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Feds to finance billions in loans Premium Content

By Inman News, Monday, October 19, 2009.

The Obama administration has launched a program intended to help state and local housing finance agencies finance several hundred thousand mortgages for first-time homebuyers, and provide opportunities for borrowers at risk of foreclosure into more sustainable loans.

State and local housing finance agencies (HFAs) -- which before the financial crisis financed more than 3 million home purchases through the issuance of tax exempt bonds -- have been frozen out of the bond market, forcing many to suspend lending or scale back their programs and raise rates.  more...

Buyers wary of recession's bottom

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, October 19, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepocket/30464789/" target=blank>The Pocket</a>.

Connoisseur of highbrow culture that I am, last week I watched the Wanda Sykes standup comedy special on HBO. Hilarious, if more than a little ribald. Anyhow, she does this bit about how people from every country think their national customs are superior to all others.

Her South American tour guide described a particular bird whose behavior is viewed as a predictor of whether the weather will be the same the next day. Sykes' French wife tried to one-up the tour guide, telling of a bird that, in her native land, is believed to predict rain with its song. Sykes trumped them both, declaring that in America, we have meteorologists who can predict the weather for five days out!  more...

Social media: quantity or quality? Premium Content

By Bernice Ross, Monday, October 19, 2009.

Whether you are a social networking newbie or a social media maven, one of the most important decisions you will make is "quantity vs. quality."

When it comes to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, how you decide to manage your network of contacts can have a profound influence on your business. For real estate professionals, is it best to have a huge network of friends and followers? Or is it better to focus on establishing a smaller, quality database?  more...

Best way for trio to hold title

By Benny Kass, Monday, October 19, 2009.

DEAR BENNY: I live in Iowa, while my sister and her husband live in Florida. We want to buy a home together in Florida. They will pay for 50 percent of the home and I will pay for 50 percent. We will all be listed on the deed. What is the best way to hold title to the property? It is our intent that should any of the parties involved die, anyone left should have a right to live there for the balance of their life. What is the best way to designate how the property transfers upon the death of the last party involved? --Mickey

DEAR MICKEY: I don't practice law in Florida, so my answer has to be general in nature. You should consult with a local attorney in that state. Oversimplified, I recommend that title be held as follows: sister and her husband as tenants by the entirety as to half of the property and as tenants in common with you as to your half.  more...

Savvy borrowers know their PNPs

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, October 19, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29278394@N00/3934435595/">normanack</a>.

PNP, which stands for "pricing notch point," is a value of one of the factors used in pricing goods at which the price changes. In most lines of business, the factor used to price is the quantity purchased. For example, at the farm stand where I buy corn, the price is 70 cents an ear for the first three ears, 65 cents for the next three, and 60 cents for any ears beyond six. This merchant's PNPs are three ears and six ears. These PNPs are pretty easy for consumers to understand, but the stakes are small.

In the mortgage market, PNPs are more complicated but the stakes are high. On a mortgage, the "price" includes the interest rate, mortgage insurance premium and points, any or all of which can change in response to changes in loan size, loan-to-value ratio (LTV) and credit score. Each of these has its own PNPs.  more...

State bans advance fees for loan mod help

By Inman News, Monday, October 19, 2009.

California has joined nearly two dozen other states in prohibiting foreclosure rescue companies from collecting advance fees for helping homeowners negotiate mortgage loan modifications.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Oct. 11 signed into law a bill, SB 94, that prohibits any person from demanding or collecting an advance fee from a consumer for loan modification or mortgage loan forbearance services.  more...

Tips for avoiding surprise defects

By Dian Hymer, Monday, October 19, 2009.

A homebuyer in the hills above Oakland, Calif., recently closed on a home that matched her wish list almost perfectly, which is as good as it gets. Before closing, the new home was inspected, and no major defects were discovered.

The buyer had plans for upgrading, starting with removing all the wall-to-wall carpets. But when the carpets were pulled up, the house began to smell of cat urine.

The new owner called her agent who recommended several people who have experience eradicating pet odor.  more...