Charlottesville Short Sale and Foreclosure Tax Consequences
July 29, 2008
This is one of the big questions always asked by clients in these tough situations. There is a lot of mis-information on this subject which leads to fear. Fear of the unknown, just compounds these tough situations. So, I have enclosed a link that should shed more light on the tax consequences of short sales and foreclosures. This should help clear up confusion and hopefully some of the agony with respect to this “fear of the unknown.” Hopefully this information will aid you in a most trying time.
Link to tax article: Go >>>>
Important: Always consult a licensed professional if you are not sure about your situation. Remember, a Realtor is not a CPA or an attorney. So unless they are, always direct your technical question to a licensed professional.
Charlottesville Real Estate - Your Mortgage Crisis Does and Dont’s
May 19, 2008
Unfortunately this is an extremely difficult subject for homeowners. With the emotionals ties to the home and in many cases a strong moral convictions to abide by the rules; good people still find themselves Read more
Charlottesville Area Results under 300k
May 12, 2008
Charlottesville area home buyers are seeing great success in the under 300k market segment. The market is correcting itself and becoming much more affordable. New buyers are feeling more compelled to get off the sideline and start looking for deals. This is especially true on any property with the keyword “bank owned,” “short sale,” or “foreclosure.” despite the financial contractions on wall street and around the world.
Good buyer agents have a ton of flexibilty in their offerings to sellers. More data is available to prove the case on fair market value with respect to the value declines. Listing agents are working harder to explain the this sold and recorded data to home sellers to make them understand the new fair market values.
Below are a list of the current listings in Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Nelson, Orange, Greene, Madison (Real Estate), Virginia. Click here to visit these active MLS listings.
Top 10 Stupid Mortgage Loan Officer Questions
April 5, 2008
I received this joke email and I thought I would share it. Although this is a joke email, these questions are asked by borrowers and loan officers on a daily basis. Moreover, some loan officers actually commit loan fraud by structuring deals with these bits of logic. Below are the “10 Stupid Questions” and reasons why Read more
New Conforming Loan Limit Increase Has Too Many Strings
March 18, 2008
After reviewing Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Jumbo Conforming loan guides, it appears that they have come up with an extremely cautious plan to administer the new Jumbo Conforming limit increase. Let’s be clear, this is not what Americans thought it was going to be. (Fannie Mae Guides & Freddie Mac Guides)
The GSE’s have created a new hybrid program for consumers. It is not a Conforming loan. This new program is purely and simply all but a symbolic gesture of help. It is tailored to dissuade refinances through ultra-tight underwriting guidelines while being some-what attractive to new home buyers, assuming you have perfect credit and a 10-25 percent down payment.
Unfortunately, many of the loan origination calls coming into lenders for this new loan product are for refinances. These consumers just cannot qualify. Of course you would assume they do not qualify because of income or debt ratios, but loan originators do not even need to get that far into the loan application process to decline these borrowers. In most cases their first mortgage exceeds 75% of the value of the home. The deal is immediately dead.
As far as rates are concerned, the rates follow closely to the normal conforming products. So a relative thumbs up with respect to rates. The new Jumbo Conforming product is about .125%-.375% higher in rate compared to the old standard conforming loan across different lenders. Below is a quick rate comparison based on today’s rates.
Conforming 30YR Fixed
5.75% / 0 points
Jumbo Conforming 30YR Fixed
6% / 0 points
So if you were applauding this portion of the stimulus package, I would not applaud quite yet. This new hybrid, conforming product may not have the impact on the economy lawmakers may have suggested. Not surprising as we have seen this occur on some of the initial consumer foreclosure bailout policies rolled out early in the credit crunch.
One quick side note: I do want to applaud Freddie Mac for at least offering a refinance cash-out option as Fannie Mae did not. Although the guidelines are tight, they did put it in the guides.
Please feel free to put your loan scenarios in the comments so we can illustrate some of the challenges loan originators face with the new Jumbo Conforming product.
Calculate your new mortgage loan limit by Zip Code. Click Here
Charlottesville Foreclosure and Bank Owned Real Estate Auctions
March 11, 2008
Thought I would address this topic in the Charlottesville real estate market, as the question comes up quite often. The general public is extremely curious about this topic. An auction if executed correctly and ethically is the best way to buy and sell a home in any market. Moreover, the auction method of sale is not only for foreclosures and distressed situations. This is important to know because auctions styles and protocols for consumers are very different depending Read more
Charlottesville real estate - Mortgage Servicing Loss Mitigation Contacts
February 1, 2008
With more than 50% of foreclosures being prevented, the first step a homeowner can take is to call their Mortgage Company and ask to speak to someone in the “ Loss Mitigation Department. ” If your lender is not listed below, Read more
NAR Stimulus Package.. A Wishlist?
January 22, 2008
National Association of Realtors began asserting itself in Washington this last week as it began urging President George Bush and other law makers to push harder to get Government Sponsored Enterprises, Read more
Charlottesville Real Estate Foreclosure Market and Traditional Buyers
January 21, 2008
This is in interesting subject for all you in the Charlottesville real estate market!! I cannot tell you how many buyers and mortgage clients have approached me through the years looking for the ultimate score in the foreclosure market. This article is intended to shed light on what the term Read more
Charlottesville real estate and Offensive Offers the Scenario.
January 18, 2008
As I wrote the initial post regarding “Real Estate Offers thay Are Offensive” , it made sense to me to also post a real life scenario of a so-called offensive offer. So below is that story. I hope you enjoy.
Plan: The goal of this transaction was to Read more
-
Advanced Real Estate Search
Mortgage Rates
US AverageMortgage Rates30 Year Fixed loading... 15 Year Fixed loading... 5/1 ARM loading... 
View Trend 
