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WordPress Class: Cheap, Easy and CE Credit for AZ Real Estate Agents

November 30, 2009 Leave a Comment

Wordpress Class: Cheap, Easy and CE Credit for AZ Real Estate Agents %spacebasenameI have been joking with a few of my friends lately that I could teach *almost anyone* how to use WordPress to where it was “good enough” in an hour or less.

If you are in Real Estate (or Mortgages or Title or anything close to Real Estate) save yourself some time and effort and get tutored by a pro. Trying to learn it all yourself will cost you more time, grief and effort than it is worth (trust me, I speak from experience).

Here is an upcoming class taught by a few friends of mine:

Internal Dynamics School of Real Estate, Excelnet Media and Sales Evolution are proud to offer the first ever WordPress Training Program for Real Estate Agents in the metro Phoenix area.  The cost of the 3 hour course is $25 and you will also receive 3 hours of continuing education.  The hours will count for “Real Estate Legal Issues”

WHEN:  December 2nd, 2009

WHERE:  Great American Title Agency

First Floor Training Room

1630 S. Stapley Drive, Suite 131

Mesa, AZ 85203
View Larger Map

INSTRUCTORS:  Dale Stouffer, ExcelnetMedia.com and Dean Naughton, Sales Evolution

TIME:  9am – noon

COST:  $25 per person

Registration Restricted to 20 participants,  Call 602-363-2960 or email [email protected] to reserve your seat

Topics Covered;

  • Legal requirements of a Real Estate Website
  • Benefits of using WordPress
  • How to use WordPress for your website
  • How to do Search Engine Optimization for your Real Estate Website
  • How to create Tag Lines
  • Professional Standards

Here is a link to the ExcelnetMedia.com website for more information: Real Estate Agent CE Class Credit Learn WordPress and Real Estate Website Legal Issues

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Filed Under: Miscellaneous Fun

How Bad Will Foreclosure Hurt Your Credit?

November 30, 2009 9 Comments

Ever wonder what would happen to your credit score if you had a 30 day late payment?  Or are you deep in debt and wondering what to expect to happen if your credit score if you file for bankruptcy? Or maybe you are thinking about doing debt settlement as a way to possibly try to avoid bankruptcy?

Up until recently, financial mistakes were somewhat of a mystery as to what impact they would have on your credit – but thanks to the folks at FICO, now you can have a pretty good idea what several common financial missteps can have on your credit score.

How Bad Will Foreclosure Hurt Your Credit? %spacebasenameIt appears as if the people at FICO are at least trying to be a little more transparent as to how FICO scores are calculated – which in my opinion is a good thing. Now people can have a good idea of exactly what kind of impact their decisions will have on their credit score rather than just “I have bad credit and I am not exactly sure why…”

According to FICO spokesman Craig Watts:

“I hope this information will help people to better understand FICO scores and the value for them of avoiding credit missteps. It illustrates key points such as the higher your score, the farther it can fall if you stumble. Getting and maintaining a good score isn’t complicated. We all just need to pay our bills on time, keep credit card balances low and take on new debt sparingly. “

Regardless of whether or not FICO releases more information about their scoring model – we know way more about it today than we did a month ago!

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Filed Under: Credit Scores Tagged With: ,

Case Shiller: Property Prices May Fall Another 45%

November 28, 2009 Leave a Comment

Predictions.

Maybe they will come true, maybe they wont – but here is one from a fairly credible source that says property values still have a ways – a long ways – to fall.

According to the guys at Lender Implode, the 10 major cities in the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index have risen 5% from their April low, but the index is still predicting a massive 45% fall from today’s values.

Case Shiller: Property Prices May Fall Another 45% %spacebasename

One insightful comment came from “John L” who appears to live right here in Phoenix:

The predictions pointed out in the article can be confirm by an analysis of the change from lax credit underwriting for home buyers starting in late 90’s, which created an undue stimulus on the demand for real estate, back to the traditional credit underwriting standards for home buyers.

Incomes have not risen for years. The amount of the mortgage a home purchaser is qualifies for is determined by their “documented” income. Home prices will have to decline to a level to match the buyers purchasing ability.

The more curious fact is the continued government intervention in the market for the benefit of the FED, FNMA, FHLMC, Wall Street firms and banks.

The use of below market interest rates, tax credits, grants to “non-profit” organizations for down payment assistance and in Arizona silent seconds (no interest, no payment, debt forgiven after 15 years) for 22% of the purchase price, have the effect for new home buyers of their overpaying for their homes and artificially increasing the value of real estate.

