Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended!

The House and the Senate have passed the extension of the Homebuyer tax credit and made some changes.  The President is expected to sign it into law tomorrow.

For 1st time buyer’s or those who have not owned a home in the last 3 years, the tax credit is $4,000 for singles and $8,000 for couples, with income restrictions maxing out at $125,000 for singles and $225,000 for couples.

Current homeowners, who have owned a home for 5 of the previous 8 years, can now also get a credit of $3,250 for singles and $6,500 for couples with the same income restrictions. 

Purchase agreements must be signed by 4/30/2010 and close by 6/30/2010

Those in the armed forces, stationed outside of the U.S. on official duty for 90 days during the period of 1/1/2009 – 5/1/2010 have an extended time frame for signed purchase agreements to 5/1/2011 and closing to 6/1/2011.
 

Thank you,
Matt Steinmetz
Envoy Mortgage- Voted Top 25 Tech Savvy Lenders by Mortgage Technology Magazine
2151-P Salvio St.
Concord, CA 94520
Phone 925-671-9501 x119

Visit my blog for my most recent mortgage related update.

Learn When to Pay Points
Information about the $8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit
Information about the $10,000 New Home Tax Credit in CA
Apply for a loan online

FHA* VA * CALPERS * CALVET * FHA 203K Rehabilitation Loans * Energy Efficient Mortgages

Energy Efficient Mortgages

This loan gives you extra cash to complete energy efficient improvements in your home.  This loan is similar to the FHA 203K streamline loan, which is a larger scale  rehab loan, but the EEM (Energy Efficient Mortgage) lends up to $8,000 maximum.  The 203K and EEM can be used together. 

Just in case you were not aware of this little program here is some information about the the Energy-Efficient Mortgage.
-Finance up to 15% of an existing home’s value or 5% of a new homes value
-The monthly energy savings are added to your income, to help you qualify
-There is a 3% minimum investment required by you, but rebates and other incentives from the governmanet may be applied toward your contribution.

Some items you can use the money for are:

• Windows and Doors
• Heating and Cooling
• Insulation

If you’d like to know more, contact me today.

Also, feel free to Share or Comment

Thank you,

Matt Steinmetz
Envoy Mortgage
2151-P Salvio St.
Concord, CA 94520
Phone 925-671-9501 x119
Fax 925-940-9639

Learn When to Pay Points
Information about the $8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit
Information about the $10,000 New Home Tax Credit in CA
Apply for a loan online

Contra Costa County, home loans, mortgages, Concord, CA, refinance, rahab loans, 203K, FHA 

Market Talk

I have been reading about how home sales are up and have risen for the past 5 months.  This is supposed to be a sign that the housing market’s supply over demand is leveling out.  Knowing that a lot of vacant homes are not yet listed and that mortgage companies know now that foreclosure is cheaper than modifying a loan, I believe we will see more supply hit the streets.  With school starting soon, the summer rush to buy a home will slow down.  Though the rush to be in a new home by the holidays may prove to be a good market to be in.  Fall is typically a great time to buy as sellers tend to be more negotiable.  With out the hustle and bustle of the spring and summer home buying frenzy, those that need to sell will be ready to make a deal.

Mortgage rates are still great and in the low 5′s for a conforming 30 year fixed.  This assumes good credit and the ability to qualify.  It truly is a great time to buy or refinance if you can.  No one knows how long these rates will last and there is certainly a lot of information that says, by the end of the year, rates will increase.  I have covered this many times in previous posts, but in short we have an oversupply of mortgage backed securities on the secondary market and not enough investors buying them.  This means more supply and not enough demand, which makes rates go up so that investors are enticed to buy.  Aside from this when inflation goes up so will rates.  The Fed will also play a role in this as they are currently buying the mortgage back securities, but will stop by December 31st.  Even with out the inflation concern you can see how an already over supply, and losing a major purchaser of the supply can cause even more of an over supply, pushing rates higher. 

Comment or share with your social networks. 

Matt Steinmetz

Envoy Mortgage

2151-P Salvio St.
Concord, CA 94520

Phone 925-671-9501 x119
msteinmetz@envoymtg.com

 Learn When to Pay Points
Information about the $8,000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit
Information about the $10,000 New Home Tax Credit in CA
Apply for a loan online

HERA – Housing and Economic Recovery Act

On July 31st, 2009 a new regulation published by the Federal Reserve Board will begin that will drastically change the process of obtaining a home loan.  At least on the originators side of the transaction that is.  Even though the changes have no new hoops for the borrowers to jump through, the hoops the originator will jump through will certainly affect the borrower and everyone else attached to the transaction.  These regulations will impact your closing dates on all transactions for primary and 2nd homes that require financing.

