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Can your Realtor do this? Maybe the question shouldn't be CAN your REALTOR® do this, but WILL they?
If you're selling real estate in the Tampa Bay area, you need to choose a REALTOR® who is using all the tools they have at their disposal, to get your listing sold! I say this because many may not be. It's important to choose a REALTOR® who understands real estate technology and will be able to obtain the highest exposure of your home to potential buyers. Why you should use Liane Jamason to list your home in Tampa Bay: Would you like a FREE Comparative Market Analysis on your home so you can see what it might sell for in today's market? Request one here. Ready to list your home? Contact me today. I've had many sellers call me after previously having listed their home with another real estate agent. When I ask them why they are looking for a new REALTOR®, they most common response I get is that the prior agent did nothing to market their home but put a sign in the yard and put the home on MLS. I do a lot more than put a pretty "For Sale" sign in my client's yard! I have a background in technology and marketing. I have a custom website which syndicates with hundreds of other real estate websites for maximum exposure of your home to potential buyers. I also have a professional quality digital camera with which I take high resolution, professional looking photographs of your home. Once the pictures are done, I upload them to the Multiple Listing Service, as well as a custom virtual tour of your home. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, so make sure your agent knows how to take great looking photos of your home and doesn't end up in the Real Estate Photos Hall of Shame! Then I put your home Realtor.com, Keller William's website, my Tampa Real Estate website and as many as 500+ other real estate related websites. Yes, you read that right. 500+. Can your agent do that? I LOVE marketing, online and offline! I love creating beautiful real estate ad flyers showcasing your home for the infotube on your "For Sale" sign, as well as to post on the internet to Tampa Bay homebuyers. I also blog about my client's listings, posting them everywhere from Craigslist and MySpace to Realtor.com. So in choosing a REALTOR® to represent you in buying or selling your home, consider all of these things. When you are ready, I hope to hear from you. |
After talking to our office's mortgage professional, it is not totally clear yet whether most lenders will participate in this program or not. The example of how this might work, as I was told, would be if a homeowner had an ARM loan at $250K, and the payments recently went up and they were struggling, they might be able to refinance into a loan for 90% of the homes value today, so if the home is only worth $200K today, they could refi at $180K, and the balance of the loan is forgiven. That is IF the lender decides to allow it. They will look at paystubs and see if they've been behind on the loan from the get-go or only recently due to an ARM or something along those lines.
However, if the borrower turns around and sells in 2 years and the market has rebounded, any profits will have to be repaid to the bank up to the amount forgiven first. I'm also not clear on whether this type of program will affect a lender's credit scores or not the way a short sale might.
HOPE FOR HOMEOWNERS ACT OF 2008
http://www.wsls.com/sls/business/consumer/article/hope_for_homeowners_act_of_2008_qa/14885/
By DAVE CARPENTER
AP Business Writer
Published: July 29, 2008
Questions and answers about the Hope for Homeowners Act of 2008, passed by Congress last weekend to try to steer as many as 400,000 struggling homeowners away from foreclosure:
Q: What exactly will the legislation do?
A: It will allow those who qualify to cancel their old mortgage loans and replace them with 30-year fixed-rate loans for up to 90 percent of the home's current value. The FHA will insure a total of $300 billion of the loans over a three-year period.
But the decision on whether to write such a loan remains up to banks, which would have to be willing to take a loss on the existing loans in exchange for avoiding an often-costly foreclosure.
Q: Who is eligible?
A: Eligible borrowers must have spent at least 31 percent of their monthly incomes on their mortgages as of March 1, 2008. The troubled loan must have originated no later than Jan. 1, 2008, and be on the borrower's primary residence. And the borrower's income must be verified.
Q: When does the program start?
A: It takes effect Oct. 1 and runs through September 2011, although the FHA isn't likely to have it operating at full capacity until next year.
Q: Since lenders can pick and choose which loans to refinance, how can consumers determine if theirs will be selected?
A: Check with the bank or financial company servicing your mortgage, but it may be weeks before they make decisions concerning the new guidelines and assess individual loans. Even then, keep expectations limited. "Servicers are going to be reluctant to take the government up on their offer," predicted Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "The earliest they'll start taking them up on it is early next year. And even then it's likely to be modest."
Q: Is there anything a homeowner can do to improve chances of benefiting from the program, such as crunching numbers to make a case for the bank?
A: Not really. The best step is to keep up your payments as best you can.