When the government’s money (our money, our children’s and grandchildren’s money) runs out, the undue stimulus and creative financing will finally be eliminated from the market leading to a sustainable lower value of real estate.

Will property values here in Phoenix rise or fall in 2010? I don’t pretend to know for sure – but if the Case Shiller model holds any weight, I wouldn’t bet the farm on them rising too much from their current levels anytime soon.

That said, the guys at Calculated Risk have an expanded analysis of this – not quite as nerve-wracking.

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Filed Under: Buying a New Home in Arizona, Miscellaneous Fun, The Business of Mortgages Tagged With:

640 Is The New 580

November 27, 2009 1 Comment

For many years, if you wanted to get an FHA loan, you didn’t actually have to have a “minimum” credit score – but about 2 years ago, that changed when lenders started requiring a minimum credit score. When lenders first started requiring minimum credit scores, the first minimum credit score they used (or most of them used anyway) was 580.

Then over time it moved to 620.

And now I am seeing many lenders move their minimum credit score requirement to 640 for FHA loans.

Which means that your mid credit score needs to be above 640 for many lenders to be able to help you get an FHA loan. Not all lenders are requiring a 640 yet – but if history is any indication, they will all soon be requiring a 640 mid credit score before they will loan you money.

Yes, guidelines are still getting tighter – and I don’t see the tightening trend reversing direction anytime in the near future.

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FHA Mortgages: Changes Coming?

November 22, 2009 1 Comment

We are in uncharted waters when it comes to FHA financing – and in my experience, uncharted waters means anything can happen.

But you may have heard that recently the FHA insurance fund has dropped below the Congressionally mandated 2% and there is a lot of discussion about whether or not FHA is going to need a bailout.

Will FHA need a bailout?

I don’t have enough information to know for sure – so I won’t even take the time to speculate. The only thing that is really clear to me is that there are probably quite a few people who work at HUD burning the midnight oil trying to come up with some possible solutions to the problem of FHA being under-capitalized.

Which means I suspect more changes are coming to the FHA financing programs – and I will give you a hint — I suspect that none of them will make it any easier to get an FHA loan.

The LA Times did a nice job of outlining just a few possibilities:

* Higher down payments. FHA’s current minimum cash down payment is 3.5%. On a $200,000 house, a buyer can bring just $7,000 to the table, aside from closing costs.

* Higher mortgage insurance premiums. FHA charges an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% of the loan amount. Most borrowers roll that into their loan and finance it. The FHA also charges an annual premium, paid in monthly installments, of either 0.5% or 0.55%, depending on the down payment. To rebuild reserves, FHA could tweak one or both premiums to yield higher revenue. It could raise the upfront premium as high as the statutory maximum of 2.25%. It could also raise the annual fee, but the total premium could not exceed 3% under current congressional limits.

* Cutting home-seller “concessions” to borrowers’ loan costs. One of the big attractions of FHA financing has been the agency’s liberal allowance for seller contributions to borrowers to offset settlement and loan-related fees. The current FHA limit is 6% of the house price, which critics believe to be excessive. They say the policy allows financially marginal borrowers to buy houses they shouldn’t, raising FHA’s exposure to losses. Pinto wants Congress to order FHA to reduce maximum concessions to 2%.

* Toughening credit standards. In the mortgage market, FHA is by far the most lenient and flexible player when it comes to evaluating applicants’ creditworthiness. It does not have a minimum credit score, though it permits lenders to impose their own FICO score minimums. FHA also has been far more tolerant of credit history peccadilloes than Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Is the day coming where you will need to have a 10% down payment in order to qualify for an FHA mortgage?

I don’t know.

We are in uncharted waters.

Which means anything is possible.

For example: did you know that many lenders now require a mid-credit score of 640 for an FHA loan?

Stay tuned, more changes coming.

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Stop Foreclosure: Options To Help Prevent Foreclosure on Your Home

November 16, 2009 Leave a Comment

Have you inadvertently lost your job or a major source of income recently? Are you delinquent in your mortgage payments, or will you be presently? Is your Option ARM or Alt A ARM getting ready to modify? Have your mortgage payments recently increased? If so, you may not be aware that your lender may have options to prevent foreclosure which are available to you.

Mortgage options centered around helping you avoid losing your home to foreclosure are called mortgage loan workouts. Mortgage lenders provide mortgage workouts to their customers in several different ways.

