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Short Sale What is it?

A short sale is an arrangement with your lender in which you are permitted to sell the property for less than you owe. This is a method of disposing of your home without having the lender foreclose on you. In many cases the lender pays your closing cost and your realtor's commission. Not all lenders papprove a short sale. They are in the business of lending money, not owning houses. The decision depends on a number of factors: Where is your house? How much loss will the lender suffer? What is the possibility that an investor would buy the property at a foreclosure sale? Each lender has its own requirements. You will need to prepare a comprehensive letter explaining why you are requesting the short sale. It is much like the paperwork you completed when you applied for the loan, only in reverse. Now you must prove to your lender that you are in financial distress and can't afford the monthly payments. The short-sale process often works but is complicated, time-consuming and uncertain, which is why choosing the proper agent is critical. It could save you time, money and your credit history. Interview your agent before hiring him or her. Some agents don't do short sales at all, because it's not guaranteed they will get paid. If you start early, before you miss your payments and before your lender notifies the credit-reporting companies, you are ahead of game and have a better chance of succeeding

For list of homes that are bieng sold for short sale or You yourself qualify for a short sale, contact
Edwin Gerace at 803-609-7653

Bond Market and Real Estate Market

Tuesday's bond market has opened in negative territory following a much stronger than expected piece of economic news. The stock markets are showing relatively minor gains with the Dow up 17 points and the Nasdaq up 4 points. The bond market is currently down 6/32, which should push this morning's mortgage rates higher by approximately .125 of a discount point.The Conference Board, who is a New York-based business research group, reported late this morning that their Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for March stood at 52.5. This was a sizable increase from February's reading and higher than analysts had expected for this month. This means that surveyed consumers felt better about their own financial situations than many had thought. That can be considered bad news for bonds and mortgage rates because it indicates that they may be more willing to spend money, fueling economic activity.Tomorrow's only relevant data is February's Factory Orders. This data is similar to last week's Durable Goods Orders report, except that this report includes orders for both durable and non-durable goods, giving us a measurement of manufacturing sector strength. It is also the least important of this week's five reports. Unless it varies greatly from forecasts of a 0.5% increase, I suspect that it will be a non-factor in the mortgage market.Thursday and Friday brings us the most important data of the week. We will get the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index late tomorrow morning and March's Employment report from the Labor Department early Friday morning. Both of those reports are considered to be highly important to the financial and mortgage markets, particularly Friday's data.If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

Short Sales Information from Edwin Gerace

SHORT SALE INFORMATION THAT YOU CAN USE..............

1. Starting April 5, some distressed homeowners possibly could qualify for $1,500 in relocation expenses.
2. short sale is the event when you must sell your property for a lower amount than what is owed on the outstanding mortgage balance. While putting your home up for a short sale is generally not something you want to do, in certain circumstance it is unavoidable and can actually be a sort of win-win situation for both the mortgage lender and homeowner. By selling your home as a short sale you will be able to limit the damage done to your credit score and also limit the losses on the lenders behalf as well.
3. The banks are then able to dictate the whole process of selling the homes by controlling, terms & conditions, and limiting the buyer's options to independent financing, title work, etc. These "Third Party or Bank Short Sales" utilize unscrupulous marketing practices to manipulate the market, techniques that are expressly forbidden by a realtor's "Code of Ethics". With the vast percentages of homes that are bank owned on the same market as those sold by private parties, the whole process is affected at the further expense to Americans, in reduced property values, impossible loan restrictions and a bulging inventory.
4. MDA DataQuick reported yesterday that the county’s median price in February rose $17,000 from the previous month to $322,000, its level for most of the second half of 2009. On a year-over-year basis, the median was up 13 percent, the best increase in five years
5. Washington, DC - On April 5, 2010, the Obama Administration and the U.S. Treasury Department will offically activate the HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) program, which gives struggling homeowners incentives to take advantage of two alternative options to foreclosure. A helpful web site, http://www.whatishafa.org/, has already been launched to explain the program. Through the program, homeowners are encouraged to do a short sale - in which the borrower and the mortgage servicer agree to sell the home for less than the value of the loan. They can also do a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, in which the homeowner voluntarily gives the deed of the property to the servicer. Incentives include being fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt, and $1,500 for borrower relocation assistance. There are also incentives for investors and lenders.

The key to Short Sales is to do one 2 things for a sucessfull

MANAGE EXPECTATIONS OF BUYERS AND SELLERS.

DOCUMENT AND COMMUNICATE WITH ALL PARTIES.

