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1
on: September 07, 2010, 10:59:58 AM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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Q: I am a Canadian who is interested in buying a house in California. I am a non-permanent resident alien. Do you foresee any difficulties, and will I be able to get a mortgage from an American lender?
—Vancouver, Canada
A: Lots of Canadians buy real estate in the U.S. In fact, last year the largest proportion—23%–of foreign buyers of American property came from Canada, according to the National Association of Realtors. For you, and for every foreigner looking to buy a home, the home-buying process is essentially the same as it is for American citizens: You find a home, make an offer accompanied by a deposit, obtain a mortgage, pay for inspections and appraisals, and—when all contingencies have been removed and the financing is in place—close.
It's a very straightforward process if you pay all-cash. If you need a mortgage, the process will be challenging. It will be impossible if you have diplomatic immunity, which would prevent lenders from seeking redress should you default.
Assuming you don't have diplomatic immunity, get your paperwork in order. Expect lenders to ask you to show at least a two-year history of employment and credit history in the U.S. or another country. You'll also have to prove legal residency in the U.S. for at least two years; if you haven't lived here that long, some lenders will accept two bank references instead. You have some flexibility here, since no specific documents are required to prove these things. You also should be prepared to show your passport, a valid visa, and, if you have it, work authorization.
If you need a jumbo loan to buy a high-end property, lenders are likely to demand at least a 20% down payment and may charge you a higher interest rate than they would an American citizen. But if you're applying for a conforming loan guaranteed by the government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you will have the same access as an American citizen to all of their programs, at the same interest rates, and with the same terms and fees.
You also should investigate Federal Housing Administration loans. Loan limits differ throughout the country, and are higher in expensive places like California. Moreover, down payments for borrowers with excellent credit can be as low as 3.5%. But act quickly. At this time, you do not have to provide a Social Security number to borrow funds. But in Congress, H.R. 5072, known as the FHA Reform Act of 2010, has passed the House and been referred to the Senate. As now written, it will require that non-permanent resident aliens have both a Social Security number and be authorized to work in the U.S. to qualify for an FHA loan. Source
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on: September 07, 2010, 10:55:26 AM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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WASHINGTON—Average mortgage rates hit another record low even as Treasurys sold off, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates have been slumping for months as investors buy Treasurys—pushing down their yields—amid U.S. economic uncertainty. Some of the price gains on Treasurys were lost in recent days after the 10-year note last week retreated from levels last seen in early 2009. Yields, which move inversely to prices, are generally tracked by mortgage rates.
But the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.32% for the week ended Thursday, down from the prior week's 4.36% average and 5.08% a year earlier. It has set or matched a record low for 11 weeks in a row; Freddie started keeping track of such rates in 1971.
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 3.83%, a new low and down from 3.86% and 4.54%, respectively. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages were 3.54%, compared with 3.56% a week earlier and 4.59% last year. That loan type hasn't had such a low average rate since Freddie started tracking it in 2005.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs were at 3.50%, down from 3.52% and 4.62%, respectively.
To obtain the rates, the 30- and one-year required payment of an average 0.7 point, with the 15- and 5-year having an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest. Source
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on: August 25, 2010, 10:21:18 AM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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The Mississippi Association of Realtors confirmed Monday that attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who today took over administration of individual and private business loss claims from the BP oil catastrophe, will set up a special fund to reimburse Gulf Coast real estate agents and brokers for their losses.
Feinberg said up to $60 million will be reserved for the Realtor and real estate fund to cover the five affected Gulf states.
“The impact of the oil spill here in Mississippi has been widespread, affecting local businesses, wildlife and the environment,” said Mississippi Association of Realtors President Tony Jones of Olive Branch. “This also includes local licensed real estate professionals who have experienced financial losses due to transactions that were terminated or never even initiated in Harrison, Han**** and Jackson counties because of the oil spill.
“The substantial decline in Mississippi tourism and interest in real property sales due to the oil spill have greatly affected the real estate business here.”
State Realtors associations in Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida are devising a process for distributing funds. National Catastrophe Adjusters Inc. will administer the real estate fund as an independent third party, the Mississippi association said.
