Did your lender freeze or reduce your home equity line of credit?

Did your lender freeze or reduce your home equity line of credit? What steps should you take with your lender if your HELOC has been froze or reduced? The Federal Reserve Board has offered 5 tips for dealing with your lender when this happens.

1. Make sure you have received and read the notice your lender sent you regarding changes to your HELOC. You must receive a written notice no later than 3 business days after the freeze or reduction.
2. Contact your lender and talk to them about about your concerns.
3. Get to the bottom of it. Why did they take this action? Was it due to a decline in your home's value?
4. Is it possible to get it reinstated? Request in writing that the HELOC be reinstated.
5. Will there be fees owed for reinstatement?

Visit the Federal Reserves webpage to read the entire 5 Tips for Dealing with a Home Equity Line Freeze or Reduction report.

Citi loss mitigation successes outnumbering foreclosures in Florida

Florida home owners who have their mortgage serviced by Citi and are facing difficulties may find Citi's foreclosure prevention efforts useful. According to a recent report highlighting Citi's efforts over the second quarter of 2009, Citi's loss mitigation success and outnumbered foreclosures in Florida 13.7 to 1. In this same quarter Citi successfully worked with approximately 108,000 borrowers throughout the country.

If you are a Florida resident having trouble making your monthly obligation, Citi has a Homeowner Assistance web page that you should visit.

Citi mortgage assistance stats

Orlando will loan you money to buy a house

Are you interested in buying a home in Orlando and are a first time homebuyer? Are you short on cash needed for closing cost and down payment money? If you are buying a home with the Orlando city limits, you may qualify for a loan up to $8,000 to be used towards buying a house.

This loan is part of the Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program. The loan is for 10% of the purchase price of the home up to $8,000. The borrower is expected to pay the loan back once they have received their federal first time homebuyer tax credit.

Additional details include:

• Buyer must not have owned a home 3 years prior to this purchase
• You must have $1,000 of your own money to use for down payment and closing costs required to buy a house
• Credit score of 620 or above
• Income limits of $75,000 for single, $150,000 for joint applicants
• Buyer must attend one on one counseling session and education seminar

To receive complete details and be connected to a qualified to lender and REALTOR to assist you with the program contact or call me at 407-304-0255.

Source

NEW! Investor Packages Now Available

I am offering investors the opportunity to receive real estate information packages personally created to match the investors specific criteria. With distressed real estate and properties entering the market place daily, a savvy investor will want to take advantage of this new service so as not to miss an opportunity.

I can search for property that best suits the individual. Packages include available property found as a result of:

• pricing
• location
• REO or bank opened
• short sale
• pre-foreclosure
• in foreclosure
• days on the market

The packages include pictures, addresses and related information on all homes that match the selected criteria. This service is free and the information will be delivered to you by email.

If you are interested in Florida investment property, act now to receive your customized report.

Banks release 23 Orlando Kissimmee foreclosure properties today

Banks that have had to foreclose on property in the Orlando Kissimmee area released 23 of these properties today. The homes/condos range in price from $18,000 up to $277,500. You can view these homes by contacting me at 407-304-0255.

Newer bank owned properties are being released daily. In order to not miss out on the latest in bank owned foreclosure property, contact me to receive updated lists.

Fixer upper bank owned foreclosure houses are being offered at low prices

Bank owned foreclosure houses are considered by some to be the best deals on the market today. However bank owned foreclosures that are also listed as fixer uppers in need of mechanical and cosmetic repair, the deals can appear to be even better! I say appear because often these lower priced homes will receive multiple offers that exceed the list price creating a much higher sales price. Also in some cases the cost of work that needs to be done in order to make the home livable again makes the purchase price less of a deal.

Low List Prices

But still the list prices are inviting to investors and first time home buyers. For instance in Osceola and Orange County there are over 1200 of these types of homes for sale. Nearly 500 of them have a starting list price under $100,000 and 200 plus are listed below $50,000!

Due Diligence

Buyers will want to exercise caution when making a deal for one of these homes. Make sure you take advantage of every inspection available to you and are comfortable with the costs involved to repair the items in the home that are found defective or damaged.

If you would like a list of available damaged, fixer upper bank owned foreclosures in your area contact me and I will email you a list of houses in your area.


