San Diego Real Estate Cafe by Krista Lombardi
Archive for the 'Daily Grind' Category
Your Get Out of Jail Free Card for Real Estate
If you miss a mortgage payment, the lender has a right to foreclose — to sell your property and recover the loan amount plus foreclosure costs. However, lenders sometimes prefer to work out matters so that foreclosures can be avoided because a typical foreclosure action results in a $40,000 loss to the loan owner. If you can make up the missing payment and otherwise satisfy the lender it may be possible to avoid foreclosure. Not foreclosing is an act of forbearance.
This post is about not being foreclosed on, especially if you lost your job.
National Association of Realtors Versus New Housing Tax Legislation
The National Association of Realtors recently reported on legislation signed
into law that will be taxing housing to pay for the extension of the payroll tax, and maintain Medicare payments and unemployment benefits.
Despite the Association’s strong opposition to diverting housing resources to pay for non-housing uses which will increase in fees on mortgages and charges for lower downpayment loans are being used to pay for the extensions.
What is unfortunate is that these increases will translate into additional costs for home buyers and sellers, people who already pay a hefty sum of money to buy and sell their homes.
They speculate that this will divert fees needed to minimize the loss of the government-sponsored enterprises and investors.
The Scoop on the Government Refinance Program for Help
So as of December 1, 2011 they have made changes to the Housing Affordability Program. And while this has not been wildly successful over the course of the years, the changes are expected to have improved so that more people can be helped.
Nothing tried, nothing gained. So…what is the scoop?
- Starting December 1, 2011 authorized lenders may begin the loan
Real Estate is More Affordable!
Lower prices and interest rates in the third quarter of 2011 contributed to an improvement in housing affordability for California home buyers.
The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced home in California rose to 52 percent in the third quarter of 2011, up from 51 percent in second-quarter 2011 and was up from 46 percent in the third quarter of 2010, according to C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI).
Real Estate Reflections for 2011 and the Kardashians
To compile a time capsule of the year 2011, there was an obsession with the
Royal Wedding, drama with marriages and divorces (Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries) and Lindsay Lohan’s woes.
But there have been other dramas — of the real estate kind, all obsessions in real estate.
Here are five issues, questions and riddles that have had real estate consumers nearly as fixated this year as they were on the Kardashians:
1. Tricks to fix missed mortgage payments. If I had a dollar for every time someone called or emailed me to ask how to resolve the issue that they’ve fallen behind on their mortgages. It is the same in all of California, thedistressed homeowners’ program has increased the number of borrowers
How Do You Feel About Your 401K to Pay Your Loan?
With hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure, are there any financial tools available to distressed borrowers that haven’t been tried yet? And is there a way to help owners that won’t rack up huge federal expenditures and add to the deficit?
The Obama administration has been exploring options — including a new refinancing program expected this month — but a concept has surfaced on Capitol Hill that might offer modest help with no revenue cost to the government:
Free Money? Anyone? Buehler?
The federal government can’t even give money away to help the unemployed pay their mortgage. How sad is that?
A $1 billion program to assist the jobless will likely end up spending only half the funds because the criteria is just too strict for most people.
Apparently the Housing Department is only able to qualify 10,000 to 15,000 people. That’s only a tiny sliver of the 100,000 who applied.
We Will Not Forget
It’s difficult to believe a decade has passed since the clear September morning that transformed our nation forever. In the last decade, many dramatic changes have reshaped America. Yet for so many of us, the memory of this one moment is indelible.
On the landmark tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001, we honor the heroes who responded, those who died, and those who stand watch today.
We also remember the passionate feeling of unity that carried us forward amid chaos and tragedy. May we dedicate this day to recapturing that unity — whose power is the key to our country’s future.
Lawsuit For the Big Banks?
The government on Friday sued 17 financial firms, including the largest U.S. 
banks, for selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac billions of dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities that turned toxic when the housing market collapsed.
Wow, what can you say? The banks got us in a housing crisis. Who can get us out?
Among those targeted by the lawsuits were Bank of America Corp., Citigroup
Warren Buffett Pumps Blood into Bank of America
Bank of America Corp, currently the largest bank in the U.S. by assets, announced on Thursday that it would receive a $5 billion investment from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Which had a big impact on BofA’s shares.
I have to say, my first thought was, “Hey Warren, give me a call!” My second was irritation with Bank of America. Ultimately, someone needs to get these banks on track, better Warren than me right now.
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