Approved Nampa Idaho Short Sale

Desirable Bridgewater Estates now offers this approved Nampa, Idaho short sale. Wonderful short sale home sits on just over 1/3 acre lot with extensive landscape and easy access to interstate 84 making it a quick commute to Boise and all surrounding cities. Everything has been done with the bank calling me on friday January 29th with to go ahead to sell this short sale. $154,900 best price by far in this neighborhood.  Grab you real estate agent or call Josh direct 208-353-7131 and let’s make you a home owner in 2010. $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyer or $6,500 if you are a repeat buyer. Link below will take you to this great home!

http://www.homeswithjosh.com/search/

Idaho Foreclosures

But, you have to act quickly. The tax credit applies to a principal residence bought by April 30, 2010, and you must close by June 30, 2010.

However, there are many misconceptions about who qualifies and for how much. Here are six essential facts about the tax credit.
The year-end totals are in, and Idaho ranks No. 6 for most per-property foreclosures in the nation.

A grand total of 17,161 properties were foreclosed on in 2009, or one in every 37 houses. That number is double what it was in 2008 and almost four times what it was in 2007, according to RealtyTrac.com.

Nevada fared the worst in the country, with one in every 10 properties entering foreclosure. Only 0.05 properties in Vermont, on the other end of the spectrum, went through foreclosure in 2009.

The national average was one in every 45 properties.

“As bad as the 2009 numbers are, they probably would have been worse if not for legislative and industry-related delays in processing delinquent loans,” RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said in a press release. “After peaking in July with over 361,000 homes receiving a foreclosure notice, we saw four straight monthly decreases driven primarily by short-term factors: trial loan modifications, state legislation extending the foreclosure process and an overwhelming volume of inventory clogging the foreclosure pipeline.

“Despite all the delays, foreclosure activity still hit a record high for our report in 2009, capped off by a substantial increase in December. In the long term a massive supply of delinquent loans continues to loom over the housing market, and many of those delinquencies will end up in the foreclosure process in 2010 and beyond as lenders gradually work their way through the backlog.”

Home Buyer Tax Credit

1. In some cases, you can use it as a down payment or for closing costs. For the most part, home buyers can’t use the tax credit as an automatic down payment, although “tax credit funds can be used for the basic down-payment requirement (3.5 percent) on an FHA-insured loan only when it’s handled through a state housing finance agency (HFA),” says Lemar Wooley, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

If the home loan is handled through an FHA lender (and not an HFA), the tax credit can be “used to add to the down payment above the 3.5 percent required amount. It can also be used for closing costs,” says Wooley.

Many state HFAs are running or sponsoring programs that will use a tax credit for a down payment. These programs often place a second lien on the home as collateral to secure the eventual repayment of the tax credit funds. Some HFAs lend directly to home buyers while others work through networks of state-approved lenders. For a list of what state HFAs are doing, go to www.ncsha.org.

2. You don’t get a check at closing. Many homebuyers assume that the $8,000 is given to them at closing. Not true, says Winter Park, Fla.-based accountant David Keeler.

“Taxpayers need to wait until they’ve actually filed their income tax return to receive the tax credit,” says Keeler. “The homebuyer credit reduces one’s tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis, and if the credit is more than the tax you owe, the difference is paid to you as a tax refund.”

The IRS says first-time home buyers who purchased a home in 2009 can claim the tax credit on either a 2008 return, due April 15, 2009, or a 2009 return, due April 15, 2010. The credit may not be claimed before the closing date. But, if the closing occurs after April 15, 2009, a taxpayer can still claim it on a 2008 tax return by requesting a filing extension or by filing an amended return.

3. You don’t always get the full credit. “This is one of the biggest misconceptions out there,” says Maynor Perez, a real estate sales associate with Positive Realty in Doral, Fla. “If you pay $50,000 for a home, you will not get the full $8,000 tax credit.”
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In fact, the top credit for homes bought in 2009 is $8,000 ($4,000 for a married individual filing separately) or 10 percent of the residence’s purchase price — whichever is less. So, for a $50,000 home, the home buyer would receive a $5,000 tax credit. And, if you buy a house for $800,000 or more, you’re not eligible for the tax credit.

Idaho Short Sale Application

Your confidential short sale application is now available by clicking here

http://www.homeswithjosh.com/home/short-sale-application/

The Home Tax Credit

Time is growing short for buyers hoping to land a great deal before some key changes occure.

Later this spring, the federal home buyer tax credit — up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and up to $6500 for move-up buyers — is scheduled to expire.  Buyers must have their new home under contract by April 30th to receive these funds.

Mortgage rates may also bigin to climb soon.  In late 2008, the federal government began a $1.25 trillion campaign to purchase mortgage backed securities, driving borrowing costs lower.  The fed confirmed yesterday this program will expire in March.  Consequently, mortgage rates will rise anywhere from half a point to a full point.

