Short sales accounted for 12 percent of home sales in October 2012. This number is a vast improvement over October 2011, when 28 percent of all home sales were short sales, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The number of short sales now outnumbers foreclosures in most regions, which is good news for lenders. After all, they make 6 percent . . .
Read more about Short Sale Nightmares
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Today’s veterans have President Roosevelt to thank for their housing benefits. Signing the GI Bill of Rights into law provided our service members – who fight so hard to maintain the American dream – the chance to actually achieve it themselves: a federally guaranteed home loan with no down payment. . . .
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Is this really the ultra-savvy financial move it is made out to be, or are real estate agents and foreclosure rescue firms glossing over the ugly tax and credit implications of a short sale? If you have already taken some hits to your credit score from late mortgage or credit card payments in the last couple of years, all is not lost. It is still wise to do everything in your power to minimize . . .
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If you have an FHA-backed loan, you’ll be happy to learn that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers a program, known as the Pre-Foreclosure Sales Program, which allows the seller in default to satisfy his or her mortgage debt despite the fact that the home is worth less than what is owed. . . .
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Although its nickname begs to differ, the federal government’s Home Foreclosure Affordable Alternatives (HAFA) program is actually a full short sale, one of the latest additions to what’s becoming quite a menu of short sales. The flavor du jour, HAFA was created to streamline the approval process and help the homeowner move on in life by . . .
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We’ve all been baptized by fire when it comes to the short sale process. What is a short sale in real estate? Consumers know the rudimentary details: A short sale occurs when the lender agrees to take less than what is owed on the home, and short sales wreck your credit. But there is a lot of misinformation out there and a lot more to know about the short sale process. . . .
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Delinquent: No longer just a word to describe unruly adolescents. Full-grown responsible adults now bear the scarlet letter because, for one reason or another, they can’t make their mortgage payments. Since the events of 2008, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why someone may not be able to make his house payments, . . .
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If you’ve been considering buying a house through short sale – where the lender agrees to sell a home for less than what is owed – but are intimidated by the process, here’s some good news. The long, arduous wait for short sales may get shorter. According to a new rule by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, . . .
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While we all want to think of our homes as sound investments, the changing real estate climate sometimes works to bring a home’s value down. If your home loan is now substantially higher than the value of your home, you may wish to refinance or negotiate a short payoff. . . .
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