June 16, 2008
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
Market Updates:
Daily Real Estate News June 11, 2008
Property-flipping rule suspended
The White House temporarily suspends a rule that imposes a 90-day waiting period before foreclosed homes can be sold to receive government loans.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration is temporarily suspending a 5-year-old rule intended to deter property flippers, as part of an effort to help speed the sale of foreclosed properties.
For one year, the Federal Housing Administration will no longer impose a 90-day waiting period before foreclosed properties can be sold to receive government-backed loans.
The policy was put in place in 2003 to deter property "flipping" schemes, in which buyers are overcharged for foreclosures or other distressed properties. But the surge in vacant properties resulting from borrowers who were unable to afford their mortgages has become a far more pressing concern.
"A glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes harms neighborhoods, frustrates homebuyers and delays a community's recovery," FHA commissioner Brian Montgomery said in a prepared statement.
The new policy "will allow homebuyers to purchase these homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes," Montgomery said.
Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48% from the same month last year, and up 7% from April, foreclosure listing company RealtyTrac Inc. said Friday.
FHA Loans Gaining Popularity Source: The Washington Post, Dina ElBoghdady (06/10/08)
As lenders toughen their standards, loans by backed the Federal Housing Administration are increasingly popular.The number of FHA loans issued rose 126 percent in the first quarter of 2008, compared with the same period a year ago. Most of FHA's business now comes from refinancing.The volume of FHA loans at Wells Fargo has increased 342 percent this year from the same time in 2007, says Greg Gwizdz, the company's national retail service manager. Helping increase business were live simulcasts for real estate professionals that the lender recently held in movie theaters nationwide touting the benefits of FHA loans.Only borrowers who can make at least a 3 percent down payment or have at least 3 percent equity in their homes and who can document their income can qualify for FHA loans.Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, says FHA paperwork remains daunting and the rates aren’t always the lowest. “But if your choice is vanilla ice cream or no ice cream, vanilla starts looking good," he says.
Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady® and Condo CanDo® in Charlotte, NC
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