Need to sell your home but your mortgage is more than your property value?

This was very eye catching to me. I wonder how many Sellers see this and go ahead and call these Realtors? What really makes an "expert" in short sales. I have worked on many short sales and it seems to me there are no rules of engagement that go across the board. The main point for homeowners to realize is, their hands need to be in Realtors that care, know what they are doing and are tenacious. You have to be in it to win it. Calling the banks weekly, following up on every detail and communicating to my Sellers or Buyers at every step. Every bank , every investor within every bank, every deal is different ,every time. Understanding Minnesota's laws regarding Foreclosure, keeping up daily on new rules and regulations and truly caring about what happens to the home owner.

Many Realtors are in it for the commission and the amount of short sales they can list and sell. I personally follow through on every aspect of the short sale process until it is complete to the satisfaction of the homeowner. I don't have 50 listings, I have a few ,that close quickly with satisfied clients. If you or anyone you know is in a position where they need to sell their home, and owe more than it is worth, call me. There is a solution. Let me help you.

Top 10 Reasons why now is the Time to Buy a Home and Stop Renting

From the website: Buy and Sell House Fast dot com.

If ever there was a time for renters to consider buying their own home and stop wasting money on rent, now is certainly the time. This is because there are numerous advantages available to home buyers in the current market, especially first-time home buyers. While it is true that mortgages are somewhat more difficult to come by than they have been in the past, this does not mean that they are completely impossible to obtain. Buyers who have taken the time to ensure they have strong credit and have saved for a down payment can still qualify for a mortgage loan. Below are just a few of the reasons why now is the best time to make the move from renting to buying:
Lower interest rates - Currently interest rates are lower than they have been in some time. If you are thinking of buying a home, now is certainly the time to do so in order to make sure you lock in those great low rates.
More choices - he inventory of available homes on the market is larger than it has been in years. This means that buyers have far more homes to choose from than they would have in the last couple of years.
Begin to build home equity - When you rent a home, all of the money you pay in rent goes to your landlord. It does not allow you to accumulate any type of asset for yourself. When you buy a home; however, the money that you pay for the mortgage payment actually goes toward something that is tangible and belongs to you.
Tax savings - Renting a home does not provide you with any opportunities to save on your taxes; however, owning a home certainly does. The interest you pay on your mortgage payment every month is tax deductible.
More freedom - If you rent an apartment, you already understand the degree to which your freedom and flexibility is restricted. Not only are you probably not allowed to enjoy the opportunity to grill outdoors due to fire codes, but there are probably a host of other restrictions that are imposed as well. When you own a home instead of rent, your home is really your castle. If you feel like having a backyard BBQ, you have the freedom to do that. If you want to plant flowers along the walkway, you can do that too. Home ownership provides a tremendous amount of freedom, flexibility and privacy.
More decorating choices - Are you tired of the blah way in which your current rental home is decorated? Are the walls a boring beige or white? When you own a home rather than rent, you have the power to decide how you want to decorate it. If fire engine red walls are what really speaks to you, you can paint to your heart's content whenever you feel like it.
The ability to negotiate on terms and price - Due to the large number of homes on the market, sellers are far more willing to negotiate in terms of price as well as many other concessions. Some sellers are even willing to pay a portion of the buyer's closing costs; a real boon to first-time home buyers.
More Space - You may very well find that in today's market you are able to afford a larger home for the same amount of money or even less money than you are currently paying every month in rent. If you dream of having a home office, starting a family soon or expanding your family, now could be the best time to get the additional space that you need for the right amount of money.
Develop community ties - Living in an apartment it can often be difficult to take a vested interest in your community or even to get close to your neighbors. This is not the case; however, when you live in a neighborhood of homeowners. By owning a home you may find the opportunity to become involved in community affairs, develop strong friendships with neighbors and enjoy such advantages as block parties.
Maybe no money down - Financing restrictions have tightening in the last few months; however, that does not mean that all of the 100% financing programs have been completely banished. It you have good credit and do not wait, it is quite possible that you may still be able to take advantage of this type of program. This could allow you to purchase a home for no money down.

Short Sales: Time is money..

This was great information from a post I read regarding short sales by:
Debt Kid


Until 2008 , there were definite tax consequences from escaping foreclosure through a short sale. Avoiding foreclosure has always been the best thing to do since it prevents a black mark on your credit report that might keep you from being approved for future loans. Most financial experts will tell you that even today, keeping a foreclosure off your credit report is more important than any added tax liability.
First, consider the credit problems
Whether you are foreclosed or choose an option such as a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, you will have to deal with the tax man. And most real estate professionals will advise you that a short sale is your best option if preserving your credit is important. There are a number of potentially-costly consequences of foreclosure, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and a short sale. Most of these are the impact on a debtor’s credit rating. The first two, foreclosure and deed-in-lieu, have about the same impact—reducing your FICO score by 200 points or more. With a short sale, this reduction is more in the order of 100 points. You can also expect it to be impossible to get a new loan for 36 months or more with the first two, and around18 months with a short sale. This means that you will be able to recover from the credit impact much faster with a short sale. Nevertheless, there will be credit consequences no matter which solution you select.
Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007
The new Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 all but eliminates the extra financial ‘hit’ a debtor would take due to tax liabilities. It was first introduced in the House in September, 2007 and finally signed into law by President Bush on December 20th, 2007. Now, the act is law and is termed Public Law No. 110-142.
Prior to this year, a debtor would suffer the loss of his home, negative impact to his credit rating and additional debt arising from federal tax laws that made the difference between what the home sold for and what he owed on his mortgage, taxable as income. The only escape from this new financial liability was to file bankruptcy which, regrettably, makes one’s credit terminally ill.
Public Law No, 110-142 (H.R. 3648) amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude discharges of indebtedness on principal residences from gross income and for other purposes. It does not, however, apply to homes purchased for investment and subsequently rented out. It only applies to homes where the owner has been in residence.
There are some limitations under the new act
The new law also reduces the income tax breaks on most gains from the sales of non-primary residences based upon a formula that considers the amount of time that the taxpayer actually lived in the property during the five years preceding the sale. And it limits the excludable amount of the indebtedness to $2-million and forbids the inclusion of indebtedness arising from services performed for the lender. There are other benefits and penalties as well. Perhaps most important, however, the new law keeps insolvent homeowners from taking an additional financial beating on a 1099 IRS gift of their short sale or foreclosure which only bankruptcy could do until this year.
Full details on Public Law No. 110-142 (H.R. 3648) can be had by going to: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?tab=summary.
You Need An Experienced Short Sale Agent!

