Paying Off the House in 15 Years

Source: The Wall Street Journal online
MARKETWATCH
AUGUST 29, 2010
By AMY HOAK


A growing number of homeowners are choosing to pay down their mortgages at a faster rate--even if it means a substantial jump in their monthly payments.

Between January and June, 26% of homeowners who refinanced chose a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to data from CoreLogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information. During all of 2009, 18.5% of borrowers who refinanced opted for a 15-year term.

Andy Rash

What's prompting the shift to shorter loans? Historically low interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages.

Homeowners are doing the math and realizing that rates have fallen enough so the increase in payment between a new 15-year mortgage and their current loan is no longer unbearable for their budgets, says Bob Walters, chief economist at online lender Quicken Loans.

The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.86% for the week ending Aug. 26, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates.

A Change in Thinking
The financial situation of those capable of refinancing today is a factor in the shift, Mr. Walters says. These people typically are homeowners with the best credit and the most equity -- and, therefore, most suited for a shorter-term loan.

But there might be some other psychology at work. "We're seeing a different view on debt than maybe we've seen in the past," he says. Today, homeowners are saying, "I really want to pay this off. I'm going to bite the bullet and take the payment and work toward paying this down."

A 15-year mortgage also acts as somewhat of a forced savings account for homeowners, says Leif Thomsen, chief executive of Mortgage Master, a privately owned lender, given that the higher payments help a borrower pay down the principal at a quicker clip.

This is a huge shift in borrower thinking. "There was a drive a couple of years ago to take out the biggest mortgage that you could and use all of the money you would have otherwise had in the house and put it into stocks and bonds--to think of your house and mortgage as part of your entire investment portfolio," says Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac.

"That worked for people who do investment finance for a living and are good at managing accounts," she says. "But for the average person, debt is a drag on their psyche as well as their overall budget." Many Americans have reverted to the goal of paying off their house and getting rid of their mortgage, Ms. Cutts adds.

Doing the Math
Refinancing into a shorter-term mortgage isn't a strategy for everyone, however.

Choosing a shorter term usually means you'll get a better rate--and you'll pay much less interest over the life of the loan--but a shorter time frame ramps up monthly mortgage payments.

For example, with a 4.5% interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of $200,000, you would have a monthly payment of $1,015, including principal and interest, Ms. Cutts says. The monthly payment jumps to about $1,480 with a 4% interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate loan.

Of course, if the refinancing borrower's current 30-year loan has a higher rate, the difference between the monthly payments could be lower. Still, you should count on some increase in monthly payments.

In general, Mr. Walters says, those who choose 15-year fixed-rate mortgages are older and have more equity and less debt than other folks. They also earn higher incomes and don't have some of the added expenses that younger homeowners typically do.

"People who are taking these loans are financially stable and can afford the payments, but at the same time are planning on staying in their home for an extended period of time," Mr. Thomsen says.

Mr. Walters says you shouldn't take on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage unless you have substantial savings, including at least a year's worth of living expenses in liquid accounts.

Also, he recommends having a debt-to-income ratio below 35%. So if you have a gross salary of $5,700 per month, for instance, your monthly debt--including any mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, homeowners-association dues as well as auto and student loans and credit-card debt--would have to be a max of $1,995 to get a 35% ratio.

Make That Extra Payment
Borrowers who don't meet those standards, or are worried about future loss of income, might be better served taking a longer-term mortgage but making extra payments on the principal to pay off the loan faster, says Mr. Walters.

For instance, if you refinance a $200,000 mortgage into a 30-year loan with a 4.5% rate, and then apply $100 of the savings to the principal payment each month, you'd save $31,700 in interest over the life of the loan, Ms. Cutts says. And you would pay off the mortgage in 25 years, instead of 30, she adds.

What's more, you would have the flexibility of not paying that $100 in months when money gets tight. "Maybe today you're feeling flush with money. Maybe you're worried in the future that income might change," Ms. Cutts says. With a 30-year mortgage, you have more flexibility. "Shortening to 15 years is a pretty big bump in payment."

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Ends April 30th

As part of economic stimulus efforts, Congress and President Obama have extended and expanded the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. First-time buyers now have until April 30, 2010, to sign a home purchase contract and qualify for the credit. Plus, many existing homeowners also qualify for a tax credit of up to $6,500 on a home purchase.

First-time Homebuyers
Most details for first-time homebuyers remain the same. The maximum tax credit is still $8,000 ($4,000 for married individuals filing separately), and anyone
who has not owned a home within three years is considered a “first-time buyer.”
• A purchase must be under contract by April 30, 2010, and must close no later than June 30, 2010. The maximum home value purchased cannot exceed $800,000.
• After Dec. 1, 2009, income limits rise to $125,000 for singles and $225,000 for married couples; up from the previous limits of $75,000 for singles and
$150,000 for married couples. The tax credit phases
out incrementally at each $20,000 increase in
income.

