I’ve been amazed at how many of my recent clients, have told me a true and very sad story. They were all in the same financial situation, facing foreclosure due to job loss or injury. Their stories start like this…

We couldn’t make our monthly mortgage payments. We got further and further behind. Our credit card debt increased. We didn’t know what to do! We saw the comercials on TV and heard radio adds about Home Loan Modifications. We called the 1-800 number and paid them upfront for their services to get our loan modified. Many months later the company we hired to do our loan modification went out of business and our  modification was not complete and we lost the thousands of dollars we paid them for the service. Now we’re only a short time away from having our home auctioned off. What do we do now?

Heart breaking, isn’t it? As a Realtor in Utah I can tell you that coming into the process at the END makes it difficult to fix but most of the time there is a way to salvage what’s left of your credit score and still be able to rebound in a few short years. A few months ago I blogged about what  happens to your credit score and how long it takes before you can own a home again in a foreclosure situation vs. a short sale situation.  For more details on foreclosure vs. short sale please see the post on 01/20/2010. Today I want to give you some tips on how to avoid  forclosure through short sale or possible loan modification.

First and foremost don’t ever pay anyone upfront to help you get a loan modification, this is a SCAM! An honest company will only charge for a completed loan modification and you can call your bank and start one on your own. Second, most Lawyers get paid very well to handle a foreclosure and most will strongly suggest that you do a foreclosure (so they get paid). For most of us, a short sale will save our dignity and many years of not qualifying to buy another house. Third, if you are struggling to make your payments don’t wait until you are months behind. Call your bank immediately and ask for help. They will most likely start the modification process with you if you want to remain in your home. Be very detailed and specific with your answers on the forms they request and be quick to send in all required documentation. Not returning things in a timely manner or in detail will cost you your modification. Applying for modification will not postpone foreclosure proceedings so again, don’t wait, call them as soon as you know you might miss a payment. Fourth, Get a good Realtor! They will help you understand the consequences of each of these options and help you determine which is in your best interest. Best of all we don’t charge for consultations. If a short sale is best for you, the sales commission is paid for by the bank. If a loan modification is an option, we can offer some inside advise to make things smoother and more likely to succeed.

As a Realtor I have been involved in short sales where my clients waited until 30 days before an auction date to attain me as their Realtor. It took everything I had to get a short sale for them instead of the auction but it worked. I had a client who was in the middle of a short sale when he decided to try a modification instead. He was denied a modification due to insufficient requested documentation and now faces foreclosure. I have worked through Loan Modifications many times and been successful at obtaining final modified loans for clients. I have successfully negotiated short sales.

Don’t go at this alone! There are options to explore and I can help you along the way. I come highly recomended by my clients and would love to chat with you if you have any questions or just want to tell me your story. Thanks for reading this post. I hope it was insightful and gives you hope in a trying time.

Are you still renting? WHY? Kaysville, Utah has the best interest rates available right now! In fact, interest rates across the whole state are at historic lows. You can really own a home for less than you pay in rent. Put your hard earned money toward owning your own home and stop throwing it away. Interest rates in Kaysville, Utah change almost daily so you need to lock in the best rates today. If you wait and the interest rates go up, you might not be able to qualify for as much house.   Here are some examples of what the price of  a house and the interest rate can do to a monthly mortgage payment.   On a $200,000 Mortgage…

As you can see, the higher the interest rate the more your monthly payment or the less you can borrow on a mortgage. Over the last week interest rates have fluctuated to as low as 4.75%. That is an AMAZING interest rate.  If you are tired of wasting money and you are ready to make an investment into your future, the time is now. With home prices holding fairly steady and Utah’s interest rates at AMAZING lows, you can afford more home than you ever though possible. If you are a current home owner and you have considered moving up, now would be a great time to take advantage of the current market. I would love to help you get in on the Best interest rates available in Utah right now. Call me for more details and to see if you qualify. Thanks!    

A. The Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit was created by the government to stimulate home sales by bringing new buyers into the market at an accelerated rate. When it expires, home sales can be expected to slow down without a similar incentive. The Buyer Bonus is an incentive for buyers who were unable to take advantage of the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit. Home buyers get up to an $8,000 credit at closing subject to their lenders approval. Sellers participating in the Buyer Bonus will make their homes stand out from the competition.