Q: But doesn't this provide an incentive to NOT pay your mortgage, if you're barely keeping ahead of bills and are underwater on your house, so you can qualify?
A: No. If your situation deteriorates enough, the bank may reject any possible new loan.
"Turning yourself into a financial basket case is not going to work," said Dan Seiver, a finance professor at San Diego State University. "If you turn into a complete deadbeat, the servicer is going to just foreclose and dump it."
Q: So what should I be doing now besides trying to keep up with payments?
A: Talk to a local credit counselor and call the toll-free hot line of the Hope Now alliance - an industry group trying to coordinate a response to the mortgage crisis - at 1-888-995-HOPE. It is available 24 hours a day to provide mortgage counseling in multiple languages. Mary Thomason, director of resource development for The Impact Group of Atlanta, a housing counseling group, also suggests tracking expenses and income closely in order to be able to forecast your cash flow for the next six months and give yourself better control of your finances.
Q: If the banks and lenders refuse to write these loans, then what?
A: Public and political pressure may prompt them to participate. If not, and more people continue to lose their homes, Zandi says the next White House administration subject them to additional regulations or investigations if they remain unwilling to take on the risks.
Q: What happens if I'm able to sell my home after I refinance?
A: You must agree to share any profits from the resale with the government based on a sliding scale, and FHA must be repaid the equity.
Q: Where can consumers find more detailed information about the plan?
A: There is a six-page summary of the housing act at http://banking.senate.gov/public/-files/HousingandEconomicRecoveryActSummary
3.pdf and the FHA's Web site at http://www.fha.gov is a place to watch for updated information.
From TBO.com: RIVERVIEW - Drama students from 10 area schools will present the Florida premiere of "Rent: School Edition," when they take the stage Thursday at Riverview High School.
"It's about a bunch of starving artists in the 1990s," said Daron Hawkins, one of three directors. "It's so beautifully written. The music and original story are handled so eloquently."
A modern-day version of Giacomo Puccini's opera "La Bohème," the musical is a toned-down version of the musical "Rent," which has appeared on Broadway since April 29, 1996.
Set in New York's Lower East Side during the winter, the story centers on a year in the lives of seven young Bohemians struggling to survive and celebrate life. Addressing adult themes, it includes controversial issues, such as AIDS, street people, drug use and homosexuality.
The school edition is an officially licensed version of the rock musical, with book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. The adaptation was made to retain the dramatic intent of the musical, making minimal changes to language and removing one song, "Contact." The cast must be students 19 or younger.
The 25-member cast and crew come from Riverview, Newsome, Durant, Spoto and Bloomingdale high schools, Progress Village Middle School of the Arts and Randall Middle.
"It means a lot to me, because people in this community don't get this type of entertainment," said Riverview High senior Gabe Hernandez, 18.
Dressed as Angel Schunard, one of the main characters, he said, "I've never been in drag before, so this is a very new role for me. I think it's so good for us to show this type of work."
"I've always loved this show," said Allison Curran, 16, a junior at Bloomingdale who's playing random ensemble roles. "It seems so unreal that we're actually getting to do it. This is my first performance at Riverview High School. Everything is so professional."
Keeping true to the original work, Hawkins acknowledged that in addition to language and the one-song omission, the high school edition was edited for length.
"It's 98 percent sung," he said. "All the original songs but one are included and the story's still intact. It's not preachy, but it shows the lives of people and how their lives can be destroyed."
Besides the set, Hawkins said he made sure the costumes are representative of the late 1980s and 1990s.
"Rent" began as a play, and it has been on Broadway so long, it's now a period piece," he said. "It won a 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama and four Tony awards."
The theater project is supported by the Riverview High School Booster Club. Its focus is to provide quality productions to the South Shore community. Students from any Hillsborough County school are eligible to participate.
Past summer productions include "Grease," "Footloose," "Annie," "The Wiz" and "Guys and Dolls."
IF YOU GO
WHAT: "Rent: School Edition"
WHERE: Riverview High School auditorium, 11311 Boyette Road, Riverview
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
DIRECTORS: Daron Hawkins, Bev Sutherland and John Davis II
STAGE MANAGERS: Tori Barfield, Riverview High School; Ashley Darling, King High School; Shaina Leguizamon, Giunta Middle School
TECHNICIAN: Ryan Owens, Riverview High School
TICKETS: $8, available at the door or at www.ticketleap.com. Twenty-five $5 tickets will be sold by lottery 30 minutes before each performance for seating in the first two rows.
