January 31, 2008
Big loans could get cheaper - Los Angeles Times
Filed under Elite News & Updates by chris
January 29, 2008
Register for the Commercial Real Estate Class
Commercial Real Estate Training
Starts Thursday, January 31, 2008
6:00pm – 8:00pm
7412 Elsie Ave
Sacramento, CA 95828
Filed under Elite News & Updates, Training by chris
January 28, 2008
Tax Relief for Troubled Borrowers
Filed under Lending, Marketing, Title & Escrow by Julie
January 25, 2008
Good News Regarding Conforming Loan Limits
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Dear C.A.R. Member:
Congressional leaders and the White House today reached agreement on a proposal to increase conforming loan limits as part of a larger economic stimulus package. Raising the conforming loan limits to more accurately reflect the cost of housing in California and other high-costs areas of the nation has long been an objective of C.A.R. While the details remain to be seen, this is a huge win for Californians. As REALTORS®, we should be proud of the role we have played to achieve this goal.
Currently, Californians are forced into more expensive non-conforming jumbo loans, decreasing homeownership opportunities for many and forcing others into more costly – and often riskier – loan products.
Under the terms of the proposed stimulus package, the conforming loan limit — the maximum loan amount that government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may purchase or guarantee on the secondary market — will be raised from $417,000 to as high as $725,000 in high-cost areas.
This is great news. But our work is not done. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) continues to oppose adjusting conforming loan limits. With your help, C.A.R. will continue to advocate for this much needed reform. Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
William E. Brown
President
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
January 24, 2008
Mortgage Resolution Services
Thanks again to everyone for attending the Short Sale workshop last night. I hope all the information you received will help you in getting and closing Short Sale business in this challenging market. A lot of people had questions and I wanted to post my contact information for anyone who may have additional questions regarding the workshop content or our Short Sale processing services. I can post answers to the most commonly asked questions here on your blog so everyone at Elite can access the information. We want you to succeed.
It was great meeting everyone and I hope I get the opportunity to work with you in the future.
~Tiffany Horrell
Mortgage Resolution Services
916-609-2036 - office
916-609-2008 - fax
916-397-5165 - cell
Filed under Blog by tiffany
January 23, 2008
Short Sale Resource
Hi,
Hope you all enjoyed the Short Sale Seminar tonight - great information to help in this challenging market !!! Thank you for braving the weather and coming out on such a stormy night.
Below is a sample Hardship Letter that Scott Thompson has provided - If you are need any help, please don’t hesitate to call me for anything.
Julie Williams 916-223-2347, williamsjul@ctt.com
P.S. Those Short Sale Transaction Folders are available to you - I have more on order!!
The Hardship Letter
The central document in the Short Sale package that will be submitted to the mortgage lender(s) that will be taking a loss is the Hardship Letter. The Hardship Letter provides the homeowner with an opportunity to state their case as to why they can no longer afford to make their mortgage payment.
The Hardship Letter should be an honest, heartfelt statement outlining the circumstances that have created the problem. It should include these components:
1. A brief apology for having to ask the lender to take a loss
2. A description of the steps the homeowner has taken (used credit cards, borrowed from family, borrowed from retirement accounts) to stay current on the mortgage
3. A clear statement that the homeowner has exhausted all available options to stay current on the mortgage and that a Short Sale is the only remaining option, other than foreclosure.
While it is important for the home owner to provide a complete picture of their hardship, it is also important to avoid a letter that is excessively long. In order to get a loss mitigator to understand the hardship, the loss mitigator needs to read the letter and connect with the writer. Limit the letter to a manageable length.
If possible, attach to the Hardship Letter any documents, receipts or notices that support the homeowners hardship.
Examples:
- Layoff notice
- Letter from employer outlining a reduction in pay or a reduction in hours
- Cancellation notices for medical insurance or auto insurance due to non payment
- Delinquency notices from creditors and/or service and utility providers
- Letters from doctors regarding injury or illness
- Disability benefits letter
- Divorce or separation papers
- Receipt for excessive payments for medications or emergency payments
- Any documents supporting a family crisis hardship
Agents/ Brokers
Do not send in a hardship Letter to a Lender before reviewing it. Look it over and suggest changes if necessary, so the letter brings the hardship alive. You get one chance to submit a strong Hardship Letter, take full advantage of it.
Keep in mind that if your Seller sends the Hardship Letter directly to the Lender you are not going to have the opportunity to review it. Always send the Hardship Letter to the Lender as part of your Short Sale package.
BORROWER HARDSHIP LETTER EXAMPLE #1
I am unable to keep current with my mortgage due to divorce. I am receiving no financial support from my husband and I have been a homemaker for the past 12 years. I am employed, but because of my lack of skills, I am unable to earn much more than minimum wage.
I have two children at home ages 7 and 9. With the cost of daycare and my other obligations there is just no way to make the mortgage payment. I have used up any available credit just to keep food on the table.
I cannot keep up my home and must sell it. The real estate market is such that I owe more than my home is worth. My only other option would be to file bankruptcy.
I am an honest, hardworking person and it is devastating for me to find myself in this awful position.
I would deeply appreciate any help you can offer.
Sincerely,
BORROWER HARDSHIP LETTER EXAMPLE #2
My wife has recently suffered a devastating illness. She is unable to continue working and it may be years before she is well enough to work. She has been the primary wage earner in our family for the past 10 years.
My income cannot come close to covering our monthly expenses. We find ourselves deeper in debt every month with no relief in the foreseeable future. I have sold our second car and anything else that we do not absolutely need. Our home is large and the minimum monthly expenses for the upkeep, electricity, gas, etc. are very high.