“We are indebted to Realtors and to government officials, including Gov. Haley Barbour, for their work in securing these funds,” Jones said. “This historic collaboration between the real estate industry and the BP fund is a model for public/private partnerships. It will help restore economic vitality to the Gulf Coast and ensure a unique culture and way of life continues into the future.”
In addition to Barbour’s assistance, Realtors met numerous times with Feinberg to discuss their losses. Feinberg had not initially contemplated compensation for Realtors and agents, but acknowledged they were the most vocal group at town hall meetings he has held across the Gulf about the claims process.
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on: August 25, 2010, 10:14:29 AM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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NEW CODE 20% off flight! Valid if booked by Sept 1/2010: CLASS20
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5
on: August 25, 2010, 10:11:06 AM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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NEW - Car and Driver Magazine no cc info required: Link
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on: August 25, 2010, 10:05:22 AM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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A 71-year-old resident of Fisherville, Ky., faces an eight-month jail sentence for mail fraud, which he committed while taking illegal control of a dead man's apartment, reports the Mortgage Fraud Blog.
Louisville lawyer Ronald Snyder, brother of the late Kentucky U.S. Rep. Gene Snyder, admitted that he rented out a condominium owned by a deceased man, Robert Cornett, for nearly 12 years, pocketing around $15,000 in rental payments during that time.
But Snyder isn't the only one getting nailed for a scam involving real estate. Earlier this month, a ring of mortgage brokers in Southern Florida was busted for a fraud scheme. A Maryland owner of modular-home construction business was indicted this week for mortgage fraud. And in the foreclosure-plagued state of Arizona, June was the highest month ever for mortgage fraud indictments.
In fact, The Wall Street Journal reports that mortage fraud is on the rise again nationwide. According to data prepared for the news daily by the research firm CoreLogic, mortgage fraud climbed 17 percent last year, after dropping 57 percent over the two previous years from an all-time high in 2006.
From identity theft, to falsifying application information, to manipulating appraisal numbers, the types of fraud schemes are also becoming more complicated. In response, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is widening its net: The number of pending mortgage fraud investigations jumped 71 percent from 2008 to 2009.
For collecting rent payments that he wasn't entitled to, Snyder received a sentence of eight months in jail, was fined $5,000 and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution. The maximum sentence for the felony charge was 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Courier-Journal in Louisville reports that Snyder's lawyer, Charles E. Ricketts Jr., explained his client's actions by saying that no relatives attended the funeral for Cornett, and as a family friend, Snyder maintained the property after Cornett's death. Snyder kept the property in Cornett's name, rented it out and received rental payments from tenants via U.S. mail.
Snyder's wrongdoing, according to the Department of Justice, was that he "knowingly" failed to either locate Cornett's heirs or turn over the property, valued at $91,060 in 2006, to the state of Kentucky. When Snyder attempted to benefit from lower property taxes granted to those over 65 years of age in most states, the Louisville police uncovered his decade-long scheme.
The case is closed on Snyder, but the growing problem of mortgage fraud -- which is projected to cost at least a $14 billion this year --may mean more trouble on the horizon for the already rocky housing market. Source
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on: August 17, 2010, 05:07:39 AM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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‘Moderate correction’ coming in real estate: TD Bank August 16, 2010 Tony Wong Business Reporter Canada’s real estate market is due for a “moderate correction” with homes that are anywhere from 10 to 15 per cent overvalued, says the TD Bank. “The excessive pricing of Canadian housing in relation to fundamentals is now clearly correcting,” TD Bank economist Grant Bishop said in an economic note Monday. “We expect a moderate correction in prices over the coming year.” The bank is forecasting a “downward correction of 10 per cent in monthly average prices, followed by several years of stagnation of price growth,” according to Bishop. TD says affordability was steadily eroded during the house price surge of late 2009 and early 2010, with carrying costs rising relative to average household incomes. “The current level of household debt flags the need for households to slow their borrowing,” said the bank. TD is the latest major financial institution to rain on the real estate parade. Other Canadian economists have said the market is overvalued by as much as 25 per cent. