Friday August 12, 2011
Unless Congress steps in to object, the maximum FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac conforming loan limit will drop to $625,500 beginning Oct. 1, 2011. The current maximum amount for a conforming loan is $729,750, although the majority of counties will fall far below the new $625,500 maximum.
Cutting back those loan limits is a big deal, says Kenneth Harney in the Los Angeles Times. Because it means that big banks will need to step up to the table to handle jumbo loans. Many banks have shied away from jumbo loans in recent years. Will jumbo loans be a hot ticket again? Bank of America reportedly funded $4.1 billion in jumbo loans the first quarter of this year alone. Weirder things have happened.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
Wednesday August 10, 2011
On the topic of a one-story vs a two-story home, it surprised me to find out my husband and I were not on the same page.
When we bought our home almost 10 years ago, we had moved from a 2 1/2-story Victorian into a ranch-style home. We have more square footage in our one-story home and no stairs to climb. I thought he was sold on a one-story home over a two-story. But, as we both looked online at listings for a second home, while I searched only for one-story homes, he didn't have a preference. I had no idea it didn't make any difference to him.
Well, he is quite a bit younger. But I do work out on the elliptical, so stairs shouldn't be a huge issue for me as I get older. Well, unless my knees go haywire . . . read more about One-Story vs. Two-Story Home.
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
Monday August 8, 2011
These sellers knew that their Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale was a hot ticket.
They had done their homework online and applied for a Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale all by themselves. By the time they had called me, they had the approval letter in their hands. They were looking for a Sacramento short sale agent who knew how to work with Bank of America and who would be excited to take their listing. Even though they were personally referred to me by a former client, they still wondered if they should interview other agents.
I talked them right out of that idea, heh, heh. I wouldn't be a good agent if I didn't . . . read more about Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale.
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©Adam Weintraub
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At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
Friday August 5, 2011
TransUnion conducted a study that shows borrowers who only defaulted on their mortgage are not necessarily a bad credit risk. They might simply be victims of a recession. I've been saying this all along. Banks should stop being so hard on people who can't pay their mortgages.
Why? Because up until the falling market, most of these people have established a track record of paying on time. Many were a good credit risk when they bought the home or refinanced the mortgage. Why penalize these unfortunate borrowers forever for making a bad decision in a bad real estate market? Besides, who else to help lead us into a recovery than the people who were victimized by the downturn?
If the only bad credit a person has is a mortgage default, that alone does not make that person a bad credit risk. If anything, it proves they might be reliable enough to pay back new debt, since they continue to pay on existing debt.
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Technorati tag: short sale foreclosure bad credit
At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.