Our only hope at this time is to sell our home. Unfortunately, if we sell our home in the present slow real estate market, we will be upside down about $30,000.00. Our only other alternative is bankruptcy.
We would appreciate any help you are able to provide.
Sincerely,
BORROWER HARDSHIP LETTER EXAMPLE #3
As a result of upward adjustments to our monthly mortgage payment, my wife and I are unable to afford our mortgage. As I sit here today it’s not clear to me how I ever thought that we could afford the mortgage once payments started adjusting. I wish my loan officer would have explained to us where our monthly payments were going to be when they adjusted.
We have borrowed money from family and we have taken cash advances on credit cards, but we are falling further and further behind with no real hope of affording the payment. At this point, we can’t do it any longer.
Both my wife and I are very sorry that this has happened. We are losing our dream house, and we know you are losing too. We just don’t have any other options.
Please work with us on a Short Sale. We don’t want to go through foreclosure, but if we can’t do a Short Sale we will not be able to avoid it.
Thank you for your consideration.
Filed under Marketing, Title & Escrow, Training by Julie
Rising Foreclosures Force Bush to Call for $145 Billion Stimulus Plan
posted by Octavion
With foreclosures helping to push the economy to the brink of recession, President George W. Bush unveiled a $145 billion economic stimulus plan today that includes tax relief for individuals and tax incentives for businesses. President Bush, acknowledging the risk of recession, embraced a sweeping tax relief plan to give the economy a “shot in the arm.”
President Bush didn’t reveal specific components of the plan, but The Wall Street Journal claims that it includes tax relief for individuals — probably to come in the form of one-time $800 rebate for individuals and $1,600 for households. Moreover, the plan could include tax breaks for businesses, including small companies, to make new and major investments this year.
“We’re in the midst of a challenging period, and I know Americans are concerned about our economic future,” said Bush in a prepared statement.
But as the shadow of recession spreads across the country, views are mixed on whether an economic stimulus plan will avoid a recession.
Do you think a recession is coming (or already here)? Will foreclosures drive the economy into a recession?
ForeclosurePulse Blog : Rising Foreclosures Force Bush to Call for $145 Billion Stimulus Plan
Filed under Blog, Blogroll, Elite News & Updates by chris
There’s been a lot of buzz about government-sponsored initiatives to help save homeowners from the prospect of looming foreclosure. Unfortunately, the initiatives have proven to offer more hype than hope; at last count, according to CNBC’s Diana Olick, the FHA Secure program had managed to write between 299 and 600 loans. In a quarter when RealtyTrac reported that over 600,000 foreclosure filings were issued, that doesn’t even qualify as a very small drop in a very large bucket.
Meanwhile, the question is constantly asked: Are the lenders doing anything to help solve the problem? And Countrywide, largely believed to be the single biggest issuer of the dreaded sub-prime ARM loans, has been the press’s favorite target. Which makes today’s press release from the once high-flying company very interesting.
According to the release, Countrywide has re-worked nearly 81,000 loans in 2007, with over 61% of these loans being modified (banker-speak for "we changed the terms of the loan so that the homeowner could afford the payments"). Now I know that press releases need to be viewed for what they are, and I’m not suggesting that we erect statues of Angelo Mozilo in town squares across the country. But for people yearning for substantive results instead of politically-pleasing platitudes, 81,000 seems to be a lot more attractive a number than 600.
What might be a really interesting undertaking would be for the lenders and loan servicers who are having some success in home retention activities to compare notes and share some of the tactics that are working best. The problem we’re facing was created in large part -although not exclusively - by the mortgage industry itself; the most likely solutions - working solutions - will probably come from this group as well.
If anyone knows of other lenders having success in helping homeowners stay in their homes, I’d love to hear about it.
Filed under Blog, Elite News & Updates by chris
January 21, 2008
What’s your Goal this Year?
Well, another year has come and gone, and now it is that time of year when we take a good hard look at ourselves and determine if we like what we see. Professionally, I could not be in a better place. I work for a great company, Old Republic Home Protection, who puts our customers ahead of everything else. In the Home Warranty business, what more could you ask for? I also have the pleasure of working with some of the best real estate professionals in the nation. I look forward to partnering with all of you to create a very successful 2008.
In order to continue to grow (spiritually, intellectually and professionally), we all need to look at what we do and figure out how to do it even better. For me, this year is all about setting goals that make me a better person. One of my goals is to be in healthier physical shape in 2008, and I am asking for your help with this one. If you see me at a mixer, offer me a diet soda - it’s hard to get fit when drinking alcohol. And whenever possible, let’s take the stairs together instead of riding the elevator. It is the "little things" that add up to make the "big thing" a reality!
Now that you know what you can do to help me, what can I do to help you be more successful in achieving your goals in 2008? Maybe by sharing our goals, we can all lend support to each other to meet our goals. So please feel free to post a comment. I’d love to hear what you are striving for, and how I can help you make it a reality in 2008!
Rico Rivera
Account Executive
Old Republic Home Protection
800-282-7131, Ext. 1280
916-254-8448 Cell
RicoR@orhp.com
www.orhp.com
“As long as you’re going to be thinking, think big.”~Donald Trump"
Reminder: Just in time for 2008, Old Republic Home Protection has also looked at what we do and figured out how to do it better. Available now is the new Enhanced Platinum Plus Home Warranty Plan, which provides the most comprehensive coverage available in the industry! Be sure to recommend and order the new Platinum Plus coverage for all of your clients. I promise that both you and your clients will be glad you did!
Filed under Blog, Home Warranty by Rico Rivera
