MORE GOOD NEWS FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, USE TAX CREDIT AS DOWNPAYMENT

Yes, that is NAR working to find answers to the mortgage meltdown. HUD is working on a program with preferred lenders to use the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of $8,000 as a down payment.
This would add to demand. This whole issue right now is about supply and demand. Oh and don't listen to those naysayers that blamed this whole mess on 100% financing. This problem was not caused by 100% financing or stated income. It was caused because lenders fraudulently putting people in loans not designed for them. What I mean is the stated income loans were designed for people that were paid through 1099. Those people are unjustly qualified by lenders and thus many times need stated income. A 1099 self employed individual may have $2,000 a month is payments as part of their expenses. Lenders require them to count that expense twice, once in their P & L and again when qualifying for the loan. Thus, stated income was needed. However, in the heyday, when a buyer did not qualify through conventional means the lender just switched them to stated income. Even though the buyer was a W-2 employee. Most buyers had no idea this was happening, nor that it was fraudulent.
OMG, I went off on a tangent again. Read the article below from NAR about HUD allowing buyers to use their tax credit towards their downpayment.
Just my opinion...Jeff Cameron

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2009

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that the
Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a downpayment.

Donovan’s remarks came in an address to several thousand Realtors^® gathered this morning at The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy, a special daylong session at the Realtors^® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here.

Secretary Donovan said that important changes, which the National Association of Realtors^® has been calling for, will help consumers purchase a home. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment,” Donovan said. According to Donovan, the FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

Donovan said the Obama administration plans to further stabilize the housing market. “I do think we have some early signs hat the market overall is stabilizing,” said Donovan. “Since January we’ve seen both home sales moving up and down around a relatively stable number and we are seeing the first signs that the rapid decline in home prices is starting to abate.”

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/05/re_summit?lid=ronav0019

Arizona Real Estate Market update from Jeff Cameron of Keller Williams!

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NEW HIGHER FHA LIMITS FOR MARICOPA COUNTY, $345,250

This is awesome news. FHA has raised the loan limit for Maricopa county to $346,250 from the previous level around $250K. That means buyers can purchase up to $355,000 and only put 3% down. These are signs of the market turning. Another one was 2 weeks ago when Fannie Mae increased the amount of loans an investor can have from 4 to 10. Money is becoming more available as risk is removed from the market. Last week we had the highest level of homes sales since 2005, nearly 4 years ago.

Just my opinion...Jeff Cameron

FHA Mortgage Limits List - FHA Forward

Message: MORTGAGE LIMITS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED
Mortgage maximums as of Wednesday February 25, 2009
MSA Name MSA Code Division County Name County
Code State One-Family
PHOENIX-MESA-SCOTTSDALE, AZ (MSA) 38060 MARICOPA 013 AZ $346,250 01/01/2009

FHA Lowers Loan Limits

FHA lowers limits on loans, an article from azcentral.com, reports that starting in January the new FHA loan limit for Maricopa County will be $271,050. The current FHA limit in the Valley is $346,250. So, for anyone interested in using an FHA loan to purchase a home - now is the time to do it. Every Arizona county will see their FHA loan limit drop to $271,050, except Coconino, where it will be $333,750.http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2008/11/19/20081119biz-catherine1119.html

Please call or email me with questions.
Staci McCarville
480-778-2614
staci.mccarville@prospectmtg.com

FHA Minimum Down Payment Increase

The minimum required investment of a home buyer utilizing a FHA insured mortgage will from 3% to 3.5%. The effective date is January 1, 2009 according to the revised Mortgagee Letter 2008-23, available on www.fha.gov.

Please call or email me with questions.

Staci McCarville
480-778-2614
staci.mccarville@prospectmtg.com

TAKE ACTION FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE TODAY

Here is a link to send a letter to your representatives about down payment assistance. Click the link below and put together an email in your own words. Act now before the special interest groups win this fight.

http://takeaction.supporthomeownership.com/ahaa/issues/alert/?alertid=11521436&PROCESS=Take+Action

My letter is below:

Thank you for using Association for Homeowners Across America (AHAA) Mail SystemMessage sent to the following recipients:
Governor Napolitano
Representative Mitchell
Senator Kyl
Senator McCain
Representative Kavanagh
Representative Reagan
Senator Allen

August 26, 2008
[recipient address was inserted here]Dear [recipient name was inserted here],
You must understand there were very few FHA loans from 2004 to 2006 due to high home values and low FHA loan limits. They did not fuel this boom bust event, GREED did! Today, 82% of home sales in metro Phoenix are FHA loans and 50% of those are down payment assistance, DPA. The first time home buyer was locked out of the market due to the boom. They are now saving the market as they buy homes at pre-boom pricing. What will happen when 41% (82% X 50%) of the home buyers are removed from our weak market????? This is the best time to let these kind of buyers into the market. Home values are below the cost to build a home, not counting the land. They will have equity as the market strengthens. REINSTATE DPA program for the good of ALL the AMERICAN citizens!
Sincerely,
Jeff Cameron
480-502-7699

NEW HOUSING RECUE PLAN

Boy, I have been absent from the blog. I have been working day and night. The buyers are coming out like crazy. On the other hand, I have written many offers for several buyers, as we continue to get out bid for homes. What a crazy market. It just depends on where you are in the market.
The new housing rescue plan is out. I don't know how it will affect us here in Arizona. I do know about 82% of the homes selling are FHA. Most of those loans have seller assistance, whether for down payment or for closing costs. The new law outlaws seller assistance towards the down payment after October 1, 2008. This should cause a little spike in sales, but afterward who knows.
If you don't know what a Loan Modification or Loan Workout is, call us, we can help.
480-502-7699
We are also partnered up with an attorney who is offering a FREE consultation to our clients regarding short sales, foreclosure and housing.
Here is what USA today has to say about the new plan.

