C21HillTop's Blog

FHA PROPERTY FLIPPING POLICY- no reason to celebrate-

c21hilltop — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:52:31 +0000

By Mark Rafeh-Century 21 Hilltop / Loan Centers of America

On Friday FHA released an update to their policy waiving the 90 day seasoning period that was in place for properties that were foreclosed on by their lenders.

My first take on it was, “wow, investors finally have something to rejoice about”. Since 2003 investors, including myself have had to deal with the 90 day ownership holding period prior to reselling the property to a buyer using FHA financing.

Unfortunately this is still going to be an issue. Although I personally don’t agree with the policy, it was designed to protect HUD (FHA) from inflated values created in an area by property flipping schemes. This new waiver doesn’t eliminate that clause.

The fine print on the waiver taken from HUD’s website states Section 203.37 a(b)(2) of FHA regulations, 25 CFR 203.37a(b)(2) is hereby waived for a one year period from today’s date with regard to sales of properties acquired by mortgagees, whether sold directly by the mortgagees or by their subsidiaries or by vendors to whom they have transferred titles to propertied for the purpose of effectuating sales of those properties.

So what is the bottom line for investors……

Borrowers can now use FHA financing for buying properties owned less than 90 days that were acquired by foreclosure by mortgagees (i.e. lenders)
In addition to mortgagees, it includes any subsidiary of the lender or vendors used to market and sell property.
The new waiver rule will apply whether or not the mortgagee is state-or federally-chartered. The original policy restricted it to state and federally charted entities.

Those of us were don’t fall in the category of a mortgagee ( the entity that actually foreclosed on the property) or a vendor ( an entity that has a agreement or contract with the lender) are still bound to the 90 day holding period before selling a home to a buyer who is using FHA financing.

There is nothing in the waiver guideline that mentions or implies that any other party will qualify other than Mortgagees or Vendors.

In areas like mine ( Simi Valley) this is a small step forward for those home buyers struggling to get a property in this low inventory environment, it will help open up some of the REO’s to them that were once not eligible for FHA financing. As for investors looking to capitalize on auctions and trust deed sales, this is of absolutely no help…

Tax Credit Extended! Now Includes Move Up Buyers

c21hilltop — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:17:43 +0000

The administration has extended the deadline for the first time buyer tax credit the April 30, 2010. It has also included a tax credit for the “Move Up” buyer for $6500. So both first time buyers and move up buyers can now take advantage of this credit. To get an easy to read table on the limitations of this credit click here…

Don’t miss out on this great home buying incentive….

California’s New SB 306 Misinterpreted

c21hilltop — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:17:31 +0000

California enacted a new law recently that many were hoping would shorten the process of a Short Sale approval to 21 days. Unfortunely, the new law which goes into effect Jan 1 has been mischaracterized by some practitioners as landmark legislation calling for a 21-day turnaround for short sale approvals.

The law only requires once a short sale has been approved, the beneficiary must respond to the approval within 21 days. The new law inserts a short payoff amount request into the existing payoff demand law which generally requires a lender to respond to a request for a payoff demand statement within 21 days from when it is requested, typically by escrow.

You can read the newly enacted law here…

Are We In For More Foreclosures?

c21hilltop — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:10:33 +0000

Diane Orlick, CNBC Real Estate Reporter Posted:

I got a call yesterday from Scott Scredon at the Consumer Credit Counseling Services in Atlanta. He says they’ve seen a distinct change in callers. “We’re getting calls from engineers and attorneys and post graduate students,” he says. “Many of these people run through their 401Ks and their savings and start living off credit cards and then they call a counseling agency for help. So it’s a new kind of person we’re seeing today, but it’s a sign of the times.”

The largest percentage of filings has now switched from the subprime loans to prime loans, in fact prime rate defaults have doubled this year. The bulk of the trouble is centered in four states, California, Nevada, Michigan and Florida.

