This week’s updated spreadsheet of the Washington aged HUD Home inventory that is 90+ days old.  For more information feel free to visit The HUD Homestore or contact one of our agents today!! You can also find more information on what a HUD home is, how to purchase a HUD Home, and much, much more!

Please feel free to leave any comments, thoughts, or suggestions. Thanks!

Great location on Grove Street, zoned for neighborhood business too. Come bring your inspiration to this home with lots of potential. Over a quarter of an acre right on Grove Street which makes for an excellent location! Home has two beds and a bath with lots of potential charm. Within walking distance to a parks, schools and library. Make this house a home again or a local business!

The Bipartisan Policy Center published a graphic this week showing how far housing is falling and the impact it has on the U.S. economy. BPC is a Washington think tank founded by four former senators, including Bob Dole. Analysts there organized data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Robert Charles Lesser & Co., a real estate data firm.

We took the graphic, chopped it up, and made a quick lil video to share with our readers.  Because you know we love our Washington State stats & trends and we want to give a national perspective too.

Housing Recovery = US Economy Recovery

Please join the discussion and leave us your thoughts & comments below.

All Data and Graphics courtesy of the Bipartisan Policy Center

That’s a lot of M&M’s…

We all know that our agents are the masters at multi-tasking whether it be answering calls and simultaneously write offers, or driving buyers to properties and blogging all at the same time. Whatever the case, there’s always a point in which an agent needs a helping hand.

In our particular story a Washington Real Estate Broker named Lance Van Winkle was on the road and not able to write up an addendum and submit it to his buyers in docusign.  In a slight panic he contacted, another member of RESG, our Director of Operations (or Director of World Domination as we like to call her), Michelle Lewton, and requested that she help him. Being that it was nearing 5pm and the end of the day Michelle jokingly suggested that if she do the work to help him he was required to bring her peanut M&M’s in return for payment.

About an hour later our agent, Lance, walks in with a grocery bag in hand. He plops out a rather large glass dish and sets it on the desk next to Michelle. She looks up and smiles in wonderment as to what he was going to pull out of the bag next.  Sure enough, Lance pulls out a HUGE bag of M&M’s, not just the regular size package but literally a large bag of peanut M&M’s, and dumps the whole thing into the glass container (pictured above). Not to mention he brought in 2 packages of Lindor truffles as well for Michelle’s other office mates, Erica (Online Marketing and Advertising Manager) and Jennifer (Transaction Coordinator).

Needless to say, Michelle was able to execute Lance’s request in a timely fashion and in return we can’t help but love our agents, especially when they pay us in candy!

Leave us comments.

This week’s updated spreadsheet of the Washington aged HUD Home inventory that is 90+ days old.  For more information feel free to visit The HUD Homestore or contact one of our agents today!! You can also find more information on what a HUD home is, how to purchase a HUD Home, and much, much more!

If you would like more information on any of these properties or other HUD homes in the Washington region please feel free to contact us!

Great Lake Stevens WA HUD rambler in great location. Large open kitchen with garden window & skylights. Dining room offers french door access to back deck & patio. Home offers a formal living room and family room. Corner lot on private street. Fully fenced backyard plus RV parking. HUD home, Sold AS-IS, by electronic bid and the property is IE (Insured Escrow). MLS Key box. Case number 561-906234 .

Conforming Loan Limits Beneficial to WA REO Distressed Properties?

There is a chance that an increase in some conforming loan limits in high-cost real estate markets could provide slightly more opportunities for REO investors purchasing high priced properties.  If conforming loan limits are increased, REO investors on the margins of the maximum limit may have an opportunity to access certain loans, giving them more financing options.

Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the FHFA is charged with adjusting the conforming loan limit annually to 115% of median for a particular area.

But the agency, which oversees the two secondary mortgage market institutions, has made the “policy decision” not to allow the maximum to decline. Also, the law does not allow for any increases in an area’s ceiling until past declines have been made up.

Because conforming loan limits are based on the average price of both new and existing houses sold from one October to the next, it isn’t likely that any increases in the maximum loan limit would be significant even in high-priced areas.  For REO properties on the high-end of the price scale, this could mean that some investors looking for financing will need to explore nontraditional loans.  The good news is that the Senate has voted to extend the $729,750 maximum on loan limits for FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for at least two years.

Please feel free to leave thoughts or comments?

Mortgage Refinance Proposal a Reality?? Perhaps.

Federal and state officials have reached a $26 billion foreclosure settlement with five of the largest home mortgage lenders in the country. According to the settlement agreement, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial will pay a total of $5 billion each to the states. Foreclosed homeowners will receive a portion of that money while the balance will go to the states. Forty-nine states are involved in the settlement, including Washington (Oklahoma excluded); but the agreement does not bar future criminal prosecution of the home mortgage lenders.

What Does The Settlement Mean For Homeowners?