We’ve had these low rates for a year and people think they are where they should be, but they are not.  Rates are artificially low right now due to the fed’s purchasing program.

When rates do move higher when the program expires, shoppers waiting for the absolute bottom of the housing market may regret their procrastination.  A slight increase in interest rates can erode any savings achieved through a low interest rate.

Also, FHA loans will become more expensive this spring.  Currently FHA loans account for more than 40% of all new mortgages being originates.  This spring the up front mortgage insurance premium on FHA loans will go from 1.75% to 2.25% this spring.

Take advantage of these tax credits and make 2010 the year you find your perfect home!

Call Dale Curtis at WaterStone Mortgage 208-484-8993 and tell him Josh Groesbeck of Trust Realty (208-353-7131) sent you-

Strategic Defaults In Idaho

This is an interesting article about the strategic default of homes. Take  a minute and cruise through this as it has some very interesting points that are made and will make sense to a lot of home owners here in Idaho. Should home owners think like a big business?

Nearly a year after the Obama administration unveiled its ambitious housing rescue program, foreclosure tallies continue to break records. Foreclosure filings were reported on more than 2.8 million properties in 2009, up 21 percent from the previous year and 120 percent from 2007, according to RealtyTrac. With nearly 10 percent of mortgages now delinquent–which is also a new record–even more homeowners appear headed for foreclosure this year. “A massive supply of delinquent loans continues to loom over the housing market,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said in a statement. “Many of those delinquencies will end up in the foreclosure process in 2010 and beyond.”

[See Tips for Selling a Home in the Off-Season.]

Homeowners have found themselves in foreclosure for a number of reasons. Some purchased properties they could never really afford. Others lost their jobs–the national unemployment rate remains in the double digits–and had no way to make mortgage payments. But as the crisis rumbles forward, an additional driver of home foreclosures has become clear: Many borrowers have the means to keep paying the mortgage but are simply walking away because they believe it’s best for their finances.

The number of so called “strategic defaults” more than doubled, to 588,000, from 2007 to 2008, according to a study by Experian and Oliver Wyman. A separate 2009 survey found that more than a quarter of all existing defaults were strategic. Meanwhile, a growing number of academics are touting the financial benefits of walking away. “Homeowners should be walking away in droves,” Brent T. White, a University of Arizona law school professor, said in a recent paper. “The financial costs of foreclosure, while not insignificant, are minimal compared to the financial benefit of strategic default.”

[See Obama's Loan Modification Plan: 7 Things You Need to Know]

The case for strategically defaulting is linked to negative equity, or owing more on your home than it is worth. With home prices at the national level having dropped roughly 30 percent from their 2006 peaks–and a great deal more in certain bubble markets–a considerable chunk of property owners are now in this fix. Nearly 1 in 4 borrowers currently have negative equity, according to First American CoreLogic. And rather than continuing to make payments on an investment that’s now worth significantly less than what they paid for it, many borrowers are throwing in the towel.

White uses the following example to demonstrate how many borrowers are better off defaulting: A young professional couple with two children pays $585,000 for a three-bedroom, Salinas, Calif.-home in January 2006. At $4,300, monthly payments on their no-money-down, 30-year fixed mortgage with an interest rate of 6.5 percent represent a tad less than 31 percent of their gross monthly income. Toss in taxes, student loans, health care, food, and other essentials, and finances quickly get tight.

After the historic housing bust, their home is now worth $187,000, but they still owe $560,000. Other homes in their neighborhood, of course, have plummeted in value as well. And if the couple was to purchase a similar, nearby house listed at $179,000, their monthly payments would be less than $1,200. That’s a huge savings over their current $4,300 monthly mortgage bill. But since a foreclosure on their credit report is likely to prevent them from buying a home in the near-term, they may have to rent. And about $1,000 a month gets them a comparable rental property in their neighborhood.

“Assuming they intend to stay in their home ten years, [the homeowners] would save approximately $340,000 by walking away, including a monthly savings of at least $1,700 on rent verses mortgage payments, even after factoring in the mortgage interest tax reduction,” White writes. “If they stay in their home, on the other hand, it will take [the homeowners] over 60 years just to recover their equity–assuming, of course, that they live that long.”

The argument against strategically defaulting is much more straightforward: You promised to repay the loan when you took out the mortgage, and it’s your responsibility to do everything possible to honor that commitment. Avoiding the guilt and shame that can accompany a foreclosure is one of the top reasons struggling homeowners don’t strategically default, White writes. On top of that, a foreclosure significantly damages one’s credit–making it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a mortgage for years afterward.

But in a recent white paper, Alex Edmans, an assistant professor of finance The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, argues that many homeowners are ignoring these consequences to do what they believe is in their best financial interest. “Defaulting on their loan is a rational decision: While they forfeit their home, they rid themselves of a mortgage liability of even greater value,” Edmans writes. “The source of the problem is the homeowner’s balance sheet: since he has negative equity in his home, it is not worth keeping it by paying the mortgage.”

