Boise

Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac recently announced they will allow some home owners to rent back homes they have lost to foreclosure for up to a year directly from Freddie Mac if they can prove they have the ability to pay the market rent for the home and all utilities.

The goal with the new program is to prevent homes form becoming vacant and fall into disrepair.  In the past vacant foreclosed homes have cost Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae millions of dollars in repair costs.

Freddie Mac has also announced they will allow tenants to remain in their homes even if their landlords have lost their homes to foreclosure.  Freddie Mac currently has approximately 8,500 homes in the foreclosure process, many of which are vacant.

By keeping foreclosed homes occupied and in good repair Freddie Mac hopes to support local property values that would otherwise weaken if the homes were left vacant and unattended for months.

Freddie Mac also announced that if home owners that rent back from them have a good track record in terms of rent payments and upkeep of the homes they will consider reinstating the home owners if they can prove they have the ability to handle reinstatement terms.

If you are facing foreclosure and don’t look forward to moving, especially in the coming winter months check with your loan company and ask them about this new program recently announced by Freddie Mac.  It may just be the opportunity you or a family member or friend needs to get back on track.

Have questions for me? Feel free to call me anytime at 208-880-2333.

All the media the past couple of years regarding real estate in Idaho and other parts of the country has been about the sky rocketing number of short sales and foreclosures.  Idaho and many parts of the country have seen real estate prices plummet to levels no one expected.

I have written blogs regarding this market and have compared this market to the mid 80′s when mortgage rates topped out at 17.5% and real estate values plummeted. I wrote about how many Idaho real estate buyers missed the opportunity to buy in those years and missed great values.  I predict the same thing is going to happen in this market. Many home buyers that don’t buy in this market will be kicking themselves when the real estate market recovers and prices stabilize.

So how do you know what a home is worth and what to offer with prices weakening in some price ranges and very stable in others? I can offer you information that will make your decision a lot easier.  I can show you graphs directly from our own MLS system that show trends.  I can also show you spreadsheets in any price range that will show you the average time on the market, the average selling prices and average prices per square foot. This data will easily prove to you what a particular home is worth in any given area and price range.

So don’t be one of the ones that years from now will be kicking yourself  for not purchasing a home in this market. If you credit is an issue there are ways to build your credit quickly and get you on the path to home buying faster than you may think.  Those that buy in this market will be greatly rewarded years from now.

How may I help you?

I have had a lot of buyers contact me over the years regarding Idaho Foreclosures. Seems like everyone wants to get on the bandwagon and buy a foreclosure property.

Are all Idaho Foreclosures created equal? The answer is no! Many do not understand the differences in foreclosures and I hope to answer some misunderstandings here.

When a seller cannot make the payments on a home the home is foreclosed on and eventually goes to public auction at which time anyone can bid on the home, including the bank that holds the note.  In this scenario the winning bidder must pay cash for the property at the time of winning the bid and must buy it subject to any back taxes, irrigation,  liens etc.  One must be very experienced when purchasing these properties and know the pitfalls associated with them. There are things you can do to protect yourself when purchasing these kinds of foreclosures.

The other types of foreclosures are homes that have already been taken back by the lender. This is when the lender bought the home back at the public auction mentioned above.  Now that the bank has taken the home back all back taxes, irrigation, liens etc. are wiped out.  You can make an offer on these types of bank owned foreclosures subject to financing and inspections. These types of purchases are best for those purchasers that want more security and less potential pitfalls.

I hope this information has been helpful and I encourage you to contact me with any questions you have. Happy home hunting!

The Ada County real estate market which includes the Boise Idaho real estate market continues to show some signs of improvement in certain price categories. Year to date through September of 2009 the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service reported the number of homes sold under the price of $160,000 through September of 2009 outpaced the year to date sale of the sale price category for the prior 3 years. While there are respectable sales in the price ranges above $160,000 the real strength lies in the sale of homes under the $160,000 price.

While not out performing the prior years respectable sales have taken place in the upper price ranges. From the price range of $160,000 to $1,000,000+ 2,405 sales have taken place through September of 2009.

With the recent extension of the Tax Credit by Congress and the Senate it will be interesting to see what affect it will have for the remainder of the calendar year. Check back periodically for more updated Boise Idaho real estate market reports.