About Clallam County, WA

Results from my informal 2009 Sequim Home Show survey. 23 People were surveyed.

1. How do you feel about the new President (Positive or negative)?

13 responded positive. 7 responded negative and 3 neutral.

2. On a scale of 1-10 how do you feel about the economy with 10 being good?

-5,2.5. , 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 6, 8, -1, 4, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 5, 1, 4, 4.

3. Will you be making a big purchase in the next 12 months?

16 Responded No, 7 responded Yes. 3 said they were planning on purchasing a home, 2 said furniture for the house, and 1 said a car.

4. Will you be doing any traveling this year?

18 people said Yes, 5 said No. Out of the 18 eight said they would be traveling domestically and six said they would be traveling abroad.

5. Are you retired?

10 responded Yes.

6. Are you self employed?

8 responded Yes.

7. What is your current interest rate?

6%, 0%, 4.5%, 0%, 5.5%, R, R, 0%, 0%, 5.6%, 0%, 5%, 0%, 5.5%, 7%, 0%, 0%. 0% equals they owned their home free and clear, R means they rent.

Please continue the survey in your comment or just leave a comment.

There is a lot of hype surrounding this. However, I don't think it will be all roses for good responsible borrowers.
These new loans will have to be FHA. How else are they going to insure them and the lenders who originate them? That means funding fees and monthly MI. Just to get down to 4% ??

What about the loan modifications? Will that be something a broker will be able to do? OR Are they going to rely on the lenders just like the failed HOPE program?

Solution: Get Fannie and Freddie to play nice and move in a positive direction. They can remove all adverse market overlays, ltv restrictions, etc.. Bring back verbal verification for solid borrowers, and some SIVA loans for certain Borrowers. Take away hits for investment properties. Now I am talking about balance here. I am not suggesting that they open these programs to everyone.

Where are those 80/20's so that the MI companies can jump off a cliff?

Will conventional get a piece of the action here? Are they awaiting the subsidy and jacking up rates in the mean time to get more government cheese when it comes?

Please comment.

Want to go Green? Don't worry you will be able to get financing.

All lender agencies - Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA - will have no problem funding a mortgage for a Green Built Home. Sometimes there might be incentives for such a home; however I haven't seen any of them.

The Energy Efficient Mortgage is where you get an energy audit of the home. Then based on the recommendations of the audit you can increase your mortgage to pay for improvements without it disqualifying due to higher income to debt ratios. By saving money on the utilities the borrower will then be free to pay for a slightly higher mortgage.

Another way to look at a Green Mortgage would be to look at where the monthly payments are going. Are they going to a corporately responsible company? Or is the mortgage being sold overseas to an oil barren? Does the company value human rights or is the other half of the company engaged in cheap Mexico labor?

Knowing that the home loan is going to a reputable company that values human rights, corporate ethics, and doesn't engage in polluting industries is a huge step forward to a greener mortgage.

Are there special programs that will help someone interested in improving the green quality of an existing "normal" home?

Several programs do exist where the borrower, either through a purchase or refinance, can improve the energy efficiency of the home and more.

1.Purchases -
a. Both USDA and FHA have purchase programs that will allow the borrower to purchase a home and make certain repairs or upgrades to the property. All within one loan!

b.Example repairs are as follows but not limited to: Weatherization, Insulation, Waterproofing, Mold removal, and Septic system and/or Well repair or replacement.

c.Some programs also allow for adding on an addition and finishing out a basement.

2.Refinances -
Conventional, FHA, or USDA loans can be refinanced into a rehab or repair program to upgrade or repair the home.

To lean more about home repair and rehab loans CLICK HERE for a free informational PDF.

Although market activity is increasing (with eight sales currently pending in the first week of February), there were only eleven closings of residential properties in Port Angeles in January. Consequently, the absorption rate (the amount of time it would take to liquidate all of the inventory at its current rate of sales) has risen to slightly more than a year from the eleven months last reported at the end of 2008.