Some homeowners who are both underwater and delinquent on their mortgage will have an opportunity to reduce the principal of their loan.  However, it is not clear at this time what other eligibility requirements borrowers will need to meet other than having a mortgage principal which is greater than 140 percent of the value of the home.  It is clear that this aspect of the mortgage settlement may still fail to help many people since only $17 billion is available for mortgage principal reduction.  There are over 1 million homeowners who are behind on their mortgage and possibly underwater.  Many of them are tens of thousands of dollars underwater.  If principal reductions are applied to all of these homeowners each would only receive about $17,000 reductions which aren’t enough.

Victims of illegal foreclosures may receive robo-signing settlements. About $1.5 billion of the settlement has been allocated for homeowners who faced illegal foreclosures between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011.  Those who meet the eligibility for payouts could receive $2,000.  Arguably $2,000 is a paltry amount considering the amount of equity and opportunity loss victims of illegal foreclosures suffered.  However, at this juncture any settlement is huge in terms of getting compensated for foreclosure losses caused by robo-signing.

The biggest consequence of this settlement could be that Obama’s proposed refinance program could gain approval. The Obama administration proposed a new refinance program that would allow homeowners who are current on their mortgage but underwater to refinance their loans through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) even if their loans are not backed by government sponsored enterprises.  However, the program has yet to win approval especially since it includes a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee on banks that have an excess of $50 billion in assets.  Banks have threatened the administration with lawsuits if the fee is approved.  But with the latest foreclosure settlement allowing criminal prosecution in the future, banks might feel compelled to pay the financial crisis responsibility fee in exchange for avoiding criminal charges.

Details Of Proposed Refinance Program

Below are some of the highlights of the proposed FHA refinance program:

• Borrowers who are underwater but current on their mortgage payments may apply.
• Borrowers will receive lower interest rates, thus saving them money in refinance charges.
• Borrowers build equity by continuing to pay their same monthly mortgage rate but for fewer years.  For example, if a borrower has a      mortgage of $150,000 which they must pay for 30 years, they can refinance the same mortgage for 20 years and build equity.  The new terms would not increase their monthly mortgage payment.
• Borrowers can choose to reduce their monthly mortgage payment in lieu of building equity.

If approved, the FHA refinance program would require that eligible applicants are:

• current on their payments for the past six months and have not missed more than one payment in the six months prior
• have a FICO score of at least 580
• have a loan that meets FHA conforming loan limits for their area
• are refinancing the mortgage on their principal residence

The good news is that applicants for the proposed refinance program would not need to submit a new appraisal or tax return. All they need to prove is that they are currently employed and can make payments.  Even if they are unemployed, if they can prove they have the ability to make mortgage payments they can win approval for participation in the refinance program.

Proposed Program Risks

The Obama administration aims to reduce risks by having a separate insurance pool for loans in the proposed refinance program. By creating a separate insurance pool, the FHA can protect its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) fund from any unforeseen risks created by the proposed FHA refinance program.

What About Delinquent Borrowers?

Recognizing that a large number of borrowers are delinquent on mortgage payments, Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has been expanded.  Loan to value restrictions have been lifted, refinancing fees have been lowered and borrowers’ closing costs have been reduced. The president is also asking that Congress eliminate appraisal costs by using alternative appraisal methods. To find out more about HARP visit them online.

Please feel free to leave any comments, thoughts, or questions!!

President Obama has proposed a new “Homeowner Bill of Rights” that will require mortgage servicers be held accountable for rushing into foreclosure without first exploring all other alternatives.  But can this Bill of Rights help reduce the number for foreclosures? Maybe.  Let’s take a look at the core tenets of this Bill of Rights:

Homeowners will have the right to talk to mortgage servicer personnel who have:

1. a complete record of previous communications;
2. access to all documentation and payments submitted by the homeowner; and
3. access to personnel with decision-making authority on loss mitigation options.

Under the Homeowner Bill of Rights, the mortgage servicer must not pursue foreclosure until they have given the homeowner every opportunity to avoid losing their home. Even if a homeowner fails to send in paperwork, the mortgage servicer cannot file foreclosure until after a reasonable amount of time has passed.  The proposed Bill of Rights also aims to protect homeowners from illegal foreclosure by requiring mortgage servicers to provide a written explanation for any foreclosure they plan to pursue.  It is possible that this new proposal could reduce certain types of foreclosures. For example, foreclosures which take place before a mortgage modification is approved could be avoided. However, for foreclosures that take place because the homeowner has lost their job and cannot afford their mortgage (even if modified) it isn’t clear that this Bill of Rights will impact those numbers. On the other hand, if this proposal is coupled with programs that help unemployed homeowners avoid foreclosure, then the Bill of Rights might be more effective in preventing employment related foreclosures.

Thoughts, comments, questions?? Feel free to leave them!

Great Everett WA rambler in Pinehurst area. Bank owned home priced to sell. Three beds two baths great open floor plan with a kitchen that is centrally located and opens up to the living space, great for entertaining. Home has an attached garage that has plenty of space for a workshop. Back slider leads to a nice patio and a big backyard great for the summertime.