Currently browsing April 2009 monthly archives.

National Real Estate Data Lumps 128,203,000 Homes In America Into 1 Data Set

On April 22, 2009, in Real Estate Information, by admin | View Comments

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National real estate data helps economists identify trends in the housing market. It shapes policy and influences markets.

For active home buyers and home sellers, though, national real estate data is irrevelant.  This is because national data says nothing for the factors determining home prices in any given zip code.

See, national real estate news is mash-up of data.  It’s 128,203,000 homes from all 50 states.  Each of these states has its own economy and there are different factors that drive home values in each

Most Americans understand this.

But, if we dig deeper, we see that within those states, there are more than 19,000 incorporated cities – plus thousands of unincorporated ones.  And like the 50 states, city-to-city home values vary by economy, too. 

Furthermore, each city is comprised of areas, and those areas can be broken down into neighborhoods and then sub-divided again into streets, with blocks.

It’s apparent that a random home in Alabama can’t be compared to a random home in California.  Yet, that comparison is exactly what you’re getting with national real estate data and why we can’t rely on it to say “values are up” or “values are down”.

Values depend on what’s happening locally.

For buyers and sellers, the underlying goal is to meet at “the right price”. To reach that sort of price discovery, you have to look local.

It’s not as easy as it sounds.

Local real estate trends is a topic that’s too narrow to be covered by the national press.  It’s even too narrow for local papers.  Therefore, buyers and sellers have two places to turn:

  1. A general real estate website
  2. A practicing real estate agent

Using both sources for local data is common among today’s buyers and sellers. 

National real estate news offers little value with respect to home price negotiation.  Because all real estate is local, your real estate data should be, too.

Tucson Mortgage Weekly 4-14-2009

On April 14, 2009, in Tucson Mortgage Weekly, by Todd Abelson | View Comments

Brought to you by Todd Abelson and Tyler Ford of Sunstreet Mortgage – Tucson, AZ

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Click here to view the Tucson Mortgage weekly newsletter.

How To Know If You’re Eligible For A Making Home Affordable Refinance

On April 9, 2009, in Mortgage Programs & News, by Tyler Ford | View Comments

April 4, 2009, marked the official start of the Making Home Affordable refinance program.April 4, 2009, marked the official start of the Making Home Affordable refinance program and Tucson home owners are eligible.

Expected to help 5 million homeowners, the Making Home Affordable program “looks the other way” with respect to falling home values, approving mortgage applications based on borrower payment history and benefit to the homeowner.

Not every homeowner is eligible for a Making Home Affordable refinance, however.  There are 3 basic criteria that must be met.

First, your existing home loan must be backed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  Thankfully, both companies provide online lookup services.  Start with the Fannie Mae site because Fannie has a greater market share and because Freddie Mac’s site requires your social security number.

Next, you must have a perfect mortgage payment history over the last 12 months.  Even one payment made 30 days late disqualifies you from participating in the Making Home Affordable program.  It is okay, however, if you were 20 days late on your payment and incurred late fees.

And lastly, the balance on your mortgage cannot exceed your home’s value by more than 5%.  The math formula is (Mortgage Balance) / (Home Value).  If the quotient is greater than 1.05 then your loan-to-value exceeds 105% and you are not eligible for Making Home Affordable.

Now, assuming you meet the criteria, there are some noteworthy details of the Making Home Affordable program:

  1. If you didn’t pay mortgage insurance prior to refinancing, you won’t have to pay it after refinancing — even if your loan-to-value exceeds 80%.
  2. All refinances require income verification — even if the original mortgage was a stated income loan.
  3. Second mortgages cannot be paid off using loan proceeds — they must be subordinated

There are other guidelines, too, and both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have dedicated portions of their website to the Making Home Affordable program. To the layperson, unfortunately, the information may be a bit technical. 

Even the government’s fact sheet can be a little dense at times.

Therefore, if you have specific questions about the Making Home Affordable program and your own eligibility, first check to see if Fannie or Freddie is backing your loan.  If they are, pick up the phone and call your loan officer to plan next steps.

The program ends June 10, 2010 so give Tyler Ford or Todd Abelson of Sunstreet Mortgage a call to see if you are eligable.

The Mortgage Calvary has arrived!!!

On April 9, 2009, in Mortgage Educational Information, Mortgage Programs & News, by Todd Abelson | View Comments

 April 4, 2009, marked the official start of the Making Home Affordable refinance program.

Unlike the FHA “HOPE for homeowners” program released in 2008 that was touted as being able to help “millions” and actually only helped hundreds there’s a new sheriff in town!

The “Making Home Affordable” program announced by President Obama in February and released by Fannie Mae on 03.04.09 hit the streets in full force this week.

This new program provides refinance opportunities to borrowers with mortgages held or guaranteed by Fannie Mae who have demonstrated an acceptable payment history on their mortgage but due to a decline in home prices have been unable to refinance to obtain a lower payment or move to a more stable product.

For example, lets say you purchased a home for $250,000 at the peak of the market in 2005 and made a full 20% down payment and financed the balance with a juicy 4.25% 5-year Interest-Only ARM. Obviously rates on 30-year fixed mortgages are at an all-time low and you really want, and may NEED to convert over.  However, the home value has dropped to $209,000. By today’s mortgage standards you would either need to move to an FHA loan (over 95% loan-to-value) or pay down the loan a bit and add PMI – either option will be expensive in cash and/or new payment. What to you do???

MAKE HOMES AFFORDABLE!!!

Three key components to see if you fit:

1. Your present loan must be owned by Fannie Mae (click to see)

1- New loan can be up to 105% of the CURRENT HOME VALUE.

2- No monthly MI is required on the new loan if is none on the current loan.

Obviously there’s alot more under the covers on this program; to read more check out the Making Home Affordable website.

While some investors are simply not partaking in the new program, some are and BOY ARE THEY GOING TO BE BUSY!!! SunStreet Mortgage is committed to helping customers stay in their homes and continues to offer other refinance products. Stay tuned for updates as Todd Abelson & Tyler Ford in Tucson, Arizona are working diligently to offer the full breadth of the Fannie Mae Refi Plus offering as quickly as possible.

April 15 Is 1 Week Away And 27 Million Taxpayers Have Yet To File. If You’re One Of Them, Here’s Some Tax Tips.

On April 8, 2009, in Mortgage Educational Information, by admin | View Comments


There are 138 million taxpayers in the United States and, according to the IRS, 20 percent of them file their taxes within 7 days of April 15.  In a holiday-shortened week, that means that 27 million people had better get a move on.

And while a portion of this year’s last-minute filers will file with storefront operations like Liberty Tax Service or H&R Block, many others will self-prepare with the help of tax software from TurboTax or TaxCut.

If you’re a member of the do-it-yourself crowd, consider taking a review of this year’s tax law changes before starting your returns.  The stimulus package signed into law this past February made a profound impact on tax liability and the list of changes may be helpful for you.

A few of the new, allowable income tax deductions for 2008 include:

  • Tucson Mortgage debt forgiveness in the event of a short sale
  • An additional standard deduction on real estate taxes paid
  • $8,000 tax credit for homes bought since January 1, 2009

TurboTax offers 4 tax filing choices online, ranging in price from $100 to free.  If you’re among the 27 million yet to file, choose whichever program fits best – just choose it before April 15.

Filing could take several hours.  Plan accordingly.

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