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) also revised its figures downward this month. Canadian existing home sales continue to decline rapidly, thanks to a drop in activity in Ontario and British Columbia, according to a monthly report by CREA on Monday. Seasonally adjusted national home sales were down 6.8 per cent in July compared with June. On a year-over-year basis, national sales activity was down by 30 per cent compared with July 2009. It was the third month in a row that sales have declined. “The market went up faster than most people have expected and it’s going down more quickly than we had anticipated,” said BMO Capital Markets senior economist Sal Guatieri. The average price of homes sold through CREA’s Multiple Listing Service in July was $330,351, only one per cent higher than the same month a year earlier. Year to date transactions are still up by 5.6 per cent in the first seven months of the year. “It looks like anyone who wanted to buy a house in Canada got their shopping done early,” said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist for BMO Capital Markets. “The combination of tighter mortgage insurance rules, a modest back up in borrowing costs, and the HST have delivered a hammer blow to sales.” Meanwhile, CREA is warning that there are likely more dismal sales numbers in the months to come. “The gap is expected to shrink as the year progresses since activity rose sharply over the second half of last year, reaching levels that are unlikely to be matched in the final five months of 2010,” the association said in its report. What may keep prices from falling more dramatically is that new supply seems to be trending down. Seasonally adjusted figures for new listings show that they declined by 7.2 per cent in July compared with the prior month. This is the third consecutive month over month decrease. “We went from a period last year during the recession where we saw very few listings, then a lot more listings earlier this year when the market improved,” said Guatieri. “Now you’re seeing fewer listings as vendors see the market softening as they take their homes off the market because they’re worried they may not get the price they’d like to see.” Source |
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on: August 17, 2010, 05:00:53 AM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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TORONTO -- A new tax regime in Canada's two busiest housing markets caused demand for homes in British Columbia and Ontario to dry up in July, driving a 30 per cent decline in national sales activity from a year ago.
Canadian home sales were down 6.8 per cent from June, continuing a months-long cooling trend in Canada's real estate sector, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported Monday.
But Manitoba's housing market is avoiding the worst of the chill and has fared better than most of the provinces in many of CREA's metrics, with June to July unit sales flat in the province -- the second best provincial result.
The year-over-year average home price in Manitoba was up 9.4 per cent in July, second highest in the country where the average increase was only one per cent nationally.
July's seasonally adjusted new listings were up 6.4 per cent in Manitoba, the highest in the country. New listings were down 7.2 per cent nationally.
In Manitoba, the dollar volume of home sales in July was down only slightly from June, a mark bettered by only three other provinces whereas nationally it was down seven per cent.
About 85 per cent of July's decline can be traced to fewer sales in B.C. and Ontario -- which generally account for more than half of national sales -- as the new harmonized sales tax prompted many buyers to push sales into the first half of the year, CREA said.
"The soft sales figures we're seeing right now can be attributed in part to accelerated home purchases earlier in the year," said CREA president Georges Pahud.
Activity so far this year is up 5.6 per cent compared with the first seven months of last year, but the gap is expected to shrink as the year progresses because sales ramped up heavily during the latter part of 2009.
Sales peaked in December 2009 and hovered near record levels during the first quarter of this year as buyers rushed into the housing market ahead of changes to mortgage rules, interest rate hikes and the HST.
But sales have dropped in six of the last seven months and were down 25 per cent in the past three months alone, said BMO economist Douglas Porter.
"We (and many others) were consistently warning of a significant second-half slowdown in housing activity but, if anything, the cooling looks even a bit chillier than expected," he wrote in a report.
B.C. had the biggest drop at 14.1 per cent, followed by Ontario with an eight per cent decline. Source
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9
on: August 07, 2010, 07:00:12 PM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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Lady Gaga is still on the New York City and Hamptons house-hunting prowl, and some brokers aren’t ecstatic about it.
After making city brokers jump every time she wants to see a new property, one listing broker for a home she toured told us, "These celebrity house-hunters hardly ever buy. They look at everything and they walk through so fast. It’s actually more of a hassle than glamorous."
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10
on: August 07, 2010, 06:56:12 PM
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Started by MyCondoNow - Last post by MyCondoNow
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Housing sales in the GTA fell by 34% in July compared to the same month last year, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) reported today.
There were 6,564 sales last month, down from a record 9,967 sales in July 2009. New listings also took a hit, dropping to 10,825 — the lowest level for July since 2002.
Despite the lag, total sales for 2010 are still up 12 per cent from last year. A combination of factors played into the sudden dip, according to Jason Mercer, senior manager of market analysis for TREB.
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