UPSIDE DOWN REFINANCE NOW AVAILABLE -THE OBAMA PLAN IS HERE!!

We are once again in high spirits to share this piece of good news that the Homeownership Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP), also referred to as “The Obama Plan” by some, has finally become available. This should bring some relief for homeowners whose financial situation are upside down and are left out in the cold because the value of their homes have significantly decreased, leaving them on a reluctant wait-and-see predicament. However, a word of caution from our preferred lenders Paula Clark of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Aaron Gordon of Countrywide Home Loans: this isn’t for everyone. Some will be too far upside down. Some won’t be eligible for a number of other reasons as we will outline below.

Still, this is very exciting news for those who are timely with their payments, want to refinance, but haven’t been able to take advantage of low rates due to valuation challenges.

Countrywide, which will soon be Bank of America Home Loans, is one of the first lenders nationally to market the new Homeownership Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP). Some call this “The Obama Plan.” This initiative is for borrowers who have demonstrated an acceptable payment history on their current mortgage but due to declining home values have been unable to take advantage of historically low interest rates to refinance or stabilize their payment.

Please read the rest very carefully. This will help many but not everyone.

THE GUIDELINES BELOW IS FOR CURRENT COUNTRYWIDE CUSTOMERS ONLY WHOSE LOANS ARE HELD BY FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC AS INVESTORS.

If you are not a Countrywide customer, contact your own bank and ask about your eligibility for HASP.

Here is a quick look at the highlights for the refinance piece of the plan:

• The maximum loan amount is $417,000 in Clark County.
• Your FIRST MORTGAGE cannot be upside down from the home's value by more than 105%. Your second mortgage may not count.
• The value of your home is NOT determined by an appraisal but by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s automated systems. No appraisal is necessary.
• Your second mortgage does NOT count to determine your eligibility if that second mortgage is held by Countrywide or Bank of America. So let’s say your home is worth $200,000 today. You owe $210,000 on the first and the rate is 6.500%. You have a $70,000 second mortgage that’s held by Countrywide or Bank of America. This program allows you to refinance up to 105% of your first mortgage. This means you can refinance the first for $210,000 at close to today’s rates. The second mortgage will stay intact.
• If your second is with Countrywide or B of A, we will very likely re-subordinate our second mortgage to allow this refinance to happen.
• The investor on your loan has to be Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
• There is no cash-out. You cannot consolidate a first mortgage and a second mortgage.
• In this first phase, you are ineligible if you currently have mortgage insurance on your loan. If you bought your house using a first and second mortgages, you can still qualify.
• You are still eligible so long as you have no more than one late mortgage payment in the last 12 months. You may be permitted more than one late payment in the last 12 months on your Countrywide or B of A second mortgage.
• Your current loan cannot be VA, FHA, or a subprime loan.
• It's a streamlined loan. No income documentation and no appraisal. It’s a stated income loan. You won’t have to prove income again. You will sign a 4506-T however which is a form that allows the lender to obtain a copy of your tax return.
• Debt-to-income ratios may not matter if you are not increasing your current payment by more than 20%.
• There is no minimum credit score if your new payment is no more than 20% higher than your current one. 620 is the minimum if it’s 20% or more higher.
• Rates are slightly higher than current market but still very competitive.
• If you didn't have mortgage insurance before, you won’t have it now, regardless of your loan to value.
• Prepayment penalties on your current loan will be waived by Countrywide and Bank of America to make this program work for you if you are eligible.

If you are a Countrywide customer, give Aaron a call or send him an email to determine your eligibility. Please have your loan number ready when you call or email it to him so he can research your eligibility for you.

If you are interested in this program and are not a Countrywide customer, please contact your bank and ask them about their participation in HASP.

