Philip Sanchez

Competition between first-time homebuyers and cash real estate investors are stabilizing home prices. Cash buyers have increased 30% in the greater Tampa Bay area recently. These buyers are purchasing Real Estate for legitimate investments versus the "Gold Rush", fix n' flip mentality of the Real Estate boom a few years ago! This is reducing the inventory of homes and stabilizing home prices!

So run the race! May the best offer WIN!

Don't forget to call Pinellas Financial, a full service mortgage broker located in beautiful Clearwater, Florida! We serve the greater Tampa Bay area and are simply the best around!

On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that "the freefall is over" for housing prices! Housing prices actually edged up in May. This is the first increase since 2006. Nationwide home resales are up 9% in June compared to January of this year and sales of new homes up 17% during same period. New Construction has risen 20% since beginning of the year! This is all very GOOD NEWS! The best thing about hitting bottom is that there is only one way to go and that is up!

Call Pinellas Financial mortgage company for more information on mortgages, interest rates and the $8,000 goverment tax credit for first-time homebuyers!

We are located in Clearwater, Florida but work all over the beautiful sunshine state!

The FannieMae "Refi Plus" program has raised the amount it will approve for a refinance of your current mortgage to 125% of the home's value versus 105%. While none of us want to mortgage our home for more than it is worth, this program is designed to help those who want to stay in their home, but have lost value in the declining market and are in a bad loan and need to refinance DESPERATELY!

Talk to your lender about the FannieMae REFI PLUS program and see if it is an appropriate option for you! Contact us @ PINELLAS FINANCIAL for any mortgage questions and we'll get you an answer or get you to the person you need to talk to!

OK, some surprising truth today by the feds....commercial real estate and labor markets continue to struggle. Many regions of the country show weak or deteriorating economic conditions, despite govt efforts to kick start credit markets, consumers still having difficulty obtaining credit, retail sales soft and most of us are giving up luxury items for now.

While we still got to hear how great things will be and some financial sectors improving, it is good that the media is at least attempting to be semi-accurate and not all "roses" about our economy, because that is not the truth. The only way the economy will get better is to acknowledge the truth about our current status! Everyone agree?

Contact Pinellas Financial for more information!

Clearwater, Florida Mortgage Company

On May 14, 2009 the Obama administration announced incentives and uniform procedures for short sales thanks to the new Foreclosure Alternatives Program (FAP).

This new program helps troubled homeowners who do not qualify for loan modification AND requires banks to determine if a short sale is appropriate before proceeding with a foreclosure. It also helps Realtors and loan originators by standardizing documents for the the short sale process. This will include a standard "short sale agreement" and a standard "Offer/Acceptance letter".

In addition;

• For every successfully completed short-sale the government is offering a $1,000 incentive to banks and $1,500 to borrowers to help them relocate! They will even throw in up to $1,000 for any junior lien holder (typically a 2nd mortgage)
• The bank is to determine the property's value and the "bottom dollar" figure they are willing to take for the property. The bank then agrees to give the homeowner not less than 90 days (up to one year in some markets), to have the property listed for sale by a licensed Real Estate agent at that price. No foreclosure can take place during this time!
• The bank must agree not to try and negotiate a Real Estate agents commissions once an offer has been received and accepted. The Real Estate agents commissions are specified in the short sale agreement up front and are deducted from the sales price. (ie., bank proceeds)
• The bank may not charge the borrower/homeowner ANY fees for participating in FAP.
• There is a "deed-in-lieu" of foreclosure option that can be written into the short sale agreement that requires the borrower to deed the property over to the bank in the event that it does not sell in the 90 days or whatever time period was agreed upon. This allows the borrowers to walk away instead of being foreclosed upon. Although, it should be noted that this is still a negative action on a homeowners credit report. The goal in this situation would be to have the borrower walk away owing nothing else to the bank once the deed is signed over.
• This program is in effect through 2012.

So there you have it folks! More help! CONTACT Pinellas Financial for questions about this or anything else you can think of! We are a mortgage broker located in Clearwater, Florida! Have a great day! :)