Happy Halloween!

It is Halloween 2011 and some people dress up as ghosts and goblins while some dress as homeless people?
Joe Nocera of the New York times published an article about a foreclosure law firm, Steven J. Baum, which deals with mortgage issues for large banks such as Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo holding a "Homeless Halloween Custom Party." Photos of this party were leaked to Nocera  through a previous employee and needless to say, many people are outraged. The pictures showed current employees dressed as homeless people and mocking people who have lost their homes. In addition, it is said the firm is already under investigation by New York's attorney General for a possibility of filing misleading pleadings, affidavits and assignments.

Real Estate Unfair Practices

 The Real Estate Agents Authority (REAA) has been in existence since November 2009 to ensure that fraudulent and unfair behavior in the Real Estate World are kept at bay. It is publicly open for people to complain against certain Realtors to the REAA and some examples found for unfair and/or illegal practices include:

• Telling vendors to pay for advertising they don't need for benefit of the agency, including a cut to the agent, and not the property. 
• Setting too high of prices to obtain business and then pushing the vendor down. This can also be practiced by setting too low of prices to get buyers and then trying to push vendors down.
• Not disclosing the realtor is working with this property for a close friend or relative

These are just a few things for new home buyers and sellers to be wary of when working with a realtor.

NC and IN rank in Top Three States for Lowest Closing Costs!

Bankrate.com conducts an annual closing costs survey by collecting online Good Faith Estimates for a $200,000 mortgage in major cities within each state to compare the average closing costs across the nation. What was found in the 2011 Nation Closing Cost Survey? The top three states to get the lowest average total closing costs are as followed:

1. Arkansas: $3,378 average
2. North Carolina: $3,410 average
3. Indiana: $3,430 average

Two of the top three states are serviced by Aapex Financial Solutions, North Carolina and Indiana. Visit our website at http://www.aapexfinancial.net/ to find the nearest branch for you!

Keep in mind these figures are averages over 10 lenders in each state and acquired by putting 20% down on a $200,000 mortgage to buy a single family home. Closing costs can vary depending on each situation.

Click HERE to see where your state ranks

Baby Boomers Could Help Get Properties Off the Market

LifeGoesStrong.com is an interactive website that allows both consumers and vendors to get a look inside the retail world through continuous polls. One that may strike the attention of those in the real estate world is the new poll that was conducted through Oct 5-12 and based on 1,410 adults, including 1,095 baby boomers. The national survey was conducted online and was supervised through Associated Press polling unit.
What was found regarding what was important to baby boomers regarding their real estate was that the most desired thing they wanted overall was to be close to their children. In addition, almost a quarter of baby boomers said they were interested in moving out of their current community during their retirement, which may help get some of the current properties off the market. Three out of ten baby boomers polled stated there is a chance they are looking to purchase a home for their retirement.

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Home Prices up Barely, But Still Up

The most recent Standard and Poore's Case-Shiller report, a home price data base derived from the non-seasonally and seasonally adjusted home sales, shows that the overall US home prices have gone up 0.2 percent in August of this year within the non-seasonally adjusted levels. What is even more important about this information is that it makes August the fifth consecutive month of real estate pricing gains which implicates a slight up in the industry.

The complete data can be seen HERE

September 2011: Top 10 States for Foreclosures

The national averages in Septemeber were 1 in every 605 homes received filling for forclosure and $172,353 was the average price for these foreclosures. Here is a recap of the top 10 states for foreclosures last month:

Nevada

• 1 in every 118
• $115,720

California

• 1 in 259
• $227,754

Arizona

• 1 in 305
• $124,505

Michigan

• 1 in 322
• $69,483

Georgia

• 1 in 352
• $124,699

Florida

• 1 in 368
• $113,885

Idaho

• 1 in 391
• $123,117

Utah

• 1 in 408
• $213,139

Colorado

• 1 in 447
• $171,114

Illinois

• 1 in 463
• $129,688

High Demand for VA Loans

President Barack Obama has announced today that the rest of the US Troops in entirety will be sent from from Iraq by the end of this year. The United States and Iraq were unable to come to agreement on some key issues regarding legal immunity for US soldiers stationed in Iraq so this makes for nearly 39,000 US troops tracking home within the next 2 months. What does this mean for the housing industry? There is a large amount of veterans coming back into our society, many who will undoubtedly be looking for a place to live. Fortunately, we have the Veteran's Affair lending program that can provide these returning soldiers with financing equipped with No Down Payments. There is a huge new market coming into the US who will need financing options so be sure to ask Aapex Financial what we can do for them. Click on the link below to find the nearest Loan Officer to you.