Aaron Gordon can be reached at:
Countrywide Bank, FSB
Cell: (702) 283-2333
Office: (702) 304-8900
Secure eFax: 1-866-905-7922
10190 Covington Cross Drive #190
Las Vegas, NV 89144
Email: aaron_gordon@countrywide.com
Web: http://countrywidelocal.com/aarongordon

Existing Wells Fargo clients need to call their lender and ask if their loan is a FANNIE MAE or a FREDDIE MAC loan. If they have a NON-Wells Fargo loan FREDDIE MAC insured loan- then they must go back to their existing lender to do the refinance loan. If they have a FANNIE MAE loan, then they can go to any lender that they want to do the refinance.

The important thing to remember is that relief is finally coming soon for existing homebuyers that are underwater!

Please feel free to contact Paula Clark at the following:
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
8337 West Sunset Road, Suite 270
Las Vegas, NV 89113
Office: (702) 868-3920
Cell: (702)277-3554
eFax: 1-866-609-2470
Email: paula.l.clark@wellsfargo.com
Web: http://paulalclark.com/

MORTGAGE RATES REACH HISTORIC LOWS!

Many homebuyers are still on the fence whether to buy now or wait for rates and prices to go down further. The big question is: have we reached rock-bottom yet? That’s a question that no one can predict, and it is not going to be a simple answer as market conditions change on a daily basis.

The great news is, mortgage rates have reached an all time low and it would be most sensible to lock in the rates now if it fits within your budget. We have not seen rates like these in 52 years – and we don’t know how long this opportunity will be available to well-qualified borrowers. The bottom line is, do not take a chance and play a waiting game if you are ready to buy and has found a property you like.

The following information is provided by one of my preferred lender Aaron Gordon of Countrywide Home Loans:

“As the government announces more purchases of mortgage-backed securities, rates continue to plummet.

Interestingly, if you are still sitting on the sideline waiting for rates to drop further, the head of Freddie Mac came out this week and said he believes rates are at the bottom and any further drop will be minimal.

Plan on around:

• 4.375% WOW! (APR 4.508) FOR A 30 YR FIXED CONVENTIONAL LOAN with ONE POINT, NO ORIGINATION!
• 4.750% (APR 4.862) FOR A 30 YR FHA / VA LOAN, WITH ONE POINT, NO ORIGINATION!
• 5.750% (APR 6.024) ON A 30 YR JUMBO LOAN OVER $417,000 with ONE POINT, NO ORIGINATION!
• 5.125% (APR 5.262) ON A 5 YR JUMBO AR M with ONE POINT, NO ORIGINATION!

NO ORIGINATION FEE ON ANY OF THE LOANS ABOVE. These rates are for purchases only. Refinance rates are slightly higher.

NEW GUIDELINE ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS WEEK:

FHA announced new limits to cash-out refinances. They used to allow cash-out up to 95%. It’s now been lowered to 85%. Here are the rules:

• Must have owned the property at least 12 months
• You cannot be behind in your mortgage.
• You cannot have a non-occupying co-borrower to qualify for the new cash out limits.”

Here are more good news from Paula Clark, also a preferred Home Mortgage Consultant from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage:

“Friday's news showed that consumers are being understandably cautious with their finances, as the Personal Savings rate remained above 4% once again in February and among the highest savings levels seen in a decade.

Meanwhile, the government continues to make bold moves to help our economy. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Geithner unveiled a plan to remove toxic assets from financial institutions by using money from the $700 Billion TARP fund. The government will help mitigate the risk by offering private investors Billions of dollars in low-interest loans to help finance the purchases. Indeed, it's a bold strategy - let's see if it pays off!

And...there's room for cautious optimism on the economy, as good news was noted on several fronts last week. The housing market received good news when both Existing Home Sales and New Home Sales came in stronger than expected. Additionally, Durable Goods Orders for February came in better than expected, showing the first increase in six months, and the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure Index (Core PCE) showed inflation is presently at tolerable levels. Plus, the US Dollar received a boost when China said it will continue to purchase US Treasuries.

Bonds were jostled around mid-week, but home loan rates ultimately ended the week very close to where they began...near historic lows.”

You can read Paula’s full bulletin at http://www.mmgweekly.com/w/w.html?SID=81ca0262c82e712e50c580c032d99b60

Paula can be reached at tel. 702.868.3920, Cell 702.277.3554, email at paula.l.clark@wellsfargo.com, or on the web at http://paulalclark.com/.

