FRANCHISE TAX BOARD OFFERS HELP TO FINANCIALLY
STRESSED TAXPAYERS
The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) is advising taxpayers facing income tax
troubles to contact them to have a specialist review their account and
explain available programs that offer assistance. FTB specialists can
assist taxpayers by establishing payment plans, granting relief from
state tax liens, or delaying some collection actions. FTB generally can
grant relief from state tax liens within two weeks for financially
distressed homeowners trying to sell or refinance their homes. When a
home sells for less than the loan balance, FTB sometimes can remove its
tax lien from the property to allow the homeowner to complete the sale.
Tax liens typically must be paid before a real estate escrow can close.
The tax lien remains in effect on any other property the taxpayer
currently holds or later acquires.
FTB also can help individuals who are refinancing or modifying an
existing home loan if homeowners request that the new or modified loan
have priority over the tax lien. This allows prior home loans to be
refinanced or modified without first having to pay the lien.
Taxpayers who cannot resolve their accounts online should call the phone
number listed on their billing notice. Taxpayers without Internet
service may request an installment agreement payment plan by calling FTB
at (800) 689-4776, Monday through Friday, between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
More info
Home sales increased 83 percent in February in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home declined 40.8 percent, according to a C.A.R. report released today. "Home sales in California continue to be considerably stronger than the nationwide sales figures," said C.A.R. President James Liptak. "The market will continue to register large, but diminishing year-to-year percentage gains in the coming months, as current sales are compared against the extremely low numbers that prevailed during the early months of the credit crunch."
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 620,410 in February at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate. Statewide home resale activity increased 83 percent from the revised 338,970 sales pace recorded in February 2008. Sales in February 2009 decreased 0.8 percent compared with the previous month. The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2009 would be if sales maintained the February pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during February 2009 was $247,590, a 40.8 percent decrease from the revised $418,260 median for February 2008, C.A.R. reported. The February 2009 median price fell 2.3 percent compared with January's revised $253,330 median price.
"The California median price has declined by a larger margin than the nationwide median price," said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "This can be attributed to the under $500,000 portion of the market, which has experienced larger price declines than the other market segments due to the large share of distressed homes for sale. This further contributed to the decline in the statewide median."
More info
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Federal Reserve Announcement Drives Mortgage Rate Drop
Rates Edge Lower on Monday, According to Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor SEATTLE, March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Driven by the news that the The Federal Reserve plans to spend an additional $750 billion to buy mortgage-backed securities, the weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for thirty-year mortgages fell to 5.06 percent, down from 5.21 percent the week prior, according ...
Yahoo! Canada
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Mortgage Rates Falling In Reaction to Fed Action
NEW YORK -- U.S. mortgage rates fell from Wednesday, boosting government efforts to bring mortgage rates down to levels that will spur demand and help the hard-hit housing market begin to recover. Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell over 0.40 percentage point from Wednesday to 4.79 percent, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by real estate website Zillow.com.
...
MoneyNews.com
Inside the fiasco that led to the mortgage mess
In Miami, Fla. last fall, sheriffs deputies showed up at Junior Alvarezs house to evict him and his family. That was just one of 3.2 million foreclosure-related actions last year. We tried to save the house, a shaken Alvarez said, but it was too much. Too much is a phrase being uttered by Americans in all walks of life these days. A six-month Dateline NBC examination of the origins of the economic ...
MSNBC
Mortgage brokers in a rate crunch
Federal Reserves bid last week to push rates lower yet portends even busier times ahead. Published: Mar 22, 2009 00:06 EST Local mortgage brokers, already busy because of low interest rates, are bracing to get even busier after Wednesday's announcement that the Federal Reserve is taking steps that will push rates even lower. 'It's really done what they intended it to do,' Jill Carson, president ...
Lancaster Online
State mortgage delinquencies rise with recession
West Virginia home mortgages were seriously delinquent in payments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Staff writer CHARLESTON, W.Va. - At the end of 2007, 4,002 West Virginia home mortgages were seriously delinquent in payments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. A year later, at the end of 2008, 5,802 were seriously delinquent as the recession deepened, according to the ...
Gazette-Mail
Mortgage Life Insurance - How to Protect Your Mortgage
If you have a mortgage it is very important that you protect your investment, after all you wouldn't go out and leave your doors and windows open would you? However it is surprising just how many people fail to recognise
the importance of mortgage life insurance which will protect your mortgage
should you pass away. Mortgage life insurance works by the insured paying a
premium each month and this ...