For imformation about the homes for short sale in your community contact Edwin Gerace at mail@609SOLD.com or Call 803-609-7653

For a Certified Short Sale Mediator Expert to guide you as a buyer or seller contact Edwin Gerace at mail@609SOLD.com or Call 803-609-7653

Fed sees signs of recovery

Fed sees signs of recovery
The Federal Reserve offered its most upbeat economic outlook in nearly a year at the conclusion of its regular two-day policy meeting recently. After emerging from the closed-door assembly, the Fed committee issued a statement that touted improvements in the labor market and business spending, but cautioned, recovery is likely to be moderate for a time." Taken directly, it may not sound like a rave review, but when you compare it to what Fed officials have been saying since last April-Economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time-it's certainly an improvement.Even with the rosier outlook, the Federal Reserve committee voted to keep the target range for its benchmark federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent, and noted that "economic conditions...are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period." The decision to maintain the near-zero rate, though, was not unanimous - the first dissenting vote among Fed policymakers since January 2009, according to a CNN report. Thomas M. Hoenig, Kansas City Fed president, said economic conditions had improved enough to make exceptionally low rates "no longer warranted," according to the central bank's statement. Fed officials are holding to their plans of pulling back from the secondary market in the coming months. The committee confirmed that its program to purchase mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and debt from the GSEs will come to a close on March 31, as previously signaled. By that time, the Fed says it will have bought $1.25 trillion of MBS and about $175 billion of agency debt. The Federal Reserve has already begun to slow the pace of these purchases to help facilitate a smooth transition when the agency makes its exit.

Source: DSNews.com, Carrie Bay (01/27/2010)

Surge in short sale requests unlikely to impact housing market
Although short sales are likely to increase in 2010, the jump in these transactions is unlikely to have any real impact on the housing market, according to a new study by Housing Predictor. While more at-risk homeowners are turning to short sales as an alternative to foreclosure, Housing Predictor says the small number of short sales that are actually approved by banks represent less than 1 percent of all homes facing foreclosure. In the first half of 2009, only 40,000 short sales were completed, according to the most recent data available from the Office of the Comptroller of Currency shows.In addition, Housing Predictor said only an estimated 8 to 12 percent of all homeowners who request short sales accomplish a completed transaction. Because lenders only write off short sales as a loss when a property is sold, this small percentage of completed transactions leaves a gaping hole in the troubled banking industry's problem with short sales.

Source Real Trends

Lexington, SC Home under $100,000

NEW LISTING IN LEXINGTON, SC

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Lexington County South Carolina Home Buyer Assistance Program

Lexington Community Development
Accepting Applications
for the Homeownership Assistance Program

Lexington County is accepting applications for its new Homebuyer Assistance Program. Funding for the program is provided through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOME Investment Partnerships Program. Assistance will be provided in the amount of $5,000 on a first-come/first-served basis for eligible applicants.

For More information and or to receive an information and informational brochure contact Edwin Gerace via email at mail@609sold.com

Funding for the Homeownership Assistance Program is Provided by HUD’s HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME). HOME is the largest Federal block grant to State and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households. HOME provides formula grants to states and local governments. The funds are used, often in partnership with local nonprofit groups, to fund a wide range of activities that build, buy, and/or rehabilitate affordable housing for rent or homeownership or provide direct rental assistance to low-income people.

For More information and or to receive an information and informational brochure contact Edwin Gerace via email at mail@609sold.com

General eligibility requirements to receive assistance for this new program are:
The home must be located within Lexington County.
The home must be occupied as the primary residence of the applicant.
The home must meet, at a minimum, Section 8 Housing Quality Standards (HQS). A Lexington County Building Inspector will assess the home to determine compliance with quality standards. If corrective work is required, all work to address HQS violations must be completed prior to the closing date. Down payment assistance funds cannot be used for minor repairs or to correct violations.
Homes purchased with assistance through this program must meet the HUD Single Family Mortgage Limits under 203 (b) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709(b)). The County’s maximum purchase price for a home is currently $144,584 for a single-family dwelling (95% of the median area’s purchase). Homes that exceed this cost are not eligible for assistance through this program.
An appraisal must be done on the subject home/property. The home must appraise for at least the value of the purchase price.
Homes selected for purchase must be built after 1978.

For More information and or to receive an information and informational brochure contact Edwin Gerace via email at mail@609sold.com


The Homeownership Assistance Program is administered through the County of Lexington’s Community Development Department. The program provides funding to eligible first-time homebuyers to assist with down payment and/or closing costs. A first-time homebuyer is defined as one who does not presently own a home or land, nor has previously owned a home or land with in the last three (3) years. At the time of application to the Community Development Department, an applicant also cannot have an existing purchase contract on a home.

For More information and or to receive an information and informational brochure contact Edwin Gerace via email at mail@609sold.com