INFORMATION: (813) 671-5011, ext. 259
CAST MEMBERS
MARK COHEN: Steven Frey, King High School
ROGER DAVIS: Armando Valdes, Newsome High School
MRS. COHEN: Noe Pickrell, Newsome High School
TOM COLLINS: Ryan Roselli, Riverview High School
BENJAMIN COFFIN III: Rodney Bueno, Riverview High School
JOANNE JEFFERSON: Karli Gunderson, Riverview High School
SQUEEGEE MAN: Dylan Watson, Riverview High School
ANGEL SCHUNARD: Gabe Hernandez, Riverview High School
MIMI MARQUEZ: Alex Catalani, Riverview High School
MR. JEFFERSON, MR. GREY: Robert Then, Riverview High School
MRS. JEFFERSON, LIZ: Meaghan Pickett, Newsome High School
PAUL: Cesar Razza, Newsome High School
TAYLOR: Carly Johnson, Progress Village Middle School for the Arts
ALI, COP: Taylor Kelly, Randall Middle School
PAM: Allison Curran, Bloomingdale High School
SUE, ALEXI DARLING: Sterling Phillips, Spoto High School
BLANKET WOMAN: Annie Connelly, Progress Village Middle School for the Arts
COP, WAITER, PASTOR: Tyler Cook, Durant High School
MAUREEN JOHNSON: Megan Stevenson, Durant High School
MIMI'S MOTHER: Dayla Rodriguez, Riverview High School
ROGER'S MOTHER: Sarah Wilson, Riverview High School
"NEW FORECLOSURE LAW IN FLORIDA
This is the interpretation of two Reputable Florida Attorneys of the New Foreclosure Law.
The law was passed and goes into effect October 1, 2008. Here are some highlights of the law:
1. It will eliminate “subject to” on a primary residence in foreclosure.
2. A person in foreclosure on their primary residence will have 3 days to change their mind when selling their house. This is similar to a refinance of a mortgage where the Seller can decide whether or not to keep the new mortgage on the property.
3. Real Estate Agents could be responsible for knowing the status of the Seller's mortgage. We always thought that the Real Estate Agent should know the balance of the mortgage and now whether or not they are in foreclosure.
4. Many Real Estate agents and investors may just choose not to help people in foreclosure because of all the extra potential liability.
5. This law limits the ability to collect any up front fees, as some short sale negotiation companies do and the seller will be restricted from paying them.
6. It is a gray area when it comes to exclusions or exemption of real estate agents."
This causes me some alarm as many Realtors know, sometimes sellers are not completely honest with their Realtors about what they owe on their mortgage. We can check the title to see the status but if a seller has not been paying the mortgage and the bank has not gotten around to filing foreclosure papers yet - they are in pre-foreclosure - are we expected to know that if the seller doesn't disclose that information? For those Realtors that handle short sales, are we now going to be facing higher liability?
My only thought on how to avoid potentially liability is that when you are listing a home, ask to see the coupon book or have the seller phone the lender while you are there to verify the last payment amount and date. Although this could be embarrassing if the seller feels their new Realtor doesn't trust their word that they are up to date on payments. *Sigh*.
Here's a link to the New Florida Law
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Liane Jamason, REALTOR
Keller Williams Realty
Search Tampa Homes
Search Tampa Short Sales & Foreclosures
OK are there any other Realtors out there who love the new slew of Real Estate related reality TV shows out there? I certainly don't have time to watch them all, but when I have seen them I think to myself, wow - these agents must get REALLY busy once their show airs! Now there's an idea!
Well now its your chance to become a Real Estate reality TV superstar!
Would you like to be a star on home improvement/real estate reality TV? Here's how to be a contestant or a featured guest and share your experience with the world.
• HGTV
• TLC/Discovery
• DIY Network
• A&E
• ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition
I am not sure I have the guts to apply, yet...I'm thinking about it. But tell us if you do so we can watch you!
Liane Jamason, REALTOR
Keller Williams Realty
Search Tampa Homes
Search Tampa Short Sales & Foreclosures
If you've been waiting to list your Tampa home for sale because you want to wait for the market to start to rebound, now may be the time to think about listing! Call me today for a free market analysis of your home.
Check out the stats yourself below, just released by the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors.
