Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
Homeowners go legal for Loan Mods
Related Posts: Real Estate News
hiMore frustrated homeowners turned to federal court this week for help with their mortgages, saying Bank of America and Wells Fargo failed to provide promised payment modifications.
The two cases, filed Tuesday in Massachusetts, seek class-action status.
Three specific families are identified, one with a loan serviced by Bank of America and two by Wells Fargo – the nation’s two largest mortgage servicers. They were granted trial modifications, according to court documents, but haven’t received long-term modifications despite having submitted all required documents and made timely payments for more than three months.
The claims are simple, the two filings say: “When a large financial institution promises to modify an eligible loan to prevent foreclosure, homeowners who live up to their end of the bargain expect that promise to be kept.”
The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is the main federal plan for reducing mortgage payments, part of a $75 billion plan to stem the national foreclosure crisis. The program calls for a three-month trial period, intended to give time for the homeowner to demonstrate an ability to keep up with the lower payments. However, there are growing reports of homeowners in trial plans ultimately being rejected for modifications despite making their trial payments or even being foreclosed on during the process.
The modification process has generated so many complaints that regulators and lawmakers are pressuring lenders to improve.
The Massachusetts cases, which are not open to borrowers in other states, say homeowners are “living in limbo” and spending scarce resources on payments that might ultimately not save their homes.
Earlier this month, 10 Ohio homeowners filed a civil case in federal court against Bank of America, also saying the bank broke promises to modify their payments.
The circumstances differ, in that the Ohio homeowners say they were promised modifications during a federally sponsored event last year. As of the filing date, they hadn’t received documents or had their payments reduced, meaning they are not as far along in the process as the Massachusetts families.
© 2010 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.), Stella M. Hopkins. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
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NAR intros a new free website !
Related Posts: Real Estate News, Real Estate Sales
hiThe National Association of Realtors® (NAR) launched HouseLogic, a new consumer website that covers all aspects of homeownership. According to NAR, HouseLogic was created to help homeowners make smart decisions and take responsible actions to maintain, protect and increase the value of their homes.
The free website helps homeowners plan and organize their home projects and provides timely articles and news; home improvement advice and how-to’s; and information about taxes, home finances and insurance.
Users who choose to register can save information, create to-do lists and set project reminders. The website can also be customized for individual homeowners depending on how handy or ambitious they are regarding home projects; how much money they want to spend or save; where they live; and their priorities, such as increasing the value of their home or improving their neighborhood.
HouseLogic also helps homeowners who want to get actively engaged in neighborhood and homeownership issues. The site provides users with the tools and know-how to affect change, like establishing a neighborhood watch program, building a community playground, or participating in city or county planning efforts.
So go and visit HouseLogic at www.houselogic.com.
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Justices adopt Florida foreclosure mediation rules
Related Posts: Credit & Finance, Government, Real Estate News
hiLenders will be required to pick up the tab for investigating and verifying ownership and then try mediation before foreclosing Florida home mortgages under new rules approved Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court.
The rules are designed to help Florida’s judicial system better cope with a flood of foreclosures. They follow a December administrative order by Chief Justice Peggy A. Quince telling local judges to adopt a uniform mediation program.
Florida has the nation’s fourth-highest foreclosure rate. Almost 400,000 cases were filed in Florida’s courts last year.
The rules and corresponding legal forms were proposed by a pair of Florida Bar panels.
The investigate-and-verify rule should help prevent those kinds of errors and give judges greater authority to sanction lenders who do make false allegations, the justices wrote.
The decision was unanimous except for a rule that will require prior approval of a judge before a foreclosure sale can be canceled. Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston dissented.
Last-minute cancelations have needlessly delayed other sales, again clogging the system.
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Sell now ??????
Related Posts: Real Estate News, Real Estate Sales
hiSelling a property in this tough market can seem like a challenge. Here are four factors that actually make this a good time to post a For-Sale sign:
• Sell low and buy low. Because all property values are down, the loss on the property a homeowner sells is really only a paper loss because the next property he buys also will be a bargain. If he buys smartly, when prices come back up in a few years, he’ll be in better shape.
• Downpayment help is widely available. While nothing-down loans have disappeared, it’s easy to find downpayment assistance for lower-income and first-time homebuyers. Programs vary all over the country, but one good way to find them is to search online for “downpayment assistance programs” and the name of your region.
• Your Uncle Sam has money to share. Besides the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and the $6,500 move-up credit, there are an array of energy tax credits that can make home improvements pay off in cash.
• Good help is available. Really talented real estate practitioners, contractors and designers are available and eager for business.
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Florida Insurance Update
Related Posts: Real Estate News
hiOn the next to last day of the 2008 session of the Florida Legislature, lawmakers amended a major insurance bill to include two almost identical windstorm rating disclosures. The first required the rating to be disclosed to purchasers of homes that are 1) located in the windborne debris region, 2) insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, and 3) have an insured value of $500,000 or more. This disclosure was repealed by the 2009 Florida Legislature and never went into effect.
The second disclosure becomes effective in Jan. 1, 2011, and requires it to be given to purchasers of homes in the windborne debris region. As part of that disclosure, buyer would receive the home’s hurricane resistance rating, three separate improvement plans that a homeowner may use to harden the home, including the cost of each plan (at the end of the My Safe Florida Home program, the three plans averaged $3,000 to $7,000), and information about insurance premium discounts.
Realtors say the new disclosure, if not repealed, will stigmatize virtually all applicable properties since most homes haven’t been hardened. It will add significant costs to each transaction as buyers reduce their purchase offer after they receive the windstorm disclosure, much as they sometimes do now when they receive a less-than-satisfactory home inspection report.
The disclosure, if not repealed, creates even more problems. It makes an inspection virtually mandatory for listed homes, for example, in order to get the disclosure information. Currently, nothing else mandates an inspection at the time of sale
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