Related Florida real estate views:

6 out of 10 homes purchased in Kissimmee were homes that were listed as bank owned

What buyers and agents are discovering when buying bank owned homes

Getting a buyer to buy your home over a bank owned home

The City of Casselberry receives recognition from Arbor Day Foundation

The City of Casselberry received recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation for understanding the importance of trees. This is the 2nd year in a row that Casselberry received the Tree City USA recognition. Press Release

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Buying a home with lots of trees

How many people live in Altamonte Springs?

Altamonte Springs is located in Central Florida off of I-4 near the Orlando area. As of 2009-2010 the City’s current population is 43,243 according the the City's official website.

Are there really homes listed for sale in Kissimmee priced at or below $10,000?

There are some very good housing bargains in Central Florida and the Orlando-Kissimmee area right now. This is good news for buyers and the news is travelling fast as people from all over the United States and then world are now taking advantage of these extraordinary prices and purchasing homes in Osceola County.

Just how good are these prices? Can you really buy a home in Kissimmee and the surrounding area for $10,000 or less? That is a question we received yesterday. The buyer was sure they had read somewhere that there were many homes for sale right now in Kissimmee priced at 10 grand or below.

Is this true? What do the facts show? I just completed a search of homes in Osceola County priced $10K or less and returned 0 results. Osceola County includes the city of Kissimmee. All is not lost however as I also searched for homes listed in Osceola priced between $10,000 and $100,000 and my search results netted 984 homes! 816 of those were listed as being in Kissimmee.

Maybe not $10,000 but those are still some amazing prices!

How much should I offer on the home?

Q: I found a home I really like. How much should I offer on the home?

Congratulations on finding a home! I am assuming from your question that you are not willing to offer the listing price being asked for by the seller and are trying instead to decide on what you believe to be a fair price to offer less than asking price.

Determing how much to offer

How much you offer is strictly a personal decision and should be based on your opinion of the home’s value. Your real estate agent can provide you with comparable sales listed in the MLS for you to review. Your county property appraiser may have a website that will allow you to look at recent sales in the area. You can also ask your agent how long the home has been on the market and have there been any price reductions or enhancements during this time. You should also be asking yourself how the home compares in price to other homes you have recently visited. What are the features of this home that you like? Can you find those same features in a home with a lower asking price?

What is next?

Once you are comfortable with how much to offer it will now be up to the seller to decide if the offer is acceptable. While the price may seem fair to you, usually there is no way of knowing what price the seller would be willing to accept, if any, less than what they have publically indicated by their list price. The seller has the option of accepting your offer, ignoring it or countering for a higher price or for better terms.

End the end you should decide what you are willing to pay for and offer for a home. When you have found a home that appears perfect for you, the answer of how much to offer will be clearer.


Related Florida real estate views:

I am not sure about my credit. Can I get a free credit report?

Using an FHA mortgage to purchase a home

There are many good reasons to consider buying a home right now.

Do not accept the opinion of your real estate agent regarding the condition of a property, hire a home inspector.

A real estate agent’s opinion of the condition of a property you are purchasing is just that, an opinion. As a home buyer you should not rely on the agent’s opinion regarding the physical and/or mechanical condition of the home.

Most agents will suggest that buyers seek the opinion of a professional, licensed home inspector prior to closing on the home. In the State of Florida, the purchase contract allows for a home inspection to be conducted by the buyer within an agreed upon time frame acceptable to both buyer and seller.

Homebuyers need to take advantage of this contingency when purchasing a home. You should be cautious and never purchase a home without a professional home inspection.


Related Florida real estate views:

Watch out for a home inspection scam

Buyers may be tempted to forego a home inspection

With REO houses you may be asked to buy the home with terms and conditions that are favorable to the seller.

Buyers can still purchase REO/bank owned homes at fair market values throughout Central Florida but in doing so they are often faced with accepting with terms and conditions that favor the lender.

These terms and conditions include banks offering the home for sale “as is” and limiting the time period a buyer is allowed to complete inspections. Banks may also require the buyer to pay certain costs customarily paid by the seller an example being document stamps on the deed. Lenders will rarely sign any documentation until the buyer has signed all of the addendum and paperwork requested by the lender. Failure to meet closing time periods can result in forfeiture of escrow or a predetermined per diem the buyer must pay to extend the contract.

Each transaction and lender has different requirements that buyers need to be aware of before executing the contract. Having a qualified experienced agent assisting you with your REO purchase makes good sense and could save you undue stress and hassles.


Related Florida real estate views:

Don’t spend a dime of your hard earned money!

How can you avoid overpaying for a home in Florida?