Liane Jamason, REALTOR
Keller Williams Realty
Search Tampa Homes
Search Tampa Short Sales & Foreclosures
Liane Jamason, REALTOR
Keller Williams Realty
Search Tampa Homes
Search Tampa Short Sales & Foreclosures
My clients had their home listed through BuyOwner before listing it with me. I called MLS Realty to find out what the deal was with the lien and they said oh we've just faxed you the Satisfaction of Lien. I asked why there was a lien in the first place and they told me they always place a lien on properties they list, and in this case, they'd just forgotten to remove it.
WHAT? Am I naive on this, or has anyone else ever heard of Realty companies doing this? Why do they place a lien anyway if people pay for their services up front?
Just reason 101 why you should use a Realtor instead of BuyOwner! This makes me sick! And do you suppose people know that they do this when they sign with BuyOwner or is it hidden in the fine print?
Here's more I've found out about this situation. RipOff Report. Seems it is happening a lot. Isn't anyone else at all outraged by this? I am shocked they are still in business!
Liane Jamason, REALTOR
Keller Williams Realty
Search Tampa Homes
Search Tampa Short Sales & Foreclosures
"Homeowners take first-ever tax deduction for mortgage insurance
WASHINGTON - March 27, 2008 - Many qualified taxpayers are preparing to claim their first-ever tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums on home loans that closed in 2007.
The tax deduction was first approved by Congress in late 2006 and applied to loans with mortgage insurance that closed in 2007. In an important move to further assist borrowers, Congress voted in December of last year to extend the mortgage insurance tax deduction through 2010. Extension of the tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums was part of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.
The deduction allows households with an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less to deduct the full cost of their government or private mortgage insurance premiums on their federal tax returns. Families with incomes between $100,000 and $109,000 are eligible for a reduced deduction.
"For the first time, many low- and moderate-income families who purchased homes with private or government mortgage insurance, will be able to deduct those premiums when they file their 2007 federal tax returns next month," says Kevin Schneider, president of the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA). "On average, this year's tax break could be worth $350 per taxpayer - an annual deduction that qualified homeowners can take each year through 2010."
"Like many other populations, our community relies on homeownership to build wealth. Government and privately insured mortgages help low- and moderate-income families gain a foothold in the housing market and realize their piece of the American Dream," says Timothy Sandos, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). "
As Tampa Realtors, we know that the number of Tampa short sales and foreclosures has skyrocketed over the last few years. Hillary Clinton has released a plan to help the economy and get control over the mortgage crisis. The plan was submitted to the President and Ms. Clinton is calling for something to be done now, not if or when she gets into office. McCain is expected to similarly release a plan today focusing on the economy, a topic which has has not pushed much during his campaign. President Bush is now under fire to do something - what do you think the outcome will be? Here's an article about the plan Clinton released.
PHILADELPHIA - - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton sought on Monday to pitch herself as the candidate with the remedy for the nation's housing crisis.
Her assertion drew an aggressive pushback from Sen. Barack Obama's campaign as the two rivals continued to wrestle for the upper hand on the issue of the economy.
As the economy has overtaken Iraq in recent months as the dominant campaign issue, Clinton and Obama have increasingly turned their attention to darkening forecasts about the nation's financial health.
The Democratic contenders have flayed President Bush for embracing policies they say have fueled the economic slide. They have criticized the stimulus package he hammered out with Democrats in Congress as insufficient and have pressed for more relief for low- and middle-income Americans.On Monday, Clinton laid out a plan in Philadelphia aimed at slowing mounting foreclosures, renewing her call for greater lender transparency and for $30 billion in assistance for individual homeowners and communities to slow the credit crunch for most Americans.
Clinton used a speech at the University of Pennsylvania to argue that the federal government should apply the same kind of resources to assist individuals as it did in bailing out investment giant Bear Stearns.
"Let's be clear: When families are losing their homes, that's also a financial crisis," Clinton said.
Aides to Obama responded by saying Clinton was simply echoing proposals their candidate offered and by accusing her of hypocrisy on the issue because she had accepted contributions from the mortgage lending industry.
Obama has offered a $10 billion relief package.
A key difference between the two Democrats is whether to cap interest rates on mortgages, as Clinton has proposed, to prevent foreclosures. Obama has opposed that approach, which critics argue could drive up rates for newer homeowners as investors pull out of mortgage lending in search of better returns.