ArticleXplosion.com
Tighter lending rules trip up homebuyers
In the post-meltdown world, mortgage applicants face higher credit standards, lower appraisals and more scrutiny
Mar. 22--After 22 years in a Sussex apartment, Jim and Kristin Moscicke decided it was time to buy their first home. A drop in Kristin's credit score means they'll continue renting for at least another year. Even with interest rates at historic lows and billions of new government dollars flowing into the financial system, their experience demonstrates that getting a mortgage today ...
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Monday, March 23, 2009
Mortgage Rates at Near-Record Lows
Mortgage rates slid to near all-time lows in Bankrate's weekly survey, and may fall further as you read this sentence. The benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage declined 8 basis points, to 5.29 percent, according to the Bankrate.com's national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.33 discount and ...
Bankrate.com
The Truth About Mortgage Rates
The best rumors have the longest staying power, and the untruths about the connection between Bank of Canada interest rate cuts and mortgage rates is a prime example. Why? Well, though Bank of Canada interest rate cuts do affect the financial industry, they do not affect every segment of the financial sector; some segments are directly affected, others are only indirectly effected, and then there ...
Free Articles Directory
Top 5 Mortgage Mistakes
Owning a home is a huge responsibility overall, but the biggest single homeowner responsibility is managing the mortgage payment. Mismanage your mortgage and you could risk not being a homeowner anymore. (Yikes!) Thats why its so important that you avoid the following mistakes when choosing a mortgage: #5 Leaping before looking. Its no secret that mortgage lenders weigh a potential lendees credit ...
Free Articles Directory
Mortgage controls would be disastrous
Lord Turners review of the financial services market, published today, stops short of recommending a ban on 100% mortgages or imposing a restriction on maximum loans to three times income. But it doesnt
rule them out. It leaves the whole question of controls on mortgage lending open
to debate but the proposals are still there (see below for the full proposals).
Should the UK introduce product ...
Citywire
Friday, March 20, 2009
Mortgage rates plummet and may drop more after Fed moves to bolster economy
If you've got a good job, solid credit and your home's value hasn't fallen
dramatically, you're likely to benefit from the Federal Reserve's extraordinary
action Wednesday to help drive mortgage rates to historic lows and revive the
U.S. housing market. The Fed's plan to buy up to $300 billion of long-term
government bonds and $750 billion in additional mortgage-backed securities
guaranteed by ...
ChicoER.com
Thursday, March 19, 2009
FED LEAVES RATES UNCHANGED
The Federal Reserve today voted to maintain the target range for the
federal funds rate at 0 percent to .25 percent and said it anticipates
that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels
of the federal funds rate for an extended period.
"In these circumstances, the Federal Reserve will employ all available
tools to promote economic recovery and to preserve price stability," the
Fed said in a prepared statement. The Fed also voted to increase the
size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet by purchasing up to an
additional $750 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities, bringing
its total purchases of these securities to up to $1.25 trillion this
year, and to increase its purchases of agency debt this year by up to
$100 billion to a total of up to $200 billion.
"Moreover, to help improve conditions in private credit markets, the
Committee decided to purchase up to $300 billion of longer-term Treasury
securities over the next six months," the Fed said. "The Federal Reserve
has launched the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to
facilitate the extension of credit to households and small businesses
and anticipates that the range of eligible collateral for this facility
is likely to be expanded to include other financial assets."
The stock market reacted positively to the news, with the Dow Jones
Industrial Average closing at 7,486.58, up 90.88, a 1.23 percent
increase.
More info
POLL FINDS AMERICANS OPTIMISTIC DESPITE THE RECESSION
Nearly eight-in-10 Americans believe it still is possible to improve
their economic standing and remain optimistic that their family's
economic circumstances will improve within their lifetime and across
generations, according to a new study by Pew's Economic Mobility Project
This is true across racial lines and even among lower-income,
less-educated and unemployed people, according to the poll.
"Although the current economic crisis seems to be deepening each day and
many families are feeling the pinch -- either through company layoffs,
decreasing home values or loss of retirement savings -- Americans are
taking a longer-term view," said John E. Morton, managing director of
Economic Policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts. "We may be struggling in
our daily lives, but Americans are confident in themselves and their
ability to get ahead in the future."
Many Americans said the government currently does more to hurt than help
people trying to move up the economic ladder, according to the poll.