http://www.aapexfinancial.net/

Improved Website for Investment Property Homes

Econohomes, a leading online source for investment properties, just launched a website for real estate investors and home buyers geared to allow them to easily evaluate and buy foreclosed properties.
The website is equipped with financing options, pricing, sharing property listings, and user friendly searching tools. The website is completely free to users and all detailed information on properties is viewable.
Due to the vast amounts of foreclosed homes, Econohomes has become ever so popular to people looking for a good investment. When deciding on an investment property, it is important to understand the guidelines of investment financing. Choosing a good lender is the first step to obtaining good financing options for your investment properties. Visit http://www.aapexfinancial.net/ to find a local branch near you to learn more about your financing options.

Proposed Bill for Foreign Investors

A proposed measure in Congress would offer visas to any foreigner making a cash investment of at least $500,000 on residential real-estate (a single family home, townhouse or condo). It is said to be in efforts to help the suffering housing industry by getting some of the properties off the market. Applicants can choose to spend the all $500,000 on one home or sparse it out amongst a couple. They can use one home for residing purposes and the other may be used as a rental. It is very similar to the special visa program, EB-5, that was implemented to allow foreign investors to invest $500,000 into a U.S. Enterprise to receive a visa.

Most Expensive Homes in the World

Since our posts regarding some of the most interesting style homes was so popular, we decided to add another post for the Most Expensive Homes in the world! Take a look:

"Antilla" in Mumbia
$1 billion
27 story
40,000 square foot tower

"Fairfield Pond"

The Hamptons

$170 million

63 acres

29 bedrooms, 39 bathrooms

 

"Franchuk Vila"

Kensington, London

$161 million

5 story freestanding home in London

underground swimming pool

"Updown Court"

Windlesham, Surey

$139 million

40,000 sq ft mansion

130 rooms

24 carat gold lef mosaic floor

"Hearst Mansion"

Beverly Hills, CA

$165 million

29 rooms

3 pools

countless famous neighbors

Tips to Keep you Home Air Quality Safe

Many people don't realize that sometimes the air quality in their homes is more dangerous than that of the outdoors. Fortunately, there are a few tips to make sure it is kept safe within your homes walls:

• Install a carbon dioxide monitor
• Do not smoke indoors
• Use "no-VOC" or "low-VOC" paints.  Volatile Organic Compounds leak out into the air of your home even months after a fresh coat of paint is applied and can be very harmful when inhaled.
• Make sure you AC and dehumidifier are cleaned regularly
• Make sure all air vents are changed at the appropriate time to reduce the amount of dust buildup
• Keep humidity levels below 50% to decrease the infestation of dust mites which can cause asthma in children
• Do not try to remove asbestos material without professional help that is already in place within a home as this will only cause the fibers to be dispersed in the air and can cause lung diseases and cancer
• Any home built before 1978 will most likely home lead based paint, which can cause permanent damage to children. If lead based paint in your home is damaged, contact a professional to remove

Speak with your local contractor, home inspector, and/or lender to learn more about certain things that can be done to prevent toxic air within your home.