Clinton has called for a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures on subprime-mortgaged houses in which the owners are residents.
She would also freeze subprime adjustable-rate mortgages in place for as long as five years, or until the mortgages have been converted into affordable, fixed loans.
Clinton embraced a proposal already on the table, offered by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., to expand the role that the Federal Housing Administration can play in restructuring - or outright buying - at-risk mortgages. Obama is a co-sponsor of that legislation.
Clinton has lashed herself to the issue of homeowner insecurity as part of her bid for a strong finishing kick to the primary season, in which she hopes to rack up big popular-vote victories in economically struggling states such as Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky.
In thinking about technology for Realtors, I started thinking about the many tools and programs I am using, many of which are free to use, or darn close to it. This list may be especially helpful for the new real estate agent, or perhaps an experienced Realtor looking to diversify and brush up on his or her internet skills as they pertain to real estate. You are obviously already on your way since you are a member of ActiveRain and are presumably blogging about real estate - good for you!
Here is a quick list of programs, websites and other tools I am using to market myself for free (or very cheaply!), and you can too!
Programs & websites you should check out:
Postlets - a free tool that I love that creates beautiful branded internet flyers that you can post on Craigslist as well as other real estate websites. Here is a sample of a postlet I did for a listing I have that is a Short Sale in Tampa.
VFlyer - Similar to Postlets, also has a free trial but the pay version is better. I like both VFlyer and Postlets - just slightly different layouts and VFlyer allows you to add more external links to your website, which is a nice feature.
Picasa - I love Picasa for organizing, retouching and resizing photos. Picasa is run by Google and is completely free but does require a download. You can even make color photos into black & white and create all kinds of neat effects on your photos.
RealEstateShows - OK so this one is not free but it is pretty cheap and creates beautiful virtual tours of your listings in minutes that you can post on MLS, and any website quickly and easily!
RealEstateWebmasters - A great forum to visit to learn more about real estate technology and bounce ideas off of other Real Estate agents.
Lowes Realtor Benefits - You can send FREE coupons to your clients from Lowe's with your branding on them! How cool is that? You also get 5% off Lowes Gift Cards - a great closing gift for your clients!
Wufoo - Create free forms for your website to get feedback from clients and more!
Google Analytics - get free reports from Google that tell you where your website's traffic is coming from, how many visitors you are getting and more! A great tool to help you search engine optimize your website!
Free real estate scripts - A great way for new real estate agents to learn how to respond to objections or how to reach out to certain types of potential clients.
Housing Widgets - A cool site that lets you ad housing and real estate widgets to your website!
WellcomeMat - A free site where you can upload your real estate videos to!
YouTube - Check out Keller Williams' new YouTube site! YouTube is a great place to post your real estate videos and drive more traffic to your listings!
Point2 NLS - I can't say enough about Point2. I have a Point2 Realtor website with the Professional upgrade, but their standard websites are free. This is a great place for a new agent to get a website while keeping marketing costs low. Point2 also has predictive marketing, drip email, captures leads from your website, and syndicates for free to tons of other real estate websites, giving your listings maximum exposure.
Craigslist Real Estate section - Yes I mentioned Craigslist above. What better place to advertise your listings FREE?! I've received dozens of leads from my Craigslist ads. I create them with either Postlets or vFlyer, or Photoshop. If you are handy with Photoshop or know someone who is, you can make animated gif's like this one and post them on Craigslist as a link back to your website!
MySpace and Facebook - If you do not have a real estate MySpace page or a Facebook account dedicated to yourself as a Real Estate agent, you are missing out! I've had sellers contact me out of the blue who found me on MySpace and have asked me to list their home. And these sites are free to join!
GotPrint - This one may not be free but its the cheapest place I've found to order custom-made Real Estate postcards for things like Just Listed or Just Sold announcements.
Jott - Have you ever watched someone text message while driving? (Guilty as charged). This may make simple texting obsolete. Once your account on Jott is set up, you can leave yourself a message, or broadcast a message to one or more people in a single easy step.
Grand Central - Grand Central assigns you a local telephone number. You then add all your phone numbers in your Grand Central account, such as office, cell, home, etc. Then you can set up a greeting in Grand Central and customize your settings so that when you publish your Grand Central phone number, Grand Central connects the call to your cell, office, home, wherever, and you can seamlessly switch from your cell phone to your home line, and save your minutes. You can also listen in on a voicemail message as its being recorded before deciding if you want to take the call, screen callers, have them leave their name before you take the call, etc. Grand Central is in beta and currently you have to be invited by a member to join so if you need an invite - drop me an email and I'll be happy to invite you!