However, a majority support a wide range of policies the government
could adopt to encourage upward economic mobility, such as making
college more affordable, investing in early childhood education, making
retirement savings easier, or providing job training and financial
education. In addition, 71 percent said it is more important for the
country to provide people a fair chance of improving their economic
standing than it is to reduce inequality in the United States.
More
info
Fed may hold off on buying Treasurys as mortgage rates fall
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve is likely to hold off on using one of its last weapons to get credit flowing -- buying back Treasury securities from the open market -- because it has already made progress driving interest rates down in markets that would benefit from such a step, investors and strategists say. When the Federal Open Market Committee releases ita statement on interest-rate ...
MarketWatch
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Mortgage rates down, applications up nationwide
Average residential mortgage rates declined to a near-record low, driven mainly by refinancing activity, according to survey data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. For the week ended March 6, mortgage applications were up about 11.6 percent from the previous week and up 5.7 percent from the same week a year ago. Refinancing accounted for 67.9 percent of all applications. Based on an 80 percent ...
Business Journal of Tampa Bay
Mortgages That Survived The Credit Crunch
You'll have to prove you can really afford a mortgage. And you'll have to run a gauntlet of scrutiny. Today's mortgages are a far cry from boom time home loans, but they do exist and some lenders have money to burn. 'People used to qualify with stated income. Now there is more documentation. And they aren't just documenting your income, but looking for assets in addition to your income and low ...
Realty Times
Monday, March 16, 2009
Swamped mortgage holders prolong metro Atlanta's real estate slump
Last March, investor John Clark approached a lender with a $110,000 offer for a potential rental property in Stone Mountain. They said we are working on it, we are working on it, Clark said. For whatever reason they could never get it together. RELATED: Search homes going to auction Learn more about the neighborhoods you're considering Compare home prices in your neighborhood THE ECONOMY Latest ...
Atlanta Journal And Constitution
Friday, March 13, 2009
New FICO Credit Score for Mortgage Lenders Debuts
BEACON Mortgage Score from Equifax offers unprecedented predictive power to help mortgage lenders and loan servicers make smarter mortgage decisions MINNEAPOLIS & ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FICO (NYSE:FIC), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, and Equifax (NYSE: EFX), a global leader in information solutions, today introduced BEACON Mortgage Score, a new FICO industry ...
Business Wire
Thursday, March 12, 2009
HOUSING STIMULUS LAW UPDATE
C.A.R.'s Legal Department has released a new legal article, Housing Stimulus
Laws for 2009, to help REALTORS® understand the recent laws enacted by federal
and California lawmakers. This legal article addresses the $787 billion economic
stimulus bill, the federal Making Home Affordable Program, and new California
housing stimulus laws.
C.A.R. also has prepared a new resource guide that provides a summary of the
federal programs, with links to a variety of sources for more detailed
information. The guide is available at http://www.car.org/governmentalaffairs/federal/hrlmp/.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Greatest Real Estate Market Ever
This Is Truly The Best Real Estate Market Ever For Those Who Are Seeking To Promulgate Wealth And Prosperity For Themselves And Their Families
According to reports today by the Associated Press, mortgage defaults are up for the 8th consecutive quarter. Equally eye-opening is that mortgage defaults, (the number of people who were late making their mortgage payments) shot up 53 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the same period in 2007!
Did you get those last two stats?
1. Mortgage Defaults Are Up For The 8th Consecutive Quarter
2. Mortgage Defaults Shot Up 53% In The 4th Quarter Of 2008
Any doubt that this is the BEST REAL ESTATE MARKET EVER?? Seriously, while it is unfortunate that some are losing their home, this is the business that we all chose to make our personal fortunes in.
Real Estate investments provide wealth and prosperity for our families. And this is the market cycle that will allow us all to realize that prosperity.
We can not be ashamed or timid in taking advantage of these times in being truly Capitalistic in grasping the branches of fortune that are now, more than ever, within our reach.
You Can Not Ignore These Statistics And Still Call Yourself An Investor In Real Estate
You can not ignore these statistics and still call yourself an Investor. We are FAR from the bottom of the market and we as real estate
investors can really help the economy turn around for other by being adept at our craft of liquidating these non-performing assets from lenders and distressed sellers.
You should literally be frothing at the bit to take advantage of the opportunities in undoubtedly the BEST REAL ESTATE MARKET EVER. Many
investors are leaving and are not making any money because of what they were taught and what they were told by veteran agents.