There are currently 285 homes available. Fifteen new listings came on in the last week and 21 expired.

Bargain hunters are looking and finding good deals in all levels of the market, but with 180 of the homes being offered at $299,999 or less many first-time buyers and investors are also finding plenty to choose from.

There are curretly 57 homes priced under $200,000, 63 priced from $200,000 - $249,999, and 60 in the $250,000 - $299,999 range.

Those looking for homes in the $300,000 - $349,999 listings will find 27 to peruse. There are 22 priced from $350,000 - $399,999 and 21 offered at $400,000 - $499,999.

In the $500,000 - $599,999 segment we have nine to look over. Stepping over that threshold, you'll find twelve homes priced from $600,000 - $699,999, four offered in the $700's, five from $800,000 - $899,999 and one in $900,000 - $999,999 listings.

We have one property offered at $1.1million, two at $1.2million and one at $1.8 million.

There is a six month inventory of homes priced at $199,999 and under. Those listed from $200,000 - $249,999 have an absorption rate of 13.7 months. It would take about a month longer to deplete either the $250,000 - $299,999 or the $300,000 - $349,999 listings.

The $350,000 - $399,999 range has just 13.2 months of inventory. At their current sales pace, homes priced from $400,000 - $499,999 have a 25.3 month absorption rate.

It would take 27.3 months to deplete the nine homes priced from $500,000 - $599,999. And with no recent sales in the upper register of the market -- homes priced above $600,000 -- the current absorption rate is four-and-a-third years.

The one home that sold for $550,000 in January sold for 86% of the original price. There were four homes that sold in the $350,000 - $399,999 range. One sold for 99% of the original price; one for 96.4%; one for 90% and one for 88 percent. One in the $250,000 - $299,999 range sold for 92% of the original price.

There were two that were purchased in the $200,000 - $249,999 price point; one for 92% of original list and one for 68.25 percent. The two lowest priced sales were under $199,999. The first went for 100% and sold in three weeks. The second sold at 85% after 61 days.

In the last 2 weeks I have called 2 borrowers to schedule appointments for appraisal inspections, and have had them say "someone was just out here... someone was just here yesterday, and they walked around the house, took pictures, and asked us questions, etc.".

At first I was confused, thinking another appraiser had already been out to inspect the subject, and maybe this was a duplicate order (it happens), and then I started asking questions: Who was it that did the inspection? Was it an appraiser? In a small town like Sequim, you know the names of fellow appraisers and agents, word gets around, you hear things.

Typical answers were: No, it was Cindy Smith from XYZ Realty, and she did a really good inspection.

Right... no offense to real estate agents or Realtors, as I'm one myself (yes, I'm a member of NAR - read my profile). After the second time of hearing similar comments it clicked... these are real estate agents doing BPOs for the same lender that ordered an appraisal from me.

Nice... as if my job isn't difficult enough in this market. Now I have to handle questions like: Why wasn't the first one approved? Why do we need another inspection?

After I explain to them, tactfully of course, the difference between BPOs and appraisals, and why lenders might order BOTH OF THEM, I get them to agree to set up an appointment time, and proceed with the appraisal.

So, my question is this: Why are lenders ordering both BPOs and appraisals on the same property, seemingly within a few days of each other, and not notifying the borrowers and/or appraisers that this is the case? Aren't lenders facing enough problems and criticism with their current status to warrant at least a cursory explanation of what's really going on?

And, FYI, I showed up for an inspection yesterday and had the borrowers questioning me on the stabillity of the lender, AKA, sounds like Fells Margo, and if they were a good company or not and if they should trust them. WOW! How do I answer that one?

The times, my friends, they are a changing...

PS: I'm REALLY busy with appraisals = turn time is 2 weeks plus! I heard from a friend that a local lender is quoting a 60 day lead time for underwriting.