http://www.DavidPriceRealtor.com. What are the banks thinking today? Banks are more conservative than ever and are forcing property values down in stable neighborhoods.

I understand banks trying keep their equity position high and prevent further losses, but allowing appraiser to use “Short Sales” as comps in a an arms length transaction is crazy.

Buyer’s who buy short sale homes are looking for a deal and they often get one, discounts as much as 10-30% or more in some cases, I’ve seen banks sell homes to investors who then flip the home and make a profit so I know what is going on. Freddie Mac has a policy that they will accept an offer on a short sale if it’s within 77% of the BPO or appraisal value, which is great for the buyer who has waited 4-9 months to get an answer from the seller’s bank.

Where this breaks down is the poor homeowner next door, who has been paying his mortgage on time for years, and now, his property value just got flushed because appraisers are told to uses these short sales and not make adjustments.

Banks are missing the big picture, right now homeowners who maybe upside down with their property values, but are making payments are thinking and being advised to stop making payments, take a hit on their credit and get out why so many others are doing the something!

Appraisers need to not use short sale or make an adjustment anywhere from 10-30% so they don’t bring down values of non short sale homes anymore!

The Story below is something that isn’t just an isolated case, I’ve heard of people’s financial advisors advising clients it makes more sense to walk away and take the hit on their credit than wait 10-15 years to get their home value back to their mortgage amount. Something needs to be done to help more underwater homeowners from feeling this is the only way out.. But before you walk away you need to have all the answers. See below.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Feb. 24, 2010 – After more than six months of wrangling with her bank to get a reduced mortgage payment through a federal loan modification program, Debra Jacobs has had enough.

The West Palm Beach resident is walking away from her home of 14 years.

“I’m just going to wait here until they put a padlock on the door,” said Jacobs, 58. “I’m so over it, I have to let it go. It’s too painful.”

As homeowners grow increasingly frustrated by the nation’s struggling foreclosure prevention programs, more may consider walking away as a viable alternative.

But there’s more to it than just stopping your mortgage payments and handing over the keys.

Boca Raton real estate attorney Marlyn Wiener says there’s no “right way” to walk away from a home.

Knowing the consequences, however, will at least help the borrower make an informed decision, she said.

“There is an analysis that each homeowner should do to find the best way for them to proceed,” Wiener said. “There isn’t a speed lane.”

The biggest gamble in walking away is whether a lender will try to seize a borrower’s assets to pay for its losses, Wiener said. Lenders have up to 20 years in Florida to collect a deficiency judgment.

But banks are more likely to go after borrowers who strategically default – a term meaning the homeowner can afford the mortgage but decides to stop paying because the home is no longer a good investment.

Moral dilemmas aside, Wiener said it can make financial sense in some situations to “pull the plug and regroup” if the mortgage is underwater.

Scott Haft, who oversees the mortgage modification and foreclosure defense division at the law firm LaBovick & LaBovick, said some lenders are willing to forgive a mortgage debt if a borrower voluntarily turns over the home without going through a lengthy court foreclosure.

“We say, ‘We’ll give you the keys on Monday, but you have to waive your right to pursue my client in the future for deficiencies,’ “ said Haft, whose company has offices in West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. “Many times, the lender is only interested in regaining the property.”

Another concern is whether the homeowner will have to claim forgiveness of debt on tax returns for the amount of money owed the lender.

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 temporarily exempts people who lose their primary residence from having to claim the canceled debt, but the act is scheduled to sunset Dec. 31, 2012, and can’t be applied to investment properties.

“Everybody’s relationship with their properties and their loans is different,” Wiener said. “People need to take a look at where they are in life before they decide to walk away.”

One thing Wiener asks clients is whether they will need good credit in the near future to secure a car or student loan. A foreclosure can knock up to 300 points off a credit score – damage that can take years to repair and will stay on your report for seven years.

Lenders have recently stepped up efforts to ease the foreclosure process and avoid the complications when a homeowner walks away.

Citigroup launched a program this month that allows some borrowers to stay in their homes for six months without paying. In return, the homeowner turns in the keys at the end of the time period and keeps the home in good shape.

The federal Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program, announced in November, gives lenders incentives for offering deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and for approving short sales.

But for Jacobs, the alternatives are “too little too late.”

“Not only do I not know the options, I don’t care anymore,” she said. “It’s really sad it’s come to this.”

FHA 203k streamline loan helps buyers of single family homes renovate and wrap up the renovation costs in to the loan. This is a great program for people buying distressed homes or dated property.

