Real Estate Information

Know your options - Community Foreclosure Awareness Workshop - February 21st, 7-9 pm in Casa Grande

Are you, or someone you know unable to afford the payments on a home that’s worth less than the mortgage balance? There are options to foreclosure—better options now than ever before, including $78 million in federal funds available to Arizona residents for foreclosure prevention.  We’ve assembled a panel of experts who will explain your options at a community workshop on Feb 21st from 7 - 9 pm.  For more information visit www.foreclosure-avoidance.com.

Canadian financing is now becoming more readily available for our neighbors to the north. We can refer you to lenders that originate the loan and have it underwritten by their lending partner that specializes in Canadian transactions. The paperwork needed is minimal and far less than needed on your standard Conventional Loan applications. Here is a brief overview of what the loan entails and please give us a call with any questions and we would be happy to assist.

a).The loan payments are based on 15-year amortization with 7-year balloon

b).Interest rates remain in the higher 4% range

c).50% down payment required

(Lines of Credit are also available for refinances)

Paperwork:

a). Last 3 years of Federal Tax Returns with all schedules

b).1003 application as standard with Conventional Financing.

A long-awaited federal program will soon allow more Phoenix-area homeowners to refinance their mortgages and lower their payments in spite of owing far more than their homes are now worth.

The expansion of the Home Affordable Refinancing Plan will allow for new home loans in March, according to new details from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and homeowners are already lining up to apply.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/business/realestate/articles/2012/01/06/20120106phoenix-area-underwater-homeowners-help-coming-march.html#ixzz1jdaU5q4v

Foreclosure rates in the Phoenix area continue to move lower, according to new data from CoreLogic, a national real estate research firm.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2012/01/05/phoenix-foreclosure-rate-continues-to.html

Arizona has $267 million dollars to assist AZ homeowners in distress with short sales and foreclosure prevention financial assistance!

Reginald Givens, Foreclosure Assistance Administrator with the Arizona Department of Housing, commented at a meeting of key housing industry leaders in Phoenix last week. He explained that money is available for homeowners who are unemployed, under-employed or considering a short sale. For those considering a short sale, relocation funds of up to $4500 is available, second mortgage settlement and assistance with buyers closing costs is possible for those who meet the income and hardship requirements and for those whose loans are owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. Some of the other short sale specific requirements include a requirement that the home is the primary residence, and the loan must have been the original mortgage used to purchase the home or a no cash-out refinance, and those with HELOC's (Home equity line of credit) are ineligible.

In addition, up to $50,000 can be available for those who are seeking a principal reduction or permanent mortgage modification, or for those who need assistance in bringing their loan current.

For more information on Save Our Home Arizona programs, visit www.azhousing.gov.

http://www.azhousing.gov/azcms/uploads/FRONT PAGE/Save Our Home Program Fact Sheet 091611.pdf

My CRYSTAL BALL was accurate! I've been telling people for the last few months that the market had shifted and that prices were slowly increasing! The statistics support my prediction! The graph shows an increase of 5.4% in the median price for residential closed sales over the past six months in Casa Grande.

How Appraisals Are Derailing Home Sales

New requirements are resulting in more cancelled or delayed contracts.

http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/real-estate/how-appraisals-are-derailing-home-sales-1320357466034/

According to Mayor Bob Jackson, the Phoenix Mart project will bring new jobs for our area and the potential for thousands of wholesale buyers visiting the center year round. See the full story here:

http://econdev.casagrandeaz.gov/index.php/in-the-news/110-phoenix-mart-announcement

Second-quarter pre-foreclosure sales jumped 19% from the previous quarter, suggesting more banks and distressed borrowers are searching for efficient ways to offload properties near foreclosure, RealtyTrac said.

Third parties acquired 102,407 pre-foreclosures in the second quarter, while 162,680 bank-owned homes were sold in the same period.

Pre-foreclosure sales are generally short sales and properties sold within the foreclosure process.

“The jump in pre-foreclosure sales volume coupled with bigger discounts on pre-foreclosures and a shorter average time to sell pre-foreclosures all point to a housing market that is starting to focus on more efficiently clearing distressed inventory through more streamlined short sales — at least in some areas,” said James Sacchio, CEO of RealtyTrac.

As for who is nabbing up distressed and bank-owned properties, RealtyTrac said third parties acquired 265,087 homes classified as in foreclosure or bank-owned in the second quarter. That is up 6% from the revised first quarter figure and down 11% from the second quarter of last year.

The average sales price for foreclosures or bank-owned properties hit $164,217 in the second quarter, down less than 1% from the first quarter and 5% lower than a year earlier.

The sales price for distressed real estate was 32% below the average sales price of homes not in foreclosure.

States with the largest quarterly increase in pre-foreclosure home sales included Nevada, which experienced a 43% increase; Washington (39%), California (38%); and Texas (34%).

The states with the highest number of foreclosure sales included Nevada, Arizona and California.

http://www.housingwire.com/2011/08/24/short-sales-surged-in-quarter-two-realytrac