Current Homeowners
An existing homeowner who purchases another home may now claim a tax credit of up to $6,500. To qualify,that owner must have owned and used the same residence as a principal residence for any consecutive five-year period in the previous eight years.
• Personal income limits, maximum home value, and contract/closing deadlines are the same as those for first-time homebuyers. The tax credit does not have to be repaid if the buyer stays in the home at least three years. If the home is sold before that, the entire amount of the credit is recaptured on the sale.

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Lee County foreclosure auctions finally online

Source: News-press online: BY PAT GILLESPIE • pgillespie@news-press.com • April 4, 2010

Sitting in a bathrobe, sipping coffee may be the new way to buy a foreclosed Lee County house. Starting Monday, you can do just that. That's when they will be sold online through an auction process similar to eBay. Starting Monday, you can do just that.

That's when they will be sold online through an auction process similar to eBay. The Web site — www.lee.realforeclose.com — has a calendar of each day's foreclosure sales along with links to the property's information on the Clerk of Court, Property Appraiser and Tax Collector Web sites and photos, if available.

By expanding Lee County's houses to a global audience, Lee County Clerk of Court Charlie Green believes it could help the value of available properties.
"Hopefully, it'll generate more money for the seller or bank," he said. "It should increase the value of properties with additional bidders."

Charles Cosby, a real estate investor who owns The Foreclosure Team, said there are positive and negative consequences to going online. People who might not know the pitfalls of a house, such as it having Chinese drywall, existing liens and vandalism, could lose money if they don't do research.
"The more accessible it is for the average Joe, the more potential for hurt," Cosby said. "A lot of people don't know the process."

Until now, bankers, buyers and others working on behalf of investors invaded the Lee County Justice Center to bid on houses one by one. With the increase in foreclosure cases in the last few years, as many as 2,500 filed a month, the bidders became so numerous they were moved to a room on the second floor to avoid disruption.
Though foreclosures have decreased in recent months - about 1,100 were filed last month - Green now will get people scouring the properties out of the building altogether.

"This is something we needed to do," Green said. "This is a big deal for Lee County."
After target dates of January and March came and went, Green's main hang-up was that Realauction.com, the company that would be hosting foreclosure sales, would be collecting and transferring the millions of dollars used to buy the houses purchased daily at the courthouse. Green said he now feels confident in the process based on a change in bidder payment options.

Lloyd McClendon, CEO of the Fort Lauderdale-based company, said that as of Friday, 935 bidders had registered on the site and $1.5 million had been deposited.
"We're ecstatic," he said. "For us, we're excited to bring in a client that was so large. It was a long time coming."

Users create names and passwords and deposit money into an online account on the Web site. After winning a bid on a foreclosed house, users must pay 5 percent of the winning bid and then the remaining balance and fees within 24 hours.

Registry fees are 3 percent of the first $500 and 1 percent of the remaining sale price. Other fees apply.

Don't Foreclose - Do a Short Sale

Source: CNN Money.com Les Christie, staff writer March 29, 2010: 3:46 AM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Short sales are the hottest thing going in the distressed-property market, and the trend is expected to get even hotter in coming weeks, when the government starts handing out cash to encourage lenders to close these deals.

"Banks have ramped up short sale approvals," said Duane Legate of House Buyer Network, which connects short sellers with buyers. "They're hiring a lot of the people who once worked in the mortgage-lending industry and moved them over to short sales."

These transactions, where lenders allow homeowners to sell their houses for less than they owe, accounted for 17% of all residential real estate sales in February, up from nearly 13% in November, according to a monthly real estate market survey by Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance.

And Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), the country's largest mortgage servicer, has more than doubled the number of short sales it processed in recent months.

Elizabeth Weintraub, a Sacramento, Calif.-area real estate agent who handles many short sales, was amazed at how quickly a recent deal went through. "Bank of America approved it in 24 days," she said. "That flipped me out."

This is a huge change from even just six months ago when the short-sale market was stalled and most people would describe the process has real estate hell. Because lenders stand to lose so much on these transactions, they have been reluctant to make short sales happen, often waiting months before getting back to potential buyers.

Beware: You lost your house but still have to pay
"In the past, many short sales would never come to fruition and the ones that did averaged over half a year to complete," said Chris Saitta, CEO of Equator, which produces short sale software.

"Things would just fall into a black hole and not come out again," added Weintraub.

And even when banks did agree to the sale, the process could be further complicated if the original owner had a second mortgage.

In most cases, the first lender is repaid in full before any money flows to a second-lein holder. And because most distressed borrowers are severely underwater, there's usually nothing left to send on. As a result, second-lein holders are left holding the bag and have been killing many deals.