I recently completed my first 203k FHA loan with a young couple purchasing a home in Historic Kenwood, the deal wasn’t as simple as the story below. Our deal was a “short sale” and the buyers didn’t know about this program until after the home inspection revealed several problems that would have prevented our purchase with a normal FHA loan. This home needed electrical updates and plumbing issues as well as pealing paint on the out side of the home.

FHA sends out an inspector, if the home isn’t in good shape they will not fund the loan. In our case the seller wasn’t able to make the repairs so the 203k was our best option.

It did take several months to close due because we needed to renegotiate with the sellers lender on the sales price because of the updates and repairs needed. The FHA 203k loan was the only way they would have been able to buy this home so in the end it all worked out. (Just a FYI the 203k loan does take 90 days + & the cost of the loan is higher.)

If you’re finding all the homes in your price range need of updates (no structural work) the FHA 203k loan maybe a great option.

RisMedia story on a 203K loan

From John Fenech Sunbelt Lending

Some of you have asked me about the potential for rising rates. Here is something I read this week that reinforced my thoughts on the government’s continued help in this area:

Ask The Expert

Last year was a very challenging year. Many of my prospects, including previous customers who are homeowners, could not qualify for a new loan. Now I am hearing that rates will be going up after the Fed stops purchasing loans. I am actually scared that I will not make it. I need some advice but also encouragement. John from California

John, here is the good news. The industry, though rapidly changing, will be around for a long time. If anything this deep recession taught us is how important the real estate industry is to this country. At the beginning of the “sub-prime” crisis we had our government telling us that the economy was strong enough to withstand the issue. They were wrong. Real estate led us into this recession and it must lead us out. I expect the government to do whatever it can, from tax credit to foreclosure help, to right the ship. However, that does not mean that there will not be pain. There has been a lot of pain and there will be a lot more. We are on our way to recovery though.

John Fenech
Sunbelt Lending Services
Regional Loan Manager
Ph: 800-858-5674 or 727-827-1818
Fax: 856-917-2610

About 116,000 homeowners have had their loans modified to reduce their monthly payments, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. Only about $15 million in incentive money has been paid to more than 100 participating mortgage companies. That’s 0.02 percent of the $75 billion available.

Unemployment soared to 10 percent, and home prices continued to fall, especially in some states. 16 million homeowners nationwide now owe more to the bank than their properties are worth, according to Moody’s Economy.com.

Low interest rates and tax incentives have boosted home sales, but are ending soon. The $1.25 trillion program created by the Federal Reserve that has helped keep rates low is scheduled to end next month. The tax credits run out on April 30.

Obama’s plan had two main strategies: The government would channel $75 billion to banks to prod them into modifying the terms of mortgages for up to 4 million borrowers by the end of 2012. It would also relax rules to let up to 5 million homeowners refinance at lower interest rates.

Under the modification plan, borrowers can get their mortgage rates reduced to as low as 2 percent for five years and have the term of their loan extended to as long as 40 years. Borrowers must make three payments on time before the modification becomes permanent. Monthly payments for borrowers in the program have fallen to a median of about $835, down by about $520 a month.

Since the program started in March:

• 1 million people have entered the modification program, and almost 12 percent, or 116,000, have completed the process.

• A third of homeowners who made the three monthly trial payments on time have now fallen behind.

• More than 61,000 homeowners have dropped out, and hundreds of thousands more are expected to do so in the coming months.

• About 220,000 homeowners whose homes have plummeted in value have refinanced.

The process has been time-consuming, bureaucratic and fraught with communication mistakes. Borrowers often feel lost in a maze. When denied by their bank, they often don’t get a clear explanation of why.

To qualify, borrowers need to provide two pay stubs and a letter describing the reason for their hardship. They must give the Internal Revenue Service permission to give out their tax returns to their mortgage company.

Faced with poor results last summer, the Obama administration pressured mortgage companies. Treasury officials summoned key executives from lenders, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase, to Washington. The industry was given strict orders: Sign up at least 500,000 borrowers by Nov. 1.

To meet that goal, most companies allowed homeowners to enroll in the program without proof of income. That was the same low standard that lenders used when they made some of the riskiest loans that fueled the housing frenzy.

Getting the documents in advance would have been a better idea, Heid said. That’s because lenders have struggled to get homeowners to complete all the required documentation. Many don’t comply, despite repeated phone calls, mailings and even in-person visits by notaries.

It’s a problem that has perplexed and frustrated industry executives. “Borrowers didn’t understand that if they didn’t send the documents in, they would fail to qualify,” said Sanjiv Das, Citigroup’s top mortgage executive.

Last month, the Obama administration made key changes. It reduced the paperwork requirements and announcing that homeowners will be required to provide proof of their incomes upfront starting June 1.

