Cramer: Housing Has Bottomed

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Foreclosure News

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2012 FHA Anti-Flipping Waiver

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Foreclosure News

Great news for investors looking to buy and sell!

WASHINGTON – In an effort to continue stabilizing home values and improve conditions in communities experiencing high foreclosure activity, Acting Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carol J. Galante today extended a temporary waiver of FHA’s anti-flipping regulations through 2012.  Read FHA’s anti-flipping waiver.

“This extension is intended to accelerate the resale of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods struggling to overcome the possible effects of abandonment and blight,” said Galante.  “FHA remains a critical source of mortgage financing and stability and we must make every effort to promote recovery in every responsible way we can.”

With certain exceptions, FHA rules prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days.  In 2010, however, FHA temporarily waived this regulation through January 31, 2011, and later extended that waiver through the remainder of 2011.  The new extension will permit buyers to continue to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales. It will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible, helping to stabilize real estate prices and to revitalize neighborhoods and communities.

The extension announced today is effective through December 31, 2012, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by FHA.  All other terms of the existing Waiver will remain the same.  The Waiver contains strict conditions and guidelines to prevent the predatory practice of property flipping, in which properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers.  The Waiver continues to be limited to sales meeting the following conditions:

  • All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction;
  • In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller’s acquisition cost, the Waiver will apply only if the lender meets specific conditions, and documents the justification for the increase in value; and
  • The Waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.

 Since the original waiver went into effect on February 1, 2010, FHA has insured nearly 42,000 mortgages worth more than $7 billion on properties resold within 90 days of acquisition.

FHA research finds that in today’s market, acquiring, rehabilitating and reselling these properties to prospective homeowners often takes less than 90 days.  Prohibiting the use of FHA mortgage insurance for a subsequent resale within 90 days of acquisition adversely impacts the willingness of sellers to allow contracts from potential FHA buyers because they must consider holding costs and the risk of vandalism associated with allowing a property to sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.

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Government Backed Refi

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Uncategorized

HARP PROGRAM

The Obama Administration has enhanced the HARP program to help homeowners and investors refinance underwater mortgages. This is a great way to increase cash flow on your investment real estate.  

 
  
Some of the Key Points are:
  • NO LTV limits (use to be 125%)
  • Eliminating certain risk-based fees for borrowers
  • Eliminating appraisals (allowed to use AVM (Automated Valuation Models)Extend the HARP date to Dec. 31 2013
How does someone qualify?
  • Their home must be serviced by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (send Jesse Byrer registration form and I will verify)
  • Loan must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac before 5/31/2009
  • Borrower must be current (no late payment in the last 6 months/ no more than 1×30 in the last 12 months)

 

I’ve attached a registration form to find out if your investment property will qualify: Click Here  

Email or Fax completed form to Jesse Byrer

Jesse Byrer
Retail Community Banker
Home Savings of America
A Federally Chartered S & L since 1934
p: 773-661-2462
f:  773-904-7606

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BUY, MORTIMER! BUY!!

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Uncategorized

The stock market is down and house prices are finally on the rise. If you are looking for  a great deal- now is the time to buy. Give me a call for a one-on-one meeting. 630-527-0095

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Local Hot Spots For Investing

Posted by | Filed under: Foreclosure News

The question I am asked most is ” Where do I buy now?”

The best locations to flip are DuPage, Northern Will, Southern Lake  and Eastern Kendall.

We have found homes in these area’s have low market times if they are priced correctly and sell in less than 100 days.

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New HUD Homes Website

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Chase Real Estate

Ckeck out our new HUD Homes Website www.ChaseHomeStore.com

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Gap Gauge For Real Estate

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Investor Technology

Discover the difference between the current level of a home price index and its baseline trend level. The baseline trend is derived by extrapolating the average rate of index growth before 2000, the year when prices in many real estate markets began appreciating at unprecedented and unsustainable levels. Gap measures the percentage difference between a current index level and its corresponding baseline level.

Click Here For Interactive Gauge. Very Cool Tool!

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HUD Extends ‘Anti-Flipping’

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Foreclosure News

Great News For Investors! 

Go to this link for more info:

http://www.moneypress.com/fha-extends-suspension-90-day-anti-flipping-waiver.htm

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Cook County Taxes Extended

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Foreclosure News

Tax Year 2010 First Installment Cook County Due Date Extended: A law recently passed by the Illinois Legislature changed the First Installment due date for the Tax Year 2010 property taxes (payable in 2011) to April 1, 2011. Please note that this will be a one-time change to the First Installment due date, …which by law will revert back to March 1 in following years.

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Housing Data Resource

Posted by Christian Chase | Filed under: Foreclosure News

Our guest blogger today is Raphael Bostic, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research

As consumers flock to the shopping malls this holiday season, have you thought about shopping for…data?

I’m a numbers guy. To me, data can tell a story about what’s happening in the real world and that, in turn, can drive our decisions on a whole host of issues. Obviously, this holiday season finds a lot of folks worried about the economy and the housing market. Never before has there been a greater demand for economic and housing data among state and local leaders, businesses, researchers and even students. But now, this kind of data is only a click away!

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) unveiled a new website that consolidates a wide variety of economic and housing market data at the regional, state, metropolitan area and county levels. Using information from the Census Bureau, Labor Department, State and Local governments, housing industry sources, as well as HUD’s own field economists, the new website employs interactive maps that allow visitors easy access a variety of reports – from a region-wide look at employment and housing activity to individual county-level figures on population trends, rental activity and vacancy rates.

This is a powerful new tool that’s easy to use and offers the public a remarkable look at their local economic and housing markets. This is precisely why this site will be so helpful to state and local leaders, developers, the real estate industry, and the general public who need the latest available data on their markets.

To view the reports mentioned above for a each region of the country, or for particular states, metropolitan areas or even counties, visit hud.gov/datamap.

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