Who Benefits From Housing Rescue Plan?
By Anna Bahney,
USA Today

Is it a remedy for the worst housing slump the nation has suffered in decades? Or merely a taxpayer-funded bailout that will fail to reverse the plunge in home prices, the surge in foreclosures and the grave threat that overhangs the economy?
The housing act, which won final approval in Congress on Saturday and which President Bush has said he will sign, is historic in its sweep and ambition. It aims to provide relief to homeowners, incentives to buyers, guidance to lenders and oversight to vital government-sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Who, really, will benefit? And for how long? Will the legislation make a real difference for those who most desperately need help?
It depends on whom you ask. The act has plenty of fans. But skepticism abounds, too.
"The bill is not a silver bullet," says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com. "We have to string together several platinum bullets."
Yet Zandi endorses the legislation as among the most important steps that can be done now to prop up the housing market.
On paper, the act holds out help for thousands in need:
--Up to 400,000 homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure.
--First-time buyers who can't afford full down payments.
--States and cities that will receive money to redevelop abandoned and foreclosed homes.
--People in need of mortgage counseling.
--Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee nearly half of the nation's mortgages and which now have a rescue plan.
But is it enough? Even if 400,000 homeowners can avoid foreclosure - a figure that a few critics dispute - some estimates put the number of potential foreclosures from 2007 through 2012 at up to 6 million.
"We're not getting enough for our money," says John Vogel, an adjunct professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. "Sure, some number of families - 100,000 or 200,000 - will be helped, and that's not insignificant. But it will not address the problem as fully as we would have liked."
Vogel notes that those in danger of foreclosure won't benefit unless their lenders agree to reduce the balances on their mortgages; for the lenders, it's purely voluntary.
Not since the National Housing Act of 1934 has legislation addressed a class as large as homeowners, without restricting the benefits to veterans, urban dwellers or low-income people. The 1934 law created the Federal Housing Administration and authorized the creation of Fannie Mae.
The question now is whether the current measure, sprawling as it is, will do what it's designed to do and serve those it aims to help. Here's a look at six groups that are intended to benefit.
HOMEOWNERS: $300 billion in FHA loans for refinancing
http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/who-benefits-from-housing-rescue-plan/103559

NEEDED FHA MODERNIZATION AND LIMIT INCREASES

Below is a letter from National Association of Realtors thanking me for emailing the Senate regarding modernization of FHA and increasing loan limits. I suggest you all contact congress. This is what congress can do to help us. Create more demand for housing by creating more liquidity in the mortgage market.

Just my opinion...Jeff


Dear Jeff,
I want to personally thank you each of you for taking action on these latest Calls for Action in support of FHA Modernization. More than 90,000 REALTORS contacted the Senate urging passage of the Housing bill. On July 11th, the Senate voted 63 to 5 to approve the legislation. As a result of your efforts, HR 3221 creates affordable housing opportunities by setting loan limits up to $625,500 for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA, and will stimulate housing demand with a temporary $8,000 home ownership tax credit. The bill also includes broad reform for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA, and creates a new FHA program to help homeowners at-risk for foreclosure.
This bill is critical to restoring confidence in the mortgage and housing markets and the nation’s entire economy. But it isn’t complete yet. Now, the bill goes to a conference committee before Congress can send it to the President. Negotiations begin over the next few days and weeks, and both House and Senate leaders hope to get the bill on the President’s desk before the August recess.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without members mobilizing in support of this crucial legislation. Our strong involvement included face to face meetings between members and their Senators and Representatives in their home states as well as in Washington, DC. NAR generated more than 250,000 e-mail messages and phone calls urging Congress to take action on the vitally important Housing bill.
By working “All Together” we have shown that when REALTORS stand united the American dream of homeownership is open to all. Thank you for your successful efforts!
Dick GaylordPresident NAR

Rates!

5.75% - 30 year fixed
5.25% - 15 year fixed
5.25% - 5 year ARM (same for Interest Only)

7.375% - Jumbo 30 year fixed (no points or origination fees)

6% FHA 30 year fixed

Rates change often. Please call or email me for a customized quote.

Happy Memorial Day!

Staci McCarville
Branch Manager
Indymac Bank
480-538-1402
staci.mccarville@imb.com

VALLEY HOME SALES CONTINUE HIGHER

Valley home sales hit another new high for the year at 1,034 sales for last week. That was the best week since the week of May 7, 2007. We are only 5 sales away from setting a one year record. The good news is the bad news is over one year old and we now can compare our sales to those of the post "sub prime" fallout. That makes it easier to beat the numbers. This will help with consumer sentiment. By the way, our 4 week moving average on home sales hit 1,000. That is the highest I have recorded since May 21, 2007.

WE NEED HIGHER CONVENTIONAL AND FHA LOAN LIMITS!!!!

FHA RAISES LOAN LIMITS IN MARICOPA COUNTY

The limit for an FHA loan was raised today to $346,250 for Maricopa county. I believe this is up from $271,000. Do you believe I remember when the FHA limit was raised to $101,000. Boy a lot has changed.

This is good news for our market, or at least the market from $270,000 to $350,000. It will make it easier for borrowers to obtain loans in that price range.