The issue of negative equity triggering strategic defaults represents a nasty headache for the Obama administration. The $75 billion mortgage housing rescue the administration unveiled last February is designed to keep people in their homes by reducing their monthly mortgage payments down to more manageable levels. The plan does not, however, require lenders or servicers to reduce borrowers’ mortgage principal–meaning underwater borrowers still have this incentive to walk away from their home loan.

Laurie Goodman, a senior managing director at Amherst Securities Group, considers negative equity to be the housing market’s greatest challenge and believes current housing rescue efforts are insufficient. “The current modification program does not address negative equity, and is therefore destined to fail,” Goodman said in written testimony before a Congressional committee in December. “It must be amended to explicitly address this problem.”

Although Uncle Sam has reduced mortgage payments for more than 850,000 borrowers so far–for a median savings of more than $500–the government will remain under pressure to take more aggressive action as long as the foreclosure epidemic keeps churning. Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, believes the government may take steps to tackle the issue of negative equity head-on this year by incorporating principal write downs–which reduce a borrower’s negative equity position–into the housing rescue program.

source:US News

Idaho Short Sale Tips

#3   Put Together A Well Organized Short Sale Package

Your Idaho real estate agent should provide you with a list of the lender’s requirments and  At a minimum, the lender will want to see:

* Your hardship letter;
* A balance sheet listing your monthly income and expenses, or a profit and loss statement;
* Statements from your checking, savings and other asset accounts;
* A net sheet from your Idaho real estate agent listing all of the closing costs that must be paid for your short sale to close;
* A current Market Analysis (CMA) or a Broker Price Opinion (BPO)
* Supporting documentation, including two months’ worth of paycheck stubs and all of your household bills, including HOA dues;
* Your last two federal income tax returns.
* The offer to purchase your home, including the buyer’s preapproval letter, once it is received.

Best to turn in package that is complete otherwise you could end up on the cutting room floor. Many bank staffers are over worked and will only look for well put together short sale packages. Trust me they want to work easier not harder, they do not want to come back for left out items that will only cause your short sale to become buried a under huge stack of growing short sale files. Get on top first this is very important.

Idaho Short Sale Tips

2. Authorization Letter

You will need to get an authorization form either from your lender or your experienced Idaho real estate agent will have one. Once your idaho real estate agent is authorized to speak with your lender about your home it is time to sit back and let that agent shine.
Let them be your voice with the lender.  Part of the listing agreement will include a “short sale addendum”, which will outline the rights and duties of your agent also allowing your idaho real estate agent to negotiate with the lender’s on your behalf. Your real estate agent should give you a clear line of communication and update you with all negotiations with the lenders.

Idaho Short Sale Tips

1. Choosing The Right Idaho Real Estate Agent

If you are struggling to make your house payments or believe that your home is worth less than what is owed contact a reputable real estate agent that has experience working with short sales. All agents can get a designation and call themselves the short sale expert but make sure that they have actually been on the battle field before. I see to many short sales on the mulitple listing service go nowhere and wonder what could or should have been done differently.  First, I would contact a reputable Idaho real estate agent and they can help you be proactive towards getting your case number in front of your lender’s work out department. Looking out for your best interest these are Idaho Short Sale Tips.

Idaho 39th in Millionaire Rankings

The number of millionaire households in Idaho has dropped 10.7 percent over the past two years, though the state has jumped a few spots in a ranking of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

A study by Phoenix Marketing International showed that 21,121 of the 568,000 households in Idaho, or 4.37 percent, have net worth more than $1 million. That’s down from 23,652 out of 541,000 households in 2007.

That decline, though, was less than the 14 percent drop in millionaires across the country, according to the study.

Phoenix estimates that about 5.1 million households in the United States now qualify as millionaires, down from nearly six million two years ago. The study defines a millionaire household as one with $1 million or more in investable or liquid assets (excluding sponsored retirement plans and real estate).

“Overall, the market downturn has taken its toll on the ranks of millionaires in most states,” said David Thompson, managing director of the Phoenix Affluent Market group, in a statement.

Idaho now ranks 39th, up from 44th last year and 42nd in 2007.

The top five states are Hawaii (6.4 percent), Maryland (6.3 percent), New Jersey (6.2 percent), Connecticut (6.2 percent) and Virginia (5.5 percent). Mississippi ranked last with 3.1 percent.

1. JOSH WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF THAT EQUATION: ) OFFERING FULL-TIME EXPERIENCE WITH ALL YOUR IDAHO REAL ESTATE NEEDS (208-353-7131) AND BE PART OF JOSH’S JOURNEY TO BE A MILLIONAIRE : ) “it’s an action packed thrill ride that you are sure to enjoy”  josh@homeswithjosh.com
2. NEW CONSTRUCTION, RESALE AND INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
3. SHORT SALE AND FORECLOSURE PROPERTIES

Source: Idaho Business Revue

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