This Is A BUYER'S Market. If You Are Not Making Offers Then You Are Missing Out On An Opportunity
This is a BUYER'S market. If you are not making offers then you are missing out on an opportunity for great wealth and continued prosperity. If you knew how to
take advantage of the many, many, opportunities in today's real estate market, you would be making a killing!
Do you doubt this? Before you answer affirmatively please tell me how many
offers you have in your pipeline. At the very minimum ask yourself that question.
Here's another stat. There are no predictions that show the foreclosure and default of mortgages subsiding any time soon. Most say we are looking at a term of maybe another 18 months or so before these defaults stabilize.
I even doubt that. In fact I am hoping that they continue to rise. Why? Because that means that
you can continue to rake those good buys.
February Ended And Now We're In March. A Quarter Of The Year Is Almost Gone. What Does Your Pipeline Look Like For March And April? Are You Going To Make Any Money?
As J.D. Rockefeller said, "the time to buy is when blood is running in the streets". Enough said. If you call yourself a real estate
investor and are not taking advantage of the BEST REAL ESTATE MARKET EVER, then you are truly missing out.
It's just plain good business practice to learn how to successfully execute a short sale. Think to yourself right now...if I had taken the Short Sales By The Numbers Course last month, what would my commission checks for March or April be looking like?
If you are not looking at a minimum of one property lined up to close scheduled for March, then you will have wasted 25% of your time this year.
Only you know what you want to achieve financially the rest of the year. Right now all you have to ask yourself is are you doing what you need to do today to make sure you will be where you want to be in December.
FHA MORTGAGE LOANS NOW DEFAULTING WITHOUT A SINGLE PAYMENT
The last time the housing market was this bad, Congress set up the Federal Housing Administration to insure Depression-era mortgages that lenders wouldn t otherwise make. This decade s housing boom rendered the agency irrelevant. Americans raced to aggressive lenders, seduced by easy credit and loans with no upfront costs; but the subprime mortgage market has crashed and borrowers are flocking ...
San Francisco Sentinel
Appraisers brace for industry change
An accurate appraisal equals peace of mind. At least that's what it should be in a perfect world. Simply stated, the appraiser should be the sole objective party in a real estate transaction. But sometimes ideals and reality aren't one in the same. Pete Rosselli of Martinez and his family have been a part of the appraisal industry for almost 20 years, and he says that an appraiser who says they've ...
San Mateo County Times
Monday, March 9, 2009
Kenneth R. Harney: Are mortgage deductions really at risk?
WASHINGTON Call it the third rail of the federal tax system: the politically untouchable cluster of special benefits and subsidies set aside exclusively for homeowners, including deductions for mortgage interest, local property taxes and capital gains exclusions on up to $500,000 in sale profits. Is the Obama administration serious about beginning to clamp limits on at least some of these subsidies? ...
San Jose Mercury News
Stimulus Impact: MGIC could benefit from federal mortgage proposal
President Barack Obamas proposal to help millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure also could provide much-needed relief to beleaguered mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Corp. Milwaukee-based MGIC has been pummeled since late 2007 by rising mortgage delinquencies that trigger mortgage insurance claims. Delinquencies rose about 20 percent in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008, and the percentage of ...
Biz Journals
Mortgage woes breaking records again in U.S.
NEW YORK - Foreclosures are spreading by epidemic proportions, expanding beyond a handful of problem states and now affecting almost one in every eight American homeowners. It's an economic role-reversal: The economy, driven down by the collapse of the housing bubble, is causing the housing crisis to spread. Figures released Thursday show that nearly 12 per cent of all Americans with a mortgage - ...
Canoe Money
No mortgage pinch for Obama and team
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton applauds as President Barack Obama congratulates Special Representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke at the State Department in Washington. Photo: AP As mortgage foreclosure rates hit record highs, one small group of homeowners remains relatively immune to the pressures confronting millions of other Americans: those at the highest levels of ...
The Politico
FHA mortgage defaults soaring
WASHINGTON - The last time the housing market was this bad, Congress set up the Federal Housing Administration to insure Depression-era mortgages that lenders wouldn't otherwise make. This decade's housing boom rendered the agency irrelevant. Americans raced to aggressive lenders, lured by easy credit and loans with no upfront costs. But the subprime mortgage market has crashed and borrowers ...
