Behind in your mortgage?

A new law requires mortgage lenders to give homeowners in default a notice about requesting a loan modification review or a meeting with the lender to discuss options for preventing a foreclosure.

While the law requires the meeting, it does not require servicers or lenders to modify homeowners’ loans.

“Homeowners in foreclosure or in danger of foreclosure should familiarize themselves with the rights this new law affords them,” Attorney General Wasden said.

The law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, also requires lenders to notify homeowners whether they qualify for a loan modification within 45 days of a modification request. Lenders cannot proceed with a trustee’s sale during the 45-day period. Homeowners also will receive written notice of the date and time of a future trustee’s sale if a scheduled sale date is postponed.

Under the law, people who are not licensed with the Idaho Department of Finance or exempt, such as attorneys, are prohibited from charging a fee for loan modification services.

Questions and answers about the law, as well as forms, can be found on the attorney general’s website at www.ag.idaho.gov.

The website also has several consumer education manuals related to housing issues, including Foreclosure Prevention and Foreclosure Scams: How to Tell the Difference; Buying a Home; and the Landlord and Tenant Guidelines. Consumers who need help obtaining a mortgage modification should contact a HUD-approved housing counselor at (888) 995-HOPE, or call the Attorney General’s housing specialist at (208) 334-4536. Consumers can file complaints regarding mortgage fraud with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Forms are available on the website or by calling (208) 334-2424

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/08/22/1768689/idaho-law-to-help-troubled-homeowners.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IdahostatesmancomBreakingNews+%28IdahoStatesman.com+Breaking+News%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#ixzz1Vobbl3J9

NAR released its latest pending home sales index figure last week and for the second month in a row the index is up. But more than that, the index has broken 100. This is significant because the only time since the housing boom collapsed that the index has broken 100 is when the home owner tax credit was in effect. The fact that the index has returned to that level a year since the credit has been in effect means the housing market is strengthening completely on its own, without any stimulus.

Government, the mortgage industry and forces of nature all shook the housing market in 2011. They had both an immediate impact and slow-burning effects, setting the stage for a bumpy 2012 with more foreclosures, political battles and local market risks.

1)      Robo-Signing Reverberations

The “robo-signing” scandal – where banks were accused of approving foreclosures with incomplete or incorrect documentation – exploded in October 2010, but where are we now? Banks want a settlement in order to avoid costly, drawn-out lawsuits. One is shaping up that could reduce loan balances or interest rates for current homeowners, give payments to people who lost their homes and establish new mortgage servicing standards for the future.

What Really Mattered: The threat of robo-signing lawsuits made banks gun-shy about pursuing foreclosures in 2011, which left many homes stuck in the foreclosure process. But once a settlement is reached, we’ll see a rush of foreclosures in 2012.

2)      The Debt Ceiling and the Budget Deficit

In August, the government played a game of chicken over whether to raise the debt ceiling, but this should have been just a formality. It’s actually reducing the deficit that’s the hard part. Long before the debt ceiling debate, we all knew that the federal budget was in bad shape, and the federal credit rating downgrade itself didn’t change anyone’s view on this.

What Really Mattered: After the debt ceiling debate, the back and forth deliberations by the unsuccessful bipartisan deficit-reduction supercommittee teased us with some proposals that will surely rear their heads again. One idea that both Republicans and Democrats didn’t totally disagree about was reducing the mortgage interest and other tax deductions. If and when that happens, high-income homeowners with mortgages would pay a lot more in taxes.

3)      The Expansion of HARP

In October, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said seriously underwater homeowners will be able to refinance through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). But there is a catch – borrowers must be current on their payments.

What Really Mattered: Borrowers who strategically fell behind on their payments in hopes of negotiating a loan-modification won’t be helped. What this plan will do is stimulate the economy without having to get Congress to agree on additional stimulus.

4)      Natural Disasters Cause Insurance Disaster?

In 2011, several tornados, floodings and a hurricane temporarily halted what little construction there was to begin with, but this was just a short-term slowdown. The bigger long-term effect was the near-collapse of the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Still struggling financially under debt amassed after Hurricane Katrina, the NFIP’s insurance premiums don’t fully cover insurance claims when disaster strikes. Hurricane Irene and its flood damage returned this problem to center-stage.

