.
Relocation Advisors Group, Inc. represents BUYERS ONLY in the Chicago metropolitan area so that you have 100% representation - 100% of the time. We show more types of properties. Besides all MLS listed properties by any company - we show for-sale-by-owner, short-sale and foreclosure properties, properties that aren't advertised, and much more.
If You Become our Client - You Can Be Assured That We Tell You About the Negatives of a Home - Not Just the Positives. You Have an Unbiased Consultant and Advocate and "Personal Real Estate Coach" on Your Side....(Not a "Salesperson") Best of All - You are Nothing Out of Pocket to Us For Our Services... Please Call 847-566-7558 or Toll Free at 866-493-2842 or e-mail us at info@relocationadvisorsgroup.com to schedule a complimentary initial consultation.
If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a home between $250,000 to $2 million in the Chicago Illinois area during the next 60-90 days:
Those struggling the most are those with either lower than 700 FICO scores, or those who are self employed that were using stated income loans. Here are 6 tips to getting a mortgage more easily in today’s market.
Be prepared with documents! Scan your pay stubs, keep copies of your current employment records, and if you are self employed, keep a letter from your accountant and business license copy in a PDF format. This saves tremendous time when you go to file. The more you have to put down - the better. There are still 10% down loans out there - but you will end up paying more in interest - than with 20% down. Of course - you may be better off with 10% down if you want to keep a lot of "powder dry" in the bank. Everything depends on your situation. Ultimately - it is your call. Just be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each scenario.
Stay away from companies that will “raise your FICO”. Most of these are scams – they will take your money but you won’t see your credit score increase. Rather than paying off your high interest cards first (which makes the most financial sense in most cases) - if you want to help raise your score - pay so that you are less than 50% of your limit - on each card. Once your cards drop to 50% of their available limit, your FICO goes up as you are considered a less risky borrower. Another way to improve FICOs is to not close old loans and show them paid off.
Shop around. Lenders are advertising easy loans, but the devil is in the details. Look out for origination fees, penalties for having a “lower than 700” credit score, various lenders fees hidden in different parts of the Good Faith Estimate (which you should always get - and then have your agent help you analyze it - versus other ones you get -- for same day / same loan type), etc. You want to compare total fees and rate on each GFE.
Maximize your 1st mortgage. Try to get as much as you can on your primary mortgage because the cost of HELOCs and 2nds today behind other loans at the 75% combined loan to value rate is very high.
Don’t just take your brokers word for it. Some brokers have access to great lenders that you don’t have access to through wholesale lending. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also shop around yourself. Compare what your broker finds to what you find, and be prepared with all the documentation you can handle.
You might want to think about ordering your own appraiser as well. Particularly on jumbos or in areas that are “declining markets” (each bank is different in terms of zip codes they consider in the declining market arena), the banks are often using their own internal appraisals and rather than over inflating price as many did, they’re coming in far less than they should be to be fair and accurate. Having your own appraisal can be a good baseline to see if the banks are ripping you off. If they can show a higher LTV, they can charge you more for the loan!
As Exclusive Buyer Agents - we provide expert research and negotiation for home buyers and investors in the Chicago area - covering both downtown and many Chicago suburbs. Unlike "buyer agents" - we are specialists -- always 100% on the buyer's side.... NEVER EVER REPRESENTING SELLERS! If you are thinking about buying / purchasing a home in the Chicago Illinois area, you should ensure that you have an agent that is on YOUR side – looking out for your best interests.
Relocation Advisors Group, Inc. represents BUYERS ONLY in the Chicago metropolitan area so that you have 100% representation - 100% of the time. We show more types of properties. Besides all MLS listed properties by any company - we show for-sale-by-owner, short-sale and foreclosure properties, properties that aren't advertised, and much more.
If You Become our Client - You Can Be Assured That We Tell You About the Negatives of a Home - Not Just the Positives. You Have an Unbiased Consultant and Advocate and "Personal Real Estate Coach" on Your Side....(Not a "Salesperson") Best of All - You are Nothing Out of Pocket to Us For Our Services... Please Call 847-566-7558 or Toll Free at 866-493-2842 or e-mail us at info@relocationadvisorsgroup.com to schedule a complimentary initial consultation.