The New requirements dictate to lenders and brokers the following:

• When up front fee’s can be collected
• When an appraisal can be ordered
• When a new Truth in Lending Disclosure must be re-issued
• When a copy of the appraisal must be delivered to the borrower
• When a loan can close

The earliest a transaction can close is 7 business days from when the initial disclosures are received by the borrower.  With that said even 15 days will be difficult to do.

After the Initial application is taken the lender must mail the upfront disclosures and wait 3 business days before collecting any fees aside from a credit report fee.  After the 3rd business day the appraisal may be ordered and the fee collected.  Once the appraisal is received, the borrower must be given a copy and time to review.  This means another 3 days if mailed and 3 days to review for a total of 6 business days.  On the 7th business day the loan may proceed.

If at any time the APR increases from the initial disclosure by more than .125%, a new Truth in Lending must be re-disclosed to the borrower and again start a 3 day clock, if mailed, and 3 days for review.  The estimation of up front fee’s is crucial.  Getting to the closing table andadjusting escrow fee’s will delay your loan by 7 business days as a new Truth in Lending is mailed and reviewed.

Note: For applicable refinances the 3 day rescission is in addition to this, so that makes the wait 9 business days.

Some Potential impacts to the APR:

• Unlocked rate and rate changes from initial disclosures
• Change in loan amount
• Loan product change
• Change in closing date
• Change to any fees

The only time period that can be waived is the appraisal review period of 3 days, and must be done so in writing by the borrower.  The only other way to speed up the process is to hand deliver the appraisal and disclosures, and get a signed receipt from the borrower to include in the loan file.  This will save the 3 days you have to wait when mailing the items.  Even still you can see how days begin to add up. 

30-45 day escrows will become even more common than they are today, as closing early becomes more and more difficult.  Add in lender turn times, and one mistake in timing can easily cost you a week or more. 

Bankers (like myself) have an advantage over brokers here as brokers have to wait for the lender they are submitting to, to send out the disclosures.  So Bankers may have a 3-4 day advantage in this example.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email me or use the comment feature below.  If you are a Realtor I would  be happy to present this information to you or  your office in person, whether we work together or you already have a lender relationship, we all need to understand the new requirements, as our clients depend on this. 

Matt Steinmetz

Envoy Mortgage

Concord, CA Contra Costa County

Calpers Sues Rating Agencies

Calpers Sues Agencies Over Ratings of Securities

The California Public Employees Retirment System is the nation’s largest public pension fund and has filed suit against rating agencies; Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.  Calpers states the agencies ratings were “wildly innaccurate”.

In short the agencies, allegedly, gave bulk packages of sub prime loans higher ratings in order to win the bidding war against other rating agencies.  Investors, like Calpers in this case, buy the bulk loans based on the ratings.  Calpers is now seeking damages as those packaged loans are falling apart, and unveiling that the loans should not have been rated so high in the first place.

If this is true and rating agencies did inflate sub prime ratings to get a deal done, then they will be blamed for the current state of the housing industry.  With out their good ratings, these bulk loan packages would not have been such a hot item for investors to buy, and the loans would not have been pushed so hard to sell on the street. 

Do you believe any one entity is to blame for the mortgage meltdown, or a combination of?  Comment below!

Use the share icon to pass this along to Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Matt Steinmetz

Envoy Mortgage

Concord, CA Contra Costa County

Rent from your Lender

Reuters says  U.S. Officials are weighing a plan to allow borrowers who are falling behind on their mortgage payments avoid eviction by surrendering their home to their lender and paying the lender rent.  This is in the think tank because Obama’s Hope for Homeowner’s Plan is not working as they’d hope.  This way those who cannot afford their home can still ive in the home for several years.   Do you think this is a good idea?  Comment where you see “Responses” and at the top right.

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The article goes on to say that 1 in 5 homeowners owe more than their property is worth and with record unemployment today, the Treasury Dept. is looking at ways to save jobless homeowners from losing their home.

Use the share icon to put this on your Facebook, Twitter and many more social networking sites. 