What Really Mattered: In flood-prone areas, you can’t get a mortgage if you don’t have flood insurance. Without NFIP, housing markets in these areas would skid to a stop. As part of last week’s payroll tax agreement, the program got a last-minute extension until May 2012, but its future remains uncertain.

5)      Lowering the Conforming Loan Limit

Starting in October, the government lowered the upper limit for loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) from $729,750 to $625,500. Why? Government agencies now back or insure most loans, but it’s time to make the housing market less dependent on the feds. Lowering loan limits is one step in that direction; however, the real estate industry has urged the government to push the loan limits back up. And you know what? They scored a half-win in November, raising the loan limit back up for FHA loans but not for Fannie and Freddie.

What Really Mattered: Mortgage lenders are willing to charge lower rates for loans that are backed by Fannie or Freddie; with a lower conforming loan limit, a small number of loans that used to qualify for federal backing no longer do.

By Jed Kloko, Time Magazine

Read more: http://moneyland.time.com/2011/12/29/5-events-that-really-mattered-for-housing-in-2011-and-beyond/#ixzz1ibS8LOrz

by Martin Wolk

If you are underwater on your home or struggling to pay your mortgage, you are probably wondering whether you can expect relief under a $25 billion settlement reached by state and federal officialswith the nation’s biggest banks.

The short answer is, you probably won’t know right away.

According to details laid out on a new “National Mortgage Settlement” website, the payments and other relief will be made over a three-year period and “borrowers will not immediately know” whether they are eligible.

There are three main categories of people who will be aided under the settlement, according to the site:

• Homeowners who need loan modifications to stay in their homes. Loan servicers have agreed to write off some principal in these cases, which would help homeowners refinance at lower monthly payments.
• Borrowers who are current on payments but underwater, meaning they owe more than their home is worth. Servicers will help some of these owners refinance at current rates, which are at or near record lows.
• Borrowers who have lost their homes to foreclosure. Some of these former owners will be eligible for payments. $1.5 billion will be distributed to 750,000 borrowers, which works out to $2,000 per person.

Within the next 30-60 days, an administrator will be chosen to oversee the settlement. Eligible homeowners will be identified over the next six to nine months, and will be notified by mail.

The settlement largely affects borrowers whose loans are serviced by five big banks: Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally/GMAC. Loans owned by government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not affected. Borrowers from Oklahoma also will not be eligible because officials from that state did not join the settlement.

For more information. including telephone numbers of the loan servicers, check out the settlement website.  The site also includes links to check whether your home loan is owned by Fannie or Freddie.

HomePath® Buyer Incentive: June 14 – October 31

Fannie Mae is currently offering buyers up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance through October 31, 2011.

Terms and Conditions:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The downward cycle in home prices broke in April after eight consecutive months of decline, according to a survey released Tuesday.

According to the S&P/Case Shiller 20-city index, prices rose 0.7% compared with March, although they fell 0.1% when adjusted for the strong spring selling season. Prices were down 4% year-over-year.

“In a welcome shift from recent months, this month is better than last — April’s numbers beat March,” said David Blitzer, S&P’s spokesman, in a statement. “However, the seasonally adjusted numbers show that much of the improvement reflects the beginning of the spring-summer home buying season.”

“It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather,” Blitzer added.

Any hint of good news in the troubled housing market will likely bring cheer to the industry, and there are some signs that market conditions are not quite as dire as some of the other statistics may indicate. Foreclosures, for example have been falling.

That has translated in a decline of 16% in the sales volume of distressed properties this year, while volume of non-distressed sales rose 11%, according to Joseph LaVorgna, chief economist for Deutsche Bank.

That’s good news because much of the price drop over the past year can be blamed on severe price slashing for homes in foreclosure, as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke pointed out in a press conference last Wednesday. Prices for homes sold by regular sellers have held up much better.

Foreclosures down for seventh straight month

“That suggests,” said Bernanke, “if we can reduce the current number . . . maybe 40% of home sales, which are on a distressed basis, that would do a lot for stabilizing the market and helping give people confidence that they can buy and not be buying into a falling market.”

Still, the fact that prices perked up in April is not necessarily something to write home about, said Mike Larson, a housing market analyst for Weiss Research.

“It happens every spring,” he said “It’s very clear there’s a seasonal component. Even non-statisticians can see that. The report was, however, better news than what people were expecting.”