Overall, the market is showing some robust activities in the last weeks. We at The Dulcie Crawford Group are always at the forefront to bring you the latest updates and will be happy to answer any questions you may have and assist you in your homebuying process. Call us today!

NEVADA BOND PROGRAM/100% FINANCING - LOWERS RATES!

Today, the Nevada Bond Program, the only active program with 100% financing, announced lower rates. Effective with new loan registrations on or after March 12, 2009, the Nevada Housing Division will adjust rates for the 2008 program as follows:

30 YR-FIRST MORTGAGE IS NOW 6.67% (it was 7.250%)

20 YR-2nd MORTGAGE, WHICH IS USED FOR THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, IS NOW 8.50% (used to be 9.250% )

The NHD bond program offers a first mortgage along with a second mortgage for down payment assistance of up to $10,000. Restrictions apply.

For details, please feel free to contact my preferred lender:

Aaron Gordon
Home Loan Consultant / Sales Manager
Countrywide Bank, FSB
Cell: (702) 283-2333
Office: (702) 304-8900
Secure eFax: 1-866-905-7922
10190 Covington Cross Drive #190
Las Vegas, NV 89144
email: aaron_gordon@countrywide.com
web: http://countrywidelocal.com/aarongordon

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE FOR THE OBAMA MORTGAGE PLAN?

Here is another helpful piece concerning the new Home Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP), courtesy of my preferred lender Aaron Gordon at Countrywide Home Loans.

There have been a lot of questions about the HASP that will allow for refinances up to 105% of property values and for note modifications down the 31% of income, if the investor on your loan is Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Answers and guidelines have been coming in daily. Some are very exciting.

For example, the plan doesn't care about occupancy. It applies to investment and vacation homes as well as owner-occupied homes. There are no minimum credit score requirements. There are no debt-to-income maximums. You just have to demonstrate an ability to repay.

Here is how you can determine if you are one of the seven to nine million homeowners eligible for relief under the plan:

STEP ONE: ARE YOU FANNIE OR FREDDIE BACKED?
To determine if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac is the investor on your loan, a requirement of the program, you can do any of the following:

1) CALL your servicing company, which is where you send your payment.

2) Or you can do this by INTERNET:

Does Fannie Mae Own Your Mortgage? Click or copy and paste the link below:
http://www.fanniemae.com/homepath/homeaffordable.jhtml

Does Freddie Mac Own Your Mortgage? Click or copy and paste the link below: http://www.freddiemac.com/corporate/buyown/english/avoiding_foreclosure/avoiding_foreclosure_form.html

3) Or you can do this by TELEPHONE:
FREDDIE MAC 1-800-FREDDIE (8am to 8pm EST) FANNIE MAE 1-800-7FANNIE (8am to 8pm EST)

STEP TWO: DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY
If this home is your primary residence, go to www.FinancialStability.gov or click or copy and paste this link: http://www.financialstability.gov/makinghomeaffordable/refinance_eligibility.html

This site will walk you thru a step-by-step questionnaire that will help you determine eligibility and more.

STEP THREE:
If it says you are eligible for refinance, call your preferred loan officer. If you are eligible for Note Modification, call your bank.

NOTE: If this property is a vacation home or an investment home and the home's value is upside now in value by no more than 5%, call your preferred lender and ask if you are a candidate for HASP. It may take a few weeks before guidelines are known but you can start getting on interest lists now.


We at The Dulcie Crawford Group are continually on the lookout for information that can affect your individual real estate situation, and we would like to be your leading source of information. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.

FHA RAISES CLARK COUNTY LOAN LIMIT TO $400,000

Just hot off the press, we are excited to share this very good news to all of you, courtesy of my preferred lender Aaron Gordon at Countrywide Home Loans.

As part of the Obama mortgage plan, that FHA has raised the loan limit to $400,000 in Clark County and $325,000 in Nye County.

