My New Blog

Talk About a Turn Around

Detroit has lead the nation is foreclosures for some time, with an economy depressed by the   auto industry downsize. As the auto industry failed, so did peoples in their desire or ability to keep their homes. But unlike Calif, Florida and Arizona, which ran values to impossible heights then watched them drop, Detroit has seen  flight as folks left looking for new jobs.

But if you ever wondered what impact the housing market has on the local economy, look no farther. Want to see a turnaround? Sell a few homes.

Detroit has a 15% gain over sales for last year and a 45.5% gain in the last month. And realtors are saying they are having one of the best months in a very long time.

And the reason for the turnaround? Tumbling prices, low interest rates and sales of foreclosed properties.

And while Detroit is seeing recovery it wont be alone for long. Other areas will follow. All of the ingredients are there...now for the turnaround.

Congress Can Remove Legal Barriers to Fixing Distressed Home Loans
If we do nothing, the foreclosure crisis will continue with very little change, and the damage will continue to spread throughout our economy.  However, Congress is now considering legislation that would make a huge difference. 

Both the House and Senate are actively considering bills that would lift the ban that prevents homeowners from getting reasonable loan changes approved and supervised by a court of law.  (The House bill is H.R. 3609, the "Emergency Homeownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act"; the Senate bill is S2136, "Helping Families Save Their Homes in Backruptcy Act.")  Today court-supervised loan modifications are available to family farmers and to wealthy investors with distressed loans, but not to families who are trying to save their home. 

If Congress does the right thing by passing this legislation, we would prevent about 600,000 foreclosures—that's compared to less than 120,000 loans eligible for streamlined loan modifications under the Treasury's plan.

The health of middle-class communities and our economy as a whole depends on stopping the foreclosure epidemic.  Please, if you haven't already written to your Congressional representative or Senator to ask for support for these two bills, please take a moment to do so now.

Some good news:

Well, the mortgage industry is in change to say the least. And there's a bit of the good and bad to it all. You can read the headlines to get all the bad news, no reason for me to trumpet that charge. But there is some very good things happening that most folks aren't aware of.

Here's what's happening

The feds are in the process of raising the conforming limit on loans in high priced areas. Why is this good. Well, conforming loans, currently those up to $417,000, are insured by the government' therefore they are safer for the lender and you get better rates. When you go over that conforming amount to what is called a "jumbo loan" the risk goes up  and so does the rate. And in this hyper sensitive environment lenders have just pulled away from the risk and made getting a jumbo loan very difficult and expensive.

With the new legislation currently passing congress, the upper limit will increase, probably to over $700,000, therefor making it possible for many more people to get the better rates. It should give a jump start to the purchase market which has wallowed in stagnation for months.

The chatter

As I talk to real estate agents they are getting excited about what they see as a huge market coming on line. There's lots of folks wanting to purchase, and rates along with declining values, have now put a ton of homes right in a buyers crosshair.

When to buy?

So should you buy now or wait on anticipated additional price concessions.

I think you buy now and buy under the asking price, and you will probably have the price concessions built in. And remember, the rates now available are amazing and probably wont last. It's fair to say as the market improves you will probably see the rates move upwards.

'm a look'in

Where to find the homes? Get on craigslist and look at what's available. Also check the MLS site and talk to a real estate agent with experience in short sales. The short sale present an opportunity. And talk to your friends and family for anyone who may be thinking of selling. You don't have to have a real estate agent to do a deal. If you need more info let me know.

The bottom line is that the market is improving. There will still be bad news and you'll hear it all. Just remember that you have choices and a positive decision will get positive results.

Web sites to look at:

www.craigslist.com

http://www.realtor.com

http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/start