Boston Globe
Friday, March 6, 2009
FRANCHISE TAX BOARD OFFERS HELP TO FINANCIALLY
STRESSED TAXPAYERS
The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) is advising taxpayers facing income tax
troubles to contact them to have a specialist review their account and
explain available programs that offer assistance. FTB specialists can
assist taxpayers by establishing payment plans, granting relief from
state tax liens, or delaying some collection actions. FTB generally can
grant relief from state tax liens within two weeks for financially
distressed homeowners trying to sell or refinance their homes. When a
home sells for less than the loan balance, FTB sometimes can remove its
tax lien from the property to allow the homeowner to complete the sale.
Tax liens typically must be paid before a real estate escrow can close.
The tax lien remains in effect on any other property the taxpayer
currently holds or later acquires.
FTB also can help individuals who are refinancing or modifying an
existing home loan if homeowners request that the new or modified loan
have priority over the tax lien. This allows prior home loans to be
refinanced or modified without first having to pay the lien.
Taxpayers who cannot resolve their accounts online should call the phone
number listed on their billing notice. Taxpayers without Internet
service may request an installment agreement payment plan by calling FTB
at (800) 689-4776, Monday through Friday, between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS HOMEOWNER AFFORDABILITY
AND STABILITY PLAN DETAILS
The Obama Administration today announced new U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
guidelines to enable servicers to begin modifications of eligible
mortgages under the Administration's Homeowner Affordability and
Stability plan. The Making Home Affordable program details announced
today will offer assistance to as many as 9 million homeowners. The
guidelines will implement financial incentives for mortgage lenders to
modify existing first mortgages and set standard industry practice for
modifications.
The Treasury Dept. also announced that the Making Home Affordable
program will include additional incentives for efforts made to
extinguish second liens on loans modified under this program.
Extinguishing second liens will make mortgages more affordable, improve
loan performance, and help prevent foreclosures.
In conjunction with the release of the new guidelines, the Treasury
Dept., the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and others
have prepared a consumer-friendly Q&A and eligibility assessment tools
for borrowers available at www.FinancialStability.gov.
More details, including a fact sheet, are available at the following
links:
Two Fallen Mortgage Giants Are Unlikely to Be Restored
Despite assurances that the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be temporary, the giant mortgage companies will most likely never fully return to private hands, lawmakers and company executives are beginning to quietly acknowledge. The possibility that these companies - which together touch over half of all mortgages in the United States - could remain under tight government control is ...
New York Times
US Dems Mull More Restrictions On Mortgage 'Cram Down' Bill
By Jessica Holzer, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- House Democrats are discussing further restrictions to a measure allowing strapped borrowers to have their mortgage debts reduced in bankruptcy, as the legislation continues to stir concerns among the centrists in their ranks, people familiar with the matter said. After pushing a set of changes last week, lawmakers are discussing ...
Nasdaq
Feds must act to settle mortgage markets
Amid the debate over the economic stimulus package, restructuring of the auto industry and bank bailouts, it appears the most controversial issue on Main Street is President Barack Obama's proposal to stem the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Mere mortals find it difficult to comprehend, much less relate to, the arcane explanations about the plans to revive the economy. Joe the Plumber (and the rest of ...
Newark Advocate
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Mortgage rates drop, as lender fees go up
Mortgage rates are low, but getting them is going to cost you. New rules by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are upping the fees for borrowers with less than perfect credit, those in the mortgage industry say. Other increased costs reflect the uncertainty in the mortgage market, as lenders try to reduce their risk and anticipate rates. 'It s an interesting time, in that mortgage rates ...
North Jersey.com
Monday, March 2, 2009
HOUSING: Banks struggle as mortgage insurers up claim denials
Part of financial sector trouble tied to abandoning attention to collateral value Mortgage insurance companies have stepped up their efforts to root out mortgage fraud, spelling more trouble for the nation's teetering banking sector. When a homeowner misses a payment, the bank is supposed to be protected. Even if lenders handed out mortgages to anyone and everyone ---- and it appears they did ---- ...
North County Times
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Home Mortgage Approval Process Completion: What You Should Know
The first step you have to take in order to get a home mortgage is filling out the application at your loaner of choice and the procedure of financing the purchase of the house you have ever dreamed of can take up to several months. The methods to fill out the formal request are numerous and can be done in the office of the loaner, on the World Wide Web and even by e-mail. It is important to maintain record of the application to allow the application to be followed up upon by the home purchaser and this is done with no consideration of the method used to fill this application.
. . Read More