I’m meeting more and more homeowners who just don’t want to wait for the market value of their homes to catch-up to the price they paid or the mortgage they have. If your home has a lost a lot of equity and your underwater, maybe you are struggling to make the payments, their is hope, really! check out making homes affordable to see if you can get help.

If you don’t qualify for this government program try contacting your lender to see if they can assist with a loan modification (CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS) if you don’t get help from the lender DON’T walk away! Lenders are pushing for more people to short sell their home because you are helping them solve a problem and saving the bank money. Yes, you are helping the lender solve a problem, both you and the lender have a problem. You can’t afford the house and they are not getting paid. Some lenders are also giving borrowers (the seller) cash at closing to help move. Wells Fargo offered one of my clients $2,500!

Check out a video I did on short sales to see why it’s better for to short sell your home than walking away! Video Link

NEW YORK – Feb. 4, 2010 – An estimated 4.5 million homeowners owe more than their homes are worth. That number is likely to peak at 5.1 million in June, affecting 10 percent of homeowners and making them increasingly likely to just walk away.

“We’re now at the point of maximum vulnerability,” says Sam Khater, a senior economist with First American CoreLogic, the firm that conducted the recent research. “People’s emotional attachment to their property is melting into the air.”

Consultants at Oliver Wyman calculated that 17 percent of owners defaulting in 2008 –about 588,000 – chose to default even though they could pay.

First American estimates that it would cost around $745 billion – about the same as the original 2008 bank bailout – to restore all underwater borrowers to the break-even point.

Doing so would be seen as highly unfair by many taxpayers, says Michael S. Barr, assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions, but doing nothing would be another blow to a fragile economy.

Source: The New York Times, David Streitfeld (02/022010)

From this page “Click Here” you can setup an account and create a custom home search that you can control.

Once you have registered for an account (just an FYI you don’t need to register to access the system, but to save a search you will need an account) watch this quick easy to follow video to create as many custom home searches as you like.

If after watching this video you have questions or would like us to setup an account for you, give us a call or send us an email. Looking forward to helping you!

Click This Link To View: MLS Data for downtown Single family homes .pdf file

Market update:

Since the middle of 2009 the number of active listings have been holding steady at around 600 single family homes for sale.
Pending home sale had been seeing an improvement but for the past 6 months we have seen peaks and valleys.
Home sales have also been holding steady with a slight increase, until Jan 2010 when we saw a big drop in sales which is normal for our market.

Price per sqft is holding around $100-$110. Price per sqft is not a good rule of thumb as most of the homes in the downtown area are so unique and people buy by the block, interior finish and floor plan.

Average days on the market seem to be holding around 90 days, with a list price to sold price ratio of 93% this number is not based on its original list price, but the asking price when it went under contract.

Average list price is in the high $300k with the average sales price of only $160k.

Months of inventory had been holding steady until Jan 2010 when it spiked to 16.2 month, this was because the low number of sales in Jan 2010. This number will go back down to at least 9 months when the Feb 2010 numbers come out. Six (6) months is an even market not a buyers market and not a sellers market. We should see this number by the end of 2010 if we can get more people back to work.

Considering selling your home? call me I’d be happy to run some comps for you.

The video below will show you how to setup a custom search in an area of your choosing. You can also setup an account to save your results and receive emails with new listings just like a realtor.

The Problem:►
►Wall street got too greedy.
►ARM, Alt-A ARM, Option ARM, Prime ARM, Sub-prime ARM, these adjustable rate
mortgages will continue reset to higher monthly payments which many homeowners will
not be unable to afford.
►Millions of mortgage brokers originated these types of loans across the nation.
►Now the banks are literally overwhelmed and don’t have enough people to clean up
the mess.

The Numbers:
►More than $250 billion in 2008 another 350 billions in 2009 and another $700 billion
will reset in 2010 and beyond, this is according to a First American study.
►Now here is the recipe for disaster.
►It’s estimated that 60% of all arms borrowers pay only the minimum payment and can
not afford a higher payment.
►According to Freddie Mac 62% of all loan modifications become delinquent within 60
days after a modification takes place.
►Loan modification is a disaster; it’s PROVEN it doesn’t work without principal
reduction.
►Right now according to credit Suisse banks have approximately 900 thousands
properties in their books. Not listed for sale with an agent.
►As per Credit Suisse banks and GSE’s must avoid foreclosure in 4.2 million loans
until the end of 2010 in order to have a recovery.
►Highest unemployment rate in over 30 years.

The FDIC is selling off failed Bank and making crazy deals with the new owners, like this deal with failed IndyMac Bank to OneWest Click to Watch This Video Why would these banks want to help the average homeowners who is fighting to keep their homes when they can make more money doing short sales. Does this seem right to you?

Let me know your thoughts..