But that has been changing. For one thing, banks realize that they make out far better financially with a short sale than a foreclosure. "The lenders lose 50% on a foreclosure and only 30% on a short sale," said Glenn Kelman, founder of the real estate Web site Redfin. "And short sales offer a way to get distressed properties off their books quickly."

And on April 5, lenders and mortgage investors will have even more incentives to offer troubled borrowers short sales instead of foreclosing.

Under the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, borrowers will earn a $3,000 "relocation incentive" and servicers will get $1,500 for handling a short sale.

The investors who actually own the mortgage notes will get $2,000 in exchange for sharing proceeds of the short sales with any second-lien holders. And, finally, those second lien holders will receive up to $6,000 for releasing their claims.

Lenders participating in the program must also determine the market values of properties early on and inform the owners of just what price they're willing to accept. Then, if owners come back to the lenders with bonafide offers, they have to be accepted within 10 days.

Equator's Saiita anticipates a short sale explosion in response to the new program. "The challenge will be handling all the volume," he said.

The company has already tweaked its software, which 58 servicers use, to handle the new HAFA rules. And that should help reduce the time it takes to execute a sale, which currently averages 88 days.

The boom in short sales may accelerate the end to the foreclosure crisis by cleaning out the overhang of borrowers in distress and replacing them with more stable homeowners.

Plus, these sales are better for distressed borrowers because their credit scores suffer less. Going through a foreclosure can knock 200 points off a FICO score, twice as much as the penalty for a short sale

Reverse Mortgages Gain Popularity

Source: Nick DiLorenzo, Mortgage Consultant

Baby Boomers Retire
Reverse Mortgages Gain Popularity

Born between 1946-1964, the generation known as the Baby Boomers will begin to retire in large numbers, substantially shrinking the labor force in the US. As a result, Social Security, Medicare, and other government programs will be significantly affected over the next several years. In fact, the Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB) estimates that, by 2030, about 20% of the American population will be 65 years old or older.

With rising costs of living and a dwindling budget to accommodate the elderly and disabled, we will see increased usage of the reverse mortgage. This loan allows equity to be taken out of the home to meet day-to-day expenses, and was designed in the late 1980s to help those who owned property, but lacked sufficient income to live on. However, there are benefits and disadvantages to be considered before going into this type of loan.

In most loan scenarios a home will go into foreclosure if payment is not made. If payments are made, the debt decreases and equity increases. The opposite holds true for a reverse mortgage; equity is taken out of the home to sustain the family, causing debt to increase while equity decreases. There is an exception - if the actual value of the home increases, less equity will be lost overall.

Most reverse mortgages are set up so there is no monthly payment as long as the owner resides in the home. There are no minimum income requirements, and the money can be used for any purpose. Equity disbursed from this type of loan is tax-free. Depending on the type of plan, reverse mortgages will usually allow the owner to retain the title to the property until they have lived in a different residence for 12 months, sold the property, died, or the end of the loan term has been reached.

On the flip side, reverse mortgages can be more costly than a normal equity loan. Interest is added to the principal balance each month, and the amount of interest owed is compounded over time. The interest will not be tax deductible until the loan is paid off, in part or in full. Also, since the reverse mortgage uses equity in the property, this constitutes a loss of assets one could pass on to heirs.

The Federal Trade Commission warns of abuse with this type of loan, as they have received reports of predatory lenders taking advantage of the elderly. It is best for the individual interested in a reverse mortgage to research and obtain counsel from reputable sources.* HUD does not recommend consulting an estate planning service to obtain a referral to a lender. HUD provides this information free to the public. Even if the home loan was not originally an FHA loan, the reverse mortgage can be federally secured.

*Visit the HUD page on this subject at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hecm/rmtopten.cfm,
consult AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) at http://www.aarp.org,
and the National Center for Home Equity Conversion at http://www.reverse.org.

The Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP.

Part of the Federal Government’s economic stimulus plan, HAMP is an option that has yet to pick up a head of steam. It’s possible that it hasn’t gotten the necessary publicity, which is a shame, because keeping homeowners in their homes is vital not just to their well-being, but to the well-being of our economy.

Here’s how HAMP works:

Not a refinance, which replaces your loan with a brand-new mortgage, a loan modification happens when your lender reworks the terms of your existing loan. Generally speaking, this lowers payments and makes the home more affordable for you. Often, the lower payments are the result of a lower interest rate, an extension in the loan term, a reduction in principal, or any combination thereof.

If your home is your primary residence and the balance of your first mortgage is less than $729,750, then you may qualify for the program. Additionally, you’ll have to demonstrate that you’re facing hardships that are affecting your ability to make payments on your mortgage. From there, your lender will ask for documentation about your income, bank statements, as well as other financial data. You’ll also be asked to complete a Hardship Affidavit, in which you’ll describe extenuating circumstances with which you’re dealing.