Upside down has become a new buzz word for many Americans that hold mortgages.  If you find yourself in this position there is a solution. You can reduce the principal balance of your mortgage with hope 4 home owners. Your monthly payments will also be reduced.

It is possible to obtain a new loan with a current appraisal.  The upside down balance on your current mortgage will be forgiven.  90% of the current value of your home will be the amount of the new mortgage.

This will result in a major reduction in your monthly payments.  You may see your payments cut in half.  This will help many homeowners stay in their home.

The new loan will be an FHA loan.  It will be insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

I’m sure you can imagine how many home owners will be helped with this program.  If you are upside down on your home, take the time to research this program.

You will have to document your income.  Most of the standard mortgage guidelines will apply.  The reduction of your balance will be advantageous when calculating your new payment.

July 30th 2008 the H4H was passed.  This is only available on owner occupied homes.  It is set to expire on September 30th, 2011.

This program does have guidelines.  The FHA has sent limits on the loan amounts as well.

This is a great program for home owners that have been having trouble with their mortgage. The situation that you are in can be improved dramatically.

There is an equity sharing element to the hope to homeowners program.  Moving forward the FHA will also share in the profits if you build equity in your home.  Some of your equity will be returned to the original lender when you sell your home. The scale changes and is based on how much time has passed.  The FHA will also share in your home’s equity moving forward.

Find out more on  hope 4 home owners.

 

Foreclosure listings can be used to your advantage when buying a new home. It’s a well known fact that numerous people lose their homes due to financial shortcomings. Many cases exist where individuals could not afford the mortgage at the onset. There are accessible listings revealing to prospective buyers many homes that are discounted thanks to the original owner defaulting on their mortgage.

We recommend using the many online resources wisely and reading through foreclosure listings to find a home at a bargain price. It may look cruel that your good luck could come at the price of someone else’s hard luck but looking at foreclosure listings could significantly reduce your expenditure when buying your home.

What’s your Choice…? Free vs. Paid Subscriptions

Available are free as well as paid foreclosure listings showing you power of sale properties at a tiny proportion to the original listing. Free listings may not be updated as regularly as those listings that require a subscription fee. We advise you to take a look at all the available alternatives before seeking a subscription service.

How to Find Foreclosure Listings

If your aim is to really save a lot of money on buying your new home (or an investment property) then it will certainly do you good to find a good home and property listing service.

Foreclosure listing services can be specific to certain areas, giving you information quickly. Paid services are preferred with respect to free services since they tend to be more efficient.

Let’s Now Find a Good Foreclosure Listings Sites

Go online for foreclosure listings and carry out a search based on the factors you are interested in. It is not rare to find listings services that will even e-mail you upon the appearance of a new listing with your preferences.

For information and valuable insights into mortgage topics please go to:

http://www.mortgage-infoguides.com/blog/.

There are few more emotive issues than the estimated value of your own property.

Anyone who has been or is intending to remortgage in the foreseeable future will be aware that an independent valuation will need to be completed in most cases. In the current property market, this can be a harrowing and eye opening experience. It has become increasingly evident that property valuers have been taking a very lean view of the UK property market and this has significant implications for seller, purchasers, remortgagers and, most importantly, mortgage brokers and IFAs.

According to London-based data services company Hometrack, which delivers a good indication of a property’s value, house prices fell for 18 consecutive months up to December last year, when the average house price in the UK climbed just 0.1 per cent.

For most areas, last year provided the poorest house price growth – if any – in more than a decade. There is no doubt that 18 months of average values falling, or at the very least the speed of growth falling dramatically, have diminished homeowner equity levels and dented consumer confidence. Hometrack’s national average house price in December was measured at £160,900, down 1.6 per cent from £163,474 in December 2004.

Glut

From a seller’s perspective, the messages are simple: supply outweighs demand and it is a buyer’s market. In the first quarter of last year, the number of properties available soared by more than 30 per cent.

During last year, the length of time it took to sell a house grew by more than 20 per cent to eight weeks. In 2004, it took and average of 6.5 weeks from listing to confirmed sale. Importantly, the sale price as a percentage of asking price was down to 93.5 per cent last year, endorsing the point that buyers exercised significant bargaining leverage over sellers and negotiated large discounts.