RoboForm - Who can remember all their passwords for various websites? I can't - I am constantly hitting "Forgot Password". This site is a LIFESAVER!
DriveBuy Technologies - Why didn't someone think of this sooner? This is a great way for Realtors to go "green" and save money on ink and paper! Go on to the website to try a free demo. How it works is you get a special sign rider for your listings that say something like "Text DBT12 to 23333". A potential buyer sees the sign and texts. Immediately they get a text back with info about the home such as "3 bed/2 bath, hardwood floors, $150K". Now you as the agent have that buyer's cell number and can follow up on the lead, or sell them something else if that home is not in their price range or doesn't meet their needs. Awesome way to get and keep leads from sign calls! Pricing is CHEAP too.
LinkedIn - Another great social networking site that will connect you with other professionals around the world. Great for getting your name and face out there!
Google Talk Back - Yet another great product that's FREE from Google. Add a "Chat with me now!" link on your website so visitors can contact you when you are online!
Verizon Text Messaging for your Website - Better make sure you have unlimited text messaging on your phone before you set this up! I have Verizon for my cell phone provider and they have a free website for each customer where you can have clients go to send you a text message. What I did was use my page as a link on my Real Estate website for a "Text Message Liane" link on my Contact Me page.
Feel free to comment and post some of your favorite free or cheap tools & websites for Realtors too! I will continue editing this post with any new fun techie sites I find so check back often for new links!
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Liane Jamason, REALTOR
Keller Williams Realty
I saw this article come out today from FloridaRealtors.org and the parts I have bolded below are what jumps out at me most. I am sure some mortgage brokers won't be happy about this but this is a badly needed reform. It calls for the "Good Faith Estimate" to truly disclose everything.
For example, the yield-spread from lenders to mortgage brokers would be disclosed. This is big. Personally, I feel that before I was in real estate, I myself was "duped" into getting a loan for an interest rate that was much higher than what I probably could have received elsewhere. But when a mortgage broker tells a client "You qualify for a 10% loan" - how are they to know any different else the yield-spread is disclosed?
Previously there has been no disclosure and I personally believe this may have contributed to the many bad loans out there now that have people drowning in debt. This is why there are so many short sales right now as well as foreclosures. On the MLS, I was searching for Tampa Foreclosures & Short Sales and came up with THOUSANDS. Its shocking but also believable with many people upside down in their loans right now due to so many sub-prime loans that have been issued over the last several years. And my guess is many of these people didn't deserve a sub-prime rate but wouldn't know any differently unless there had been full disclosure.
This could be a huge reform for the housing market. No one is saying we don't want mortgage brokers to make money - but they just ought to have to disclose what you are paying them exactly (or what the lender is). Realtors have to disclose their commissions to all parties, why shouldn't mortgage brokers? Am I wrong here? I am not normally a huge President Bush fan, but I have to give him props on this one. Nice George. Nice.
HUD unveils reformed mortgage-term disclosure form for consumers
WASHINGTON - March 14, 2008 - Prospective home buyers would get easier-to-understand information on mortgage terms and save an average $700 in closing costs under a proposal to be unveiled Friday by President Bush.
The proposed overhaul to a 1974 law requiring lenders to give what's called a "good faith estimate" is aimed at making it simpler for consumers to comparison shop when they buy a house or refinance a mortgage.
It's the latest in a series of White House initiatives to help end a housing market crisis that has stalled the U.S. economy and sparked global financial market turmoil.
"A lot of the mortgage problems we see today are directly related to the fact that few people understand (the mortgage lending) process," Alphonso Jackson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement.
The mortgage broker industry is expected to oppose the proposal because it also calls for lenders' payments to brokers, known as yield-spread premiums, to be disclosed to borrowers.
Brokers receive the premiums for steering customers toward certain lenders although consumer advocates argue that the practice prevents consumers from getting the most competitive interest rate and loan terms on mortgages.
About 12.5 million Americans buy or refinance a home each year. HUD's proposed revision to the 34-year-old Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act would mandate a federal disclosure form to be given to consumers who refinance a mortgage or borrow to buy a home.