LOGO

I am so excited to get my logo on a sweatshirt. !! Today I received my products with my "My Realtor Michelle" logo. How fun!! I have made logos before but this one is special for me. It symbolizes what I am trying to acheive. I want to be my client's Realtor. When people think about who their most trusted confidants are, they should think about people who have their interests at heart. Their Lawyer, Accountant, Doctor and Realtor. I want to be my family, friends and clients Realtor. Why? Because I am up to date on the market and I know that by working with me, my clients will get the highest quality in Real Estate professionalism and value.

Behind the scenes at HGTV

I had a blast being the Realtor Expert on HGTV's, "Band For Your Buck". The show looked at 3 homes in the Minneapolis area, all spending the same budget on their Lower Level remodel. I had to determine what their return on investment would be. Meeting the families and the crew from HGTV was a wonderful experience. What surprised me was..... that they really did want the drama! I really couldn't be wishy washy. I had to love something or really not like it. I think they wanted a definitive position from both the designer, myself and the homeowners. Also, they shot 40 minutes of tape to 1 minute that they actually aired. There was a lot of room to edit. The real purpose of the show is to help homeowners get a return on the money that they are spending on their home renovations. This may seem obvious, but most people renovate and decorate for themselves and their families needs. They only really care about the return when they are ready to sell. Then , homeowners assume if they spend $100,000, a buyer should realize this and pay them $100,000 extra, when they sell their home. It doesn't work that way. If you plan to stay in your home for many years, do whatever makes you happy. If you are planning on selling in the near future, consult a professional Realtor so they can advise you on current trends, your local market statistics and the biggest bang for your buck, so that you can get the largest return on your investment.

How's Business?

I hear this everyday. My answer is: it is great if you are a Buyer and want to trade up or buy a first time home. Or, if you have substantial equity in your home and are a realistic Seller. I can help everyone find the best house, in their price range, on the market. How to find those people who are willing, ready and able to buy...that is the question...

Hera Hoepa Guidelines: "Here's a hoepa it a closa's."
July 30th is the drop dead date for the change from old practices to new . What Hera Hoepa is really saying is, let's do business, the way we should have in the beginning. Tell people who are buying a home exactly what they will be paying for the duration of their loan and tell them clearly and timely, so they will fully understand their major decision to buy a home.The bottom line is: It may take longer for our buyers to successfully close on a home, which will effect the Seller and the next buy and the next Seller etc...The onus will be on the Realtors to insure those appraisals will come in at PA, or above. This means the Listing Realtor needs to continuously do current comps and price correctly. The Appraisers who now cannot communicate with the financial concerns, will have to be very good at their knowledge of the area and fully understand the current comps.Communication is always the answer. Managing expectations and being the expert will benefit your clients.
Posted by myrealtormichelle at 6:16 PM 0 comments
Thursday, July 16, 2009

Waiting on a Loan Modification?
Waiting on a loan modification? Those who put large down payments may be dissapointed.If you are making less money now than when you purchased your home a few years ago and wanted to refinance to enjoy lower rates, but are self employed, you may be finding that hard to accomplish.Here is the scenario:You bought a home, in 2006, that you could afford, and you put down over 20%, and you thought the interest only product for 10 years, sounded good. Now, you are having a lack luster year as a self employed individual. Your property values have plummeted. You contact your bank because you have heard that President Obama is trying to help homeowners who have high interest only rates and cannot afford their payments. You are told that each case is looked at individually and if you send in all the paperwork, you may get a loan modification or other help from the "Make Homes Affordable Program". You wait 30 days, then 60 days and you keep getting calls from people that have NO information for you, but just want to tell you, "We are still working on your individual case". At least these people have jobs.You finally ask more questions and realize this:Because you put down a large down payment, over 20%, and now have a principal amount, which is significantly less than you paid for the house, you will not be helped like the homeowner who paid little or nothing down on an interest only loan.The bank IS reviewing the files exactly on the same criteria,across the board!!!! What is your current home value compared to your current principal mortgage balance . They are not looking at what you paid on the home initially, and how much you have already lost on the property.Yes, they look at debt /income ratios but I feel the investors are not distinguishing between how much the homeowners have already sunk into their homes.I feel that this is an inequity, punishing homeowners for actually putting money into their homes !!
Posted by myrealtormichelle at 12:05 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 15, 2009