Jeremy's Blog

More Paperwork!

I wanted to pass along a sneak peak at the New Good Faith Estimate & HUD-1.

The new GFE & HUD comes out January 1, 2010.

Legislators have decided that the GFE will be easier for home buyers to understand if they make it longer.  So it’s going from 1 page to 3.  In some ways it will be better the GFE explains every fee in plain English, talks more about the rate and terms, as well as the length of the rate lock.  The only thing a document will never do is answer the question “is this the right loan for the right borrower?”  This is something only a loan officer can do.  Not just any loan officer, it takes someone that both listens to the customer’s needs and helps plan for them. 

NEW HUD-1

NEW GFE

HUD  Press Release

Expanded Homebuyer Tax Credit Pending in Senate

Senate leaders have agreed on an extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit along with a new $6,500 tax credit for move-up buyers, but it is unclear when the chamber will vote on the measure. The credit extension would run from Dec. 31, 2009 through April 30, 2010 and give buyers with a binding contract an extra 60 days to close. The tax credit extension raises the income limits to $125,000 for single-filers and $225,000 for joint filers. This applies to first-time and repeat buyers. To qualify for the $6,500 tax credit, repeat buyers must have used a previous home as a principal residence for five of the previous eight years. The Obama administration said it supports an extension of the first-time homebuyer tax credit. "In extending the tax credit, we urge Congress to include strict measures to combat tax fraud and protect responsible homeowners," Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said. The tax credit extension is expected to be attached to a bill extending unemployment benefits by 20 weeks. Still, it is unclear when the Senate will pass the extension bill (H.R. 3548), despite broad bi-partisan support. The current $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit is set to expire Nov. 30.

Great Book!

Tax Credit Extension & Expansion

There will be an important vote in the Senate this week on the housing tax credit provision. The “Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson” amendment would extend the tax credit to June 30, 2010. It would expand the credit to any homebuyer and raise the income limits to $150,000 ($300,000 for joint returns). The amount of the tax credit would remain at $8,000.

Prospects: We still believe the prospects are good for extension of the tax credit. There is real concern in the Administration about the strength of the economic recovery. Treasury Secretary Geithner was quoted in the November 2^nd Business Week magazine stating: “we’re not going to make the mistake many countries made in the past of putting the brakes on too early and creating the risk of a weaker recovery with even higher levels of unemployment.” On the negative side, the stories about fraud in tax credit program (e.g. children and current homeowners receiving the tax credit) and concerns about the program cost obviously do not help.

While the industry trade associations are making a major push for the expansion of the tax credit to all homeowners, it appears unlikely that it will be expanded beyond first-time homebuyers). We will keep you apprised.

I personally feel that this credit shouldnt be expanded.  The whole purpose is to stimulate housing and get the inventory off the market.  Rolling the program out to everyone will simply generate more inventory and cost the tax payers more money.  There will be very little benifit to our economy.

Hurry the clock is ticking and there isnt much time left to find a home.  Call me today to get the ball rolling.

Kind of, you may have heard many lenders have stopped originating and funding Rural Development loans as they wait for congress to appropreate more money for the RD program. This happens every year.

Here at AmeriFirst we will continue to originate and fund these RD loans. It's business as usual, so have your buyers give me a call!

15 Days Left To Use The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

As many of you are already aware the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program ends November 30, 2009. Only 60 days away.

Considering that in today’s mortgage world it can take up 30 – 60 days to close on a home, the clock is certainly ticking and first-time buyers have at the most 2 weeks left to find a home.

In fact for the last two weeks some loan officer friends of mind have been referring buyers to me, because they know they can’t meet the December 1^st deadline. The bottom line is that buyers not under contract by October 15^th have a very small chance of meeting the deadline.

Buyers looking to purchase HUD owned properties and short sales need to understand that there is absolutely NO WAY they will close by the end of November.

There have been rumblings and rumors about this tax credit getting increase and/or extended. The fact of the matter is that there are some bills on the table. It is possible that the credit would be extended in its current form. It is highly unlikely that the credit will be increase or rolled out to all buyers (congress has already shot down bill proposing this). The main reason is because of the cost. We (tax payers) have already spent 15 billion on the tax credit. If they extend it a year it’s estimated to cost another 10 billion. Imagine how many billions more if it were rolled out to everyone or increase.

I hear buyers talking about waiting because they heard the credit will be extended. It has not been extended and I personally wouldn’t bet 8,000 bucks on our government doing anything!

Why gamble and wait? Rates are at historic lows, home prices are way down, & First-Time Buyers can get eight grand from Uncle Sam for free if they act now!

Hurry! www.jeremydrobeck.com