If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a home between $250,000 to $2 million in the Chicago Illinois area during the next 60-90 days:
Quite ironically - I asked one of Goose Island's employees what the status of their lease renewal was - at around 5 PM today.
Minutes later - the owner - John Hall came up to me - and shook my hand and stated that I was the first to know that Goose Island
was granted it's lease extension - which will last at least 3 to 5 years. (John's son Greg is the brewmaster)
When I yelled out "lease extension!" -- everyone in the place went nuts - and applauded.
I was one of Goose's first customers when it started at the Clybourn site in 1988 - so to just happen to be there when this news broke - was very cool.
Goose Island's many loyal patrons had been worried for some time that the entire facility would go away at the end of December this year - because
the lease was not going to be renewed.
Te brewpub is located at 1800 N. Clybourn - and always has some amazing hand-crafted beers - not to mention - great food and appetizers.
Goose Island also has it's Wrigleyville Brewpub at 3535 N. Clark it brews and ships beer from it's 1800 W. Fulton location in Chicago.
As Exclusive Buyer Agents - we provide expert research and negotiation for home buyers and investors in the Chicago area - covering both downtown and many Chicago suburbs. Unlike "buyer agents" - we are specialists -- always 100% on the buyer's side.... NEVER EVER REPRESENTING SELLERS! If you are thinking about buying / purchasing a home in the Chicago Illinois area, you should ensure that you have an agent that is on YOUR side – looking out for your best interests.
Relocation Advisors Group, Inc. represents BUYERS ONLY in the Chicago metropolitan area so that you have 100% representation - 100% of the time. We show more types of properties. Besides all MLS listed properties by any company - we show for-sale-by-owner, short-sale and foreclosure properties, properties that aren't advertised, and much more.
If You Become our Client - You Can Be Assured That We Tell You About the Negatives of a Home - Not Just the Positives. You Have an Unbiased Consultant and Advocate and "Personal Real Estate Coach" on Your Side....(Not a "Salesperson") Best of All - You are Nothing Out of Pocket to Us For Our Services... Please Call 847-566-7558 or Toll Free at 866-493-2842 or e-mail us at info@relocationadvisorsgroup.com to schedule a complimentary initial consultation.
If you have excellent credit and are thinking about buying a home between $250,000 to $2 million in the Chicago Illinois area during the next 60-90 days:
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which seized control of the two mortgage finance companies in September, has scheduled a press conference for 2 p.m. EST.
Scheduled to attend were officials from the Treasury Department, Wells Fargo & Co., the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Hope Now, an alliance of mortgage companies organized by the Bush administration last year.
What I find so funny is that the book the Wells Fargo was giving out at the NAR Convention in Orlando (which I just got back from) was written in 2005 - and really showed why many
people are in the mess that they are..... (talks about making millions on Real Estate by reinvesting each time and getting a bigger and bigger home)
(People have been brainwashed by society for years that more is better... and that they will be happier with more "stuff" and more "money" and a bigger house etc. So - their relationships are neglected - since they are working their butts off for the "holy grail" - and then they wonder why they aren't happy..)
If you did that - all your Real Estate profits from over the years likely went up in smoke.
Anyway - I digressed....
industry official who worked on the plan said the new approach will allow lenders to modify more delinquent loans by establishing broad criteria to speed up the process.
Freddie Mac own or guarantee about half of U.S. home loans. To qualify, borrowers would have to be at least three months behind on their home loans, and would need to owe 90 percent or more than the home is currently worth.
The interest rate would be reduced so that borrowers would not pay more than 38 percent of their income on housing expenses, the industry official said.
Another option is for loans to be extended from 30 years to 40 years, and for some of the principal amount owed to be deferred.
While lenders have beefed up their efforts to aid borrowers over the past year, their earlier efforts have not kept up with the worst housing recession in decades.
***More than 4 million American homeowners, or 9 percent of borrowers with a mortgage were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of June, according to the most recent data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
 |
|
|
Are you buying a $250,000-$9,000,000 Home in the Chicago area within 90 days? Then you need to meet with us to compare the difference. Call 847-566-7558 or e-mail info@relocationadvisorsgroup.com
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
