The Agent's Role in the Short Sale Process
If you are a listing agent who frequently lists short sale properties, you are probably familiar with the short sale process whether you process them yourself or work with a third party processor. A buyer's agent, on the other hand, may not be as familiar with the process and may not understand that they play an important role in the short sale process as well. Both listing and buying agents have responsibilities to their clients and to the short sale transaction. The more each agent understands their role in the process, the easier it will be to get through the process with minimal issues and delays. Therefore,...Read More »Short Sale Tips for B of A Short Sales!
If you are a Listing Agent who lists many short sales, there is a good chance you have obtained offers from investors. If you are a real estate investor who purchases distressed properties to fix-and-flip or keep as a long-term rental, this information will prepare you for what you must provide to the short sale lender when buying a short sale property. Regardless of which short sale lender you have to work with, documentation requirements have become quite daunting. If you work short sales with Bank of America, you know that the documentation requirements have become atrocious! Well, to help you deal with some of the...Read More »Fannie and Freddie Changes that Impact Investors!
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced a couple of significant changes to their servicing requirements for short sales on January 18, 2013 and these changes apply to all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac short sales. The first key change pertains to new title transfer requirements and prohibits the buyer from selling the short sale property until at least 30 days have passed since the date of the deed. It further prohibits the buyer from reselling the property for more than 120% of the purchase price of the short sale. For example, if an investor purchased a short sale property for $100K on February 1, 2013 and the...Read More »Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Extended to January 1, 2014!
As we inched closer to the end of 2012, many taxpayers anxiously awaited the decision from Congress on the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, recently referred to as the 'Fiscal Cliff' bill. An important part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 included the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act that was implemented in 2007 in response to the housing crises. This Act provided tax relief for homeowners who were granted mortgage debt forgiveness because of a loan modification, short sale or foreclosure on their primary residence. The Act was due to expire on January 1, 2013; however, Congress did come through and passed a...Read More »What's New with Bank of America?
Important Notice: Short Sale and Foreclosure Date Notice: While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's HAFA short sale program may have ended December 31, 2012, Bank of America's Cooperative Short Sale Program is still available. If a homeowner does not qualify for a loan modification, Bank of America will allow a short sale for homeowners who are upside down on their mortgage or faced with a financial hardship. Their co-op short sale program can streamline the approval process and offers some financial assistance to qualified homeowners for relocation and moving expenses. However, as of January 15, 2013, Bank of America will no longer place a temporary foreclosure hold...Read More »FHA Mortgage Changes
The financial issues with the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) have been making headlines over the past month or two. Last month, the FHA also announced it would increase insurance premiums and on January 31, 2013, the FHA intends to publish more new loan standards and guidelines. These changes are part of an effort to make up the FHA's $16.3 billion deficit. Some of the new standards and guidelines are to include the following: 1. Borrowers with credit scores between 580 and 620 will face stricter underwriting standards such as stricter limits on debt-to-income ratio. 2. The FHA will require 5% down payment for loans that exceed $625,500. 3. FHA...Read More »Bank of America and FHA Short Sales
If you are a listing agent or negotiator that works with short sales on a regular basis, you have no doubt run into some recent roadblocks trying to deal with Bank of America. Especially when you need to get an FHA short sale request opened. Bank of America is having substantial issues implementing their own FHA Short Sale process these days and it can take up to 30 to 45 days just to get the files opened.
Whether guideline changes were made by FHA, VA, GSE or non-GSE owned investors, all the changes made over the last six months were supposed to make the process less...Read More »Selecting a Buyer's Agent and a Lender
Are you a buyer in the market to purchase a short sale? If so, whether you just want to find a good deal on a home or short sales make up the majority of the affordable inventory in your market, we want you to understand the importance of selecting both a qualified buyer's agent and lender to help you get through the short sale buying process.
The role of your buyer's agent is not just to find you a home that meets your needs. If you are in the market to purchase a short sale, your agent should also be prepared to educate you in the...Read More »Investors Buying Up More Rentals for Cashflow
Investors Trending to Snag the Keepers
While the economy has created a 'buyers' real estate market with home values plummeting and foreclosures soaring, who's buying up the properties that are for sale? While first time home buyers are on the decline and previous buyers are being turned down because of tight credit conditions, those with cash are the ones bringing the deals to the table. And today, it's typically the investors that have the cash! Per Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Associate of Realtors (NAR), "Increases in all-cash transactions, the investor market share and distressed home sales all go hand-in-hand. With tight credit...Read More »Credit Scores and Mortgage Loans
In today's economy, it's becoming more and more difficult to get your bills paid on time. After a few late payments, you may wonder what the impact is on your credit report and your credit score. Whether you have lost a job, gone through divorce, lost a spouse, or dealt with a serious medical issue, you know that any hardship can wreak havoc on your financial responsibilities. You are not alone, and we at Pink Realty help people who have dealt with these all the time. More than 43 million people in the United States have credit issues that are severe...Read More »What is an FHA loan and How do I Qualify?
FHA (Federal Housing Administration) provides mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders and their mission is to both help borrowers get loan amounts they qualify for and to assist lenders by reducing their financial risk when issuing FHA loans. This insurance protects lenders against losses that result from homeowners defaulting on their mortgage loans. In order for an FHA insured mortgage loan to be issued, certain requirements and criteria must be met.
FHA credit guidelines for both purchase and refinance loans have traditionally been more flexible than conventional guidelines. While FHA is still more flexible than conventional and non-conforming credit, FHA has recently tightened their...Read More »The Top 10 Myths About your Credit
Today's economy has caused many people financial hardship. Whether your hardship is the result of a loss of employment, illness or injury, death of a spouse, divorce, or bankruptcy, hardships can result in derogatory information ending up on your credit report. Unfortunately, derogatory information leads to further hardship as needed credit is denied, future employment is affected and interest rates and insurance premiums go up leaving you in a 'debtor's prison' that seems to have an endless sentence with no right to appeal. While solving credit report and credit repair issues may seem to be a mystery, there are myths and truths...Read More »10 Advantages for Buying a Short Sale Property
A short sale is when a lender agrees to allow a mortgaged property to be sold for less than what is owed on the mortgage. While lenders don't like their mortgages 'shorted', they do understand the benefits. Lenders know the loss incurred from a short sale is far less than the loss they will incur if they allow the property to go into foreclosure. Foreclosure is very expensive process for lenders as it not only incurs expensive legal fees, but also adds the expenses of maintenance, advertising and selling, insuring the home and paying property taxes. Lenders are not in the...Read More »What You Need to Know Before Getting a Mortgage
Getting a mortgage is one of the most complicated steps in buying a home in Colorado Springs or anywhere. Will I qualify for a home loan? What do I need to get pre-approved? What type of mortgage can I qualify for – FHA, VA, conventional, an ARM, fixed rate, …? What is the best type of mortgage to get for my situation? Should I go to my bank or find a Mortgage Broker? Learning more about what you should know is important. Preparing yourself and doing your homework will take some of the stress away and speed up...Read More »Colorado Springs Homes & Colorado Springs Real Estate
Find Colorado Springs Homes – Monument, Palmer Lake, Tri-lake, Black Forest, Falcon, Fountain, Briargate, Powers, Peterson Air Force Base, Nortgate Colorado Springs, Air Force Academy, Woodland Park, Northwest, Northeast, East, West, Southwest, Old Colorado City, Southest, Central, Schriever Air Force Base, Manitou Springs, Fort Carson… Call Pink Realty (719) 393-PINK (7465) for questions or assistance on buying or selling a home in these areas.