In real terms, a seller who lists his property for sale at last year’s national average of £160,900 will, on average, achieve an agreed sale price or £150,441 and have to wait on an agonising two months to seal the deal.

Even at this price it is a bridge too far for most first-time buyers looking to get their toe in the property market. But there is some light at the end of the tunnel. First time buyers accounted for 11 per cent of total buyers in the third quarter of last year, according to the National Association of Estate Agents. This was up from 7.7 per cent in August. Brokers should be mindful of the important market sector in their marketing plans, and a further interest rate cut in the first quarter of 2006 could really kick start the property market.

Remortgage

From a remortgage perspective, the implications are significant and a conservative valuation can conspire to make the professional mortgage broker or IFA look a bit silly.

Brokers and lenders witnessed and unprecedented level of down valuations last year – where the property valuation is significantly less than the customer’s initial estimate. Most lenders require a valuation to be completed on remortgage applications, particularly where the loan-to-value ration is more than 70 per cent. The major issue facing mortgage brokers is taking a customer’s estimate of their perceived property value on face value, as invariably it will be on the high side. This is where the fun begins.

Let us visit the sale process of a typical mortgage broker. You spend a good few hours completing a fact find, issuing an independent disclosure document and building the confidence of your client in your ability as a professionally-qualified, Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice-endorsed, FSA-registered adviser.

You tell your client that you have more than 4000 mortgage products to choose from and you will find him one that fits his need exactly. A key cornerstone of the selection is the LTV ratio and this is based on the customer’s estimate of his property’s value.

This estimate will be based on a few things: knowledge of other properties that have sold recently in his street or neighbourhood, the press and a large dose of gut feel.

Clearly many clients will have an over-inflated view of what their property is truly worth; it is an emotive issue and one that can really bite the adviser. Imagine then you have taken all the details required on the fact find, you have sourced a deal, it is tight on equity – but based on what you know and have been told, the deal fits.

The valuation rains on your parade as it comes in much lower than expected – lower than the customer’s rose-tinted estimate, lower than the flowery estimate given by the local real estate agent.

Now meet the independent valuer. Independent valuers are a cautious lot, and the subject of much cursing and blaspheming.

From a mortgage broker perspective, however, remember one thing. As far as a customer is concerned, you sent that valuer to value their property, you are the focal point of their mortgage transaction – indeed you are the expert. So when the valuation comes back well below expectations it is you, the broker, that will be left to deal with the problem.

This can create several problems. First, the deal that you diligently sourced from your 4000 choices may no longer fit the lender profile. Second, you need to explain to the client that his net asset position is not as good as he had thought. Third, you will be left to resurrect a new deal without much credibility left.

Some may think it is possible to get a valuer to change his mind. This happens about as often as the moon is blue. In fact, it happens about as often as often as a valuer gives a higher valuation than a customer’s estimate.

Remember a valuer will need to substantiate his figure with comparable – and recent – local sales, which is usually tough to argue with.

Even arranging finance for a new build can be fraught with danger. One such case recently saw a mortgage arranged for a new build. The customer had negotiated a discount from the builder’s original asking price and, by definition, set a market price for the new property.

Imagine explaining to the customer that the deal he had got on his property was not as good as he thought because a licensed valuation down graded the new purchase by £15,000. This resulted in the deal not fitting the lender criteria and a distressed customer at loggerheads with the builder. The builder was happy to back out of the deal and sell the property to another customer, happy in the knowledge that the chances of the same valuer turning up were remote. The consequence was a very unhappy customer and a very traumatic process for all involved, including the mortgage broker.

So what do we do in these downward trend times? Hometrack estimates that property prices this year will rise just 1 per cent, citing affordability as the major barrier to entry for buyers. Halifax is a little more optimistic, predicting a 3 per cent rise. Either way, the head days of double digit growth of past years are gone. It really is a challenge as a professional mortgage broker to tread the tightrope between realistic property valuations and a disappointment.

POSITIVE

There are, however, positive signs on the horizon for the property market. First-time buyer activity has increased, usually a precursor for renewed vigour in the property market.

Estate agents have reported their first drops in available housing stock for nearly six months, another sign that activity is starting to move the right way.

Interest rates are stable, and the much vaunted interest rate cut to stimulate a slowing economy has not happened – yet. Inflation and unemployment levels will need to be kept in check to facilitate a cut in rates. All of these things may happen or continue to happen; they may not.

