October 20th, 2009 — Mortgage Rates
According to Zillow, the average mortgage rates in Pennsylvania rose for the second straight week last week. The national average also edged up but stayed just below 5 percent.
Looking into details, average fixed mortgage rates in Pennsylvania on a 30-year mortgage was 5.06 percent, up from 5.03 percent the week prior. Nationally, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.97 percent for the week ended Oct. 20, up from 4.95 percent a week earlier.
On 15-year mortgage, the fixed rate nationwide rose to 4.38 percent for the week, and the average 5-1 adjustable rate mortgage rose to 3.87 percent.
October 19th, 2009 — Mortgage Refinancing
The VA streamline refinancing or interest rate reduction loan is also called irrrl. It’s one of the best mortgage refinancing options available in the market. It’s very easy to qualify for. It’s a government backed mortgage loan for active duty and prior service veterans who already have an existing VA loan. Being government backed, it gets an edge over other types.
If you want to refinance your current VA home loan, VA streamline refinancing will provide you with hassle free and easiest options to get advantage of lower interest rates. Credit qualification won’t be a requirement, so even if you had bad credit, you can avail the opportunity. Well, credit qualification is not the issue, but you should not have more than one late mortgage payment in the last 12 months.
October 18th, 2009 — Mortgage Loans
According to the FHA policy issued on May 11, 2009, home buyers interested in FHA mortgage loan can get a short-term “bridge loan” in order to take advantage of their 2009 First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit. This way the FHA borrowers can use the loan as a down payment on their homes. In short, this helps borrowers buying their first primary residence to get a tax break up to $8000. Well, the tax break can only be claimed for purchases made in the 2009 tax year, so if you have still not availed the opportunity, you can still avail it.
As per initial laws, banks could offer bridge loans to borrowers so they could use their IRS money as a down payment on an FHA home loan, but later it appeared to be forbidding banks from offering down payment assistance. The revised rules let the FHA home loan applicants apply for these bridge loans, but you cannot use the loans to meet the FHA’s minimum 3.5% down payment. You can use money for other expenses.
October 11th, 2009 — Mortgage Loans
By having a careful look at FHA guidelines, you do not only save your time, but also make the process smooth. It’s good if you have a checklist to confirm that all the important requirements are duly fulfilled. Well, here’s list of required information that loan officer may need so keep it ready:
- Residential address (Past two years)
- Your Social Security numbers
- Names and addresses of your employer (past two years)
- Your current gross monthly salary
- Pertinent information for all checking and savings accounts
- Pertinent information for all open loans
- Complete details of all real estate you own
- Approximate value of all personal property
- If you’re a veteran, you’ll need certificate of Eligibility and DD-214 too
- Current check stubs and your W-2 forms (past two years)
- Personal tax returns (past two years), current income statement and business balance sheet for self-employed individuals
By following FHA guidelines, you won’t have much complications and whole of the process will go smooth too.
October 8th, 2009 — Mortgage Loans
Mortgage insurance is an amount charged to the homeowner each month at the rate of .5 percent per year of the total loan amount. An upfront mortgage insurance premium of 1.5 percent is also charged by FHA. If mortgage loan is of 15 years and less and the loan to value ratios are 89.99 percent and below, the annual mortgage insurance premium is not charged. In other cases, it will be canceled as per following situations:
Mortgages With Terms 15 Year Or Less
For 15 years and less mortgages, whereby Loan to Value ratio is 90 percent and greater, annual premiums will be canceled when the Loan to Value ratio reaches 78 percent regardless of the amount of time the mortgagor has paid the premiums.
Mortgages With Terms More Than 15 Years
For more than 15 years mortgages, the annual mortgage insurance premiums will be canceled when the Loan to Value ratio reaches 78 percent, provided the mortgagor has paid the annual premium for at least 5 years.
October 7th, 2009 — Foreclosure
5,959 homes offered for sale on Bank of America (Countrywide) Website. The total REO Asking Price stayed at $941,083,901 as of October 7, 2009, as written by Countrywide Foreclosure Blog.