Metropolitan Washington continued to be the strongest of the 20 cities covered by the report. Prices rose 3% in April there and have been on the plus side year-over-year, up 4%.

Foreclosures for sale: Big supply, low prices

The worst performing market for the month was Detroit, where prices fell 2.9%. The biggest year-over-year drop was recorded by Minneapolis, where prices have plunged 11.1% since last April.

The big picture is that a housing market recovery has yet to gain any steam, according to Larson.

“We’re not falling off a cliff anymore, but we’re only going sideways,” he said.

The year-over-year price comparisons could start to become more favorable, according to LaVorgna. For many months, price changes have looked worse than they might actually have been because they were being compared to months when the home buyer tax credit was in effect, which boosted prices.

“[W]ith the homebuyer tax credit having expired in June 2010, we will soon be getting “clean” housing data unencumbered by artificial distortion,” he said.

Housing starts rose 14.6% in June, according toCommerce Department data, continuing gains of the prior month and coming in well above most analysts’ estimates.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, starts increased to the highest level since January at 629,000, up from a revised 549,000 for May and nearly 17% higher than 539,000 a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Econoday were expecting housing starts to come in at 575,000 with a range of estimates between 550,000 and 600,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch projected starts to come in at 580,000 for June.

In a joint release, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development said single-family starts climbed 9.4% in June to a seasonally adjusted rate of 453,000 units, up from a revised 414,000 for May.

June’s increase comes on the heels of a 3.5% increase in May. Starts dropped 22.5% in February, which was the largest monthly decline since March 1984.

Building permits in June rose 2.5% to an annual rate of 624,000 from a revised 609,000 for the prior month.

Fannie Mae has recently announced a special incentive effective with offers submitted
on or after April 11th.

Buyer must sign the Owner Occupant Certification Rider to the Real Estate Purchase
Addendum.

HomePath® Buyer Incentive

Fannie Mae is currently offering buyers up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance through June 30, 2011.

The HomePath property buyer must meet the following qualifications to be eligible:

Buyers and/or selling agents (the agent representing the buyer) must request the incentive
upon submission of initial offer in order to be eligible.

The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011 and close by June 30, 2011.
If an initial offer was made prior to the effective date, the offer is not eligible for the incentive.

The sale must close on or before June 30, 2011. No exceptions will be made to this
deadline.

Only buyers purchasing a HomePath property as their primary residence may receive up to
3.5% in closing cost assistance. Second homes and investment properties are excluded from
the incentive.

If a buyer’s total closing costs are under 3.5%, the difference will not be available as a credit
to the buyer.

Note that this incentive will be clearly identified on the purchase
contract, and these loans must close by June 30, 2011.

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) have launched a new program to make home ownership a reality through its IdaMortgage program. The new Affordable Advantage Loan offers a down payment as low as $1,000, and has no mortgage insurance requirement, saving qualified borrowers money on the mortgage payment every month.

“This IHFA exclusive financing option is a great tool for home buyers as the housing market in Idaho continues its recovery,” said Gerald Hunter, IHFA president and executive director. “It offers another affordable lending option for low- to moderate-income home buyers across the state.”

Affordable Advantage Loan
Features of the Affordable Advantage Loan include:
• As little as $1,000 needed from borrower to close
• A low-cost, 30-year fixed interest rate
• No mortgage insurance required, reducing a borrower’s monthly payment
• Financing to first-time home buyers (including those who have not owned a home in the past three years) with good credit histories
• Income limits apply
• Loans are serviced in Idaho by IHFA

Help your clients check their eligibility for an IdaMortgage loan by visiting www.IdaMortgage.com

Great for first time Home buyers!

Rate are at historic lows right now!

Selection is great…a fantastic time to buy!

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension- The Waiting Game

The Senate has adopted Senator Harry Reid’s (D-NV) amendment to the pending jobs and extenders legislation (HR 4213) that would extend the closing date for the homebuyer tax credit from June 30, 2010 to September 30, 2010. The amendment would apply only to purchasers who have satisfied the April 30 binding contract rule for the $8000 and $6500 tax credits. The amendment creates no new eligibility for the credit. Once through the Senate, the bill must go back to the House for their approval before obtaining the President’s signature. While the timing remains uncertain, completion is expected sometime next week.
Congress will be in session during the weeks of June 21 and June 28, so votes on the legislation are still possible before the June 30 deadline.