Home Sweet Home, Insider-Tips on Minnesota real estate.

Banks Seek Payback from Walkaways

Increasingly aggressive mortgage lenders are seeking to collect deficiencies from former home owners who walked away from their properties or sold them in short sales.

About one-third of U.S. states, including California and Arizona, prohibit collection efforts after foreclosure, but home owners usually waive that protection in a refinance.

Most states allow collection on unpaid home-equity loans.


Source: Bloomberg, Kathleen M. Howley

Time is running out to take advantage of Federal Tax Credits

To watch the video click here

Federal tax Credits expire on April 30th.  Seem like a long time from now?  Just a few short months.

Buyers, It may take 60 days to close . . . once you find that house; how long will it take to find that house?

Sellers, consider the time it takes to prepare, market, sell and finally close . . . your house should be on the market right now!

Search for Homes Across the Nation

Starting this summer, Realtors will have access to an online real estate library/archive with data on every property in the United States.

Dubbed the Realtors Property Resource (RPR), this powerful new tool is a project by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). RPR was created to help Realtors better serve their clients, providing unmatched access to tax and assessment data; property data; neighborhood, school, and demographic information; and maps, trends, and reports,

NAR said. In addition, RPR will include public record information, details of prior transactions, multiple listing service (MLS) data, and zoning information.

“RPR is welcoming news for our Realtor members who are always tech savvy and on the cutting edge of business innovation,” said Karl Lee, president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors.

Lee said this visionary project will provide NAR members with in-depth, trusted information on local properties and make it easier for them to help clients analyze their buying and selling decisions, including specialized property types, such as vacation homes. The advanced user profile and social networking component of RPR will help create online referral communities and inspire members to experiment with new business models, he explained.

According to NAR, RPR will be exclusive to Realtors and member of participating MLSs, and beta testing will begin in March of this year. On July 1, 2010, Realtor logins will begin to be activated across the country, and a phased roll-out will occur in the months following.

Twin Cities, U.S. home prices are flattening out

New data shows that prices for homes fell slightly in the Twin Cities area and across much of the nation in November.

To read more of this article by By KARA McGUIRE, Star Tribune click here

 

FHA Announces 2010 Policy Changes

Last week Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David Stevens announced a set of policy changes to strengthen the FHA's capital reserves, while enabling the agency to continue to fulfill its mission to provide access to homeownership for underserved communities. The changes are the latest in a series of changes made to help to better position the FHA to manage its risk while continuing to support the nation's housing market recovery.

The FHA will take the following steps:

1. Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be increased to build up capital reserves and bring back private lending.  The first step will be to raise the up-front MIP by 50 bps to 2.25% and request legislative authority to increase the maximum annual MIP that the FHA can charge.   If this authority is granted, then the second step will be to shift some of the premium increase from the up-front MIP to the annual MIP.  This will help decrease the initial impact on consumers because annual MIP is paid over the life of the loan instead of at closing.  The initial up-front increase will go into effect in the spring.
2. Update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers.  New borrowers will now have different credit requirements to qualify for FHA's 3.5% down payment program. Depending on th eir credit score, some new borrowers will be required to put down at least 10%.  This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February and, after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
3. Reduce allowable seller concessions from 6% to 3%.  The current level exposes the FHA to excess risk by creating incentives to inflate appraised value. This change will bring FHA into conformity with industry standards on seller concessions.  This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
4. Increase enforcement on FHA lenders.  HUD will pursue legislative authority to increase enforcement of FHA lenders, publicly report lender performance rankings to complement currently available Neighborhood Watch data and enhance monitoring of lender performance a nd compliance with FHA guidelines and standards.   These changes vary in when they will go into effect.  Some happen immediately and some will take place this summer. 

Weekly Market Activity Report

Activity continues to pick up in the Twin Cities housing market as sellers and buyers bid a sad farewell to the Vikings' football season and the dormat holiday market begins to thaw. New listings, sales and inventory are steadily increasing as we prepare for the spring season.

For the week ending January 16 there were 571 signed purchase agreements, up 4.0 percent from a year ago. That's only the second week of year-over-year increase in the last nine. New listings were 8.3 percent higher than a year ago at 1,668, and the total inventory of homes available for sale currently sits at 20,459, down 18.9 percent from last year at this time.

With an extreme shortage of inventory in some of the lower price ranges, new listings may be welcome in that segment for the first time in several years. In the upper price ranges, sales activity is still declining and new sellers face a tougher market.

VIEW FULL REPORT | VIEW MORE RESEARCH REPORTS

Stakes are high as government plans exit from mortgage markets

For more than a year, the government pulled out the stops to revive home buying by driving down mortgage rates.

Now, whether the housing market is ready or not, the government is pulling out.

 Read more from the Washington Post click here

Home Prices Not Rising Anytime Soon

Expiring tax credit for home buyers pressured home sales in December and then the credit was extended, so we're in uncharted territory in terms of volatility, according to Trulia CEO Peter Flint, who says prices aren't going up over the next six to 12 months. Stacey Delo reports.

For More and Watch Video go to MarketWatch

Existing-Home Sales Fall in December, but Up for the Year

Sales of existing U.S. homes plunged in December more than anticipated, the month after a government tax credit was originally due to expire.

Purchases decreased 17 percent, the biggest decline since records began in 1968, to a 5.45 million annual rate from 6.54 million pace the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median sales price increased for the first time in two years, reflecting fewer first-time buyers, the group said.

First-time buyers rushed to complete deals before the $8,000 government incentive was expected to end on Nov. 30. The subsequent extension and expansion of the credit, together with the one- to two-month delay between contract signings and closings, signals demand will pick up again in the first half of this year.

The share of homes sold to first-time buyers fell to 43 percent in December from 51 percent the prior month, Yun said, indicating the expected end of the tax credit played a role in the drop in sales.

To contact the reporter on this story: Courtney Schlissermanin Washington at cschlisserma@bloomberg.net

Buyers Need to Act Fast on Expanded Tax Credit

By now it is well documented that today’s affordable housing prices, historically low interest rates and federal home buyer tax credit have combined to create one of the most attractive first-time buyer markets in recent memory. What many Americans might not realize is that a recent expansion of the buyer tax credit has created an equally desirable opportunity for existing homeowners.

This past November, Congress elected to expand the home buyer tax credit to repeat buyers after seeing the success the temporary financial incentive had on the housing market and overall economy. As a result, current homeowners who will have lived in their home for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 may now be eligible to receive a $6,500 tax credit.

“The expanded tax credit offers a great financial opportunity for existing homeowners, particularly those looking to trade up,” said James M. Weichert, president and founder of Weichert, Realtors, one of the nation’s largest independent real estate companies. “Not only can you receive a large sum of money from the government, you’ll also likely purchase your next home for less money and at a lower interest rate than you could have in years past or years to come.”

To qualify for the tax credit, the repeat buyer must have signed a binding contract by April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30, 2010. Tax credit eligibility is subject to income limits, $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples. In addition, the sale price of the home being purchased can not exceed $800,000.

There is no requirement that existing homeowners must have sold their home to be eligible for the $6,500 tax credit. However, Weichert encourages existing homeowners who want to benefit from this incentive to move quickly, particularly those who prefer to first sell their current home before purchasing a new one.

“Typically, it takes three months or longer to sell a home. That’s why it is critical repeat buyers put their home on the market right away. Otherwise they might not leave themselves enough time to both secure a buyer for their current house and find a new home by the April 30 deadline,”