Matt Steinmetz

Envoy Mortgage

Concord, CA Contra Costa County

First Time Buyer Tax Credit

Here is a link to the flyer

New $8,000 Tax Credit for First-time Home Buyers- is set to end soon!
Great news for first-time home buyers in 2009! The stimulus plan that President Obama signed into law contains a new
$8,000 tax credit for qualified first-time home buyers. And, unlike the $7,500 tax credit from last year, this credit does NOT
have to be repaid to the government, as long as you stay in the home for at least 36 months after the purchase date.
Remember, a tax credit is much more valuable than a tax deduction. A tax credit reduces dollar for dollar the amount of tax
you owe. A deduction merely reduces the amount of your income that is taxable. This means the home buyer credit can be
claimed even if the taxpayer has little or no federal income tax liability to offset.

Who?
First-time buyers or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the 3 years prior to a purchase of a primary residence may qualify
for a tax credit of up to 10% of the purchase price or $8,000, whichever is less. To qualify for the full credit, the buyer’s
modified adjusted gross income must be less than $75,000 for single taxpayers and $150,000 for married taxpayers filing a
joint return. Partial credit is proportionally reduced for incomes under $95,000 (single) or $170,000 (married). For married
taxpayers, the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse are taken into account. This means if you
or your spouse has owned a principal residence in the last 3 years, neither you nor your spouse qualifies for the credit.
What?
According to the IRS, a primary residence is the one you live in most of the time. It can be a house, houseboat, housetrailer,
cooperative apartment, condominium, or other type of residence. If you constructed your main home, you are treated as
having purchased it on the date you first occupied it.
When?
The $8,000 tax credit is available for qualifying home purchases made from Jan. 1, 2009, until Dec. 1, 2009. This is not a
typo. To receive the credit you must purchase a qualified home before December 1st, 2009 – not the end of the year.
How?
Unfortunately, you can NOT use the credit as a down payment. To receive the credit, you must purchase a qualified home
first and then claim it on either your 2008 or 2009 taxes. If you make a qualified purchase after April 15, or after having
already filed your 2008 taxes, you and your tax professional can submit an amendment to your return. To claim the credit, use
form 5405.
Why?
The current combination of lower home prices and lower interest rates makes for an amazing opportunity to buy real estate.
Add to that this $8,000 gift from the government, and renting a home just doesn’t make much sense.
If you or someone you know is ready to stop paying the landlord’s mortgage and start building equity in your own home, give
us a call. We’ll run the numbers and see what makes sense for your individual financial needs.

Matt Steinmetz
Envoy Mortgage

FHA 203K Streamline

Here is a link to a flyer on this topic

The FHA Streamline 203K loan can be used on purchases or refinances.  This loan allows  you to get extra money above the payoff amount or cost of the home to handle repairs or upgrades.  This is great for buying fixer uppers or putting windows in your existing home, plus much more. 

Loan amounts can go up to the maximun FHA loan limits in your county.  For Contra Costa County that limit is $729,750.  The maximum for repairs is $35,000 but a portion of that is not available to you as it is kept as reserves and then returned to the bank if unused, which reduces the balance on your loan. 

The borrower gets 50% of the improvement proceeds at the loan closing and the other 50% after the repairs are completed.   The repair work can be financed over and above the contracted sales price or appraised value with the total being added to the final loan amount, up to 110% of the value.  Any repairs over $15,00 do require an inspection upon completion.

Let me know your thoughts on this by commenting below, and feel free to use the share button to pass this along.

Matt Steinmetz
www.mattsteinmetz.com

New Tax Credit and Business 101

The Senate is pushing for a $15,000 tax credit for all homebuyers in lieu of the first time buyer credit currently in action. The new credit is planned to have no income restrictions.

Out of the blue, 2-3 weeks ago rates started going up. Infact they rose a full point in about a week. What was one day 5% or slightly better, became 6% or slightly worse. Will they come back down? Why did this happen?
Let's start with the former. This week rates have attempted to go lower and did so until today. Rates came back down into the low-mid 5's and then today on the news that the Treasury will auction of millions of bonds next week to raise capital, rates got worse. This takes us to the "Why?". This is now a simple case of business 101- supply and demand. All of these mortgage bonds and treasury bonds became to much supply, with not enough demand. To create demand rates have to go up so investors find the bonds more attractive. On top of this, the news is talking about several economic experts that have said the recession is ending soon and inflation will be on the rise. All of this = higher rates.