The detailed statistics of DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia are as follows:
| State |
Count |
Total Asking
Price($) |
Average Asking |
| DC |
15 |
3,437,500 |
229,167 |
| MD |
127 |
25,665,531 |
202,091 |
| PA |
82 |
7,529,949 |
91,829 |
| VA |
172 |
29,993,799 |
174,383 |
| Total |
396 |
66,626,779 |
168,249
|
October 4th, 2009 — Real Estate
If you’ve been looking for foreclosed homes for sale in DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania or Virginia, and wanted to try web search, here we have a collection of some really good web resources. Making your search of foreclosed homes in DC, MD, PA and VA easy, we bring you the list of foreclosed homes search websites. Here it goes:
October 2nd, 2009 — Mortgage News
Allen Seymour, Raymond A. Desautels III, Jason Passell, and Judith Piette have been indicted for their roles in a complex case whereby the fraudulent documents were used to defraud homeowners and mortgage lenders in numerous real estate transactions. These transactions included distressed properties in the Worcester County, Massachusetts area. The defendants are charged as follows:
Allen Seymour:
- Forgery (4 counts)
- Uttering (8 counts)
- Inducing a Lender to Part with Property (12 counts)
- Larceny by False Pretenses
Raymond A. Desautels, III (real estate lawyer)
- Inducing a Lender to Part with Property (5 counts)
Jason Passell (real estate paralegal)
- Forgery
- Uttering (7 counts)
Judith Piette (notary public)
- False Written Report by Public Officer (4 counts)
Below is the excerpt from a detailed story as it’s reported by the Mortgage Fraud Blog
Seymour targeted properties in danger of foreclosure. He personally approached the owners of these properties and presented a variety of rescue options. For those homeowners who merely wished to sell their property to avoid foreclosure, Seymour allegedly offered to purchase the property for the amount owed to the foreclosing lenders. For the several homeowners who wanted to remain in their homes, Seymour allegedly presented rescue plans which ranged from “lifetime leases” and “reverse mortgages” to a simple refinance. Some of these homeowners were told they would need to transfer title of the property to an “investor,” and some were not. Seymour allegedly had some homeowners sign innocuous documents to begin the process. These innocuous pages were then discarded and substituted with pages purporting to grant Power of Attorney from the homeowner to Jason Passell.
Simultaneously, Seymour found individuals with good credit who were looking to begin investing in real estate. Many of these “investors” were told they would be helping homeowners in danger of foreclosure. Seymour told several investors that the purchase would only be temporary, and the homeowners would purchase the property back from them after Seymour repaired the homeowner’s credit. Others were allegedly told that Seymour’s company would repair and rehab the properties, and then sell them at a profit, to be shared by Seymour and the investors.
None of the proposals made to these “investors” matched the transactions presented to the homeowner. The investors were not told of the “lifetime leases” and “reverse mortgages” Seymour had promised to the homeowners.
Investigators discovered that nearly $3 million dollars in loans were obtained for these purchases. Loan documents indicate the lender believed the purchase price was far greater than the amount the homeowner was selling the property for, if in fact the homeowner knew they were selling the property at all.
Raymond Desautels, III, conducted all of the real estate closings. The lender wired funds into his legal business account based on the erroneous belief that the homeowner was selling the property for the inflated price. The lender was unaware that the stated price was in fact inflated. Authorities allege that on five occasions Desautels prepared documents indicating the investor had brought their own funds to the closing table, further bolstering the lender’s misunderstanding about the transaction and the purchase price. The homeowners never attended these closings, as their documents were signed using a fraudulent Power of Attorney.
Desautels issued a proceeds check payable to the homeowners, based on the false purchase price. Seymour and Passell, with both this check and false Power of Attorney in hand, then allegedly cashed the check at a check cashing business in Worcester. In a roughly 18-month time period, authorities allege that Seymour cashed well over $1 million dollars in proceeds checks.
After the closing, several investors state that Seymour abandoned them to the mortgage payments. Without Seymour’s assistance, the investors were unable to pay the loans, and these mortgages themselves fell into foreclosure. Some homeowners, promised lifetime leases, have been evicted from their homes by these foreclosures.
September 30th, 2009 — Mortgage Modification
If you have faced or are about to face a foreclosure and or you’ve been trying for loan modification, you might have come across the ‘Forensic Loan Audit’. What actually it is and does it really help you?
As claimed by loan modification companies, it’s a way to have leverage to borrowers in obtaining a Loan Modification faster and with very little hassle. In fact, a Forensic Loan Audit is a process that involves proper examination of all of your loan documents. On finding violations within your loan documents you can have advantage under the Truth In Lending Act or the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. According to Patrick Pulatie’s article at iamfacingforeclosure.com, “These pieces of Federal legislation are the guidelines for lending and the disclosure of costs related to any loan”. Remedies for violations are damages for up to one year, and a Three Year Extended Rescission for specific violations of required “material disclosures”.
September 30th, 2009 — Home Buyer
If you’re buying home for renting purpose, you must know the major and minor legal issues associated with this. Lease agreement is one such important document that needs your careful attention.
It’s the formal legal document entered into between a Landlord and a Tenant to reflect the terms of the negotiations between them; that is, the lease terms have been negotiated and agreed upon, and the agreement has been reduced to writing. It constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and sets forth their basic legal rights. By having a look at a lease agreement template you can have yours own a well written by some professional.
Here’s a lease agreement template that may help you. This document is just an outline that you can follow when formulating business or personal plans. Due to the variances of many local, city, county and state laws, it’s recommended that you seek professional legal counseling before entering into any contract or agreement.
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