A. The promotion begins on May 1, 2010 and ends on July 31, 2010. The promotion is timed to coincide with the end of the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit.

I talk to sellers every day who ask me the same question, if my house is similar to so many other houses that are on the market today, how do I get my house to sell faster and for more money? One way to Stand out from the Crowd is to make the exterior of your house look different and better than other houses. The quickest and least expensive way to do this is to make sure the yard is clean and plants are trimmed and to clean and paint your exterior doors and garage doors. You would be amazed at the difference a colored front door and matching garage doors will make in the initial impression on a buyer. Pick a tasteful color (black, tans or browns) that ties your brick, rock, stucco etc. together. This gives any house a fresh updated look that draws prospective buyers to your house and makes them curious to see what you may have done to the inside. Remember, first impressions do count when selling a house in Kaysville or anywhere else. Make sure to scrape and sand off any old paint before applying new paint or stain for best results. Again a fresh coat of paint can change the whole look of a house from the outside and inside too.

This can be a project you tackle on your own or hire a Painting Contractor for. From my personal experience, a professional is a great choice (it always looks better and gets done faster). I recommend EDH Painting Inc. 801-309-5596. They are a local company with over 12 years experience in Custom high end homes as well as basement remodels and exterior painting. EDH Painting Inc. comes highly recommended by builders and homeowners alike. I have had the pleasure of knowing this company and using their skills for many years. Give EDH Painting Inc. a call today for a free estimate and mention you got their name from me for a discount.

Buyers do notice and will pay more and buy your house faster if it looks fresh and updated from the outside. Don’t just be part of the crowd, Stand out from the crowdwhen selling a house in Kaysville or anywhere else.

I know none of you would forget to file your 2009 taxes, right? Well if you purchased a home in 2009 you may be eligible for a federal tax credit worth up to $6,500 for move up buyers and up to $8,000 for first time home buyers. 

To claim your first time home buyers tax credit for 2009 you will  need a proof of purchase, a HUD-1 statement or certificate of occupancy. You should have received a HUD-1 from your title company at closing. If you need a copy of your HUD-1 contact your realtor or your title company for assistance. You will also need a completed 5405 IRS form.

To claim your move up buyers tax credit for 2009 you will need the same above documents and proof that you occupied your previous residence for at least 5 consecutive years. The best documentation you can provide would be one or more of the following,

For more information and forms for claiming your home buyers tax credit for 2009 visit www.irs.gov or check with your tax preparer or attorney.

Kaysville is a very diverse city with some very old homes and some very new homes. If you are an investor looking to fix-and-flip that older home or you are a homeowner looking to make some upgrades to make your home sell better on the open market, you are in for a treat.  Investors, the FHA has temporarily relaxed it’s 90 day resale restriction so read up on the details at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/waivpropflip2010.pdf and get flipin’. Here is the secret to picking upgrades worth your money.

Think like a buyer! What would you spend more money for? What is the first thing you see when you walk up to a house? The entry door! Replacing that old entry door will bring back close to, or more than, the amount you put into it. The same goes for vinyl siding. You can add a nice wood deck but skip the composite decking. Composite materials are much more expensive and you wont recoup more than around 80% of  the cost. Consider a minor kitchen remodel. Update flooring and counter tops. Add new sink and faucet. Leave existing cabinet boxes but change out cabinet doors and drawers and add new hardware. This gives an updated look without the major cost and still returns around 83%  of the cost. The same can be done in a bathroom remodel with the same outcome.

What upgrades are NOT worth your money? Adding an additional bathroom is quite expansive and expensive resulting in only around 63%  return for you money. Forget adding a sunroom or remodeling a home office. Again, These upgrades are not worth your money. Finishing an unfinished basement is a good option if the home you are selling has two or less bedrooms but you will only get around $12 a square foot value increase for any living area that is below grade. Adding a garage can definitely boost value and appeal but is expensive and will only return around 73% of the cost to build it.  

Choose wisely when picking upgrades for your home. The whole idea is to upgrade and make more desirable but still get a higher value when selling your home in Kaysville.  Don’t waste money on upgrades that wont really get good returns. If you would like more information on the costs and values of upgrading your home or project ideas that make sense, check out www.costvsvalue.com.