The form is simpler than private-industry disclosure forms, which can vary widely state by state. It includes a summary of loan terms, interest rate and monthly payment, whether the interest rate and principal balance can increase and by how much, whether the loan has a prepayment penalty or balloon payment, settlement costs and other details.
HUD tested the proposed form over several years, which allowed consumers in nearly every instance to better compare home loan terms offered by different lenders, agency officials said.
After a 60-day public comment period, the HUD proposal could go into effect before the summer.
"Buying a home can be very intimidating. Consumers have had no assurance that the loan terms and closing costs they are offered will reflect what they confront at the settlement table, and that's been one of the factors driving the current housing downturn. Our proposal fixes that," Jackson's statement said.
Friday's proposal follows recommendations made Thursday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to regulate mortgage lenders more strictly, all part of a broad federal effort to encourage recovery in the beleaguered housing market.
Paulson's proposal covers regulations for mortgage lenders and other financial institutions as well as investors, regulators and Wall Street credit-rating agencies.
Driving around Tampa recently I've started to see billboards that say "BestTime2Buy.org" with a picture of a house and a for sale sign. Of course, I had to check it out.
I think its pretty cool that our local boards of Realtors have put together a joint venture to create this website to encourage home buyers that now is the time to buy. It also has search features on the site that allow you to search area homes or search for a local Tampa area Realtor.
The first page of the website states:
Why is NOW the best time to buy a home?
- It's a buyer's market. Price declines over the past year have made this the best time to buy.
- The inventory of homes for sale gives buyers incredible selection. The number of homes for sale is greater than it has been in 15 years.*
- Real estate continues to be a great financial investment. The average return on a five percent down payment over 10 years is usually three to five times greater than stock market returns.*
- The current favorable market conditions won't last long. Research shows that prices are beginning to stabilize and price declines are over.*
- Mortgage rates are near all-time lows. Capturing these low rates now means your monthly payments are lower and much more affordable.*
- Recent voter approval of Amendment 1 allows Florida homeowners to transfer their "Save Our Homes" tax benefit from their old home to a newly purchased home. Upsizing or downsizing, this is the best time to buy.
*Information courtesy of the National Association of REALTORS®.
Are other boards promoting that now is the best time to buy in your area? In what way?
I was just reading an article in Florida Realtor magazine about a real estate team that got frustrated about the low attendance to their open houses. One agent jokingly said "we'd get better traffic if it were a garage sale!" and they decided they were on to something.
They began having garage sale/open houses - advertising them in the paper as a garage sale and putting "everything must go...including the house!" They consistently are getting new buyer & seller clients from doing this.
Even if the listing is vacant or the seller has no items to sell, you could find items around your home to sell, or ask other agents in your office for any junk they'd like to get rid of, or your neighbors. Then you sell it dirt cheap - the point is to get people there and looking at the home.
I thought this was a very interesting idea...has anyone tried this? I might try it next weekend and get my hubby to man the garage sale part of it while I walk people through the home!
MySpace is not just for teenyboppers anymore. Real Estate is all about marketing, and if there were a free tool available to you for marketing, why wouldn't you use it? MySpace is simply that. Free marketing.
My husband is a rock radio DJ, and his target audience is between 18-34 years old and he has a MySpace for his radio show. One day he had his intern calculate the median age of all of his "friends" on MySpace, and the number he came up with was 29. He was shocked and at first had thought he was only marketing to his younger listeners, but now knows differently!
20-30 somethings are buying and selling houses too, are they not? So why shouldn't we market to them? How many people do you know these days that are over the age of 13 that have a MySpace? I know LOTS. It's a good place to keep in touch with friends you don't see often and share pictures and music. Don't kid yourself and think only 13 year olds are on MySpace these days.
Before you became a Realtor, how many Realtors did you personally know? I only knew one. Many people don't know anyone who's a Realtor (shocking, I know!) and receiving a friend request on MySpace from a friendly face might be the push they need to contact you to sell their home. I've gotten quite a few leads from MySpace. I can even target people in various zip codes by adding friends in those zip codes, and I can even narrow my search based on age and many other factors. I have over 700 friends on MySpace and I know many of them are going to have a need for a Realtor at some point, and if they see me posting blogs & bulletins about my services, who knows - maybe I'll be their next Realtor.
Check out this interesting blog about Marketing on MySpace. My only question is, why not? It took me about 20 minutes to set up my MySpace for real estate and its working for me.