I am thinking about buying a house but I am not sure about my credit. Can I get a free credit report?

Q: I am thinking about buying a house but I am not sure about my credit. Can I get a free credit report?

Federal law allows us to receive a free credit report. I believe we can receive this free report once a year. To receive this free report you can visit Annual Credit Report, or call 877-322-8228. Since you are thinking about buying a house you may also want to consider speaking with Watson Mortgage regarding your credit and any additional questions you might have about financing a home. Contact me to be connected to a Watson Mortgage specialist.

Back to school! When is the first day of school?

It is fast approaching the time for students in Central Florida to be heading back to school. When is the first day of school for students?

• Osceola students which includes Kissimmee and St. Cloud will be reporting back to school August 24th. Osceola County School District
• Volusia County Students will be back to school on August 24. Deltona and DeLand are part of the Volusia County school district.
• Lake Mary, Oviedo and Seminole County student's first day of school is also on August 24th. Seminole Schools
• The first day of school for Orlando - Orange County is August 24. Orange County Schools

Has it been 3 years or longer since you owned a home?

Has it been 3 years or even longer since you last owned a home? If so now may be the right time to start owning again. Low home prices coupled with the ability to receive up to $8,000 as a tax credit make now a great time to own a Florida home!

There are additional criteria in order to qualify for the first time homebuyer tax credit. Give me a call 407-304-0255 or contact me to find out if you qualify.


Related Florida real estate views:

The tax credit to up to $8000, does not have to be repaid!

Video offers an explanation of the first-time homebuyer tax credit

Florida receives over $3 million to help residents find work

The State of Florida, Agency for Workforce Innovation has received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant in the amount of $3,078,796 to be used in part for helping Florida residents find work. Press release

Unemployed Floridians are eager to find suitable employment that will allow them to make their house payments and stay in their homes.

Free HUD home listings for Orlando-Kissimmee

A HUD home is defined by HUD as a residential property acquired by HUD as a result of a foreclosure on an FHA-insured mortgage. As the new owner HUD then offers the property for sale to anyone who can qualify for a mortgage or has cash. At the beginning of the listing the homes are offered to those who will be owner-occupants and if no bids are accepted or received the house then is offered to everyone, including investors.

The HUD bidding process is simple but does require you to use the services of a real estate agent authorized to sell HUD home listings. My office has authorization. The first step is to let us know what area you are interested in so we can provide you a list of available homes, prices and property reports. From there we will make arrangements to show you the listings and then submit your bid electronically.

As of this post there are 9 HUD home listings offered for sale in Orange County which includes Orlando and 4 HUD home listings in Osceola which includes Kissimmee. You can view available homes on your home by visiting this HUD home site. Call or contact me to get started.


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Real estate in Orlando will continue to be a good long term investment.

Is short sale a better alternative to foreclosure?

How do you know if a short sale is a better alternative to foreclosure?

Is there a difference in how they impact your credit scores? In qualifying to buy a home in the future is one better than the other to have on your record? Do you know what a short sale is? You should check on the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure while you still have time. Contact me.


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The effective date of a short sale contract

Foreclosure prevention

Are you an entry-level homebuyer?

Are you an entry-level homebuyer? Is this going to be your first home? Everything starts with you in the housing industry conditions continue to be favorable for purchasing a home for the first time. Low interest rates, stable home prices, seller incentives and the first time homebuyer tax credit make the market attractive to the entry-level buyer.

I will be meeting with entry-level buyers throughout the month of August to answer questions about buying a home for the first time. Contact me to schedule a time to meet. The consultation is free.


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First-time homebuyer tax credit video

Tax credit does not have to be repaid as long as...

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Orlando Florida foreclosures, buy them before the bank takes them back

The competition between buyers looking to buy Orlando Florida foreclosures is heavier simply because of the limited number of REO or bank owned property for sale. Right now in Orlando 580 of 7500 listings for are bank owned-foreclosed-REO.

However there are also over 1100 homes listed for sale that are in foreclosure or pre foreclosure according to the listing agents. Investors, first time home buyers or anyone thinking of making the very best deal possible should not pass up taking a look at these properties. Sellers are eager to move the property and in some cases lenders will allow the home owner to sell their home for less than is owed which could mean a better deal for the buyer.

Contact me to receive a list of these Orlando Florida foreclosures, in foreclosure and pre foreclosure homes.


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Where do you go to bid on Orlando mortgage foreclosure sales?