In the interim, mortgage brokers need to deal with the reality of a bear property market. At point of sale, be armed with the facts and be ready to re-adjust your customer’s estimate of his property value. Check property websites before your sales call and get a feel for local area conditions and trends.

Not only will you be armed with the facts, you may just save yourself and your customer a lot of heartache. Additionally, it is not a bad idea to get to know your local valuers; you will find the same names keep coming up.

When push comes to shove and you need to explain the salient points of a valuation, or worse still a down valuation to a client, you had better know what you are talking about. Saving the deal could rest on it.

Finally, at point of sale, cover yourself. Explain to the client that you are basing your product recommendation on his estimate of property value and that it is subject to qualification from a licensed valuer.

Remember property values are an emotive topic – so know your area, do your homework and you will reap that rewards with much less hassle.

John Smith writes useful, informative articles on the mortgage, loan and propety markets

Getting your hands on good real estate in California for a good value these days is difficult. Although prices are low due to a sluggish market and consequently low property values, the uncertain future of the market makes it really hard to invest in anything that isn’t a sure bet. But while surefire deals may be hard to find on the open market, in the world of California foreclosure homes there are some great opportunities for valuable investment.

Buying California foreclosure homes differs somewhat from buying on the open market through an agent, but anyone can learn the process and ultimately, pay much less for a home than you ever would through an agent. Since California foreclosure homes are sold as repossessions, the lenders in charge of them often undersell properties simply for enough to recover the debt they are owed. This translates to savings that often lie anywhere from 10 to 50% below the market value of the property. Buying for such low prices means more than a discount however. In today’s market, it means instant equity, in a market where appreciation and investment value are virtually non existent.

California foreclosure homes are currently at incredible highs as well. With the highest inventory in the country, California has more than 55,000 properties currently in the foreclosure market. Buyers in all locations are having no trouble finding apartments, houses and commercial properties for extremely low prices. The flooded market is bringing down auction and sale prices across the board.

If you’re interested in taking advantage, try a free search for California foreclosure homes on a site like ForeclosureDeals.com. They can help you locate the listings you w ant, but they can also help you learn how to buy smart, and get the best deals out there.

Philip Smith has been educating buyers on the finer points of California Foreclosure Homes purchase at ForeclosureDeals.com for over nine years. Click here to visit and read more advice on buying discount real estate.

Free foreclosure information on homes is available in all areas of the United States through newspaper advertising as well as through court filings. One of the worst scenarios for a family is the loss of their home. In some parts of the United States families seem to lose their houses more often than in other parts of the States. This is where people looking to take advantage of certain situations can find houses at reduced prices by knowing where to look.

In some US states a lender must file any claim through the law courts before issuing foreclosure proceedings on the borrower. Once a judge reviews and agrees the foreclosure information during a judicial review, they will then offer the defendant a specified time frame, usually 30 days, in which to make payment of the entire loan amount that the judge determines to be due. At the end of that time, if the borrower has not been able to meet the deadline set by the judge the court can then order the home to be sold at auction. Just because the court has ordered foreclosure of a mortgage, does not mean the homeowner has left it too late to stop the foreclosure auction continuing. The homeowner has right up until the day of the auction to pay the mortgage, along with all the costs and maintain ownership of the property. Because this foreclosure information is open and available to the public through the law courts people looking for an opportunity to buy a home before it goes into foreclosure can review court records and then contact the owner before foreclosure is authorized by the court.

Check The Facts Before Making Any Offers

Potential buyers should look at several issues that may affect the purchase of the property before making any offers, especially if it is being purchased as an investment. Whilst the foreclosure information provided to the court is likely to be accurate; if the home loan is quite new and therefore has not time to generate much equity, the amount needed to purchase the property may be higher than the propety’s value once all the associated costs are calculated into the final price. Negotiating a deal with the property owner can sometimes be far more beneficial than just dealing with the lender. One way to find out who the owner is is by looking through the foreclosure information in the newspapers. The lender knows that through auctions as well as subsequent civil action they can recoup the cost of the loan and legal costs incurred when trying to collect. And whilst it’s unusual for a lender to accept a lower amount for a mortgage, there’s no harm in giving it a go.