Housing Inventories Decrease

Currently, the last thing anyone thinks about as being a problem is a decrease in home inventory for borrowers. Realistically, this is becoming a problem as more and more borrowers are pulling their homes off the market which is creating a withering amount of attractive properties for people who are able to buy. Typically a shrink in supply would drive prices out the roof but since demand is so low, this is not the case. A graph done by Realtor.com showed major decreases in home inventory from September 2010 to September 2011 as seen below:

• 49% decrease in Miami, FL
• 48% decrease in Phoenix, AZ
• 30% decrease in Atlanta, GA
• 28% decrease in Detroit, MI

With a lack of inventory, home buyers are having more and more of a hard time finding their dream homes. One option that is home buyers have is to go through the relentless inventory of foreclosed and vacant homes. Sure, many people would initially think these homes are run down or not "dreamy" but in realty many of them are beautiful homes just taken over by the bank due to the last owner's inability to pay the mortgage, not because of the home's structure. Homepath.com has a vast amount of Fannie Mae properties that can be purchased while using a Homepath lender, such as Aapex Financial, and do not require mortgage insurance or appraisals! Not only is this beneficial for the buyers, but getting vacant and foreclosed properties off the market will also help to drive up the prices for sellers trying to market their current homes by taking advantage of the short supply.

FHA Refis on Original Low Monthly MI Terms Could Give Borrowers Higher Savings

An idea that is taking capture of the industry is that of FHA streamline refinances calculated with the original terms of lower monthly mortgage insurance. Originally, Monthly MI through FHA was set at .55% with financed MI at 2.15% while currently FHA has it monthly set at 1.15% and financed at 1%. Sure, financed MI has dropped but monthly has increased and this is truly what effects your payments the most of the entire life of the loan. If FHA were to create a new structure of streamline refinances that would allow borrowers to calculate the monthly MI based on the factor at the time of purchase, this would allow them to gain a greater savings on their refinance. Check out the video below to learn more and PLEASE pass this along so we can continue this important movement to help our borrowers.

Real Estate Report Q4 2011

It is now available, the Business Monitors Internationals United States 2011 Q4 Real Estate Report. Click on the link below to order the very informative tool. Some of the key things you will find include:

• A bounce back for commercial real estate is expected to happen in a slow manner
• Factors impacting the real estate industry include: High energy and commodity prices, unemployment; the level of debt, in the US and in Europe and the US budget deficit.
• Residential  real estate may still be worsening

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/da0754/united_states_real

No Down Payments? 100% Financing for Everyone?

What do you think about this concept? Will this cause borrowers to easily walk away from their homes or will this just create an effective way for many people to purchase the sitting homes? Let us know what you think!

HELP! Get This Home Off the Market!

Many sellers are stuck with their homes currently on the market for days, months and even years! With the buyers reluctance to purchase these homes and the tight restraints on lending, there are a few things that you can do to make sure your home is in tip top shape to sell.

• Make sure it is in sounds condition: When trying to sell a home in this market, it is imperative that the condition of the home is nothing less than perfect. Most buyers do not have the extra funds to make large renovations to homes nor are many looking to do this sue to time and energy.Make sure all the cracks in the walls are filled, the home is freshly painted, the floorboards are all in good place, and that the carpet is spotless. It is small things like this that can deter a buyer from purchasing your home over another.
• De-personalize the home for showings: This is something that is very important when showing a home. Put away all photos of the family, paint the walls neutral colors, and get rid of any distinct odors. Buyers want to envision themselves in this home, not your family.
• Make it Green: This market has made buyers environmentally friendly and unfortunately not neccessarly for nature itself. Buyers are looking for energy efficient upgrades such as tankless water heaters and efficient windows in order to save themselves when it comes to bills. It is a hard economy for may people right now so any costs that can be saved will put your home on top of the list.
• Extra rooms: Large space is always nice but in times of a hard economy, people are downgrading. This means that many people want to have an office or den rather than one large living room. They may need to save money by staying at home and working a few days a week rather than there typical commute.

Refinancing-Is it Right for You?

This article is similiar to the one from last week regarding cutting your term in half but goes a bit more in detail as told by Jean Chatzky of USA Today. She explains why it is a great time to refinance but why some people may not have an easy time doing so.