So many people figure that once they get behind on their house payments or lose their job the only option is Foreclosure.  Not only does this severely damage your credit score, it will go down by 250 to 280 points, but it will take about three years of consistent, on-time credit payments to restore your credit score to a level where you will be able to get a new mortgage with good interest rates and terms.

Look instead to a Realtor to do a Short Sale on your home. Though consequences are still there, they are much easier to swallow. A Short Sale only drops your credit about 80 to 100 points and it only takes approximately 18 months of consistent, on-time credit payments to restore your credit score to a level where you will be able to get a new mortgage with good interest rates and terms.  Legally, mortgage and lien-holders must agree to extinguish their debts for the short sale to proceed. They cannot sue the homeowner to recover the shortfall. Short Sales have become a quicker process than they used to be and the lender does pay the Realtor commissions and sometimes other concessions.

As you can see a Short Sale is definitely better when compared to Foreclosure but as with any big financial decision you should always consult with your CPA and/or legal counsel to see what is best for you.

I was sitting in a meeting with a title agency and a mortgage company yesterday and they brought a few, very important, facts to my attention. I thought I would pass them along to everyone. This information is very important and may help some of you in your Real Estate decisions this year.

There are some major changes coming to our Real Estate market, locally and nationally. Interest rates are projected to rise steadily for the rest of the year. They may reach 6% by the spring and continue to rise to 7% by the end of 2010. Just to put this into perspective, on a $200,000 mortgage a monthly payment at 6% would be around $1,200 and at 7% would be around $1,330. This can affect how much house you can afford.

FHA loans currently require a 3.5% down payment but the FHA is considering increasing the required down payment. This too can affect how much house you can buy due to the out of pocket requirement.

April 30th is the final deadline to put a house under contract and still get the Extended First Time Home Buyers & Move up Buyers Tax Credit. They will not extend this program again.

If you have been thinking about selling or buying a home, the time has never been nor will it ever be better than right now.  With interest rates still around 5.25%, Tax credits, FHA loans still offering only 3.5% down payments compared to conventional loans at 20% down payments, and exceptional home values, don’t wait another minute. I would be happy to discuss your individual needs and options with you anytime. If you have additional questions please ask! I want to make sure you have all the tools to act fast and save money in today’s Real Estate market.

• pay your bills on time
• make up missed payments and keep all your payments current
• maintain low balances on credit cards and other “revolving debt”
• pay off debt rather than transferring it to a new account
• don’t close unused credit card accounts just to raise your credit score
• don’t get new credit cards that you don’t need just to increase the credit available to you
  
• see more tips in “Understanding Your Credit Score” on the Fair, Isaac website, www.myfico.com.

Finally, don’t give up hope just because you have a bad score. If you think there are mistakes on your credit report, you can get a copy of the report, fix the problem, and explain the situation to the lender. Some lenders may override credit scores if they think you are a good risk despite problems with your score. I work with one of the best Mortgage Brokers in Utah so if you are thinking of buying a home but are unsure of your credit worthiness call me and we’ll take a look at your situation together.

In our current housing market nearly one half of all homes for sale are either Short Sales or Bank Owned Properties (REO’s). What is the difference you ask? A home owner still holds title in a Short Sale but is selling the property below what they actually owe to the Lender to pay off their mortgage. Sometimes there may be two or more liens on the home that must be lowered or cleared in a Short Sale situation. For example, a first and second mortgage and maybe a line of credit exist on one home. All Lien holders (Lenders) must agree to the sales price and the bottom line payoff amount to each other in order to close on a Short Sale Home. If the home is in foreclosure and no agreement is reached in a timely manner the home may be put up for auction. The Government recently set up new Short Sale guidelines to speed up and simplify the process of selling and buying Short Sale Homes.

Bank Owned Properties (REO’s), are simply that, Bank Owned Properties. The Bank or Lender owns these homes outright and in most cases has already had a Broker’s price opinion as to what the home should be sold at. Most of the time REO’s are aggresivly priced so that they will be sold quickly. Lenders are swamped with high numbers of these homes and most remain on the market for only a few weeks, if that. Because your agent is dealing directly with the lender, in this case, the process is quick and easy.

As you can see the two main differences between Short Sales and Bank owned Properties (REO’s) are time and ease. Both options can be found everywhere in todays market. Be alert and ready to act upon anything you find yourself interested in because it may take months for a Short Sale or could be sold within days for an REO. If you want it put an offer on it today!