Bank Of America Equator Program Now Willing To Accept The Buyer in Back-Up Position

Thanks to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) for continuing to help agents and banks work the market as effectively as possible!

We get a C.A.R. Newsline on a regular basis and it helps to keep us current on Real Estate. This evening I had the glorious opportunity to read the quickie below:

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Short Sale Soundoff: BofA to accept back-up offers on short sale listings

Bank of America announced this week it will accept back-up offers on short sales and will allow the back-up offer to take over if the first buyer does not complete the transaction, without requiring the process to start again.

Under this new guidance, agents will no longer have to initiate a new short sale in Equator if the original buyer walks away from the transaction.  Instead, the agent can continue with the original transaction in Equator and work with the same short sale specialist.  The file will remain open and the paperwork that has been submitted will remain active.  However, the buyer’s qualification and the offer price will need to be reviewed again if a back-up offer is used.

This new process applies only if there’s an available back-up offer when the original buyer does not follow through with the transaction.  If a back-up offer is not ready to be submitted, the short sale will be declined.  In that case, agents should return to marketing the property and initiate a new short sale in Equator once another offer is received.

In December, C.A.R. leadership met with representatives of Bank of America and asked the lender to accept back-up offers without starting the process over again.  C.A.R. also has raised this issue with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Wells Fargo, and hopes they will follow Bank of America’s lead with this process.

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Oh, this is good. Not having to start the process from scratch will help move Short-Sales through the system much more quickly!

Keep Paying Your Mortgage That Has PMI and You May Get A Principle Reduction!

'Wow oh wow' is all I can say!

So the PMI, Private Mortgage Insurer, is trying another way to keep underwater homeowners in their homes and give them some principle reduction as a reward. We heard a bit about the big banks considering that a while back but I've yet to see any actually start doing it.

The entire Housing Wire article is here:

PMI To Pay Underwater Homeowners To Stay Put

The homeowner will have to stay current for a 3 to 5 year period to start seeing the forgiveness but the Responsible Homeowner Reward program will work for some that can keep paying yet are considering defaulting since the value has declined so significantly. 

Avoiding foreclosure, name of the game. The less we have in foreclosure, the more homeowners we can keep in their homes, the better for our housing recovery.

Makes me almost with I had PMI on my loan.....

Cash Buyers Can Borrow Against Their Home After COE!

This is great news from Fannie Mae! We see plenty of people buying homes for all cash, now they can re-finance, looks like up to 70% LTV to pull money back out of the property and continue to purchase more properties (as in an investor). Or have their safety net back in place (owner occupied)!

It was a wise decision to allow this. Investors that have cash for one, can re-fi and buy another....and so on and so on.

Great news for the inventory. Great news to the banks that are holding 'shadow' inventory too! As long as there are ways to plow through this inventory of foreclosed homes, we can push them through the pipeline faster and recover faster.

Read the whole article:

Fannie Mae's Summer Surprise For All Cash Buyers/Investors!

Let's face it, we keep saying 'Cash is King!'. If you have cash and it's a competitive market, you'll generally beat out the other buyers. Everyone wants as fast a close as possible and cash can allow that. But, once you spent your cash...it's gone! Now, you can pull money out again and have gotten the property and have cash back in the bank!

I Get A Birthday Card, Not A Kick-Back!

It's Sunday, getting ready for the gym. Trying to avoid the heat today by getting out of Valencia. Before I forget, Happy Independence Day tomorrow!

Today I picked up an article about RESPA. Someone is filing a class action lawsuit as they believe Realtors have been taking kick-backs from Home Warranty companies. Sheesh. Maybe, probably, hope not though!

Home Warrant Company Settles Suit Regarding Kickbacks To Realtors

Back in the day we'd have parties, get movie tickets, free drinks.

But those days have changed. I enjoyed the parties and occasional free movie but certainly didn't refer an affiliate because of that.

I actually had a loan broker say he'd let me sell his house if I gave him referrals. I told him, and this was probably 6 years ago, that I'd sell his house but only refer to him if I was confident he would do a stellar job!

I refer to a particular Home Warranty company because the rep has proven herself again and again. She has gone above and beyond for my clients on many occasions. I recommend a title company because the rep has been able to get things done when she is supposed to. Clear things that need to be cleared. Investigate as required. I prefer one escrow officer as she definitely asks 'How High?' when I need her to jump. Always, without question. My favorite mortgage broker? I can call him/e-mail/text any time and he responds pretty quickly....usually! LOL. But, never has he let me down, and really, I mean never.

And all of these affiliates are on the 'Witz' team because they perform to my expectations and beyond. They provide the exemplary service that I demand and expect for my clients.

I'm a bit OCD and so therefore I have to surround myself with a really good group.

And, what do I get from them for the constant referrals? A birthday card, maybe a little Halloween candy (that they give everybody!) and the knowledge that my clients are being well cared for.

Corrections Are Being Made In Mortgage Delinquencies

If the delinquencies continue to drop, either early in the game or late, then we are seeing some recovery. In my optimistic eyes, we are.

Reading on HousingWire this morning an article about the lower percentages of early stage delinquencies. Lowest since 2008. Great! Still a lot in the inventory already being taken back by the bank. Or so late in the process that the homeowners just are waiting to lose the possession of their home.

But, the amount of home mortgages that are current, is at 88.6%. Phew, that's a really good thing.

Read The Full 'Housing Wire' Article Here

I think we are getting a handle on it. I believe we are still going to see a very lengthy recovery period. But, I think these are good signs that we are finally working in a right direction. That everyone, sellers, banks, Realtors and buyers, are understanding the process and helping, as best they can, to work through this market.

We all just have to...don't we now?!?!?

What's Selling In the SCV?

Everything! There is so much hoop-lah about doubtful buyers, hard to get loans, challenging sales. But, people are still buying, sellers are still selling....and, yes.....60% of our market is still distressed sales.

Activity right now in Santa Clarita, per our local MLS:

ACTIVE : 1204
Standard Sales : 527
REO's : 152
Short-Sales : 499

UNDER CONTRACT (i.e.in pending or back-up) : 872
Standard Sales : 195
REO's : 147
Short Sales : 530

SOLD IN LAST 30 DAYS : 300
Standard Sales : 119
REO's : 84
Short-Sales : 97

Please continue to pay special attention to the number of active and under contract short-sales compared to the number of sold short-sales. They still remain a challenge! But, the number of closed escrows has bumped up a bit in the last couple of months. That's in our local news. By about 10%. That's great. The inventory has shrunken a bit, but here's to hoping we get more inventory soon!



Nice Mortgage Rates Again Today!

Mortgage Interest Rates for Fixed Rate Mortgages*

Rates as of Wednesday, 22nd June, 2011:

Term Conforming APR Payment per $1,000 Jumbo APR Payment per $1,000 30-Yr. fixed 360 4.5% 4.49% $5.07 4.5% 4.59% $5.07 15-Yr. fixed 180 3.75% 3.99% $7.27 3.75% 3.99% $7.27 7-Yr. fixed ARM 360 3.5% 3.51% $4.49 3.875% 3.61% $4.70 5-Yr. fixed ARM 360 3.0% 3.59% $4.22 3.25% 3.66% $4.35 VA 30 Fixed 360 4.75% 5.11% $5.22 5% 5.46% $5.37 FHA 30 Fixed 360 4.75% 5.99% $5.22 5% 6.02% $5.37 FHA 5 yr fixed-arm 360 3.5% 3.62% $4.49 3.75% 3.72% $4.63 20 yr fixed rate 417,000 240 4.25% 4.71% $6.19 4.625% 4.98% $6.39