New Mortgage Plan

A new plan is in the works to help homeowners take advantage of the currently low rates by refinancing, something that many homeowners are unable to do because of their current financial situations. Rumors are that this new plan will allow refinancing to be more accessible for as many as 600,000 to one million troubled borrowers. Even Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced on Thursday he is in favor of this new plan and looks forward to it being implemented.
The Federal Housing Administration has talked about being  in the works with President Obama to help borrower's needing to refinance within their Freddie Mac and Mannie Mae programs, but has not definitely claimed to be involved in the plan. Without the backing of the Federal Housing Administration, this could be a difficult plan to implement and this is something that is causing concern at The White House.
Representatives of the FHFA have said that they are currently working to improve and enhance working programs and it is still too early to see how many people will be helped through these programs. For the borrower's and industry's sake, hopefully there will be some consensus amongst The White House and FHFA and help can begin to improve the current housing situation.

Foreclosures Turn Into Rentals

If you started to notice that vacant neighborhoods around have become a little more full, it may be due to the turn of foreclosures into rentals. Many of the homes that have been foreclosed on have been bought by investors who have realized it is much more lucrative and better for the industry to rent them out than to fix them and let them sit on the market.

Even though affordability is up for buying homes, the number of people going through with purchases or even being able to be approved for financing is still low. Experienced investors are able to purchase these homes at a low cost and interest rate and, in return, rent them out to borrower's instead of leaving them vacant.

Ideally, it will be best when the trust in the market comes back full swing and borrower's are more interested in purchasing their own homes than renting, but at least this is a step in the right direction for property values as the more vacant homes an area has, the lower the other homes will be worth when appraised.

New USDA Guidelines

The USDA program is a great one. It allows borrowers who are purchasing a home in a rural area to get 100% financing, that is if their income falls within USDA guidelines. Many of the "rural" area are actually very close to city settings and hardly rural at all. Some new guidelines have gone into effect on October 1st, 2011 to take note of:

USDA mortgage insurance rates have now changed due to the infrastructure of how USDA loans are funded. They are now self funded and do not use tax payer funds anymore causing the mortgage insurance changes as followed:

Purchases: 2.00% upfront fee paid at closing, based on the loan size.
Refinances: 1.00% upfront fee paid at closing, based on the loan size.
For all loans: 0.30% annual fee, based on the remaining principal balance.

If you are interested in seeing if a home you or one of your client's is interested in, please call Aapex Financial Solutions at 704-892-5211 and we can provide you with the look-up tool to see if you can get 100% financing.

Mortgage Scams Still Getting Hit Hard

A former real estate agent will spend 20 months in jail and must pay more than $5.6 million in restitution for a mortgage fraud scheme that had lenders holding bad loans. The scam had inflated loans which cause homes to be sitting vacant for extended periods of times causing property values to drtop tremendously.

Angela R. Clark, was one of 19 who plead guilty and been sentenced for their roles in the $12.6 million scheme spanning the housing bubble time. Clark started the scheme, in which 15 buyers took out loans for more than the actual sale price of the homes, then kept the additional loan proceeds. The sent fake invoices to Title Companies that showed payment was due to business entities that were made up to hide fact that buyers were keeping fundings.

Cut Your Mortgage Term in Half

The mortgage industry has typically been driven by the 30 year loan. Due to borrower's needs to get rid of debt and the current low interest rates, borrowers are now leaning more towards the 15 year mortgage loan.
This August, applications for 15-year refinancing loans submitted nationwide through one of the largest online lenders was up 29 percent compared to August 2010. This is compared to a mere 12 percent rise in 30 year refinancing loans.
This comes to no surprise as choosing a 15 year refinancing plan compared to a 30 year can have huge beneifts for borrowers. This cuts their term in half, getting them out of debt faster so they can plan for their future easier without having to worry about another 30 years hanging over their heads.
Although there are many benefits to a 15 year refinance plan, there are a few things to think about as well. Not all borrowers will qualify as a shorter term will create a larger monthly payment and will effect their monthly debt-to-income ratio. The larger payment will of course vary depending on how good of an interest rate the borrower can get.
A good candiate for a 15 year refinance plan would be a borrower who has been paying off their current loan for at least five years, has good credit, and is financially stable and able to make a higher payment each month. If this sounds like you or someone you know, give us a call at Aapex, 704-892-5211, and check out how you stand for cutting your mortgage term in half.