You can find details at https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicost1.cfm

This means buyers looking for homes up to $412,000 can now qualify with as little as 3.5% down. This is one ray of hope that we have been waiting for to boost the housing industry and hopefully, be the catalyst for a much needed market stability.

Stay tuned for details on rates. If you or someone you know has been putting off the decision to buy a home, I can’t think of a better reason than this! The market is primed for qualified buyers: there is a sizeable amount of great inventories, mortgage rates are at an all-time low, and financing is available for responsible borrowers. It’s a win-win situation for buyers and sellers.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at 702.285.1990. The Dulcie Crawford Group aspires to be your trusted Realtor for life!

STIMULUS PACKAGE AND OBAMA MORTGAGE PLAN ....SIMPLIFIED

Here is a very straightforward article with regard to the Obama Stimulus Package signed into law this week and how it could affect you as a homeowner or buyer, courtesy of my preferred lender Aaron Gordon of Countrywide Home Loans. His contact information is below for your reference should you need to contact him. We at the Dulcie Crawford Group will also be happy to answer any questions you may have. We have also included some links to the Stimulus Package if you are interested to learn more.

There has been a lot of activity this week attempting to solve the historic economic problems. No one expects this to cure the problem overnight but it could reduce the damage.These two plans have a dramatic effect on our business. Let me try and make them easy to understand.

The $787 billion Economic Stimulus Package

Here is how the Economic Stimulus Package affects our business:

The Fannie and Freddie loan limits will be raised to $727,000 in high cost areas.

Although this doesn't affect Las Vegas, which will stay at $417,000, it does our neighbors in Southern California. Market recovery in California is nearly as important to our local economy as theirs. Keep in mind most of our tourists come from their and many of our transplants.

The first-time homebuyer tax credit will be raised to $8,000 with no payback. Many were hoping this would be $15,000 as first passed through the Senate but it's settled at $8,000. You have to buy a home between January 1, 2009 (yes, it's retroactive) and December 31, 2009. You have to be a first-time homebuyer or have not owned a home in the last three years. To get the full benefit, you have to make less than $75,000 as a single tax payer or $150,000 as married taxpayers.

If you sell the home before you have been there three years, you have to forfeit the credit or pay it back if you already wrote it off. This credit is different than the $7,500 one first-time buyers got in 2008. Right now, that credit has to be paid back. However, there is some discussion that it may not have to be repaid. If the repayment provision in the new home buyer tax credit is made retroactive back to April 9th 2008, when that planfirst took place. This detail is still to be finalized.

Interest rates should stay low

Rates have been driven down to historic lows since late November. This is a direct result of the Government buying hundreds of billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities.The Economic Stimulus package calls for the Government to buy another $200-300 billion of mortgage paper from Fannie and Freddie. We could see historically low rates through the end of the year.


The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (Obama Plan)

You can read the plan here:
www.treas.gov/initiatives/eesa/homeowner-affordability-plan/FactSheet.pdf

The complete details will be announced on March 4th.

The plan seeks to help as many as 9 million Americans avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their mortgages. The program is intended to help responsible homeowners who are experiencing financial hardship and may be at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. Lenders will not be forced to participate. It’s voluntary.

Here are the highlights:

Right now if you want to refinance, and your loan amount is over $287,500, you need around 20% equity in your home. The new plan allows homeowners who are current on their mortgage to refinance through Fannie and Freddie up to 105% of the value of their home.

This means if you owe $200,000 on your home and it's only worth $190,000 youcan now refinance. The 105% financing includes your closing costs up to 4%.Most Las Vegans are more than 5% upside down. There is not much relief for them in this plan.

If you are late on your mortgage, the Government is now introducing a new standardized form of note modification. This is NOT a principal reduction. Your loan amount will not change. This is modifying your existing loan. If you currently owe $250,000 on your mortgage and your home is worth $175,000 you would be modifying your $250,000. Not getting a new mortgage for less.

