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My Blog
A professionally installed and monitored home security system is a nice addition to your homes defenses, but it shouldnt be step one. First, conduct your own home security check. After youve inspected your homes doors and windows, make sure these essential steps are covered: 1. Keep your home well maintained on the outside. 2. Install motion detector lights. 3. Store your valuables. 4. Secure your data. 5. Prepare ahead of time in case the worst happens.
Read the full story here!
Source House Logic
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The Obama administration on Friday announced it would significantly broaden the pool of consumers eligible for mortgage modifications by opening its program to owners of rental properties and homeowners burdened by medical and credit card bills and second mortgages.
Under an expansion of the Home Affordable Modification Program, investors can seek mortgage loan modifications for rental properties, regardless of whether the home is occupied by a tenant or it is vacant but the owner plans to rent it. Previously, only owner-occupants were eligible for loan modifications under the government's plan, but officials said they decided to take this step because foreclosed rental properties were having a particularly detrimental effect on low- and moderate-income renters.
"The whole purpose of HAMP is to try and prevent foreclosures," said Treasury Assistant Secretary Tim Massad in a conference call with reporters Friday afternoon. "We're expanding it to investor-owned properties for the same reason. If your neighbor is foreclosed on, whether they're an owner or a tenant, that affects you and all your neighbors. We're allowing them to get modifications. They still have to prove a hardship and go through a protocol that proves this is a good use of taxpayer money."
Roughly 700,000 rental properties nationally may be eligible for loan modifications, he added.
"They're finally recognizing that this is a part of the housing market that needs stabilization," said Geoff Smith, executive director of DePaul University's Institute for Housing Studies. "These small multifamily buildings make up a big part of the housing stock in Chicago so any effort to stabilize them would be helpful. But one of the reasons that HAMP didn't target rentals was at some level these are businesspeople and why would you want to incentive them for taking too much risk on an investment."
Federal officials also said HAMP would begin evaluating borrowers who may face large medical, credit card or second lien payments but up to now have been ineligible for mortgage modifications because the debt-to-income ratio on their first mortgages was below 31 percent.
HAMP, which was set to expire in December, now has been extended until Dec. 31. 2013. There will be no additional costs to taxpayers for the expanded program, officials said. It will be funded from the $29 billion already set aside mortgage modification efforts.
Part of the administration's Making Home Affordable effort that was announced shortly after President Barack Obama took office, HAMP has been criticized as falling woefully short of its goal of helping 3 million to 4 million homeowners. Of the more than 1.7 million trial mortgage modifications begun under the program since its March 2010 start, only about 43 percent had resulted in permanent loan modifications through November.
The government has withheld $131 million in servicer incentive payments from Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase for poor compliance with the program.
Also announced was a tripling of the financial incentives awarded to mortgage investors whose modifications include principal writedowns in cases where the homeowner owes significantly more on the mortgage than the value of the underlying property. The current rate of between 6 cents and 21 cents on the dollar will be increased to between 18 and 63 cents. Officials said they had already briefed mortgage servicers on the new incentive plan.
Principal reduction incentives also will be offered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if they use them in loan modifications on mortgages they own or insure. Source Chicago Tribune
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Capital Economics expects the housing crisis to end this year, according to a report released Tuesday. One of the reasons: loosening credit.
The analytics firm notes the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700. While this is higher than scores required prior to the crisis, it is constant with requirements one year ago. Additionally, a Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey found credit requirements in the fourth quarter were consistent with the past three quarters. However, other market indicators point not just to a stabilization of mortgage lending standards, but also a loosening of credit availability. Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. This is up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings. Banks are also loosening loan-to-value ratios (LTV), which Capital Economics denotes the clearest sign yet of an improvement in mortgage credit conditions. In contrast to a low of 74 percent reached in mid-2010, banks are now lending at 82 percent LTV. While credit conditions may have loosened slightly, some potential homebuyers are still struggling with credit requirements. In fact, Capital Economics points out that in November 8 percent of contract cancellations were the result of a potential buyer not qualifying for a loan. Additionally, Capital Economics says any improvement in credit conditions wont be significant enough to generation actual house price gains, and potential ramifications from the euro-zone pose a threat to future credit availability.
Source - DS News
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Low Interest Loans to Improve Your Home!
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) offers low interest home improvement loans for eligible homeowners and landlords. If you want more details about eligibility, improvements, how to apply, and/or a Property Improvement Loan application click on "Homeowners" or "Landlords", whichever is appropriate. If you want information on selecting contractors, click on "Working with Contractors ". Click here to go directly to the website!
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Ever since the housing market collapsed five years ago, buyers, sellers and investors have been climbing their way out of the rubble. Things have impoved a little, but it's clear we're not there yet.
Even so, there are signs of hope. Existing home sales are up by a large margin compared with the close of 2010. And for those with the cash, credit, and determination, there has never been a better time to buy a home or apply for a mortgage or refinance. Mortgage interest rates are at all-time lows, hovering at or under 4 percent for a 30-year fixed loan. Last Thursday, Freddie Mac reported that mortgage interest rates matched the all-time low. With some careful planning, a little research and a lot of persistence, you can avoid housing market misery in 2012, and come out on top. Here are four best real estate moves you will want to make this year: To read the full story click here.