Will this lower prices even more? Only time will tell. For our area of east Ventura County we see an extremely low inventory of homes for sale and multiple offers on most homes. Especially the short sales and REO listings. Whether the future defaults will come out as Short Sales or Bank Owned properties still remains to be seen. In the last 4 months we have seen an increase in the median sales price for the Simi Valley area.

Will Foreclosures come out with a vengence? Time will tell.

If your having trouble making your mortgage payments, contact us at info@c21hilltop.com. We can help guide you through the options that can save you from foreclosure.

Simi Valley FREE E-Waste Recycle Day Today

c21hilltop — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:42:23 +0000

The Simi Valley Education Foundation is putting on an E-Waste Recycle Day on May 16th from 9am to 3pm. Bring your old computers, monitors, printers, laptops, keyboards, TVs, and more to the Simi Valley School Districts main office at 875 Cochran St just west of First St. A great way to dispose of you old equipment and not have to pay a fee. Click here for more information.

Is This The Time To Buy?

c21hilltop — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:58:01 +0000

Simi Valley and it’s area have surely gone through a tough housing market in the pass 3 years. With all the bad news lately buyers are wondering where the bottom is. Were always told “if you wait for the bottom, you’ll be too late.”

So how do we know if now is the time to buy? We look to the media, which we know is always behind what’s really happening by as much as 3-6 months. Or, we can look at trends. Trends are found in data that we feel is most accurate. The Multiple Listing Service for the area shows active listings and solds over the course of the year.

So, follow the trend. Look at the graphs here for Simi Valley and Moorpark and judge for yourself. We are experiencing multiple offers on properties all over the area. And, by the graph we are seeing median price ranges for sold properties ticking up.

Simi Valley

Simi Sold Properties through April 2009

Moorpark

Moorpark Sales through April 2009

This is now information. We will be posting these graphs on a monthly basis to keep you truly informed as to housing market trends. Feel free to comment and visit us again.

If your looking to buy or invest in a new home, let us know. We here to guide you through the process and achieve your dreams. Click here for more information.

Mortgage Update from Mark

c21hilltop — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:29:29 +0000

Interest rates have been starting to improve due to the weakness in securities ( Stock Markets). The security markets have been dropping due to uncertainty in the proposed Chinese stimulus plan; yesterday the market rallied in anticipation that the Chinese government was going to increase the amount stimulus; many investors forecast that China will be leading us out of the global recession. Bank stock prices are also weighing heavy on the overall market; thus far the government’s approach to saving them is not giving investors any confidence that a solution is in sight. The problem is that that the more support the bank gets from the government, the more investors fear it will be nationalized ( government controlled) which means that the government has first position over the common share holders; this drives down the stock price, which then makes the bank weaker, which means more government support. It is like watching a dog chase his own tail.

This bad has a silver lining to those of us in the real estate industry; when investors pull money out of stocks, they start buying bonds ( Mortgage backed securities / treasury bills) which drives down the interest rates.

If the market continues to weaken we could see rates improve even further in the near future, which is a boost for the coming buying season.

Current Market Rates

30 Year Fixed

4.875% (up to $417,000) 5.25% ( up to $729,750) 5% ( FHA) 5.5% ( investment property 1 unit 1 point min)

Super Jumbo (up to $2 million)

5Yr Fixed IO ( 5.25%) 7Yr IO (5.5%) 10Yr IO (5.75%) 30 yr fixed (6.25%)

The Home Owner Affordability and Stability Plan details have been trickling out. Here is link released yesterday on the National Association of Realtors website

www.realtor.org/government_affairs/gapublic/home_afford_stability_plan_key_components

The link gives details on the three main points. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Mark Rafeh 805.915.1612

President – Loan Centers of America

Simi Valley Real Estate

c21hilltop — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:25:34 +0000

Simi Valley is located in Ventura County, bordering the San Fernando Valley making it a home to many commuters. The city is relatively small with a balance of business activity and residential lifestyles. Excellent police, health care and schools support a much pampered population. The city boasts 20 city parks and five county parks to preserve large swaths of open space in the nearby Santa Susana Mountains, locally known as the “foothills”.

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