Ways To Prevent Home Foreclosure

  • Deferment – Deferment allows you to pay part of your mortgage payment at a later date, per an agreement with your mortgage lender. The reduction sum of your existing payment is tacked on to your principal, which you will have to pay at a later date. If you need some short-term relief due to a brief loss of pay that has been resolved or soon will be, this is a great solution to stop foreclosure.Student loans, which are normally deferred until sometime after the student graduates from college, are similar to this type of workout. A mortgage can work in the same fashion.
  • Repayment Agreement or Forbearance Plan – A forbearance plan may be the solution if you have got behind on your mortgage due to some short term reduction in income that has been resolved. The money you owe from missed mortgage payments can be spread out over a series of monthly payments. You will see a temporary increase in the amount of your mortgage payment, at least until the past due money that you owe is paid back during the forbearance plan. Once the money is paid back that you owe, your mortgage payment will return to its normal level.
  • Partial Claim or Second Lien Mortgage – Based on your financial situation you may be able to put the past due amount that you owe into another mortgage that you may or may not have to pay back. This loan will have to be paid back once you are able to refinance or sell your property.

Solutions If You Want To Move

Several solutions exist that can help you stop a foreclosure on your home if you want to move.

  • This first solutions is called a short sale. When you get your mortgage company to agree to let you sell your home for less than what you owe on it, it is called a short sale. If you plan to sell your home for less than you owe, you will have to get your mortgage company to agree, since they have a lien on your home. If you plan on selling your home, get started early on the short sale process because it will take some time.
  • A Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure is the second option. A Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure is where you would transfer legal custody, or title, of your house to your mortgage company in exchange for the debt that you owe them. If you do hand them legal ownership of your property you will want to make sure that they totally forgive your debt. If you no longer own or live in the home, the last thing you want is to have to make mortgage payments on it.

Get Started To Prevent Foreclosure

  • Your best way to prevent foreclosure is to get the help of your mortgage company. You will be on the way to quickly solving your problems if you contact them and ask for their assistance. If you make an effort in good faith to arrive at a solution they will be more likely to work with you. Good luck.
  • Close behind speaking to your mortgage company is speaking to a short sale real estate company.
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Filed Under: Loan Modification Tagged With: , , ,

8000 Tax Credit Extension and Expansion

November 10, 2009 2 Comments

I think I might be the last blogger to cover the recent 8000 tax credit extension and expansion that was passed… but better late than never.

$8,000 First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit Details

  • The $8,000 tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
  • The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
  • The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
  • The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
  • The tax credit now applies to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, a home purchase completed by June 30, 2010 will qualify.
  • For homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before November 6, 2009, the income limits are $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
  • For homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010, single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

The $6,500 Move-Up / Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit Details

  • To be eligible to claim the tax credit, buyers must have owned and lived in their previous home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years.
  • The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
  • The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500.
  • The tax credit applies only to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
  • The credit is available for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010. However, in cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, the home purchase qualifies provided it is completed by June 30, 2010.
  • Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Other resources for learning more about the new home buyer tax credit extension and expansion:

Phoenix Real Estate Guy

FederalHousingTaxCredit.com

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A Little Effort Can Go A Long Way

November 2, 2009 2 Comments

Ok, so everyone is a little more focused on saving money in a down economy. Pretty much everywhere I look, people are wondering what they can get for “less” or just generally looking for the best deal.

And when you are buying a house, sometimes I feel like people look in all the wrong places to try to cut $10 off their monthly mortgage payment.

I can’t tell you how many people agonize over whether-or-not-the-should-lock-or-float their rate — and when the ask me, I just tell them that rates could go up, down or stay the same — and then what I think will happen, but I never offer a “sure bet” when it comes to interest rates.

I am a little too wise for the “I know what interest rates are going to do tomorrow” game.

And one question that rarely (if ever) gets asked by someone I am working with is “do you know of any way that I can save a few bucks on my monthly payment?”

But if they did ask… here is what I would say:

Take the time to shop around a little bit for the cheapest insurance quote that you can possibly find.

I can’t tell you how many times I ask someone if they have shopped for home insurance and they say “no, not yet…” and then they just contact one company and go with that company.

I am shocked – SHOCKED – at how different insurance policies can be from one company to another — and in today’s economy where everyone seems to be trying to make their dollar go farther…

A little effort can go a long way.

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