BREAKING NEWS -- BREAKING NEWS -- BREAKING NEWS
Americas Top 100 Real Estate Professionals
I'm happy to share with you my success story and that I'm #16 out of 1,500,000 Agents
in the Nation! and #1 in VA, DC and MD! I'm proud to represent the Washington D.C.
Metropolitan Area community and dedicate to all of my friends and clients my hard
work during these tough economic times. Many of you are facing difficulties, going
through unemployment, foreclosure disaster and fear of bankruptcy... Our market
now is showing signs of improvement; many families pursuing their dream of home
ownership. I'm here for you to offer my guidance if you need it now more than ever
before. I will keep maintaining my professionalism to deliver exemplary service.
Thank you for visiting all of our web sites!
George Saab, Principal Broker/C.E.O., SAAB, REALTORS®
Top Updates
Housing sales decrease in May, dashing hopes of quick recovery
Dina ElBoghdady, Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sales of previously built homes dropped in May after huge gains the previous two months, a sign that the federal tax credit that helped energize sales at the start of the selling season has sputtered out sooner than expected.
The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of existing single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums and cooperatives fell 2.2 percent, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.66 million units, in May from April, snapping hopes of a robust housing recovery anytime soon. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected an increase of 6 percent.
Read more...
FHA to Guaranty 50,000 Energy-Efficient Mortgages
by Gina Pogol
May 3rd, 2010
The U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, perhaps in celebration of Earth Day, approved legislation to promote green building by granting incentives to mortgage lenders. The goal is to fund 50,000 FHA green mortgages by the end of 2012. The bill, if passed by Congress, is expected to generate 140,000 new building jobs.
read more
Your FHA Loan: Minimizing Credit Problems by Avoiding Foreclosure y Karen Lawson
May 4th, 2010
Homeowners with an FHA mortgage may have little home equity or negative equity due to the low down payment requirements for FHA loans. Before considering walking away from a mortgage thats upside down, considering the impact of foreclosure and/or bankruptcy on your credit scores is essential.
Mortgage Loan Foreclosure and Bankruptcy: Bad News for Your Credit Scores
CNN Money estimates that a home foreclosure can decrease consumer credit scores by 85 to 160 points, while filing bankruptcy creates worse results by reducing credit scores by 130 to 240 points.
read more
Fannie Mae to make qualifying for interest-only loans tougher
By Les Christie, staff writer
May 4, 2010: 10:21 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage giant, announced Friday that it would tighten
lending requirements for the interest-only loans and adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) it backs.
To get a Fannie Mae-backed interest-only mortgage, for example, homebuyers will have to make down payments of 30%
of the sale price.
read more
The FHAs Evolving World
by Peter G. Miller
May 3rd, 2010 News on the FHA mortgage front is both good and bad. On one hand an effort to raise the FHA down payment
from todays 3.5 percent to 5.0 percent did not pass muster with the House Financial Services Committee and is thus
essentially dead. What did make the cut in HR 5072 is that if passed the bill will allow the FHA to raise annual
premiums in an amount not exceeding 1.55 percent. The reality is that what we have here is a little back-up.
The FHA is not going to institute a new and higher annual rate anytime soon. If it does, the new rate will only
apply to newly-written FHA loans, meaning that if you have an interest in financing or refinancing with an FHA
mortgage it might be a good idea to get such financing now rather than later.
read more
FORTUNE 500 CNN Money: Our annual ranking of America's largest corporations
And the winners are...
Wal-Mart knocks Exxon Mobil out of the top slot to rule the Fortune 500 again. See the full list
of America's largest corporations, including detailed company profiles and contact information.
read more
BEST JOBS IN AMERICA
Money/PayScale.com's list of great careers
And the winners are...
Great pay and superior growth prospects. Work that's meaningful. Those are some of the qualities we
looked for when selecting America's best jobs.
read more
Foreclosure fund gets $600 million to help residents of 5 more states save homes
By Renae Merle
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Obama administration announced Monday that it is expanding by $600 million a fund aimed at helping states tackle the foreclosure crisis with locally tailored approaches.
State housing finance agencies from North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and Rhode Island will share $600 million to test new approaches to helping borrowers save their homes from foreclosure. That is in addition to $1.5 billion set aside for California, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Florida when the program was initially announced in February. Both initiatives will be financed through the government's Troubled Assets Relief Program...
Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)
The U.S. Treasury Department announced new guidelines this week designed to make short sales go more smoothly. To qualify under these new guidelines:
* The property must be the home owner's principal residence.
* The home owner must be delinquent on the mortgage or close to defaulting.
* The loan must have been made before Jan. 1, 2009, and be for less than $729,750.
* The borrowers' total monthly mortgage payment must exceed 31 percent of their before-tax income.
Under the plan, borrowers will receive $1,500 from the government for selling homes for less than the amount of their mortgages. Mortgage-servicing companies will get $1,000 for each completed short sale.
Second-mortgage holders can receive up to $3,000 of the sales proceeds in exchange for releasing their liens.
Investors who hold the first mortgage can collect up to $1,000 from the government for allowing the payments.
Borrowers who complete a short sale under the program must be "fully released" from future liability for the debt, according to the guidelines.
Internal Revenue Service
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation
Mortgage Workouts,
Now Tax-Free for Many Homeowners; Claim Relief on Newly-Revised IRS Form Reduction
of Tax Attributes. Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment)
Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt.
Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
All Real Estate Top News
To view more news Selected by SAAB, REALTORS® click here.
Click here for a complimentary market analysis of your home.