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A plan to reincarnate the shuttered Ford assembly plant in Wixom as a renewable energy lab and production facility took a step forward last week with the approval of tax credits from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority. Ford Motor Co. received $20 million in brownfield tax credits from the state to redevelop two areas of a 317-acre property at I-96 and Wixom Road. Ford plans to sell or lease the land to tenants that would re-use the plant, most likely for products related to renewable energy.
State officials say the investment could come to $160 million in renovations and new equipment on each of the parcels, bringing in much-needed revenue for the city and potential customers for businesses, both lost when the plant closed in 2007. As many as 600 new jobs, about 300 per parcel, could be created,
A company called Townsend Energy Solutions is interested in taking over at least one of the parcels. It has worked on a project since at least 2009 and is negotiating with Ford to buy property and turn the old plant into a place to develop products that provide alternative energy sources for cars, electronics and other power sources.
State economic officials see an opportunity for major job creation and development of an important sector of the new economy, but it may not be known for weeks or months when, if, the renovation of the plant would begin.
Besides the negotiations with Ford, Townsend Energy Solutions is also awaiting approval of federal tax incentives.
Source: Marcia Gebarowski, regional project manager, Michigan Economic Growth Authority, and city of Wixom
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Freddie Mac announced Friday an extension in forbearance for unemployed borrowers. Some unemployed homeowners may now receive up to 12 months forbearance.
According to Freddie Mac, almost 10 percent of delinquencies in the GSEs portfolio are linked to unemployment. Previously, servicers could offer up to three months of forbearance without payment on Freddie Mac loans or up to six months of forbearance with reduced payments without prior approval from the GSE. Extended forbearance plans were only permitted with prior approval and often only applied to natural disasters or medical emergencies. Under the new directive, servicers may offer up to six months of forbearance to unemployed homeowners without prior approval, and with prior approval servicers may offer up to six months more totaling a possible one year period available in some cases. These expanded forbearance periods will provide families facing prolonged periods of unemployment with a greater measure of security by giving them more time to find new employment and resolve their delinquencies., said Tracy Mooney, SVP of single-family servicing and REO at Freddie Mac. We believe this will put more families back on track to successful long-term homeownership, Mooney said. Servicers may evaluate borrowers already in an active forbearance plan to consider extending the terms according to the new directive from Freddie Mac. Source - DSNews
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Canadian-based Just Energy is opening a call center in Bingham Farms, a new office that is expected to create 130 new jobs over the next two years.
"We're hopeful this is an indicator of bigger projects and more employment in the year to come," says Matthew Gibb, deputy county executive overseeing economic development for Oakland County.
Just Energy is a subsidiary of Just Energy Group. The energy supplier has more than 1.8 million electricity and natural gas customer accounts throughout North America. It provides the natural gas and electricity to residential and commercial customers through long-term fixed-price and price-protected contracts in 14 states and six Canadian provinces.
Just Energy Plans to fill 14 positions in Bingham Farms this month. Of those seven positions, half will require applicants to speak both English and Spanish. For more information on these positions, click here.
Source: MetroMode
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We're seeing a new trend in homebuying.
Despite record low mortgage rates, 2011 has seen a surprisingly high level of cash home purchases, according to the real estate research firm Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. 
Jonathan Dienhart and Ken Lee, two analysts with the company, say between tight lending standards and a desperate search for yield by investors, cash purchases of homes particularly for distressed properties became even more common in 2011 than last year. Dienhart and Lee analyzed data collected through Hanley Woods Housing IntelligencePro, and shared their findings in a blog post. The two discovered that 38 percent of homes purchased in 2011 were bought with all cash. Thats up from 34 percent in 2010, and double the 19 percent rate in 2006. According to Dienhart and Lee, this trend is likely to continue in the near term. They note that cash-paying investors are responsible for an increasing share of home purchases nowadays as prior homeowners abandon the ownership market and head back to rentals. Source - DSNews
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Homeowners who receive counseling through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program are at least 67 percent more likely to be current on their loans nine months after a loan modification than those who do not, according to NeighborWorks America. Additionally, among homeowners who receive mortgage modifications, those who participate in counseling are able to decrease their monthly payments by $176 more than those who do not, according to a study conducted by the Urban Institute for NeighborWorks America. However, NeighborWorks says the reduced redefault rate is more a result of the counseling than the lower monthly payment received by homeowners who undergo counseling. The NFMC program works incredibly well for homeowners and communities, said Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO of NeighborWorks America. Importantly, the NFMC program is an investment that also has benefits for mortgage servicers. By significantly reducing the chance that a homeowner re-defaults after a mortgage modification, servicers are saved added expense, Fitzgerald said. This tells us that increased servicer investment in partnerships with nonprofit counselors is a win for everyone. HAMP was also credited for improving mortgage modifications. Prior to the implementation of HAMP, 5 percent of homeowners applying for modifications who did not receive counseling obtained modifications, while 8 percent of those who received counseling obtained modifications. Since the implementation of HAMP, both rates have risen. Nine percent of those who do not receive counseling obtain modifications, and 17 percent of those who do receive counseling receive modifications. Source DSNews
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