The Government will be financially incentivizing homeowners and loan servicers who modify mortgages successfully. If you modify your loan under this plan and make your payment on time for five years, you may be eligible for up to $5,000 in reduction of your mortgage debt.

The lenders who participate in the plan will be agreeing to let you modify your loan to 38% of your gross income. This means if you make $4000 per month, they will be agreeing to lower your payment to $1520. Then the Government will step in and help you lower your payment to 31% or $1240. They will pay the lender the difference out of the $75 billion in the fund.

You need to be able to document your income. This will be challenging for some self-employed borrowers.

The government is also investing hundreds of billions in Fannie and Freddie to keep them solvent and aggressive in making loans, while keeping mortgage rates low.

If you seek relief under the plan, the home must be your primary residence. Investment properties and second (vacation) homes are not eligible.The loan must be a conforming loan. That's $417,000 or under in Las Vegas. The homeowner must be able to qualify for a 30-year fixed mortgage payment with their current income.You must be employed to take advantage of the refinance. If you are not, you may be eligible for the modification still.

You may be eligible for a loan modification in this plan even if you have not been late yet or missed a payment. Let's say you have a first and second mortgage. Under this plan, you may be eligible to modify the first lien so long as the second agrees to re-subordinate the second if necessary.

The plan also calls for changes to personal bankruptcy provisions. This plan will allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages written in the past few years.If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Aaron Gordon
Home Loan Consultant/Sales Manager
Countrywide Bank, FSB
Cell: (702) 283-2333 Office: (702) 304-8900
Secure eFax: 1-866-905-7922
10190 Covington Cross Drive #190Las Vegas, NV 89144
email: aaron_gordon@countrywide.com
web: http://countrywidelocal.com/aarongordon

More on the Stimulus Bill on the web:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090214/ap_on_go_co/stimulus_stakes_who_gets_what
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090215/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama

Las Vegas Sales up 15% and new Home Buyers Tax Credit

The Month of February has been as busy as January in the re-sale Housing market.
Sales are up 15% in the last quarter of 2008 and I expect to see the same pattern in the first quarter of 2009. I am seeing many first time buyers taking advantage of the new pricing and interest rates in the low 5% range and even high 4% range over the past two months now. I have also experienced more calls and requests for relocation materials and information than I had seen in 2008. This level of relocation interest may be showing that housing affordability has reached a level that will create new growth in our city again. I am optimistic as usual that the housing market will recover next year, but that depends if the new administration in Washington gets more proactive in the housing sector. If they do more with the toxic debts that the banks now hold to buy it off the banks’ hands, we can see a recovery much quicker, and inventory levels will plummet quickly as well. I do not feel that we will see appreciation growth into the 10% range again until 2012, but we could see 3-4% as early as late 2010 or early 2011.

There is, however, some silver lining showing on the horizon. According to a recent article in Forbes.com, “Motivated sellers in Las Vegas accounted for 64% of sales in October, the highest rate in the country. Home sale prices from last year are down 28%, but home sales are up 15%. That means buyers are getting deals and hastening Las Vegas' recovery.” I’ve included the link to the full article, as well as how the Stimulus package will impact home buyers.

Buyers in this market need to weigh in on what it will cost them to buy now at these all-time low interest rates vs. if the housing market should continue down another 5-10. Over the life of a 30 year loan, a buyer paying .5% higher interest rate will usually cost them more than if the home went down 30 or 40K. Buyers should also consider the tax implications of putting off buying and renting as well. Higher tax bracket income earners are loosing valuable tax breaks while renting. As one of my recent clients said to me recently as they closed on their new home “I need to start living a settled and permanent life with my family to be able to enjoy each day instead of wondering when I may get a notice to vacate my rental home. My wife wants to paint walls, hang curtains and plant a garden, these are things we have put off just renting and not owning. The rest of our settled lives begin NOW.”

The Stimulus package has been approved, and I will blog on what exactly it will mean for home owners and the housing market again in the next few weeks, as more credible information unfolds.

If you are ready to Buy or Sell call me for a no obligation consultation.

Have a great Valentines Day!!

Dulcie Crawford